Have you ever been in this situation: You drag yourself out the door for an early morning jog, only to run out of juice a few hundred feet later. You can’t seem to find the motivation, and turn around in shame.

Increasing scientific evidence shows that one of the best ways to improve your workout is with music. These three benefits will inspire you to create your perfect exercise playlist today.

Find your motivation

In a recent study, scientists asked participants to listen to music while pedaling on a stationary bike. As they increased the tempo of the music, the cyclists pedaled faster. The riders noticed that they were working harder, but it did not bother them. Instead, they “chose to accept, and even prefer, a greater degree of effort.” An uptempo song may be just the motivation you need when your workout starts to hurt.

Lengthen your workout

According to scientists at Ohio State University, walkers who listen to music have been shown to walk up to four miles further than those without it. Are you looking to run further or add another set to your weight lifting? The right song may be all you need to keep going.

The distraction you need

Some basketball players have the tendency to “choke” during high pressure situations. Researchers in Australia gave them cheery upbeat music to listen to while they performed free throws. The distraction of the music was more powerful than the opposing team or the noisy crowd. Find a fun song to listen to and forget the pain of your exercise routine.

So how do you create the perfect playlist? According to sports psychologist Dr. Costas Karageorghis, the perfect exercise song is between 120-140 beats per minute. Lifehacker suggests using programs like iTunes that help you identify the speed of a song, and sort your music collection by tempo. You may also want to identify a “power song” to save for a big hill or a final sprint.

Try your own experiment. Go for a few runs with music and without it. Then, come back and share in the comments below how you did.

The post Blog: Three Scientific Ways Music Can Improve Your Workout appeared first on Chris Morton | Wordsmith.

How much do you spend every day on lunch? Every week? Let’s say you go out three weekdays for a fairly affordable lunch, around $8. One of those is with a friend or co-worker. The other two are because you didn’t pack anything or you couldn’t stomach other cold sandwich.

Let’s also say that you could make a nice dish to take with you, for about $3 a day. If you packed a lunch, just two days a week, 50 weeks a year you would save $500.

What would you do with $500?

I love the sound of this, but my mobile lifestyle made it impossible to have anything except room temperature soup or sandwiches. Until I met Mr. Bento.

Mr. Bento is an insulated “lunch jar.” It combines the methodology of Bento boxes with power of a thermos. I’ve been using it for a week. Here’s what I’ve learned so far.

Opening Mr. Bento is like opening a Matryoshka doll. Inside you find four smaller containers. Here’s where the magic is…or at least where it’s supposed to be. The largest container is in the middle, and it features a thick lid for further insulation. The idea is that you put hot stuff on the bottom and keep cold stuff on the top. The result is that you get an simple way to carry and keep warm a lot of food.

Five Tips for using Mr. Bento

1. Use boiling water to heat the bottom of the jar.
2. Get your hot food really hot.
3. Use the lid as a bowl to mix two dishes.
4. Some heat will seap up from the bottom, so don’t be surprised if your cold stuff is a little warm in places.
5. It’s more than one meal, but not enough for two.

You can purchase Mr. Bento for about $40 on Amazon.

The post Review: How to save $500 with Mr. Bento appeared first on Chris Morton | Wordsmith.

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How your house is (mis)appraised

Travis County uses a mass appraisal system to tax thousands of homeowners at once. You could be taxed thousands more than you deserve!

According to the website of Susan Combs, Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Travis County Appraisal District “uses mass appraisal to appraise large numbers of properties.” Taxes are based on statistics from houses with a similar age and build to yours. This is combined with statistics from recent property sales. This determines “typical property…[for] all the properties in the class.” This means a computer program with incorrect data computes your properties taxable value.  The result:  inflated tax values and excessive taxation.

The post Business: Property Owners: Don’t Be Overtaxed! appeared first on Chris Morton | Wordsmith.