How to be Smarter: Don’t waste your time on hold when calling customer service. Hit “0″ and 90 percent of the time you will be connected directly to a live operator. 

How to be Smarter: You want to run out for coffee because the office break room brew is disgusting, but don’t want to get caught with a still hot coffee at 3pm from your jaunt around the block when you should have been working….what you do is when you get back to the office quickly grab one of the office coffee cups and transfer the good coffee to the office cup. 

How to be Smarter: Don’t get stuck in a rut with anything. Wake your senses up. Today, try a Carmel Apple Cider with whipped cream from Starbucks. What a beautiful drink. 

How to be Smarter: Take a few minutes out of your morning to look at the word of the day on www.dictionary.com. Then try to find a way to use the word in regular conversation or an email. This will not only improve your vocabulary, it will make you a force to be reckoned with in Scrabble.

How to be Prettier: Wear your belt so that it buckles on the side instead of in the front. This will get rid of the unsightly bulge at the front of your waist and makes you feel prettier.

How to be (less) Awkward: Celebrities are people too, so if you see one on the street, running toward them screaming like a fangirl isn’t cute. Instead, try to approach them like you would an acquaintance you haven’t seen for a while. A quick hello is one thing, professing your undying love and asking them to have your babies is a whole other thing entirely. Stick with option 1.

How to be Smarter: Most people seek privacy by going to the back of the bathroom, so there is less bacteria in the first stall. An ABC news source verified that the first bathroom stall is the cleanest. 

How to be Smarter: Non-smokers come off as smarter than smokers–a 1989 study in the British Journal of Addiction said that the social image of the young female non-smoker is perceived as wiser then a young female smoker. Stop smoking today.

How to be Prettier: It takes 20 minutes for your mind to process that your body is full. Eat foods that take longer to eat and chew, as it will slow down the amount of food you can put in your mouth before your mind processes your stomach is full. For examples, eat oranges that need to be unpeeled and pistachios that need to be de-shelled. You can also eat with chopsticks to slow down the food-shoveling operation.

How to be (less) Awkward: First rule of dating is “no forcing.” You can’t force someone to like you, to be more funny, to be more romantic, to go on a date or to take care of you when you feel sick. They need to want to do these things. Otherwise, let them go–the universe has other plans.

How to be Smarter: People always listen the most when the quiet person in the back of the room speaks up. If you want to be listened to more, shut up more. Instead of voicing your opinion about ten items you only moderately care about, save it for the two items you have strong feelings or are passionate about. The less you talk the more valued your ideas will be when you actually do.

How to be Smarter: If you hear a word you don’t know, text it to yourself and look it up later. 

How to be Smarter: When the book comes out as a movie, the fact that the written word got turned into a movie is justifying how great the book was, not how wonderful the movie will be. There is no better time to read the book, not run to the theater.

How to be Prettier: In pictures, point your chin slightly down to make your eyes look larger and to get rid of double chin effect.

How to be (less) Awkward: Acknowledge others after making eye contact. If both of you see each other, make eye contact, and don’t acknowledge, you both are being awkward. One of you needs to step up and give the wave and smile.

How to be Smarter: Protect yourself as you mature. Apple juice and apples protect against cell damage that can hurt your memory as you age, says a University of Massachusetts study. 

How to be Smarter: Care about the environment. Switch to paperless billing for your credit cards and bank accounts–its more convenient and saves paper.

How to be Smarter: Whether talking to a boss or in a class, never start a sentence with “I was just going to say….” It sounds like you are apologizing before you even begin speaking. Instead of “I was just going to say that cash flows are low this year….” say “Cash flows are low this year.” Don’t discount the value of your own words. 

How to be Smarter: Whether a student or a young professional, join your occupation, or the occupation you want to get into’s, organization. For example, the finance club at your college, the Society for Human Resource Management, the National Student Nurses Association. This both connects you with industry news and is a good resume enhancer.

How to be Prettier: Crest Whitestrips are extremely effective but are also expensive. For a quick teeth whitener before a night out, rub whitening toothpaste on your teeth, let sit for a few minutes (five to ten), then rinse off.

How to be less Awkward: The MOST awkward thing you can ever do is call a moment awkward. Do not make the awkward turtle hand sign, do not say “wow…this is awkward,” never imply in a public setting that something is awkward.

How to be Smarter: Read “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Timothy Ferriss. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307353133?ie=UTF8&tag=offsitoftimfe-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307353133

How to be Prettier: Wash your face in the shower after you wash your hair, so shampoo and conditioner don’t remain on your face near your hairline, clogging your pores.

How to be less Awkward: No slobbering while kissing. Swallow first, then kiss.

How to be Smarter: Don’t be caught looking unproductive at work. If you need to pause for a second, don’t just sit there. Open up on your screen on of Microsoft’s help tutorials (office.microsoft.com, click on “Help and How-to”) on a software program your office either has or is thinking of getting. If your boss sees you, explain you are brushing up so you will be better prepared when the program rolls out. Its mindless reading and your brain can think of something else while you are doing it. 

How to be Smarter: Your level of intelligence is not fixed. Today, research everything you hear that you don’t know enough about to discuss with someone for five minutes.

How to be Smarter: Don’t be dumb with money. Live off your salary, not your bonus. 

How to be Smarter: Michael D. Lemonick of Time Magazine reported in January 2006 that “Austrian scientists reported on a study showing that the equivalent of two cups of coffee boosts short-term memory significantly.” So drink up before that math test.