The fall and winter season is brimming with holiday and social gatherings. For some, these seasons are uplifting and bring renewed energy to the start of a new year. For others, they can increase feelings of depression and loneliness. Many of us fall somewhere in the middle. No matter where you are on the scale or what season it is, … Read More
Eating Healthy: Did You Taste The Rainbow Today?
“Taste the rainbow,” is a well-known tagline made famous by the multicolored candy, Skittles. But there’s a price to pay to taste this artificial rainbow, and the many other artificial food-like substances dominating our western diet. According to an article by Everyday Health, Skittles is able to achieve its vibrant color palette thanks to the additive titanium dioxide, a damaging … Read More
What to Look For in an Employee Benefits Consultant
Employee benefits, especially health and pharmacy, are confusing and costly. The complexity inherent in the system poses a challenge for your organization and for the employees who support your educational mission. The good news is, employee benefits provide great value to your operation that reaches far beyond financial concerns. With the right guidance, they can be hugely beneficial to your … Read More
Tips For Avoiding The Holiday Blues
Many people experience feelings of anxiety or depression during the holiday season, even if they don’t struggle with mental illness year-round. A lot of seasonal factors can trigger these feelings, including less sunlight, changes in your diet or routine, increase in alcohol intake at social gatherings, inability to be with friends or family, and more. Any one of those triggers … Read More
Federal Procurement Compliance for Arizona School Districts
What’s Up with All These Federal Procurement Requirements for School Districts Anyway? By Bill Munch, NIGP-CPP, CPPO, CPPB *This article was previously published in The EDGE magazine, an AASBO publication. Before I start, I just wanted to briefly say how humbled I am to have been fortunate enough to be elected Vendor Representative on the AASBO Board. I could not … Read More
Slow Down, Sugar: How to Reduce Your Daily Sugar Intake
“We now eat in two weeks the amount of sugar our ancestors of 200 years ago ate in a whole year,” -John Yudkin Despite all the information at our fingertips about its negative health effects, sugar remains one of the most widely consumed substances in the world, providing roughly 20 percent of our total intake of calories and nearly half … Read More
Are You Languishing? Here Are 7 Tips for Coping
Do you feel like you’re living life in a fog? Are you having trouble concentrating? Does it feel like you are experiencing burnout and only have enough energy to get through the day? These feelings aren’t as serious as clinical depression, but the struggle is still very real. You’re probably experiencing a sense of languishing. Many psychologists have used the … Read More
Why Self-Funding Might Make Sense for Your Employer Organization
Self-funded insurance is becoming more popular with employers today—especially those operating in the public sector, as the benefits of self-funding many of the time outweigh the costs. Education is key! Only employers that have an experienced self-funding consultant in their corner are able to understand the financial benefits, realize the full potential, and reap the rewards of self-funding. Rewards include … Read More
Secrets to Long-Lasting Habit Change
Humans by nature are often resistant to change. We are creatures of habit and comfort. We do not like to do things we know will make us uncomfortable, despite knowing and understanding the positive benefits that can come from these often temporary sacrifices. According to the CDC, a small percentage (only 6%) of Americans consistently engage in the top five … Read More
Why It’s Important to Take Short and Long Breaks from Work
If you’ve ever experienced brain drain, idea or writer’s block, creative malaise at work, you’re not alone. We’ve all experienced these productivity inhibitors at some time or another during normal work hours. The struggle they present when trying to get things done can be debilitating for employees and leaders, alike, no matter what industry you’re in. Research presented in Psychology … Read More