Money is an object that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services. It comes in many shapes and forms and have been around for 40,000 years. Money, on some levels, is meant to encourage improvements in our lives. It plays a role in your daily routine even if you are cooped up at home for an entire day, the running water and the electricity needed to keep the lights on will translate into payable utility bills at the end of the month. We earn money through different ways and the process is not necessarily easy for some of us and this asks the question: should you save more money or spend like a YOLO (You Only Live Once)?

To protect you and your family with insurance

If you are a breadwinner for your family, insurance is a must-have. Think about it for a moment; you own a car and you are told to get insurance for it just in case something happens while you are behind the wheel. Also, if you are employed and you are eligible to be covered by the company’s medical insurance coverage and you are able to claim so long as you are a confirmed employee of the company. But those two points mentioned above has its own terms and conditions attached.

Personal insurance acts as a safety net and still maintains its importance if you are in between jobs and you do not have coverage. The money you would have spent buying your personal insurance for yourself and your family would take effect and act as an income replacement the moment it becomes an activated safety net.

People often neglect buying their own insurance but how would you be able to achieve your goals and dreams in life if you are unable to pay for a slew of medical bills if and when it arrives? It’s an affordable price to pay for financial security and peace of mind.

To spend on things that bring you joy

I personally like to believe everything in this world is cyclical. You save to spend money and you spend to save it. That feeling of yearning a particular item is so deep and when you finally have enough to make the purchase; there might be an inkling of holding back and you still ask yourself if you truly needed it.

Instead of living your life wondering, this is where the YOLO mindset comes into play. You will not know how you truly feel until you have made that purchase. There is such a thing as buyer’s remorse and there is no real way of overcoming it unless you decide how best to use the item you just bought in more ways than one. Purchases are divided into material and experiential ones and if you believe you will earn back the money you have just spent, then you are all set to move on to the next thing.

Save only if it bears a healthy interest

The only time you should consider setting your money aside if it ends up being an investment that bears healthy returns by you doing virtually nothing except letting time pass you by. Keeping all your money in a regular savings account might not be the best act as the interest you are earning on an annual basis may not be significant. Which is why financially savvy people are keen on placing their money in a myriad of platforms such as unit trust, property or even durians!

Money can be a fine friend or a fickle foe. Regardless of your relationship with money, it simply is an object that presents an abundance of opportunities and downfalls. This is the life you are leading now, take charge of your journey today and scan your available resources. The answers you seek may just be right in front of you.

The post Save More Money Or Spend Like A YOLO? appeared first on Big Woots.

Business

The post-pandemic economy is what it is now. On a nationwide scale, we have personally observed the closure of certain brands while others come to a grinding halt. Those businesses that have leveraged on online presence and incorporated technology in their operations will take a softer blow as opposed to industries which heavily rely on the traditional brick-and-mortar model.

As it stands, the allowance of certain sectors to operate in stages were opened up in stages with the food and beverage industry leading the way from the start. Essential provisions are also in the spotlight as the population’s daily survival depends so much on them to continue on.

Social

The people felt relief when the Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia has changed its status to the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) as the latter implies a more relaxed approach for social conduct. Restaurants once operated on a take-away only policy is now welcoming dine-ins and seating arrangements have been marked to follow social distancing guidelines.

Malls are also following suit and with the requirement for all patrons to participate in the mandatory digital check-in. Mall management teams have access to data on the habits of its patrons and they could do so much more with it as there are also discussions on turning shopping malls into more community-friendly places.

Community

Communities have been around in this world for so long and it brings about a different meaning to each individual. Some of us regard our housing area as one community while others in the workplace (especially in the realm of coworking) will acknowledge that the entire shared office space is a single community unit.

Due to scarcity of resources during these trying times, be it talent or consumers, people are slowly realising the importance of building strategic partnerships. Perhaps the sales approach will take a different turn as we continue to live on after Covid-19 and brands are more comfortable collaborating with each other. The generation of revenue might not be instant but the possibility of brand awareness is could be stronger as many of us will try to stand out in an ocean of businesses vying for customers’ attention.

Regardless of the current situation we are in, it is a lie that we are all in the same boat. Some of us have different issues to deal with and we are our own books moving on to different chapters of our lives. My chapter three could be your chapter 33 and yet here we are living in the same timeline. Only a few things are certain: death, taxes and time moving forward.

The future is what you make it out to be. If you feel you have an idea or an initiative dear to your heart that could possibly add value to everyone’s lives, make it happen. Start having conversations and share your stories. The world is your oyster.

The post Is There Life After Covid-19? appeared first on Big Woots.

 对于一个想减肥或控制体重的人来说，一天要摄入多少的卡路里呢？这没有统一标准，但可以根据性别、年龄、身高、体重和活动量来计算。 

体重的减少必须是循序渐进的，最健康的减重目标应该是一个星期减少0. 5到1公斤。要达成这个目标，你必须在每日的饮食当中减少500-1000卡路里的摄入。

但是问题是，很多人不晓得自己在一天的饮食当中摄入了多少的卡路里。这里附上了一些平常我们会吃的食物的卡路里含量，供大家参考。

动物性食物的卡路里含量比植物性食物的卡路里含量来得高，所以建议大家肉类还是少吃一点，多吃蔬菜和水果，种类是越多越好，颜色也是越多越好，因为每一种不同的蔬菜和水果都有不同的营养成分如：植物营养素、抗氧化剂和多醣体，对我们的身体有不同的好处。 

除了控制卡路里的摄入，我们也必须留意以下几点： 

 1）烹煮的方式 

少吃煎炸食物，因为一汤匙的植物油就含有大约120卡路里。试想如果我们用一大锅油来炸鸡块，我们会摄取多少卡路里呢？还是选择比较健康的烹煮方式吧，比如说水煮或清蒸的方式。 

 
2）用餐时的优先次序 

饭前半个小时可以先吃一些水果，以补充身体的水分，也能让体内的细胞先吸收它所需要的营养。水果里的可溶性纤维也能在我们的肠胃道里形成一道膜，这道膜能帮助我们在半小时后用餐时减少50%的脂肪吸收。除此以外，纤维也能让身体有饱足感，到正式用餐时，我们就不会吃得太多。 记得在用餐时，先喝汤，然后才吃饭和其他配菜。 

3）细嚼慢咽 

吃饭最忌狼吞虎咽，即不健康，又会浪费别人为你准备食物的一番心意。用餐时，要细嚼慢咽，一顿饭至少吃个20分钟。

为什么是20分钟呢？医学研究显示，当进食的食物到达胃部后，需要20分钟左右的时间，大脑才能接受到是否已经吃饱的信号。如果在少于20分钟的时间内就结束进餐，胃部的信息还没有传递到大脑的饱食中枢去，会感觉没有吃饱。离开饭桌后又想找别的零食吃或着坐着继续吃，这很容易让人吃得过量。 

细嚼慢咽的好处多得很！在细嚼慢咽的过程中，口腔所分泌的唾液（口水）能溶解食物、帮助消化和具杀菌作用。所以用餐时，请慢慢享用，一小口一小口地咀嚼对你的身体绝对有好处。 

4）经常运动 

健康的饮食能减少卡路里的摄入，而运动则能帮助燃烧脂肪，从而达到减重的效果。运动也能促进新陈代谢，强健肌肉，提高心肺功能。 

 鼓励不常运动的人在日常生活中做出一些改变，比如：不使用电梯，改走楼梯，或者把自己的车停放在较远的停车位，让自己多走几步路。在办公室里避免坐着超过20分钟而一动也不动，可以在每20分钟后起来做一些伸展运动。

5）拥有充足的睡眠 

你相信熬夜会发胖，睡觉能减肥吗？有研究显示，熬夜会让新陈代谢减慢，当新陈代谢变得缓慢，人就容易胖起来。相反地，当你睡觉的时候，你的身体却在燃烧脂肪。所以，尽量不熬夜，让自己有个正常的作息时间。 

简单来说，要有效地控制体重，你必须改变你的生活和饮食习惯。如果之前的生活和饮食习惯都不是那么健康，鼓励你从今天开始就做出改变。从减少卡路里的摄入开始、多吃蔬菜水果、减少多油、高盐分和高糖分的食物。至于生活习惯方面，好好分配时间，在工作和休闲之间取得平衡。除了安排时间定期做运动，也要让自己有足够的睡眠。如果你能一直坚持下去，我相信你一定会拥有健康的体态。

资料来源：陈昭妃博士《营养免疫学》和《营养.免疫力.长寿》 

The post 如何有效控制体重 appeared first on Big Woots.

Nevertheless, employers are now having deep thoughts on office spaces, work from home policies and redundancies in existing jobs. This could still be interesting times for jobseekers as the playing field is uncertain now and it is up to your creativity to navigate your way and chart your career path moving forward. We will be exploring timeless tips on preparing for job interviews and touch a little on remote interviews as this methodology saw a sharp spike as in-person meetings are still limited.

1. Resume Review

Keep your documentation updated. Achieved a milestone in your current workplace? Make it a point to insert that into your resume. Have a look at it from time to time to see if all the relevant information you would like your future employer to know is all there. Refrain from copy-pasting your job description and put in a little effort in tweaking the sentences to make it more enticing to read. Are you tired of the current formats offered by Microsoft Word? Try Canva! Looking for inspiration but unsure of what to search on Google Image? Go into a spiral at 123RF and look at stunning photos. It might help spark creativity!

2. Social Media Housekeeping

Hiring managers are taking the time of day to go through a candidates’ social media accounts as part of the vetting process. An easy way is just to maintain your privacy settings if it is public or better yet, just have a clean and friendly profile from the get-go. Be wary of participating in comments because a single negative sharing can greatly impact your clout as you will give the impression of being affiliated with controversy even when you truly don’t condone such behaviour in reality.

3. How Do You Look On A Webcam?

If the interview calls for a virtual meeting, always test your Internet connectivity. Now that the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) has been introduced, you can even set the meeting in coworking spaces if your own home is not conducive. Your house could be a host of distractions from roadside noises, arguing siblings or even cooking sounds from the kitchen. Ensure your background is clean and your surroundings well-lit. Familiarise yourself with the interview platform and remember to log in ahead of the interview time (if allowed) so you will not have to fumble getting ready.

4. Dress The Part

Always feel comfortable in what you are wearing. This will translate into a better state of mind and you will then be able to focus on the interview at hand. It is interesting to note that even Anna Wintour, current Editor-In-Chief of American Vogue and Artistic Director of Condé Nast who is a key person in the fashion world has this (fast forward to minute 1:55) to say about dressing for an interview. “We are not hiring your wardrobe – it’s who you are,” said Anna Wintour. It is highly applicable worldwide to look great and feel great when appearing for interviews. It would also be best to put on a full outfit even if you are at home because you will never know if you might be required to stand up and adjust something in the background and the last thing the interviewer might want to see are your bottom half’s undergarments.

5. Read The News & Read About The Company

Keep up with the headlines of the day. Read the local news sites. Read up on what is happening in the industry of the company you are applying for. There is so much importance in knowing more than you should because it is always great to be over-prepared than under. Reading materials that you have skimmed through could provide fodder for conversations later on when the interviewer asks if there are any questions to be asked.

If you are on this page right now, wishing you all the best in your endeavours. These are truly trying yet interesting times for all. It is always good to be prepared but always remember – the time you take to find your passion is truly worth it. Explore new horizons and discover hidden talents. Perhaps curiosity did not kill the cat; it just made it a very popular animal on the Internet.

The post Preparing For A Job Interview As A Candidate appeared first on Big Woots.

Am I a minimalist? I think I am still far from being a minimalist. To be a minimalist you must live with less than 100 things, you can’t own a car or a home or a television, you can’t have a career, you must live in exotic hard-to-pronounce places all over the world. OK, I am joking—obviously. But people who dismiss minimalism as some sort of fad usually mention any of the above “restrictions” as to why they could never be a minimalist. I can’t tell am I a minimalist, but I think I am practicing minimalism in a way.

Minimalism is owning fewer possession. Our life naturally gets filled with clutter: possessions that we ordered online pour in week by week, we take on more and more.

By reducing to less, you learn to become content with little. You can find joy in the simple things

I enjoy getting rid of stuff, it is my way of release stress.  I feel relief every time I reorganize my closet or kitchen or storeroom and throwing stuff away help me release stress. I don’t throw usable things away, I give away.  I feel fresh. I enjoy space. It’s not just finding joy in the things that matter. It’s also finding joy in having some breathing room. Having some space.

Especially now with the enforcement of MCO, by staying at home you will be realizing there is a lot of things that you own are not necessities. You do not need them to live. Being locked down and having to live a more frugal life has made many of us think about what is important. 

Identify the essential. Eliminate the rest.

The post The Joy Of Having Less appeared first on Big Woots.

Hotels have jumped on the bandwagon of making their sumptuous spreads accessible by activating delivery services to your doorstep. Needless to say, we are no strangers to hotels when it comes to breaking fast with their ubiquitous buffet spreads but alas, times change, so do we. Here is a short but personally recommended (by the author) list of brands you may want to consider referring to so you can incorporate a little bit of indulgence during dinner time over the next few days.

1. AC Hotels by Marriott | AC Hotel Kuala Lumpur Titiwangsa

Savour Tok Wan’s Traditional Recipes with your family and friends. This is a local favourite as people queue up year-on-year for the Hotel’s tasty satay! Starting from an affordable price of RM40 nett per person, you get to enjoy dishes such as kerabu mangga, gulai siakap samudera, sayur lodeh idaman kalbu and my personal favourite sotong goreng kunyit.

Find their full menu here.

Arrange Pickup/Delivery
Call/WhatsApp: +6 018 688 0019
E-mail: enquiry@achotelkl.com

Delivery Window
All orders to be placed and paid from 10am-3pm daily for delivery between 5pm-7pm until 23 May 2020.

2. Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur

Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur’s renowned Ramadhan spread is back and the brand is still getting repeat orders from loyal guests over the years. Now, they are able to bring back a bit of luxury into their dining rooms by selecting dishes fit for a king! Svaour the likes of kari kepala ikan salmon “istana”, bendi goren mamak and daging salai masak lemak cili api!

Find their full menu here.

Arrange Pickup/Delivery
Call/WhatsApp: +6 010 222 4717
E-mail: f&b@hotelistana.com.my

Delivery Window
All orders to be placed and paid from 8am-12pm daily for delivery/pick-up between 3pm-7pm until 23 May 2020.

3. Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur

‘Santapan Muhibbah’ is here for all to enjoy! Aside from being a key hotel in such a central location of Kuala Lumpur, their Food & Beverage team never disappoints. This time, they are back at it again with six curated set menus starting from RM50 nett each. In case you are still craving for bubur lambuk, they’ve got it listed. It’s also never too early to start feasting on lamb vindaloo or beef rendang!

Arrange Pickup/Delivery
(Everything is done via the TableApp here).

Delivery Window
‘Santapan Muhibbah’ Festive Menu is available from 24th April – 20th May 2020. A minimum of 3-hour in advance pre-order is required.

‘Santapan Shawal Aidilfitri’ Festive Menu is available from 21st May – 1st June 2020. 1-day in advance pre-order is required.

Delivery is available from 11:00am – 4:30pm daily. Takeaway is available from 11:00am – 6:00pm daily.

Thank you for reading and wishing everyone a pleasant remainder of Ramadhan!

The post Ramadhan Food Delivery Is A Rising Trend That’s Here To Stay appeared first on Big Woots.

1. Prepare your prescription (Duh!)

This seems like a redundant point, but do you know that preparing prescriptions does not just involve bringing your prescription along? Double-check your prescription at home and make sure you are bringing the correct one. This includes the correct person and the up-to-date prescription. The prescriber might have changed the dose of your medication since the last review. Also, if you are seeing more than one doctor at the same time, make sure you bring along all the active prescriptions to check for drug interactions or duplication of medication.

2. Practice the 7Rs

7Rs (previously 5Rs) is a common practice among the healthcare providers especially among the nurses and pharmacist. The 7Rs stands for the 7 rights below:

• Right Patient
• Right Drug
• Right Dose
• Right Time
• Right Route
• Right Documentations

Knowing these will significantly shorten the time when your pharmacist is in doubt and confirm the medication with you and reduce chances of any errors. If you are collecting medication on another person’s behalf, it is always good to make sure you know all these details.

3. Know your allergies and medical history

Allergies and medical history affects largely on the choice of medication you are taking. For example, if you are allergy to an antibiotic, you might not be able to take a few other antibiotics in the same group. It is good if you can bring along your medication allergy card and show it to the pharmacist or just simply mentioned the name of the medication and the type of reactions. Certain underlying medical history will increase the side effects of some medications. Therefore it is also crucial to know your own (or the person you are collecting medication on behalf) medical history and allergies well.

4. Recognising both name and looks of your medication

When ask on the type of medication they are taking. Many people will said “the medication of diabetes”, “the white round medication”, or some might mention the brand name of the medication. Note that medication usually has both a generic name and a brand name. It is better to know your medication as the generic name as there may be loads of brands around for the same medication. Do not assume that it is a different medication just because the brand, the packaging or the looks are different. This is of course unless you have specific reasons that you can only use a certain brand of medication.

5. Be honest about your compliance

When ask if they are compliant to their own medication, some people like to lie about their compliance for fear of getting “scolded” by the medical professionals. However it is important to be honest about your compliance, so that when the medication is not working properly perhaps because you are not taking it correctly, or that you might have excess of medication at home and pharmacists could prevent oversupplying medications to you that you do not need. It is also important that pharmacist can make useful suggestions according to your lifestyle to help your compliance. This can be done by making suggestions to prescriber to change to a more suitable medication, regimen or administration time. It is not advisable to do it yourself as some medications has specific administration time for it to be effective.

These points are of course not only helpful during the Covid-19 season but at all times. Empowering yourself with the knowledge makes yourself understand more on the treatment you are getting and generally improves the treatment!

The post Things You Need to Know when Refilling your Prescription Medicine appeared first on Big Woots.

Every 90 minutes or so, a sleeping person enters the REM stage from non-REM stage. During this stage, the eyes move rapidly beneath the closed but fluttering eye lids. Brain waves change to desynchronized pattern. Dreams become strongest at the REM stage.

Everyone dreams, but dream that simply more frightening or upsetting and causing a person to wake up in a state of panic, fear or feeling shaken is considered nightmare.

Nightmare happens occasionally in normal person. It tends to be caused by stress, anxiety, or sometimes reaction to medications.
There is a belief that use the bathroom if you wake up from a nightmare. But is this a myth that using bathroom will break the nightmare? Actually it is recommended to use bathroom when you are wake up from a nightmare simply because it will relieve the stress and trick your body to think it’s time to sleep as most people use bathroom before they go to bed.

How do we prevent nightmares that haunting us:

1. Fix sleeping schedule

The myth that fatigue can bring you to deeper sleep is actually wrong. Exhaustion, fatigue and stress are all the potential causes of bad dreams. Fixing a sleeping schedule can regulate your biological clock to sleep and wake up in a right time, and hence improve your sleep.

2.Meditation

Meditation is one tactic to relax your mind and achieve peace and happiness. Some may think that travelling is a mind relaxing tactic. But why do we feel exhausted after the trip. Since meditation is free, let’s find a place that is comfortable and perform a meditation.

3.Exercise

During exercise, body releases endorphins that trigger positive feeling in body, and body often feels more relaxed and calm. However, intense sport and competition sport aren’t necessarily to make you happier because it can cause stress.

4.Cut off screen time before bed

Phone that emits blue light and the alerting information on phone are the culprit that contribute to poor sleep and delay REM stage.

5.Mindful Diaphragmic Breathing

Taking deep breath and aware of your breathing can be more mindful of your body’s response to stress. You can perform by monitoring your body when you inhale, and relax your body when exhale.

The post Ways to prevent bad dreams appeared first on Big Woots.