productivity

Your cell phone can be one of the more expensive bills you have to pay each month, especially if you carry a smartphone. But if you put in some effort to research before buying a phone and choosing a carrier, there are ways you can save a lot of money on your bill. The amount you will save can amount to hundreds in a few years. Here are some tricks to saving on your cell phone:

Sign up for a no-contract deal: Although you can save up to hundreds on a new smartphone if you sign up for a contract deal, you can actually save more if you opt for a no-contract deal and pay full price for the phone. This Get Rich Slowly blogger found that the plan she wanted cost $110 a month without contract, versus $140 with the contract. Even though she'll have to pay more for the phone — $500 compared with the discounted $200 — she'll be saving $360 a year, which means she'll save $60 in the first year alone, followed by $360 the year after. Further, if she wants to switch carriers midway, then she won't have to pay any penalties, because she's not under contract. And that's not all; turns out some carriers even offer no-interest payment plans for the phones, so even if you can't afford to pay the full price upfront, you can pay it off in installments.

Comparison shop: The first rule of getting a bang for your buck on anything is to shop around. Check out what phone and plan best suit your needs. You can compare different carrier plans and pricing with ease by going to BillShrink. Just input your information and how you want to use the plan, and the site will give you a list of suggestions and the breakdown of each plan.

Get a prepaid phone: A pay-as-you-go phone can save you a lot of money, and you won't be locked down in a contract. Another benefit is you'll know exactly what you're going to be charged, and you won't be in for any nasty phone bill surprises. The prepaid option is a smarter option for people who never seem to meet their minutes quota and for those who aren't phone hogs. And if you think prepaid phones are outdated, then think again. Now you can even use a prepaid plan for smartphone models such as the iPhone 5. You'll even get the option of unlimited data plans at cheaper rates than contract ones. Prepaid service providers that Consumer Reports recommended include TracFone, Virgin Mobile, Straight Talk, and T-Mobile.

Read on for more ways to save.

Waking up refreshed is a great way to start out the day on the right foot. However, there may be times when you wake up tired and unable to immediately get the day going, even though you've had a full night's rest. Here are a couple reasons that may be causing you to wake up groggy:

• Waking up in the wrong phase: Your sleep is split into cycles, and you might've woken up during the non-REM stage, which is a state of very deep sleep. Try to shoot for waking up during a REM phase, because then your body will be better prepared to wake up.
• Poor quality of sleep: It doesn't matter how long you sleep for if you're it's low-quality rest; you'll just wake up tired. Poor-quality sleep can be caused by factors such as sleeping with a pet, drinking caffeinated beverages late in the day, or having too much noise in the background.
• Medication hangover: The effects of certain medications that cause drowsiness can linger until the next morning. Check with your doctor to see if you can adjust the dosage or change medications.
• Medical condition: Certain medical conditions like sleep apnea can disrupt your night's rest. Disorders like depression can also cause you feel drained of energy, a symptom that can contribute to your grogginess.
• Your body clock is not in sync: If you've been keeping an erratic sleep schedule, then your body will probably need time to adjust to waking up at a certain time during the morning. Try to make a more regular schedule, and you'll probably see a difference in how you feel in the morning.

All good things come to an end, and there will come a time when you will have to break up with your smartphone. You will hear a lot about numerous sites to sell your beloved iPhone on, but which one will actually pass the test?

Why I Went With NextWorth

I decided against Craigslist and eBay (although they tend to give you the best prices) because I wanted a hassle-free and quick trade-in, in which I didn't have to deal with buyers or wait around for them.

I've had experience selling items on Amazon, but the process isn't as easy as I would like, and it's a little time-consuming. That's why I went with a third-party seller that specialized in gadgets, so all I had to do was plug in some information online, get a price estimate, and mail it in. There are a couple of sites that let you do that — Gazelle, Buy My Tronics, and Best Buy Trade In, to name a few — but I decided to go with NextWorth since it had relatively good reviews in the forums I scoured online. Before using a service, try googling "[Insert name of company] review" to see what other customers' experiences were like. I also received the highest price quote with NextWorth.

Read on to find out how to start selling on the site.

Editor's note: The following is a guest post written by Journalist Lisa Ling, host of Our America on OWN and program ambassador for the IKEA Life Improvement Project — a program designed to inspire people to make a positive impact on their homes and the lives within. Below, Lisa shares tips for creative ways to cut the clutter at home.  

Your home should be a peaceful retreat, a place to relax and unwind. Since clutter can be a big cause of stress, my husband and I built in solutions for staying organized when we built our new home. With a new baby and a hectic travel schedule, knowing I will come home to a clean and clutter-free home makes all the difference in staying focused while I’m away. Below are a few tips for you to make sure that everything in your home has a place:

Pictured: Ling's master bedroom.

Make A Plan: If you’re not starting from scratch with a new home, you’ll need a plan to whip your current place into shape. Create a three or six-month plan and think through which areas of your home you’d like to tackle first. Focusing on one room at a time will keep you from getting overwhelmed and abandoning the project. Breaking it into accomplishable chunks will help you get everything done.

Assign Categories: Sort all of your belongings into three categories — display, store and donate/toss. Donate clothes you haven’t worn in the last six months (excluding seasonal items) and things you no longer have a use for. Store seasonal items — like heavy textiles and winter coats — out of reach. Lastly, keep things you use constantly handy. For instance, if you’re a big smoothie maker, keep your blender on the countertop in your kitchen. If you eat granola bars each morning, store the blender away.

Read on for more.

Even if you've gone bridezilla and planned everything in your wedding down to the last detail, accidents can still happen. When unexpected mishaps occur, take a deep breath and try not to blow your top. Meanwhile, to diminish the chances of these awful incidents happening, here's how to prep ahead of time:

Detailed contracts: Try to prep for the worst-case scenarios with vendors and other people you hire for the wedding by being diligent when it comes to contracts. For example, if there are food allergies or specific requirements the caterer needs to be aware of, add those requests in the contract.

Have a dress rehearsal: Holding a dress rehearsal can help you spot any problems that may come up during the actual wedding — unruly dresses, the clueless bridesmaid missing cues, and more.

Create a contact list: Put together important contact information of people involved in the wedding and pass it around so your bridal party can help out if needed.

Find a mediator and assign a CEO: If you don't have a day-of coordinator, ask someone in the bridal part to stand in as your CEO, making sure everything goes off without a hitch and preparing for when mishaps happen. You can also ask the same person or another bridesmaid to be a mediator — someone who can smooth things over and tackle drama among people as it happens.

Read on for more.

One of the biggest causes of burnout is being overworked, so if you can manage to be more productive, that may give you more time to blow off steam. We've heard plenty of advice on how to do more in less time, but here are some tips to improve your productivity, backed by scientific research:

• Take a web break: Don't think of catching up on celebrity news or watching kitty videos at work as slacking. In small doses, it can be good for your productivity. In fact, Japanese researchers found that looking at cute animals can lend workers more focus for their tasks.
• Sleep well: Sleeping too little can cause job burnout and lower productivity. Get enough sleep to refresh yourself for the next day. But make sure you're getting quality sleep.
• Work in 90-minute intervals: In a study, it was found that the best violinists practiced in 90-minute intervals with a break between each one. Start doing work in chunks of 90 minutes, and try to take a 15- to 20-minute break after each interval, preferably spending the time looking at cute animals.
• Take a vacation: Going on vacation is good for your brain. In fact, the Families and Work Institute says vacation deprivation causes workers to make more mistakes and build anger and resentment against co-workers. Most vacationers see a boost in job performance after their trip, according to multiple studies.
• Don't power through: Your willpower is an exhaustible supply, so don't force yourself to finish tasks if you don't have to. Take a break and do something else, then go back to it when you feel refreshed.
• Turn off notifications: Don't let blinking icons and pop-ups disrupt your work flow. Turn off notifications and alerts for incoming emails, IMs, and more. Instead, schedule times throughout the day to check them.
• Listen to music: Your favorite tunes can increase your productivity because listening to music helps release dopamine in the part of your brain that's related to rewards. Basically, it improves your mood, thereby putting you in a more positive mind-set when doing work. Research by Teresa Lesiuk, assistant professor at the University of Miami, found that workers who listened to music were more creative and finished their tasks in a shorter time compared to those who worked in silence.

Although everyone is always focused on renewal in the Spring, June is a perfectly good time for reassessment. After all, it marks the start of the second half of the year, which means there is still plenty of time to make changes that will affect how the rest of your year may play out. Here are some things you should get started on ASAP:

Check to see if you're on track for retirement: Log into your retirement accounts to check how you're doing and if it's possible to increase the amount you're socking away to your nest egg. Are you on track to max out your contribution limits? If you're far from it, try to automate more money to your retirement accounts monthly if you can afford to do so.

Budget your FSA: If you have flex dollars to spend, don't wait until the end of the year when you're in a mad rush to meet the deadline. Here are some ideas for using up the allotted money.

Plan your PTO: It's time to start planning how you are going to use your leftover PTO for a better-organized rest of the year. Ask yourself if you have any major events coming up — weddings of friends, your birthday, and more — that you'd like to take time off for. Or perhaps there's a major bucket-list trip that you'd finally like to take by the end of the year. Make sure you have enough PTO for all your travel plans.

Track your work achievements: Start looking back on what you accomplished in the early half of the year, and write them down if you haven't already. Is it enough to get that raise or promotion you're looking forward to at the end of the year? Check in with your manager to see where you stand, and up the ante to advance your career. And if you haven't gotten the promotion you wanted, it's time for some introspection to figure out why you haven't received one.

Assess your living situation: Is your lease up at the end of the year? Figure out what your plans are for your next place. Perhaps you want to buy a place or room with someone in a rental; start asking around and researching for your future pad so you're prepared well before the move-out date.

Check your budget: Are you meeting your saving goals, and is it time to change them? Check out your budget and how you are spending your money. Address any spending red flags you see, and try to figure out any areas where you can save even more.

It's always overwhelming when you come back into the office from vacation. Your email inbox looks like something exploded in it, and the endless meetings seem to keep popping up in your calendar alerts. How in the world can you transition back from vacay bliss to the daily grind? Here are some tips to having a stress-free first day at the office when you're back from vacation:

Get in earlier: If you're not too tired, then go into work an hour earlier to get a headstart on catching up on what you've missed. You'll probably want some quiet time before fellow coworkers come in and start asking you about your holiday or requesting you to do certain things, so try to get in before they do so you won't feel overwhelmed.

Write a to-do list: One of the first things you should do when you come back from a trip is to draft a to-do list for the day. You will probably have a million tasks to do, so note them down and figure out which ones you should prioritize. You'll feel better once you start crossing each one off.

Deal with your emails: It's time to tackle the mountain of emails that have been piling up in your absence! Don't try to respond to them all at once, because it might be overwhelming. Delete the ones you don't need, mark the ones you need to respond to later in the day, and reply to urgent emails that need an immediate response.

Read on for more.

It's no secret that taking breaks throughout the day is important to your productivity. But what to do if walking around the block three times isn't your thing? (Hey, it can take more time than you've got.) Here, some other ways to waste time — err, be more productive — and get your mind off the job.

• Go to the club in the middle of the day (yes, people do that )
• Water your sad-looking plant
• Practice your handwriting with a to-do list
• Raid the office kitchen
• Update your Google Plus cover photo
• Brainstorm Buzzfeed list ideas
• Sign up for a new email address so you can get Amazon Prime
• Have a laugh courtesy of hadonejob.com
• Organize paper clips by color
• Flag semi-important emails
• Alphabetize your notes
• Find new Pandora stations
• Join in on your neighbors' convo even though they weren't talking to you
• Unsubscribe from annoying reply-all emails (there IS a way)

Do you have any ideas of your own?