MyFigure8ng: Live the good life

Adedoyin Jaiyesimi is a writer,  editor and writing coach, she also manages blogs and creates content for websites. She is the founder of The Sparkle Writers Hub, a platform where she coaches people to Horne their writing skills and get published online or offline. She shares with us her experience with stress and fatigue and how she was able to overcome them.  Health is wealth, I learnt this the hard way. I started 2016 with a burst of energy. There were so many things to achieve and in my mind, there was so little time. And so I worked and overworked, hardly taking any rest. In fact, I considered rest a luxury. I cannot really explain why I put myself under so much pressure. From late nights to days back to back of little or no sleep, my body began to push back by the middle of the year. Did I yield? Did I rest? No I didn't. "Body you need to be tougher" I said to my body with disdain. This state of affairs continued for two more months until my body had had...

Hi!! It is such a beautiful day and the day is too beautiful to not to love your skin! Your skin is the largest organ of the your body. You like your skin. Your skin likes you. It protects you from the elements that can harm you and it keeps you together (imagine what you'd look like without the skin...  Ewww right?) . So you should do your best to protect it from any kind of damage. Let's paint a typical scenario : One morning you wake up to see acne breakouts on your face (oops!) and you suddenly hate your skin. You turn to harsh chemicals, and expensive scrubs. Isn't that is a very terrible way to reward a friend who’s been there for you since day one? Your epidermis isn’t at fault here-it can’t help that your hormones are causing all that extra sebum to block up your pores, or the fact that bacteria is running rampant. If your skin could talk it would say why are you punishing me for a crime I didn't commit... That’s just a guess anyways. The point is, na...

Avocados are in season in Nigeria and as a Nigerian fitness and nutrition expert,  I'm so glad as it has several benefits. A. Avocados contain lutein, a carotenoid that works as an antioxidant and helps protect against eye disease. B. Avocados also contain oleic acid, a fat that activates the part of your brain that makes you feel full. C. Avocados are rich in both soluble and insoluble fibre which aid proper digestion. D. They are packed with beneficial mono -unsaturated fat, this slows digestion and helps keep blood sugar from spiking after a meal. E. Avocados are a rich source of folate (as in folic acid) which is essential for conception and for protecting babies in the womb. These are just a few benefits. Here are some ways avocados can be integrated into your meals 1. Eat with boiled/grilled yam/sweet potatoes  (My mother-in-law loves this) 2. Mix with fresh lemon juice and olive oil to create a heart friendly salad dressing 3. Add a sprinkling of ...

As a mother of two boisterous, healthy and active children who runs a couple of gigs, I know what trying to live a balanced life feels like: like dragging a bag of rice tied around your waist while trying to smile and let the whole world see how much of a fabulous superwoman you are. But guess what, there really is no balance! My Figure 8 Nigeria. 

Is your Chair Ergonomic? You might not have considered just how important your office chair is, now is the time. A chair does much more than just providing a seat for you, it could make or mar the health of your back. Sitting is a position that adds stress to the structure of the back, therefore, the selection of a suitable chair is a great step in preventing posture related health problems for people working in a seated position.

One of the ways you can relieve stress and increase productivity is efficient time management. Your chores, activities and needs will always be there, you can't wish them away. What you can do however, is to prioritise and do what's most important first. Also, reduce or completely eliminate distractions by identifying and differentiating between urgent and necessary interruptions. Urgent interruptions are not always necessary (eg, a phone call from a friend who wants to "catch up" during your work time) while necessary interruptions are not always urgent (e.g. a reminder about your family's hospital check up appointment). Determine what is not necessary, and at the moment and schedule them for another time. Thirdly, try not to multi task. I know we all say women are born "multi taskers" but what is the essence of starting too many things and not finishing them up? Schedule your tasks, do them one after the other (time boxing can help here so on...