You are basically a superhero. After all, as a 911 dispatcher, you save lives all day every day. Thanks to you and your ability to remain calm during the most trying times, lives are saved on a daily basis.

It's that time of the year again! It’s time to start thinking about your New Year's resolutions. I'm sure you all start out the year with great intentions of quitting smoking, exercising more regularly, eating better, etc. We all start out January 1st gung-ho and ready to conquer the world, and we plan to exceed all of our goals! It’s great to be determined, but are we setting ourselves up to fail though? I think if we set reasonable expectations for ourselves and don’t push our limits, keeping New Year's resolutions and creating healthier lifestyles can be achieved.

Holidays mean stress for most of us. The kids are out of school; family is knocking at the door. You’re responsible for cooking a 20-pound turkey flawlessly and on-time. Not to mention the decorating, shuffling between family traditions and taking care of grandma. Whoa…deep breath. You’re a 911 dispatcher, you’re used to stress right? No doubt, all of us feel the pressures of the holiday season, so here are three things you can try to help fight stress, stay healthy and stay happy during the holidays.

Xybix has mentioned plenty of times throughout our blogs how incorporating movement while working at your dispatch console can help you burn more calories, improve your focus, and even lower your risk of developing certain ailments. The good news is that there is no shortage of tools on the market that are designed to get you up and moving at work. After evaluating quite a few of them, here are five of the best accessories and exercises to help you stay healthy. We will start with the easy and low-cost (FREE!) items and work our way up.

Fall is upon us, and while pumpkin spice is everywhere (literally everywhere), we are also starting to hunker down for the winter. Yes, I am a total “nester” as winter looms closer. Tis’ the season for indulging, sneaking all the good candies from your kids Halloween stash and the inevitable office pot luck. So, you’ve been good all summer, staying away from this or that, eating more veggies, and probably getting outside to watch a few sporting events, walk the dog, or even run in that charity 5K. WOW!

Enter the fall/pumpkin spice/pot luck season. No need to fret, you can still indulge in healthy delights that are both fun and creative.

Trade show floors can be intimidating and a bit overwhelming. After all, APCO 2016 is one of the largest, if not the largest, trade shows for public safety professionals all year. And, whether you’re a Supervisor, Director, Dispatcher, or Manager, odds are that you’ve got a pretty busy week planned for Orlando, FL. Hustling from one session to another, and obviously coming back to your agency with some key take-aways! Trust me, we know the drill.

So, let us help you by telling you why you shouldn’t come by Xybix’s booth at APCO:

Early on the morning of June 12, 2016, a terrorist entered the gay nightclub PULSE in Orlando, FL and unleashed unimaginable hate on the lives of 49 innocent victims. He wounded 53 others and changed the lives of every person, family and the nation with this unmitigated reign of terror. The PULSE nightclub attack is now the worst mass shooting in United States history.

Many people I know use walking as a way to de-stress, burn energy and get moving. It’s a simple activity and you already know how to do it. Walking is easy on joints and requires little to no additional equipment. Recently, treadmills and bikes have been added to many 911 dispatch centers and the question arises, how much walking do you need to do to lose weight?

The struggle is real to eat healthy! This is especially true now that I've made my 2016 New Year's Resolutions, and intend on keeping them. I like comfort food that will not land on my rump! So I started to think of a few healthy ways that I am eating right for the new year. Being a foodie at heart and coming from the food industry prior to Xybix, I thought I could share a few dishes I enjoy and hope you will too:

As a child, like most, my favorite Holiday was Christmas! I always looked forward to running into my parent’s room Christmas morning to let them know that Santa had arrived. At times, we woke them up so early that my Mom and Dad would tell my sister and I to go back to bed. I guess 3 am was a little early for them. And yes, I do remember sitting in bed from 3 to 7 am wide awake in anticipation and those four hours literally felt like eternity!