Get it together: Your life

Source: Best Health Magazine, September 2008

1. Learn to meditate. Subscribe to Learn to Meditate—free downloadable videos you can play on your computer or iPod—at meditation.org.au. Created by the Meditation Society of Australia, the site offers 29 sessions you can enjoy at home or under the shade of a tree via your laptop. Topics include creating positive energy through gratitude, letting go and using meditation to enhance your job performance.
2. Meet a great guy online—really. There are only so many times a woman can hear “There are plenty of fish in the sea” before she wants to drown someone. But since everyone seems to know of some fabulous guy or girl (their ex, their brother, their friend) who is still single, why not harness the power of the Internet to narrow the pool? All singles posted on greatboyfriends.com come with an endorsement from someone who actually knows them. Also worth checking out: Canada’s prime.lavalife.com, a new offering for mature singles.
3. Spice things up! Subscribe to the greatsexgames.com video podcasts, featuring weekly ideas on boosting intimacy with your partner.
4. Discover some new music. If you haven’t already, download iTunes for your Mac or PC at apple.com/itunes, and click on the iTunes store for celebrity playlists. Maybe you’ll love author Augusten Burroughs’ favourite Stevie Nicks tune, too. Muxtape.com features great music mixes, and allows you to share your own.
5. Receive movie reviews on your cellphone. Spend less time making a decision at the video store or theatre with mobile reviews from metacritic.com/wireless. It imports reviews from major U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines, and assigns them a score, so you know which movies were universally loved—or loathed—by reviewers before you make your choice.
6. Get rich and fabulous. The five savvy women who launched beasmartcookie.com have made a name for themselves when it comes to women and money. A few years back, the Vancouverites formed a money club as they clawed their way out of debt. Now, the Smart Cookies have a book out plus a show on the W Network. Visit their website for their top tips and tools, including a Smart Cookie Spending Tracker and information on how to start a money club with your friends.
7. Travel smart. No need to buy a guidebook: Visit wikitravel.org for tips on more than 18,000 destinations. Then, before you book a hotel or vacation, visit tripadvisor.com for testimonials from people who have visited these places. Redtag.ca, a Canadian site, specializes in discounted packages (but doesn’t offer user reviews).
8. Organize your family.Think of famundo.com as a super-charged (and free!) organizational assistant for your life. Once you create a profile for each child and adult, all appointments, events and tasks can be synchronized and tracked in a colour-coded online calendar. (Leave messages for each other or synchronize it with your email program, too.) You’ll never forget who’s dropping the kids off at soccer again.
9. Reduce tension, virtually. Try the game at mindhabits.com. McGill University researchers, who designed it to slash tension and boost self-esteem, have found that those who play it regularly produce 17 percent fewer stress hormones. Try the free version, or pay $20 to track and measure your anxiety from day to day.
10. Don’t get caught in the rain. Sign up for breaking weather warnings sent as text or video from theweathernetwork.com/mobile to your cellphone or wireless device (a BlackBerry, for example).

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