7 Ways to Stay Healthy & Active -- Even When You're on Vacation
Summer is here and you’re looking forward to getting out of town and enjoying that long awaited vacation you’ve been planning for months. Whether there is a beach in your future or you’re taking a weekend trip to the city, sometimes it’s nice to just get away for some downtime.
But it’s no secret that traveling can cause even the most strong-willed among us to ditch their healthy lifestyles. From crappy airport food to endless pitchers of margaritas, vacationing can wreak some serious havoc on your healthy habits.
This doesn’t have to be the case though. With some minor tweaks, it is 100 percent possible to enjoy your vacation while not entirely falling off of the healthy living bandwagon. Here are seven ways you can stay healthy and active -- even while you’re on vacation:
Forgo buying overpriced chips or cookies at the airport and bring your own snacks instead. Not only will this save you money, you’ll feel better, have more energy, and stay full longer since you aren’t eating a bunch of empty calories.
You’re on vacation so of course, you are going to want to eat out. After all, isn’t one of the benefits of vacation that you get a break from cooking? But try to avoid just stopping at McDonald’s for the sake of convenience.
If you are taking a road trip, plan out where you will stop for your meal in advance. This will allow you to choose healthier options and keep yourself on track.
And if you are traveling internationally, it is recommended that you stay away from raw foods. This is because they are likely to be hard on your digestive system. Ask your Dr. to give you a prescription of Cipro in case you catch a stomach bacterial infection. And be sure to pack portable water tablets.
The best way to stay active is to get out and enjoy the local scenery. After all, that’s why you are on vacation, right? So take a walk through a park, go on a museum tour, or go for a bike ride. Taking a bus tour can be incredibly rewarding, for example, you can discover all the romance and history of Paris for just $40 and a half-day tour including all the major local attractions like the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, to Grand Palais and Notre Dame. We promise you will enjoy it much more than sitting in the back of an Uber!
One surefire way to stay in shape is to simply plan out some time for movement every day. Horseback riding, rock climbing, or scuba diving are all fun activities that are sure to raise your heart rate. Regardless of the activity, just get out of your comfort and try something new.
Check on Travelocity for reviews and insides. Also, your hotel front desk may have discounts and coupons on local business.
When you’re choosing your hotel, pick the one that includes a fitness center. By getting even a short workout in every morning, you’re ensuring that you will get at least some fitness in daily. That way you won’t have to feel guilty for lying on a beach all afternoon.
Okay, we know that you’re looking forward to kicking back and enjoying a drink or two. Just keep in mind that most cocktails are full of sugar and calories so try not to overdo it. Drink a lot of water to keep you hydrated and help you flush those toxins. You will thank yourself in the morning when you don’t have a raging headache!
Take the opportunity to forget about work, leave your email unopened, and wait to post those vacation photos until you get home. (Your Facebook friends can wait a week to see that photo of your legs crossed on a lawn chair, we promise!)
Living a healthy lifestyle isn’t just about your physical health -- it’s about your mental well-being too. By giving yourself the mental space to unplug from the technology you are sure to come home refreshed.
5 Tips for a More Enjoyable Flying Experience
You may be looking forward to that week long Alaskan cruise but you’re probably less excited about the connecting flight to get to your departure point. It’s no secret that flying can be a nuisance these days with extra-long security lines and an inexplicably long list of items that can be confiscated.
Fortunately, while there are a lot of things that are out of your control during your flying experience, there are ways you can improve your trip. Here are five tips for a more enjoyable flying experience:
1. Only pack a carry-on
When you are packing, gather all the items you think you will need on your trip...and then leave about half of them at home. Depending on how long your trip is, you probably don’t need much more than a carry-on suitcase. And by limiting yourself to a carry-on you will be saving tons of time during check-in and baggage claim. Also, you will save on possible headaches because of missing luggage.
If forgoing the baggage check-in isn’t an option for you, be smart about it. Make sure you have a carry-on with the essentials, like a change of clothes, battery chargers, cash, any necessary medication, and your ID.
2. Choose a direct flight
The number one factor that can significantly drag out your trip is a long layover. Sometimes layovers can’t be avoided but if you can, try to go for a direct flight. It will likely cost more but isn’t it worth it to skip that 10-hour layover at the Atlanta airport?If you can’t avoid a layover and your flight gets delayed and caused you to miss the next flight make sure to reach out to your airline agent. They will often give you a VIP lounge pass in compensation for the inconvenience. If your flight is rescheduled for the following day then the airline will usually pay for your meals and accommodation at a nearby hotel.
When you are choosing your seat, try to pick a seat close to the door. You will thank yourself, especially on international flights when you have a long wait in customs to look forward to.
Is the seating first come first serve? No worries. Keep an eye out for empty seats during the flight as sometimes the flight attendants will let you swap.Aisle seats are worth more than window seats plus you will be able to exit the plane much faster and will be able to go to the restroom during the flight without climbing over anyone.
If you have a tight connection but need to transfer to a different concur by taking a train choose the train wagons near the exit stairways. Sometimes it is tricky to figure this out but if you are in doubt, look for an airport employee or flight attendant to follow and you will take the shortest path.
Whatever you do, don’t leave your travel gear at home! If you are someone who needs to sleep on the plane, an eye mask and noise canceling headphones are a must. And having the option to watch a good movie or listen to your favorite playlist can make all the difference in the world.
More and more airlines are now offering in-flight Wi-Fi for a fee. Surprisingly, the cost isn’t too outrageous, averaging about $12 per flight or $30 a month for frequent travelers. And there’s nothing like the ability to be productive even when you are 30,000 feet in the air.
Of course, the only guarantee about traveling is that there are no guarantees. No matter how early you show up at the airport or how carefully you plan your seating arrangements on the plane, things can still go wrong.
Delays, annoying encounters with TSA, and chatty seatmates are just a few of the hassles you may encounter when flying. But these hassles are more than worth it when you consider the rewards that traveling has to offer.
Key Factors for a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign II
The Top Tools & Resources for a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign
Starting a crowdfunding campaign is a lot of work but fortunately, you don’t have to go into it completely blind. We have done several Kickstarter campaigns, each one more successful than the previous. There are some things that you can only learn through experience but if you have the right resources and tools to guide you it can make a world of difference.
In the second part of our series, we are going to look at some of the most helpful resources and tools we found during our successful Kickstarter campaign. If you missed our first blog post about how to launch a successful crowdfunding campaign, check it out here.
As you may know launching the Kickstarter campaign should be the last thing on your to-do list. Most successful campaign owners would suggest that you budget at least two months for pre-campaign efforts. The following are a few tools:
Prior Launch, Press Releases
PRWeb: PRWeb allows you to create and optimize your press release on their website. They will then distribute your story to every major search engine and national news sites so you can gain more visibility and attract customers more quickly.
If you choose to use PRWeb, it will cost you $99 for a basic release or $250 for a customized service. However, we used the customized service and did not end up getting great coverage.
Publicize: Publicize employs former journalists and aims to be a more cost-effective PR solution for entrepreneurs. It is more costly than PRWeb, with prices ranging from $320-$800 per month.
We did not end up using Publicize but they seem to offer a great service. They do take up to eight weeks of preparation so keep this in mind should you decide to use them.
Test the Market: Pay for a $100-$200 SurveyMonkey survey. From here you can get valuable market intelligence, such as price, demographic, likes, and dislikes. Based on my experience, the information from SurveyMonkey is very useful and reliable to define your product offer.
Pre-Launch: Building Your Audience
Prefundia: Prefundia is a great platform that allows you to get feedback before your launch. It allows you to create a free project so you can build up your followers before your campaign begins.
Headtalker: Headtalker is a free platform that will connect to all of your current social media platforms. Once you create your Headtalker campaign, you can share your message will all of your followers. You need to have a solid number of supporters for it to work, though.
Wordpress: With Wordpress, you can easily create your own landing website with a blog. This is a great idea as people love to hear preliminary information.
Send project "sneak peeks" with visual content. For example, your preliminary product/project pictures like prototypes, sketches, FAQs, and giveaways.
Social Media: The highest performing channels are Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Each social channels are a great avenue to select and get on board project supporters.
For Facebook, create a dedicated page for the project and a public group related to the project. For example, if your product is a learning tool for kids, try to create a Facebook group about child learning techniques. Note, your family and friend’s likes do not really count!
Test your progress: You know you are ready when you have built up a substantial list of backers that can't wait for you to start the project. Don't mislead yourself; friends, family, and coworkers are not potential project followers!
You want to generate an email list with more than 1000 potential backers. Some successful Kickstarter projects we talked to had over 5,000 pre-backer email list before launching!
Post-Launch: Campaign Boost
Backerclub: Backerclub is made up of a group of influential individuals who frequently back crowdfunding campaigns. When you sign up as a customer you pay $300 upfront and provide a special perk to motivate the Backerclub community. Backerclub then sends the green light to their community and you will receive an immediate response.
We received GREAT results from Backerclub. We suggest using it during the middle of your campaign when you need more fuel – and make sure you offer them a good perk!
Statistics and Project Research
Kicktraq: Once you launch your crowdfunding campaign, Kicktraq can help you predict the outcome of where your campaign will end up. Using their own algorithm, they can show you the exact figure your campaign is trending to. And the graph will be updated every time you receive a new pledge.
Alexa: Alexa is a verification tool for audience performance and it can be helpful for developing strategies to grow your traffic.
Other Resources
- Funding the Dream on Kickstarter: A very resourceful podcast where they interview different successful project owners.
- Aweber: Aweber offers email marketing services including auto-responders, subscriber segmenting, and a simple drag-and-drop editor. They will even give you a free 30-day trial period to test it out.
- Buzzsumo: Buzzsumo lets you research and analyze what content is performing well on a particular topic.
- Buffer: This is a very cool back office system to manage and automate all your social media postings.
- Make sure you check out this extensive crowdfunding blog from Nathaniel Hansen.
- And don’t forget to make GIF animated images for your campaign from videos.
Final Thoughts
Crowdfunding is a change in paradigm and an exciting way to promote your products, secure funding, and create a community of people who are invested in your company’s success. A successful campaign requires a lot of work and energy but the results can be incredibly rewarding.
We'd love to hear your feedback and recommendations, leave a comment below.
This article is sponsored by Cloop, your magnetic cable keeper.
We are proud to have been successfully crowdfunded in 2016.
5 Must-Have Gadgets for Your Next Camping Trip
Top 6 Travel Gadgets
If you constantly find yourself multi-tasking on the go, then these handy travel companions will be worth their weight in gold. They will help you keep track of your luggage, work more efficiently during your flight, and keep all your gadgets running smoothly.
Key Factors for a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign
Crowdfunding is a great way for entrepreneurs to launch their projects without having to raise capital from banks or venture capital firms. It lets you see what the demand for your product will be without buying a lot of inventory upfront. But the truth is, between 69 and 89 percent of crowdfunding campaigns will fail to reach their goal.
Why is it that some truly fantastic products fail to meet their crowdfunding goals while average products go on to raise millions?
