June, 2018

How Can You Be More Engaged at Work?

Anticipating what tomorrow may bring might help.
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Cash to Kids Could Send
the Wrong Signal

It could promote dependence instead of independence.

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Hydration + High Blood Sugar

Some sports energy drinks may as well be liquid candy.
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Recipe of the Month
Gluten-Free Chicken Meatballs
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How Can You Be More Engaged at Work?

Anticipating what tomorrow may bring might help.

Interruptions. Information constantly arriving. Sudden requests to change your focus. All of this may be part of your typical workday. Staying focused through the disruptions may depend on your degree of self-management, and good habits begin before you even walk into the office. So states an article in The Journal of Applied Psychology, an analysis written by five university professors looked at two ways workers try to deal with such problems.

One way is traditional time management: making to-do lists and scheduling task completion by the clock. Does this strategy work well? Ordinarily, yes, but not when frequent intrusions occur. When that happens, trying to “beat the clock” can seem impossible and leave you frustrated. The alternative is contingent planning: you think about what you can realistically accomplish that day, acknowledging how often you may be interrupted and how you will handle the interruptions. The analysis found that contingent planning worked well on hectic and calm workdays. If you think tomorrow might be a real whirlwind at work, accept the fact that plenty of distractions may appear – and instead of trying to get tasks done on the hour or half-hour, think about the ones you can reasonably complete.

Cash to Kids Could Send the Wrong Signal

It could promote dependence instead of independence.

If you have kids in their twenties, you may be providing a little financial support to them. In doing so, the key is to set the proper expectations – and to keep your retirement priorities in mind.

In their classic book The Millionaire Next Door, Thomas Stanley and William Danko referred to this parental support as “economic outpatient care.” They felt that while some cash gifts to children may lead to worthwhile outcomes (paying for college, funding a start-up), others merely breed dependence. In fact, their research led them to conclude that “the more dollars adult children receive, the fewer they accumulate, while those who are given fewer dollars accumulate more.” Such gifting, they determined, encouraged young adults to spend rather than invest or save. Another common problem: a subtle confusion in which the adult children felt family wealth was also essentially their wealth. If love or concern motivates you to support your twentysomethings, include some rules or cutoff dates, so that your retirement plan is not hampered.2

Hydration + High Blood Sugar

Some sports energy drinks may as well be liquid candy.

Are those popular sports energy drinks really helping you stay hydrated during a workout or just sweetening you up? If you are concerned about sugar intake, you may want to avoid them. Those brightly colored drinks in the 20 oz. plastic bottles – the ones with names ending in “ade” – are made by soft drink companies. One bottle of these drinks typically contains 30-34 grams of sugar, about a third of the amount of added sugars most people should limit themselves to per day. Weekend warriors may want to think of them as a soft drink in disguise. They can help avid athletes restore depleted sodium and glucose levels, but they may be little more than a sugar rush for people who abstain from grueling workouts. Chocolate milk has its advocates, but a typical bottle purchased at a convenience store may have anywhere from 20-45 grams of sugar depending on its size. Even protein shakes promoted as aiding muscle recovery pack about 20 grams of sugar. For hydration, water remains the simpler, healthier choice.3

Recipe of the Month

Gluten-Free Chicken Meatballs

1 lb. ground chicken breast

1 egg

1/2 cup almond flour

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, grated

1 Tbsp. chopped parsley

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Start by preheating your oven to 410 degrees. Next, use olive oil to grease the bottom of a baking dish. Set aside.

Combine egg, chicken, almond flour, parsley, parmesan, sea salt, garlic powder, and black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Use your hands and mix well; then, roll the mixture into meatballs (approximately 2" round).

Place meatballs onto the baking dish and separate slightly to ensure an even bake. Place in the preheated oven for approximately 20-22 minutes (aim for an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit); then, broil for 4-6 minutes for a golden, crispy top.

Serve dish with gluten-free pasta or on its own.