5 Mindfulness Apps You Have to Try

BAY CITY, Mich. -- Mindfulness. It's a straightforward idea, suggesting that your mind is fully attending to what's happening, what you're doing, and space you're moving through. This might seem simple, or even trivial, but in our modern world that seems to move at the speed of light and is full of distractions, a seemingly simple practice like mindfulness can become overly difficult. But never fear, the world of apps is here! Check out our picks for the top 5 tools in your app store to bring the science of calm and cool into our lifestyle. 

1. HEADSPACE

If you've always wanted to try implementing meditation techniques into your daily schedule but never thought you'd have the time, this is the solution for you. It teaches basic mindfulness strategies in a fun and engaging way, in addition to offering 2-3 minute guided meditation sessions that explore topics like sleep, stress, focus and exercise. If you're still having a hard time sticking with the app, you can add friends to keep you motivated and on track. 

2. MINDMEISTER

Does your brain move a million miles a minute? Welcome to the club. Sometimes the issue doesn't necessarily have to do with mental capacity, but the ability to organize and focus on the thoughts that lead us towards health, organization, and success. Enter mindmapping. This process allows you to brainstorm in your usual chaotic manner, visually chart them out in no particular order, and then organize them into cohesive ideas and strategies. MindMeister can be used on it's online interface or from the app. You can create unlimited thought maps, add files and images, and export them to a PDF or PNG! 

3. AMBI PRO

For most of us, especially those that live in major cities, our surroundings are boisterous, distracting, and can even be stress-inducing. Fill your day with ambient sounds to relax and concentrate your mind, focus more on your important thoughts, and block out the almost inescapable white noise of modern life. Ambi Pro utilizes looping audio recordings with a special algorithm that creates a blend of changing, soft noises that doesn't bore your agile brain. In addition, it utilizes special digital reverb to give the sounds a sense of wholeness and depth. You can design and save your own presets, as well as program the sounds to switch on and off at specific times for total ambiance control. 

4. DAY ONE

For some of us, the best way to identify, understand, and manage our thoughts are to write them down. Day One is a journaling tool that offers a beautiful, easy to use interface that aims to help you keep a clear mind. There are no ads, no distractions so you can focus, uninterrupted. It's full of fun features that will make journaling seem like a hobby, and less like a chore, like the ability to add pictures, import iPhone metadata so you can flesh out your entries with information like weather, news stories, and music you played that day. It also features numerous organization options so you can browse your entries by calendar, timeline, maps or photos! 

5. CALM

Created by a software company, of the same name, Calm is one of the highest-reviewed mindfulness and meditation apps on the market, and is even therapist recommended! It offers a wide range of guided meditations to assist you in bringing relaxation into your life, with selections ranging from 3-25 minute sessions. Other features include Daily Calm, a 10-minute program you can practice at the beginning or end of your day, breathing exercises, sleep stories, and more! 

Have you tried any of these apps? If so, what did you think? Tell us in the comments, we love hearing from you! 

Hank Graff Chevy is located at 3636 Wilder Road, Bay City, MI 48706 and we are here to help our community grow to become an even better place to call home! For more information on Hank Graff Chevrolet, or for any questions call us at (989) 684-4411 or visit our website: www.GraffBayCity.com.

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How to Deal with the Post-Holiday Blues

BAY CITY, Mich. –– It's very easy to get down in the dumps once the holidays are over. This time of year, with bills rolling in from all the Christmas gifts you bought, nasty winter weather, and the sun going down at what feels like 5 pm every day, it's likely you're going to start feeling a bit sad and morose. But thankfully, there are plenty of ways to keep yourself feeling happy and bright until springtime blooms. So read on,  to learn how to deal with the post-holiday blues!

Find Things to Look Forward To

People often find January and February tough because the holiday season was such a big string of fun and family filled events and get-togethers. Now that they're over though, it can feel like there's not a lot to look forward to until summer or maybe spring break. Mentally it can be helpful to plan trips or events for yourself in the near future, that can give you something to look forward to. So schedule a vacation for sometime in 2018 or even a weekend getaway sometime soon. Or, you can always get tickets to a show, schedule meet-ups with friends, or just find reasons to get out of the house.

Set Some Goals

Maybe you didn't make a New Year's Resolution for 2018, but that doesn't mean you can't set some goals for yourself this year. Start small, and make sure that within your goals there is a way to document your progress. Working out, eating healthier, growing an indoor plant, or other ideas can be great ways to lift your mood. When you see the progress continue to add up, your brain will reward itself and feel a sense of accomplishment.

Declutter Your Life

Messes and clutter can have a negative psychological effect on you, especially this time of year when you're likely stuck inside at home most nights and weekends. Cleaning and organizing your work and living space can really improve your emotions, and leaving you feeling unburdened and ready to start anew. So clean up your desk at work, clear your computer desktop, clean your kitchen, organize your closet, pick up your room, and more to give 2018 a fresh start.

Stay in Contact with Your Loved Ones

You get to see a lot of your friends and family over the holiday season and spend quality time with them. So come the second week of January, it can start feeling a bit lonely as you start back into the grind of your work schedule and see less of your loved ones in person. But there is nothing stopping you from messaging them, calling them, and even using video chat to stay in contact with your loved ones. Don't let a false feeling of isolation keep you from reaching out to people who make you happy and upbeat.

Don't Be Too Hard on Yourself

When you're already feeling down because of the post-holiday and winter blues, it can be easy to overreact to any little that goes wrong or that you mess up, like forgetting your lunch at home or something simple like that. But give yourself a break! You're not going to navigate life perfectly and it's important this time of year to cut yourself some slack.

Change Your Thinking

It can be tough but try to not look at the first few months of the year as something to get through, and instead see them as time to get yourself in shape or develop a new talent, or put in extra time at work to make an impression. Pretend that from now until May you're a caterpillar in its cocoon, developing and working hard to make improvements in your life until you emerge into the warm summer weather as the new you!

Look After Yourself

With dark cold nights that keep you from being as active as usual, it's important that you take care of your health this winter. Make sure get enough sleep, eat well, drink a lot of water, and get plenty of exercise. All of these factors will help improve your wellbeing as well as your mental health. Even going for a short walk during your lunch break to get a little sunshine can have a significant improvement in your mood.

It's important to learn how to deal with the post-holiday blues, as they happen to most people and can really hinder your happiness, relationships, and growth as a person. So try taking the steps listed in this blog to start 2018 off right and keep yourself happy and upbeat for all that the new year has in store for you. We also recommend looking after your vehicle's wellbeing this time of year as well, as the freezing temps and harsh weather can have significant negative effects on it as well! Complete our Winter Car Care maintenance routine to ensure your sedan, truck, or SUV's internal components aren't worn down, broken, or disabled by the cold or poor road conditions this year.

Hank Graff Chevy is located at 3636 Wilder Road, Bay City, MI 48706 and we are here to help our community grow to become an even better place to call home! For more information on Hank Graff Chevrolet, or for any questions call us at (989) 684-4411 or visit our website: www.GraffBayCity.com.

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9 Tips to Keep Your New Year's Resolution on Track

BAY CITY, Mich. –– It's 2017! You've probably got a New Year's Resolution in mind, even if you have vocalized it yet. If you're serious about it, it's a long road to success and December 31st, and we have nine tips to keep your New Year's resolution on track. Believe in yourself and you can make it happen!

Be Realistic - Make sure that your goals are attainable and realistic. Cutting a bad habit completely out of your life, cold turkey, is not likely going to work. Think about what you really know you can accomplish, start with that as your goal, and then expand on it from there.

Outline You Plan - Preparedness is you best ally to following through with your resolution. In correlation with being realistic about your resolution, break it up into segments or steps. Make the mountain into a bunch of molehills that you can climb each day.

Talk About It - Tell your friends and family about your resolution! They will help support you and keep you accountable to it.

Track Your Progress - Sometimes it's hard to see your actual progress as it's happening. Track the days, and weeks, and incremental steps that you have reached in your pursuit of achieving your goal.

Reward Yourself - Have a treat or get yourself something nice to celebrate the accomplishment on making through a certain amount of time. This will begin to develop a positive reinforcement to your new habit. Also, to help keep your resolution, don't reward yourself with something that will contradict it.

Don't Be Too Hard On Yourself - You're going to good days and bad days. Sometimes it will be a breeze and other times you'll want to abandon your resolution. Like we mentioned above, the best way to stay positive is to track the incremental steps you accomplish and to celebrate them.

Make a "Pros" and "Cons" List What happens if you succeed? What happens if you don't? This list will help keep you motivated during the roughest days of keeping your resolution.

Stay the Course - It has been scientifically proven that it takes us 21 days for something to become a habit, and six months for it to become part of our personality.

Keep Trying - If you find yourself breaking your resolution, just dust yourself off and get back on track. One misstep (or a handful) does not mean your entire year/resolution is ruined. There's no resolution police to keep you from trying again.

Consult these nine tips to keep your New Year's resolution on track and you'll be on track to achieve your goal! Also, make sure you're prepared for the cold weather and icy winter roads ahead by completing your Winter Car Care routine at our Graff Chevrolet Bay City Service Center.

Hank Graff Chevy is located at 3636 Wilder Road, Bay City, MI 48706 and we are here to help our community grow to become an even better place to call home! For more information on Hank Graff Chevrolet, or for any questions call us at (989) 684-4411 or visit our website: www.GraffBayCity.com.

Follow us: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, & Instagram