Alaa Hassan

The Most Passionate eCommerce Coach & Advisor

Personal Habits

21 Days of Gratitude: Day 4

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Day 4 of 21 Days of Gratitude

3 new things I’m grateful for today

  1. I”m grateful to be in good health and be able to workout on a beautiful snowy Sunday.
  2. I’m grateful to live in a part of the world that has multiple seasons.
  3. I’m grateful to live close to all grocery stores and not stress when my wife tells me to get something.

They are simple things yet could be priceless for those that don’t have them.

Take a moment and reflect on this.  Trust me, you will feel better & happier!

Here’s what I was grateful for on day 3

What are you grateful for today?

21 Days of Gratitude: Day 3

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Day 3 of 21 Days of Gratitude

3 new things I’m grateful for today

  1. I’m grateful to have friends I can simply call upon when I feel like going out for breakfast.
  2. I’m grateful to not have to work on the weekends and spend time with the family.
  3. I’m grateful for being able to sleep-in on weekends if I need to in order to catchup on my sleep.

They are simple things yet could be priceless for those that don’t have them.

Take a moment and reflect on this.  Trust me, you will feel better & happier!

Here’s what I was grateful for on day 2

What are you grateful for today?

21 Days of Gratitude: Day 2

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Day 2 of 21 Days of Gratitude

3 new things I’m grateful for today

  1. I’m grateful to have a healthy daughter who’s growing up day by day and who loves hanging out with me.
  2. I’m grateful for being able to pick up the phone and make an dentist appointment as soon as I feel pain in my tooth.
  3. I’m grateful for having a wife who makes my lunch every morning-and I make her breakfast 🙂

Take a moment and reflect on this.  Trust me, you will feel better & happier!

Here’s what I was grateful for on day 1.

What are you grateful for today?

21 Days of Gratitude: Day 1

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Day 1 of 21 Days of Gratitude

3 new things I’m grateful for today

  1. Since this is my first day of gratitude, I must say that I am grateful to be alive and that God has given me a chance to make a difference in this world for others and myself.
  2. I’m grateful for the fact that I live close to work where I don’t have to wake up so early in the morning to avoid traffic.
  3. I’m grateful for the fact that we have electricity in the house in order to keep it warm all through the night while we sleep.

Take a moment and reflect on this.  Trust me, you will feel better & happier 🙂

What are you grateful for today?

How Can You Survive 21 Days Without Coffee? I Did.

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How to quit coffee

On October 22nd 2014, I decided it was time for me to try quitting coffee for 21 days.

I felt it was the perfect time to try this experiment since I was on my way to an eCommerce conference where I had to speak.  Being away from the office truly helps.

21 days have now passed and I am proud to say I am no longer addicted to coffee (hope it stays this way).

So I decided to write about my experience and what helped me achieve this unbelievable milestone for myself.

Why Does Coffee Taste So Good

I’m not really sure why it tastes so good, but maybe it’s because most of us are addicted to it that we feel it tastes amazing.  I don’t consider myself as a coffee connoisseur.  I am a simple coffee drinker who appreciates a good cup whenever I felt like having one.

Why Do We Drink Coffee

There are many reasons why we love drinking it but I can only think of 5 main ones.

My Favorite Coffees

  • Macdonalds (large, 1 milk, 1 sugar)
  • Tim Hortons Dark Roast (medium, 1 milk, 1 sugar)
  • Starbucks (grande, bold, 1 milk, 1 sugar)

Why I Decided to Quit Coffee

Honestly, I felt I was getting addicted.  Somedays, I would even drink coffee instead of water.  I would end up with like 3-4 cups on my desk and that wasn’t something I enjoyed.  Here are the main reasons why it had to stop:

I was drinking too much.  It was going out of control. A morning cup, a mid morning cup, an afternoon cup, a late afternoon cup and sometimes in the evening.

I felt anxious.  Too much caffeine in my blood caused for higher anxiety.  I felt my heart beating too fast sometimes and stress was increasing.

Hard time sleeping.  My brain was all wired up and hard to disconnect.  I was sleeping but not enough.  Had a hard time sleeping early in the evening.

Digestive Issues.  Drinking coffee on an empty stomach is not a good idea.  Caffeine has effects on your digestive system and I noticed that it was happening more often to me.

8 Things I did To Survive Without Coffee for 21 Days

You have really have to 2 ways of quitting coffee.  Gradually or cold turkey.

  1. Drink Tea. This really helped me. I started drinking more green tea & herbal teas such as Ginger & lemon, Jasmine tea and my favorite camomile.  First thing in the morning, I get a warm cup of ginger or camomile tea since both are great on an empty stomach.
  2. Drink decaf when craving kicks-in. I bought a jar of Nescafé decaf coffee and that really helped.  Whenever I really crave the taste, I make a quick cup in my office.  But I don’t have any at home.  This allows me to keep under control. (UPDATE: Here’s the reason why I don’t drink much decaf)
  3. Drink more water
    Water is amazing at removing the need for coffee or even food.  Sometimes, all you need is a cup and suddenly, you calm down.  You can also try adding lemon to it.
  4. Stay away from coffee drinkers
    Just like how they recommend to stay away from smokers if you want quit, you could do the same with coffee.  It will help you fight the urge.
  5. Chew some gum. A great way to keep your mouth busy and your mind away from having to drink a cup.
  6. Take quick naps. I noticed that I was getting tired early on in the day without drinking coffee.  My body is giving me a sign that I need to take a break and recharge.  A nap is perfect for that.  I feel energized after taking a quick 20 min nap anytime before 6pm.
  7. Take a 5 min walk. I started making it a habit of leaving my desk every hour for a 5 minute walk around the company offices.  Not only does it allow me to ignore the need for coffee, but it stretches my muscles while saying hi to all my employees.
  8. Exercise more. My wife and I started going more to the gym after I cut down the coffee.  We usually go right after work 3 times a week.  It gives me the energy needed to continue through the evening and have a good night sleep later on.  We also try to do 1 outdoor activity on weekends.  My new favorite sport is Hiking.

Need Help to Quit?

If you feel you need more information about ways you can quit coffee, I found this great article that talks about a caffeine detox.

Your Turn:

Have you tried quitting coffee recently? Did you succeed?

 

3 Things You Should Do Every Morning Before Grabbing Your Phone

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3 things you should do every morning

If you’re like most people,  the first thing you do in the morning as soon as you wake up is grab your phone.  You start checking your emails, followed by your Facebook notifications, Instagram likes and maybe your latest tweets. From there, you might get up and go about your morning rituals.

Before, we used to simply wake up, snooze the alarm clock (now replaced by our phones), head to the bathroom and simply get ready for work or school. Some of us might grab the newspaper and eat a quick breakfast.

Times have changed!

If you’re like me, I tend to spend 15-20min in the morning just going over notifications and updates on my phone.

I was at Inbound 2013 in Boston, a conference hosted by Hubspot.com, where Arianna Huffington spoke about how she doesn’t bring any electronics in her bedroom when she goes to sleep.

I tried doing that but couldn’t do it.  Instead, I started charging my phone a little further away from my bed.

I started doing this as well:

Things I Do As Soon as I Wake Up

1. Take a deep breath (5 seconds) and exhale (Do this 5 times)

It’s the best way for stretching your body while still in bed.  It wakes up all your organs by injecting lots of oxygen!

2. Be thankful for being alive

That puts a smile on my face because this means I have another day to make a difference in this world.

3. Kiss your significant other – or yourself 🙂

My wife is the first person I’m nice to in the morning.