Will Smarter Cars Make Us Safer Drivers?

I don't have a self-driving car or anything, but I like to follow what's happening as the technology evolves. Obviously, it's intriguing to think of a future where you sit in a car and do whatever you want to while the car takes you safely to your destination. I often wonder how long it will take to get to that kind of future, and how long it will take to transition from our current road system.

Things are definitely starting to move forward, if not to fully autonomous vehicles, at least on the path to much "smarter" cars. The long-anticipated Tesla Model 3 is finally in full production and its first customers are taking delivery. The Model 3 is the first electric vehicle to combine style and affordability—they start at $35,000—but they seem to offer much more than just an eco-friendly ride.

Autopilot—the same tech we've heard about inside the pricier Model S and Model X—will let the Model 3 cruise down the highway with no hands on the wheel and, soon, even drive itself completely from A to B. That is exciting for the future of cars but there is also a lot of uncertainty. A small fraction of the cars on the road have these self-driving capabilities so there is as much risk from other drivers as anything else. That said, America's youth will grow up with more automated features and less hands-on experience than I did. For example, how many teenagers do you see today driving a manual transmission? One of my daughters does, but most of her friends don't even know how.

I believe there will be growing pains regarding the future of self-driving and driving-assisted cars, but it's coming all the same. Here are some ways it could impact the safety and skills of tomorrow's drivers:

Driver's Education

It's not crazy to think that a baby born today may not have to learn to drive a car in 16 years. In fact, why wait until you're 16 to drive when a car is fully automated? Of course, that's assuming there are no manually-driving cars on the road -- a mixture of autonomous and manual vehicles could be problematic during the transition.

We could see a future where young drivers look up certain rules or know-how on an app or driving how-to guide like it's Wikipedia. Even if they have a driver's license or complete a driver's ed course, the actual driving could be so far and few between that such a guide is always on-hand in the rare event of manually operating a vehicle. I could also imagine a car that would talk to the driver and guide them through procedures, such as getting on a ferry or dealing with unusual situations.

Rural vs Urban Driving

Cities will adopt self-driving cars just fine, but what about the old pickup truck and the dirt roads? We may see a culture/class separation between the automatic and manual cars during this transition period, with younger people sitting back in urban areas and older people driving out in the country. How will the law handle that? Most likely, rural drivers will have a special license to drive outside the city limits, but the urban roads could go self-driving-only sooner than we think.

I can imagine that the future may bring us certain models of cars that are intended for offroad and special uses. I can't see an all-electric car with limited range being the best choice for rural or "off the grid" use, so we may see hybrid vehicles or alternative fuel sources, such as fusion reactors at some point in the future.

Insurance Premiums

Self-driving cars are designed to reduce accidents and make driving safer, so what does that mean for the people who still choose to drive even when self-driving cars are readily available? A world of self-driving cars will surely disrupt the insurance industry, but what will those premiums look like for those who want their hands on the wheel? Likely two things—they'll pay more, but they'll also be overall better drivers since only enthusiasts will want the extra cost for the added freedom. I imagine that manual driving will be prohibited on high-volume roads like the US's interstate highways.

Semi-Auto Driving

Let's step back into the present—many cars on the road may not be self-driving but they do have assisted driving features. This includes lane assist, smart cruise control, early brake detection, and more. They're supposed to keep us safe, but do they make us safer drivers? Some argue they make us lazy behind the wheel while others say it reduces collisions, so what does it matter? One thing that's certain, however, is that this technology isn't going anywhere and it's up to us as drivers to stay alert until true self-driving is here.

What do you think? Future or fantasy?

The Grad's Ultimate Guide for Writing a CV / Résumé

Donna Moores

I recently met Donna Moores, who is a professional recruiter and writer. She spends her time trying to help people find their dream job, and has spent more than 5 years learning outstanding HR principles in large industries and businesses.

Donna has a cool infographic designed to help graduates as they seek to market themselves in the world, and has been kind enough to share that with us, along with an introduction (below). To find out more about Donna, you can follow her on FaceBook and check out her Professional Blog.

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Job-seeking was never an easy business, especially for graduates. Lack of experience and knowledge plays a huge role when it comes to applying for a first job. The question is - how can someone prepare oneself to meet the criteria set by employers?

To answer this, we need to look back at the common misconceptions that College and University graduates have about their first job-seeking experience.

First off, there is a discord between the perception of one's skillset and the requirements set by companies and institutions. While college graduates tend to think that their Academy prepared them well for their first job experience, the truth is far from that.

Just the fact of having a diploma does not set your bar higher automatically. As suggested by the latest interviews with HR experts, grads do struggle with identifying their own skillset properly. Academic experience helps you boost your critical thinking, research and communication skills; but that's never enough to outmatch the competition and get the job of your dreams.

When it comes to building up your own job-seeker profile, there is a lot of advice to consider. Lateral thinking and creativity are needed to get your resume to "sell".

If you are a graduate you might find yourself in a similar situation. The convocation is over and now it's time to get some real-world practice. How to keep it up?

HandMadeWritings prepared a stunningly practical "how to" material on this topic. The Grad's Guide to Writing a CV includes best practices, common mistakes and helpful advice from HR professionals, backed up with statistical data. It might serve as a roadmap for any graduate, seeking for their first successful employment.

4 Ways to Stay Productive and Healthy While Working from Home

We've come a long way with technology through the years, so much so that it has given many people the flexibility to work from home. The ability to challenge the status quo of traditional office jobs lures many of us to regularly take advantage of this “perk.” At the same time, this work-from-home capability can negatively impact both productivity levels and our overall health. For example, the desire to wander off and mindlessly snack throughout the day, or the tendency to stay holed up in the house far into the evening hours can become a regular occurrence.

How do we make sure our home serves as both an escape from work and one that encourages increased productivity and an overall positive state of well-being? It’s all about finding the right balance between work and play. By incorporating the simple tips below, you’ll be on the right track for staying healthy and productive the next time you’re working from home. 

1. Get plenty of sleep 

We’ve all heard  a lot about the overall health benefits of good sleep. But did you know that according to the RAND research group, the U.S. loses $411 billion each year because of poor productivity due to lack of sleep? In fact, not only is our production impacted, but frequent sleep deprivation can affect our brains in more negative ways than you would think. 

For one, there is a strong connection between lack of sleep and depression. Studies have shown that people who have insomnia are more likely to be both depressed and anxious. Additionally, a good night’s sleep can help prevent the buildup of toxins attributed to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease - ostensibly, these toxins are flushed by the body when we get a decent amount of shut-eye. 

Set yourself up for success from both a work-from-home and a general well-being standpoint by getting between 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Better yet, incorporate the tech aids I've discussed in the past into your routine for an even better slumber. 

2. Invest in the right equipment

If you're anything like me, your computer may be your single most-used piece of equipment during the work day, so make sure it helps you achieve maximum productivity. Do your research and invest in a quality laptop that will allow you to get the job done, especially if you’re working as an entrepreneur or freelancer. Take into consideration key factors like cybersecurity and storage space, both of which you’ll find on laptops like HP's business laptops. It just so happens that 2016 was a record-breaking year for the number of data breaches, so it’s now more important than ever to ensure that your work is always protected. 

If you like to store your information and business files on your laptop, you'd better have backups. Purchase an external hard drive and rent cloud storage to ensure that you’ll have access to your files even if you do experience a tech emergency. Online storage options like Dropbox and Google Drive can provide the necessary backups for one-person businesses or small-business solutions. 

3. Wake up earlier

Some may find it difficult to fully wake up without hitting the snooze button a few times, but this new study may have you rolling out of bed as early as you can. According to Science Daily,  "morning people" tend to make smarter, healthier decisions when it comes to food. 

Not only do our biological clocks influence when we wake up, they also impact our metabolism. By rising early, participants in a recent research study ate a healthier breakfast and continued to make smarter food choices throughout the day unlike their night owl opposites. 

If the thought of waking up earlier is still a little daunting to you, actively attempt to go to bed earlier in the night to make the sound of your alarm just a bit less jarring. If you're an iPhone user, take advantage of iOS 10's "bedtime" feature that reminds you when it's time to go to bed so you get enough sleep before your target bedtime.

4. Make your workspace gadget-free

Our mobile devices and other tech gadgets have grown to become an extension of ourselves in the past decade, amplifying their potential to become never-ending distractions. Whether it’s a phone call from mom, a notification that someone liked your Instagram photo, or even the cheerful ring indicating you’ve just received a text, cell phones and other always-on tech can negatively impact our productivity. 

To solve the problem of being sidetracked by notifications, consider making your workspace a gadget-free area. The average person checks their phone around 110 times per day, so imagine how much time you’d have to get your work done if you didn’t waste it doing just that.

Many phones have "Do not disturb" features that can help by silencing alert and incoming messages. This is very useful, especially if you're about to dig into a project that requires deep concentration.

What about you - do you have any techniques of your own that help you stay healthy and productive while working from home? Share in the comments below! 

Exercise here, there, and everywhere

For the last couple of months, I've been working to get back into a more regimented exercise routine. With the winter in full force in the Portland, Oregon area I have not been out riding my road bike and didn't want to get totally out of shape. Here are some things I've done, in hopes that you might get some ideas from them.

Exercise anywhere - no equipment required

As I've mentioned here, I travel fairly often and I have found the gym selections at hotels to be very unpredictable. While I take advantage of some of the weights, machines, and cardio stations at hotels sometimes it just doesn't work out.

When that happens, body weight exercises are a great alternative. The challenge I have is knowing what to do when I attempt this path. Recently, I came across a great site called "Man vs. Weight" that has some helpful resources for this - a huge number of calisthenics and other similar exercises that require little to nothing in the way of additional equipment.

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In particular, I like the post called "113 Killer Push Up Variations," which gives you a customizable set of choices to find the right kind of pushup workout for you (and, yes, knee pushups are included to help you when you first get started with this kind of exercise). I grabbed a clipping from this article to give you a sense for what the options are when you're selecting exercises (at right, click to enlarge).

Take it inside

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One of the changes I made was to buy a Peloton indoor fitness cycle. I love it, as it is like going to a class but I can do all my riding in a spare room. There are different types of classes available and you can attend either live or on-demand (I tend to use the on-demand classes because I can do them on the spur of the moment, and select a class length, goal, and level of difficulty to match what I need).

I am confident that this will help me transition to my road riding much more easily than last year.

By the way, if you're interested in purchasing a Peloton, use this link and we'll both get two months free on our Peloton class memberships (thanks in advance!)

Put them together

I am a big fan of putting these two together - the Peloton routines I use are more focused on legs and cardio, and adding in some variations of pushups can help me get a more comprehensive workout, as well as work on my core strength.

After all, mixing things up is good to keep your body from getting too "bored" with a workout, and the more tools in the toolbox to add variety, the better.

What about you? What resources, routines, tricks, etc. do you use to make it more likely you'll workout year round (and in any kind of location)? I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments.

Fight depression and low energy in your office (with Infographic)

I was just reading through a great article from the "OmniPapers" blog about using the chemistry of our emotions for fighting depression at work. I live in Portland, Oregon and this time of year, natural light is scarce which affects moods, motivation, and happiness for a lot of people.

OmniPapers' Emily Johnson has provided the comprehensive infographic below to help people work through improvements in the workplace (whether in a corporate or a home office environment). I've been experimenting with introducing more light into my workspace the past several weeks, and I have definitely noticed a difference.

I hope you enjoy this infographic! Be sure and check out OmniPapers for a lot of other good content, as well (click on the graphic below to go to the original article).