Sugaberry Co-founders Tika Sumpter (left) and Thai Randolph (right).

In recent years content marketing has transitioned from a customization to personalization model. For example, Netflix's original programming strategy was to provide viewers with a plethora of content from which they could choose what they wanted to view. Today, Netflix is responding to the demands of consumers, producing content to match their lifestyles and need states. The former is led by the content creator, while the consumer drives the latter.

Included in Netflix's new strategy is the creation of multicultural content to match their consumer's needs. Nielsen reported in 2019 that 39% of Black adults watch Netflix, compared to 33% of the total population. Responding to the consumer demand, Netflix not only highlights Black movies, TV shows, and documentaries released on the platform each month, it also created social media accounts and campaigns to target Black consumers called Strong Black Lead.

Actress and producer Tika Sumpter and business executive Thai Randolph are looking to replicate the Netflix strategy and personalize content for Black mothers with their new venture. Sugaberry, a lifestyle brand created by and for modern moms of color, includes a curated mix editorial content, original audio, and video programming, interviews, newsletters, celebrity guest contributors, a live event series, and product recommendations. Sumpter and Randolph are also hosting a bi-weekly podcast under the Sugaberry umbrella in partnership with Stitcher called The Suga.

Sugaberry logo

Co-founders Sumpter and Randolph believe they are filling a proverbial "White space" in the market. "Black moms are among the most connected, culturally influential, and upwardly mobile audiences in today's digital media ecosystem yet, despite wielding considerable purchasing power, they remain largely underserved and underrepresented in the marketplace," Randolph states.

Sumpter adds, "when I was pregnant with my daughter, I found myself searching for a community that looked like me and was talking about all things motherhood and the indulgence of it. Black women don't usually get to delight in mommyhood, which is why I wanted to build a safe and sweet destination for modern moms of color, regardless of what stage they are in."

Sumpter said when she googled "Black motherhood," everything was dreary, depressing, death, doom, and destruction. Yet when she searched for mainstream motherhood topics, it was all White faces. "Moms were smiling and laughing. There were all kinds of baby bags, a million articles, and arrays of websites. It made me wonder, why is it such a vast difference? We are not a monolith and there are variations of us. I didn't see this reality represented, and I wanted to change the narrative."

At the helm of Sugaberry's content is Editor-in-chief Blaire Bercy, former digital media executive for companies such as Time Inc., Oxygen, and HelloGiggles. Bercy also plans to amplify the perspectives of new Black female content creators, podcasters, micro-influencers and writers who don't yet have an outlet to call home. "I like to think of it as similar to a Hello Giggles perspective where we just know there are going to be women and some men who contribute, but their voice is allowed in every area without being limited."

Similar to Essence Communications, Sugaberry is bringing together content, commerce, and community to create a destination for Black consumers. However, Bercy plans to double down on targeting the growing subsegment within Black consumers: the Black working mother.

Sugaberry aims to target Black consumers at the intersection of career, motherhood, and personal development. A strategic move, as the Black working mother, is also a subsegment within the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs and is thriving financially without a spouse. As mothers of color, their spending power is growing at a more accelerated rate than White spending power. As influential consumers, they control the lion's share of the total Black spending power, which will reach $1.5 trillion in 2023. These women not only influence what other Black generations (Baby Boomers, Generation X) and what Black men spend their money on, but as early adopters of trends, Black women also influence the general population.

Co-founders Sumpter and Randolph insist commerce is a core part of the Sugaberry brand, and plan to leverage its adoption by Black mom consumers to build relationships with other companies. Similar to the case study and learnings from Red Table Talk, the women want to show the ROI on integrating your product in a space for and by Black women.

Randolph adds a final thought on why Sugaberry adopted a personalization model to target the Black working mom consumer, a model that companies should leverage:

"These women and moms over-index in family categories such as personal care and baby products, yet not many companies, brands, and publications are investing back in them. Sugaberry is cross-platform and seamlessly integrated from an affiliate perspective. It's profitable for brands to reach and resonate with this hyper-connected, hyper-vocal, really savvy consumer moms."

Sugaberry launches March 23, 2020.

More:
Sugaberry: New Lifestyle Brand Created By And For Modern Moms Of Color Launches - Forbes

RE / MAX Turkey, announced measures to support individual that offered access to all online training for free.

Corona virus measures continue to be taken starting from China and spreading to 120 countries. While the activities of the areas where collective education is provided, such as schools and course buildings, are interrupted, the course processes are carried to digital environments in order to keep the trainings uninterrupted. The same measures are applied for sectoral trainings organized in the classroom. In this context, Acting real estate consulting firm RE / MAX Turkey announced until the real estate consultants and brokers for classroom training organized by postponing the date of April 1, 2020 will be free of all online education. With this practice, the company aims to contribute to the personal development of those who stay at home in order to prevent the Korona virus.

not only their compulsory education for individuals who continue their personal development, indicating that there is a need for RE / MAX Turkey Country Director Murat Goldtayn, coronavirus in order to prevent the spread of the epidemic, when viewed in Chinese society isolated from the Chinese, for their education, they continued the online system. In addition to the ongoing compulsory education as they applied to the online education to continue personal development of their home. RE / MAX thinking that Turkey, as all of us morale needed by our country may be useful this service is for people who will spend time at home 'RE / MAX Academy'm online education under the umbrella of everyone to a free way on 1 April' We have decided to open until. said.

Emphasizing that the online trainings offered through Remax Akademim are prepared for many areas other than the real estate sector, Murat Goldtayn said, Remax Akademim, which includes 75 macro and micro online trainings, has two different categories as both real estate trainings and personal development trainings. These trainings are free of charge on the portal menu, and the ones that can be benefited from during this period of time at home are leadership, coaching, mentoring, emotional intelligence micro training, smart goals micro training, time management program (TMP) / time management, working with generations and giving them It is possible to count as a focus training with leadership. We expect everyone to benefit from these trainings with a total value of more than 6 thousand lira until April 1st. used expressions.

More:
Trainings for real estate consultants and brokers will continue online and free - Crypto Dictation

He is clearly impressed with how each of his interactions with the University has worked to complement the others. Theyre all linked. The integration of the ERP system was accelerated through the EnginE involvement. That integration gave us the foundation which our Made Smarter Sprints are now building on. Our whole digital strategy has come from that platform.

The future for Forsberg looks bright. During 2019 they increased from 30 to 40 staff and in September moved to larger premises.

We have a very adoptive and innovative team and we all relish the opportunity to improve, Chris says. The programmes Ive been involved with have helped to build the culture and engagement in the business. Its all part of the same journey and it has all come about from talking to the University.

Chris himself has recently become one of LUMSs Entrepreneurs-inResidence. Now, having taken the lead on the EnginE project, Forsbergs operations manager Dr Raphael Treffny is beginning his own journey with the University on the Lancashire Forum.

Dr Raphael Treffny says: We were struggling to get the latest version of our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system off the ground and make it an integral part across all departments. We understood that we needed someone to bring new skills to the business, build the system and work with us to get it running.

Through the EnginE project our workforce challenges and skills gaps were reviewed, recommending a range of taster masterclasses to look at upskilling key staff, and providing us with a Skills Champion Internship as part of this.

Joe Dodd, our intern - a second year finance and economics student at Lancaster University - had prior experience with systems and operations processes. He certainly met our expectations and the outcome had a positive impact on our business. Even now that internship has finished, the ERP system he helped to set up is live and still growing. We were impressed with what was achieved in the 8 weeks, and weve used the experience to inform the creation of a new role in this area.

Joe says the respect and the impact was mutual. My presence provided an outside perspective, coming into the business with a lot of energy, with a different view on how things could work. I sparked some interesting conversations with staff, and within departments, and we got people coming together to create more efficient processes.

The internship changed my future career objectives. I realised that an incredibly positive and employee focused SME like Forsberg makes for a great company to be involved with. I hadnt previously considered this an important aspect of a job - working with passionate people and still feeling cared about by the business at an individual level.

Raphael concludes: As well as the Skills Champion Internships, EnginE provides access to a variety of high calibre funded taster masterclasses which get businesses thinking about upskilling opportunities. Our staff have attended sessions on subjects from leadership and process improvement to CAD modelling. Weve received support for workforce development planning, and around the funding of the internship. The process has been hugely beneficial.

See the article here:
Forsberg's growth journey with Lancaster University - Lancashire Business View

Player unions representing the country's biggest sports will hold emergency talks on Tuesdayto discuss the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on their members amid fears of a mental health crisis among sportsmen and women.

Representatives from the Rugby Players Association, Professional Cricketers Association, Professional Footballers Association and PFA Scotland are planning to meet via conference call with growing concerns over salary cuts, job losses and athlete wellbeing. Sports are expecting a spike in players seeking mental health support over the coming weeks and months, while the RPA is making arrangements for increased help in the area of financial advice after Premiership players discovered last week that they would be taking reductions in pay until the competition resumes.

It is absolutely vital sports work together, said the RPAs welfare director Richard Bryan. We have this conference call scheduled to discuss our collective responses to the situation. There will be an opportunity to share ideas and our responses to supporting our players at this unprecedented time. It is a really good opportunity.

As with everyone else across society, we have to pull together and work together as best we can. Tuesday's meeting will be held under the umbrella of the Professional Players Federation (PPF), which has numerous bodies as members including the League Managers Association, the Professional Golfers Association and the Professional Jockeys Association. Telegraph Sport understands that there will be regular, perhaps fortnightly, meetings organised by the PPF to include all the unions and associations over the coming weeks.

Next weeks meeting has been organised by PPF chief executive Simon Taylor, son of PFA chief executive Gordon. Mental health support will be one of the key priorities. It is something we are aware there is going to be quite a rise in the number of cases coming through and it is about dealing with that," said Bryan.

This increase will come as players struggle with not just the uncertainty of issues such as contracts but how their lifestyle has suddenly changed, going from having a highly structured work life with a lot of routine to becoming more isolated and having so much uncertainty, there is no date as to when they will play again.

The RPA currently offers a confidential counselling service, which is funded via their charitable arm Restart Rugby - and Bryan says this support is primed and ready.

However, he believes that there will be a need for the RPA to work with clubs in ensuring the correct support is available. If we need to work with the other stakeholders, we will do that because players can get support via different pathways, clubs, ourselves. We have to share that load as best we can.

Bryan believes the sports will "use each others resources and wealth of knowledge". One area where the unions are already geared up to help players is in the area of education. The PPF has collated a library of online courses players from across sports can take advantage of as they face career uncertainty.

Bryan believes that despite the challenges facing players, they should be using the break in play to work on their personal development for life after sport as well as ensuring regular contact with their colleagues.

We put out guidelines around mental wellbeing and resilience last week and tips around that. Part of that is to maintain a routine, then connecting with your team-mates, friends, families and ourselves, he said. We are telling players to use the opportunity to focus on their personal development in areas like education. Our development managers are going to be working tirelessly on that, it will be crucial.

Bryan has said that the RPAs members recognise the need for shared responsibility now, including taking pay cuts and social distancing from the team environment. However, he is keen to point out that those on lower wage packets, particularly academy players, be protected. It is understood academy players earn from 12-18,000 per year but with the majority on the lower end of that scale.

From a financial point of view, assisting academy players with the advice they need is really important. We are also aware of how clubs are looking to helps those academy players in the light of pay cuts, who are the most vulnerable and perhaps the lowest paid players, he said.

Some clubs are ensuring that academy players will not be touched by the pay cuts, which is a positive at a difficult time. We have to make sure our support is tailored to players at different stages of their careers like academy players. We know from research we have been involved with that academy players carry substantial psychological load already. They are at the top of our agenda in terms of support.

Original post:
Exclusive: Players' unions to hold emergency talks amid fears of a mental health crisis among athletes - Telegraph.co.uk

Leaders need to focus on the things that are within their control.

For many leaders, the times we are currently experiencing will be the most difficult they have ever known. The general climate is one of uncertainty, fear and panic. Most of us are confined to our homes as our shops and businesses close down around us.

We are having to manage and motivate remote teams of staff who feel just asanxious, distracted and stressedas we do. Many are having to juggle jobs withhome schoolingin conditions that are far from ideal. Not everyone has a dedicated office space to work in or a sunny garden to relax in at lunchtime.

Some people are living with people they would rather not be living with which can be bearable in normal conditions, but unbearable right now. Others are living alone and wondering how they are going to survive weeks of near solitude. Everyone is wondering whether they will fall sick and if they do, whether they will come out the other side.

So, in these difficult circumstances when we are being denied much of what we have long taken for granted how can leaders keep their sanity in check?

1.Dont try to control the uncontrollables

Accept it. You have no control over most of the things that are probably worrying you right now. Aside from self-isolating, theres nothing you can do to control the spread of coronavirus. You have no control over the economic damage the virus will inflict and you cant stop it from impacting the lives of your family members and friends. Depending on the sector you work in, and whether you are employed or self-employed, it is probably very unclear at this stage how the virus will affect your livelihood in the long run, even if it is causing a huge amount of short-term uncertainty.

So, what can you control? You can do your best to control your own physical and mental health by eating healthily, taking exercise, limiting your screen time and practising activities such as yoga and mindfulness. You can control how you are with the people you live with and also how you interact with remote members of your team. How you behave in this situation will inevitably impact on the moods and reactions of others. You can also take control of your personal finances as far as possible by making use of support options such asmortgage holidaysand reviewing unnecessary expenditure. You will almost certainly spend far less than you normally would over the coming weeks and months. So, if you can, put aside some saved money for a treat at a later date.

2.Dont read slavishly about coronavirus

You need to know whats going on, but that doesnt mean you should spend every minute of every day glued the news feed on your smartphone. Reading an overload of coronavirus-related stories is likely to be harmful to your mental health. Instead, use this period as an opportunity to read about other things in the media and to broaden your knowledge of the world more widely. For every coronavirus story that you read, challenge yourself to find two other stories that dont even mention the pandemic. That will help to remind you that there is a world out there beyond coronavirus a world that we will eventually return to.

3.Do something youve always wanted to do or plan for it

This period could be an opportunity for you to do something youve always wanted to do write a novel, for example. Or learn French, using distance learning. If what youve always wanted to do is to climb Mount Everest or cycle across Europe, now is clearly not the time to do that. Similarly, the current climate might not seem the ideal environment in which to start your own business. But that doesnt mean you cant plan for it. Times like this are a frightening reminder of our mortality which is why we need to use them as an opportunity to evaluate what we want from life and to visualize a different future.

4.Come up with your Plan B

If you werent doing the job that you are doing today, what would you be doing instead? The answer to that question is your Plan B. As the current crisis highlights, we all need to have a Plan B in life (and possibly a Plan C and a Plan D) as well. Unfortunately, too many of us tend to be wedded to our Plan As which is easily done during booming economic times. We are often so busy with our day jobs that we dont have the headspace to think about what else we could be doing. Now is the time for us all to come up with our Plan Bs that, if nothing else, is what will give us hope for the future.

5.Be thankful

Coaches and personal development experts repeatedly emphasize the value of thankfulness. Reminding yourself of two or three things every day that you are genuinely thankful for will help you to get through this challenging period which will, one day, end. Thankfully.

See the original post:
Five Simple Ways That Leaders Can Boost Their Mental Resilience During The Coronavirus Crisis - Forbes

The Customer Success Operations Analyst

DATA DRIVEN | COLLABORATIVE | INQUISITIVE

A Cloud Guru is seeking a Customer Success Operations Analyst to drive strategy, improve efficiency, and promote a data driven culture for our Customer Success Managers. You will work on everything from the highly strategic to the operational; such as implementing a customer health scoring framework, building headcount modeling and capacity planning for the CSM team, forecasting churn and retention, implementing and refining CSM processes, refining the onboarding process, and analyzing CSM and overall business performance. You will be seen as the key business partner for the Customer Success team, and you will support the daily operations of the Customer Success team. You will partner closely with the Sales Enablement, Business Applications (SFDC), Analytics, and other roles to ensure the broader organization is communicating effectively and working collaboratively.

This role will be accountable for driving productivity, effectiveness, efficiency, scalability, and continual enhancements for customer-facing teams as we enable revenue growth. An ideal candidate will be highly analytical, self-driven, collaborative, and strategic.

Our friends call us ACG.

We're on a mission to teach the WORLD to cloud. A Cloud Guru is the largest online cloud school on the planet. Our training feels more like logging into Netflix or Spotify - it's entertaining and playful. The people are the #1 reason employees say they stay at ACG. Were a quirky, tight-knit crew that cares about our customers and each other. No egos here. Our leaders encourage thoughtfulness, compassion, being humble, and we have a bit of fun along the way.

Its an exciting time to join the team, because were in a really unique space. We have an amazing product that people want, and we're in an industry that's tripling in size overnight.

We focus on hiring values aligned people, because we believe the right person can learn all the things to be successful in their role. Self-confidence plays a big part in what you apply for. We encourage all job applicants to apply even if they are nervous to do so.College degrees aren't required for any roles, and career gaps or switches are totally welcome.

You need hunger and passion to succeed, but you also need humility. It's not about chest beating here. It's about collaboration. Travis, VP of Sales

Where you work isnt just a career decision -- its a life decision. We get it. Thats why we want all of our Gurus to feel a sense of belonging that comes from feeling supported in all areas of their lives. Everyone has family, friends and interests outside of their careers, so we offer perks and benefits to make work work better for you.

Applying for a job can feel intimidating and like a full-time job of its own. You shouldnt have to burn through a week of sick time or all your best out-of-office excuses just to put feelers out for a new career opportunity. We want to be as transparent about the process as possible to help ease your mind. Its our goal to provide you a fair, efficient interviewing experience that respects you and your time and to do it all with a sidecar of delight.

Once you submit an application, well review it.If youre a good fit, youll have an initial chat with a recruiter over the phone. A phone interview with a manager typically follows. Depending on your role, you might then be asked to do a little homework (but nothing too time consuming). Then well bring you onsite to talk face to face, answer any questions you have, and give you a feel for what its really like to work at ACG. If you're on the fence, just give it a try.

Keep being awesome, Cloud Gurus.

Originally posted here:
Customer Success Operations Analyst - A Cloud Guru - Built In Austin

Photo taken in Barcelona, Spain

Between the coronavirus pandemic, an uncertain future both economically and environmentally, its not a stretch to say that these are times filled with stress, anxiety and worry unlike what many of us have experienced before.

But with tens of millions around the world being asked to shelter in place for weeks if not months to come, it could also be an excellent opportunity to cultivate a new habit that recent research has shown can reduce anxiety while improving your memory and focus.

Some of you will not be surprised to learn that Im talking about meditation.

A study by researchers at New York University found that less than fifteen minutes of meditation a day for eight weeks can reduce anxiety, fatigue and mood disturbance.

The study published last year in the journal Behavioural Brain Research involved groups of people between the ages of 18 and 45 with little or no experience meditating. One group of participants spent 13 minutes a day in guided meditation while a control group spent 13 minutes each day listening to a podcast.

Throughout the experiment, participants were given tests meant to gauge their response to stress, mood and cognition. After eight weeks, the meditation group was generally in a better mood, able to focus more and remember things while also responding more positively to stress.

Interestingly the participants did not show any results after only four weeks of meditation, suggesting a longer term investment is required to see benefits from the practice.

Even relatively short daily meditation practice can have similar behavioral effects as longer duration and higher-intensity mediation practices, the paper reads.

The study is one of several showing that meditation can improve thinking and might do so by actually reorganizing the networks in the brain.

A regular meditation practice is also recommended for everything from weight loss to improving leadership skills.

The key, the new research suggests, is not how long you can sit in stillness for a stretch, but consistently integrating it into your daily schedule.

With our daily schedules now very much upended and stillness at a surplus for many of us (at least when the kids are asleep), it could be the perfect time to start a new habit that may help you get through the months ahead.

Originally posted here:

Now Is The Perfect Time To Start Meditating, And Science Proves It - Forbes

During this time of uncertainty thats impacting each of us in one way or another, not just here in Berks County, but globally, one thing we have been told to do is to slow down our lives.

Not literally, but with everyones state of normal being turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic, we are essentially being asked to put things on hold to isolate ourselves.

Things like play dates, greeting the school bus, going to a game, movie, gym or maybe even work are no longer possible at least until we get the go-ahead again, whenever that may be.

While we can look at one of the positives of this situation as the gift of time we have been given to focus on our family at home, slowing down isnt going to be easy for everyone.

Slowing down, when youve been running on adrenaline and cortisol, our two major stress hormones, may not be easy for many at first, said Greg Schweitzer, a wellness coach, educator and professional speaker. One of my clients, a physician, called this syndrome 'hurry-sickness.'"

As the owner of Stress Reduction Resources in Spring Township, Schweitzer provides educational workshops on meditation, more specifically what he refers to as effortless meditation.

Effortless meditation encapsulates the idea that it takes literally no effort in terms of any physical exertion to practice meditation.

It is completely effortless, he said. We are not doing much to get a great benefit.

Greg Schweitzer, wellness coach, educator and public speaker.

His approach centers on a mantra-based practice, and Schweitzer said that after just a few days of keeping up with it, you can begin to reap benefits that include feeling happier, having more energy, feeling more awake and more alert, leading to a more enjoyable life.

The mantra is our vehicle to get from that active, turbulent mind to the peaceful mind the mind wants to go there without effort, he said.

Schweitzer, who worked with Deepak Chopra in the 1990s, describes meditation as a natural medicine that heals and has the potential to literally transform peoples lives.

During meditation we experience a very deep state of rest, deeper than what we experience in sleep science shows, he said.

Schweitzer recommends spending 15 to 20 minutes twice a day for maximum benefit to impact your day in positive ways, a small investment of time that has great rewards.

The key is to commit to the practice, to make it as natural as brushing your teeth. If you are short on time on a given day, Schweitzer offered some advice.

If you feel you cant do it for 15 minutes, go for 10 or 5, he said. Anything is better than nothing.

Schweitzer said that to meditate you can sit in a way that makes you comfortable, whether on the ground or in a chair or even on your bed. And you dont have to wear any special clothes.

You dont have to sit in the lotus position, he said. If you had back surgery or are ill and need to lie down to be comfortable, that is fine.

You don't have to wear any special clothes and can sit comfortably in a chair to meditate.

Whether you take a workshop or learn through research online, if you are curious as to how meditation may benefit you, now may be an optimal time for you to learn more about it and give it a try, particularly to help manage any stress associated with the current health crisis.

Chronic stress and pressure is an irritant to our health and well-being, Schweitzer said, adding it can be released during meditation practice. The deep rest, peace and calm that meditation brings are healing for our physical, mental and emotional health.

Since the practice of meditation is typically done on our own time, doesnt require a special location and doesnt cost a dime, it is ideal to do at home.

We can experience the benefit of meditation even if we are isolated or quarantined, he said. We are not dependent upon anyone to deliver this service to us.

You may be wondering what the best time is to fit meditation in if demands at home for your attention are at an all-time high with kids off from school.

If you have young children, an ideal time may be when they are taking their morning and/or afternoon naps.

If your children are older, you can serve as a good role model for self-care by letting them know you will be taking time for yourself to meditate, with ideal times being mid-morning and just before dinner times when you may feel in need of a reset to maximize the rest of your day.

Schweitzer said when he started meditating 45 years ago, he was able to cut out coffee to get himself through the day.

I wasnt relying on caffeine to kickstart my alertness and adrenaline, he said.

The key to reaping the most benefits is being consistent. Once you begin dedicating time to meditation twice daily, you will most likely come to view it as an essential part of your day.

Meditation has the potential to feel like a mini-vacation, something that might greatly enrich your life with minimal effort.

Meditation is self-care at its finest, Schweitzer said. With regular practice, life after meditation quickly becomes more satisfying, enjoyable and healthier it is so important to our life.

More here:

Meditation has many benefits, especially in these uncertain times - Reading Eagle

MindFi is a full-featured meditation app and a great deal at $29.95 for life.

At last count, there were some 37,000 meditation apps for phones and tablets. I mean, that might be an exaggeration, but there are lots. And many, if not most, charge a monthly or annual fee. While you can't put a price on mental health, especially right now, I'd rather not be on the hook for yet another subscription. (Can a meditation app help me reduce the anxiety that comes from paying for a meditation app?)

Have no fear, Cheapskate is here: For a limited time, you can get a lifetime subscription to MindFi for $29.95with promo code MIND25. That's an extra $10 off an already great deal; MindFi would cost you $175 for lifetime access if bought via the app.

To put that in some perspective, popular meditation app Headspace costs $12.99 a month, while Calm costs $69.99 annually or $399.99 (!) for life.

MindFi is divided into four main sections: Breathe, Mood, Focus and Courses. It also starts playing relaxing sounds of rain, the forest, a campfire or the like from the moment you start the app -- just in case you want some white noise.

I like the Breathe section, which has meditations as short as a minute (often all you need to calm down a bit), and Mood, which lets you choose the emoji that best reflects your current state of mind and gives you meditations designed specifically for it. I can't say I fully understand how Focus works, though; it seems like it's just a countdown timer.

Indeed, certain areas of the app could use a little more in the way of explanation, but there's still more than enough good stuff here to help you calm down, reduce anxiety, sleep better and so on. I believe meditation offers those benefits and more; I'm a big fan.

Do note the terms of this purchase: Your license must be redeemed within 30 days of purchase, and once that redemption happens, there are no refunds. I definitely recommend trying out the free version (for Android and iOS) before splurging on the lifetime option.

Your thoughts?

Read more: The best meditation apps of 2020

A Spotify subscription costs $9.99 a month, or $99 annually if you buy a 12-month gift card. The latter option effectively saves you $20, but here's how it can save you $30: For a limited time, and while supplies last, LoadUp Gifts via Rakuten has a 12-month Spotify Premium subscription for $89with promo code LOAD10A. This deal requires you to have a Rakuten account.

Once purchased, you'll receive a digital redemption code via email. As you might expect, the code cannot be used with Family or Student plans, and it can't be applied to Spotify with Hulu plans.

There is, of course, a free tier for Spotify listening; upgrading to Premium nets you ad-free streaming, unlimited skips and support for music downloads (for offline listening).

Now playing: Watch this: Do these 8 things to sleep better tonight

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CNET's Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on tech products and much more. For the latest deals and updates, follow the Cheapskateon FacebookandTwitter. Find more great buys on theCNET Deals pageand check out ourCNET Coupons pagefor the latest promo codes fromBest Buy,Walmart,Amazonandmore. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

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Enjoy a lifetime of MindFi meditations for $30 - CNET

Social distancing, by nature, is isolating. And extended periods of isolation can take a toll on ones mental health.

Subscribe to the Crunchbase Daily

With the news cycle churning out updates on the latest COVID-19 developments, the uncertainty about how long the pandemic will last and inevitable economic effects, some people are turning to meditation apps to clear their head. And in turn, some popular apps are making the services free or curating them for certain groups.

Los Angeles-based meditation app Headspace is offering free services and guides to help people and specific groups cope with stress by introducing Headspace for Healthcare Professionals, Headspace for Work and Headspace for Educators.

Headspace for Professionals, for example, gives all health care workers in a public health setting in the U.S. free access to Headspace Plus through the rest of the year, according to a blog post from the company. The workers will be able to access the subscription with their National Provider Identifier (a 10-digit identification number) and email address.

Headspace for Workers and Headspace for Educators offer free access to collections of meditations for teachers and other members of the workforce.

Headspace last raised $53 million in February for its Series C round, which was led by blisce/. The startups other backers include Pacific Western Bank and Spectrum Equity, according to Crunchbase data.

The meditation apps Calm and Simple Habit also are introducing free services. Calm, which is backed by investors including TPG Growth and Lightspeed Venture Partners, has put together a curated selection of free resources. Users can pick from sleep meditations, meditations for kids, practices to find ease and more.

Simple Habit is introducing new meditation collections specifically geared toward coronavirustopics including self-care, mindfulness for kids at home, mindful communication with family and easing fear, according to the company.

We recognize that many people are now being required to stay home, resulting in loss of income and financial uncertainty, Simple Habit CEO Yunha Kim wrote in a blog post. As a response to this macro change, starting today until the end of April 2020, well offer free Simple Habit premium memberships to all people who are financially impacted by this difficult time and can no longer afford to pay. If youre struggling or in need, well take care of you.

Illustration: Dom Guzman

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