Author: GuardMe Security

Overworked, overwhelmed, over-scheduled. These are three things common to most adults, and these three things lead to a depleted and unsatisfying life. Yet we get so caught up in the business of trying to manage the next moment that we fail to really make changes that contribute to a truly better life. So, what should we do? Simplify. When we build a life centered on simplification, we find that everything becomes richer, fuller and more satisfying. Here are some practical ways you can simplify your life so you can add more meaning to every day.

Ask Yourself This One Question Every Day

Every true and lasting change starts with a commitment to a foundational belief and overreaching goal. To clarify your goal in your mind, ask yourself this all-encompassing question, “Who do I want to be?” Do I want to be a frazzled person living from one task to the next, or do I want to become a person who is deeply satisfied with life and maximizes every opportunity to the fullest? The choice is ours.

Own the Change

Instead of going through the day ruled by achieving the next task, let who you want to become guide the way you approach every task. Let it become the filter through which everything passes. Soon, you will find ways to simplify every area of your life by making small but very important changes. Here a just a few examples.

• Form a carpool to get kids to school and extracurricular activities.
• Enlist the help of others and delegate when possible.
• Weed out nonessential things and activities.
• Use technology as a help instead of a time robber by getting things done online off hours, using home automation and security technologies to streamline tasks.
• Check email and social media once a day.
• Narrow down extra pursuits to one or two main objectives or activities instead of spreading yourself between many.
• Choose one small place of your life to organize each day.

Strengthen Your System

No system works perfectly right from the start. As you go along, fine tune your system to most strategically fit your life. If you continue to ask yourself that one question, you will continue to find new ways to leverage your tools. If making life better and not getting to the next task is the goal, it becomes your secret superpower. It means going from standing in lines to pay utilities you use bill-pay, or set up automatic purchases for regularly used items instead of having to run to the store. It becomes the difference between having home automation simply automate indoor air climate and using it to eliminate worries like knowing what is going on at home. Every day becomes a new opportunity to change and improve your system, and your life.

GuardMe Security provides the tools that simplify life. For more information, call today.

It is that time again—time to take stock of our lives and choose a few places where we can make an effort to improve. What should it be this year—weight loss, better organization, or improved productivity? It is a daunting process and for most of us, the resolutions never last long, try as we might. This year, we can do things differently. We can choose to do one thing that can be a part of vastly improving nearly every facet of our lives.

Home Automation Is the Flashpoint of Change

Sometimes one simple change can lead to a network of other changes. When that happens, it’s profound. That is exactly true of home automation. Adding a home security and automation system to your life can impact every other area of your life and make those things much more successful. That means you can finally follow through on all those New year’s resolutions.

New Habits Take Longer Than We Thought

We’ve all heard that “it takes about 21 days to form a new habit”, a generalization noted by a plastic surgeon in the 1950’s then often repeated. New studies both back and refute this generalization. In a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology Phillippa Lally and a research team found that the time it takes to develop a new habit can vary widely from person to person and depending on the new habit being formed. They found it can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days, or 66 days on average to form a new habit. Having the right tools and support makes a huge difference in successful change.

Home Security and Automation Technology is an Impetus to Change

When it comes to having the right tools to support change, home automation is the unlikely hero that has your back. Here’s how.

• Saving Money. One of the top resolutions is to save more money. Home automation technologies can help your home run more efficiently and add to your savings. Automation technologies can help you save on heating, cooling, and electricity—and those savings can really add up.
• Improved organization. Who doesn’t want to be more organized, right? Home automation can help you keep track of all the pieces in your life like, the goings and comings of the kids, package arrivals, energy management, and security all remotely and on the go from your mobile device.
• Improve productivity. Getting more done in a day is always a good thing. Home automation can help you achieve much more every day by streamlining a multitude of time robbing tasks. Even better, you can use home automation to support other productivity efforts. You can schedule entertainment to turn on after the workday or homework time, and have the lights turn on in the morning so you get up even if you want to hit snooze for the tenth time.
• Support weight loss. With all of your extra time in your super organized day you can spend it developing a healthy eating plan and hitting the gym.

Bam. Resolutions done.

GuardMe Security provides smart integrated technologies that improve how we manage life. For more information, call GuardMe today.

No matter what the parents say, living alone is possible and it even has some real perks. It offers the space and freedom to live life on your own terms, whether you want to work crazy hours or just want the television remote all to yourself. But living alone has some safety risks and considering them will help you make some lifestyle changes that can keep you safe. Plus, implementing safety always keep the family happy, so it’s a win-win proposition.
Check out these safety tips for living alone and find out if any of them can work for you.

Don’t Advertise You Live Alone

You might think you are pretty careful about this already, but chances are that a few things have slipped through the cracks. For example, be sure that your mail box has two names on it, even if the second is just made up. Also, make sure your home phone answering message does not use “I” in it. Instead say something like, “Leave a message and someone will return your call as soon as possible.” If you receive magazines or other regular mail, sign up with two names so anyone looking at the mail will assume there are two residents.

Be Careful About Social Media

Although it sounds obvious, it is easy to forget safety basics when it feels as if we are just talking to friends. Before you post anything, ask yourself what it reveals. Does the picture in your home show that you live alone? Will the post tell people what time you will be there and away? Comments like “8-10… extra-long work day today! Tomorrow I am sleeping in!” tell people far too much information that can jeopardize your safety.

Take Initiative

Know your exits and develop a plan of escape through each one. This can keep you safe whether there is an intruder, or another emergency such as fire.

Get to Know Your Neighbors

Get to know your neighbors well and, with caution, share enough information that enables them to recognize trouble.

Fake It

Nobody needs to know you live alone if you stage the home. Do things that indicate multiple occupants, like leaving muddy work boots by the front door. Keep the home looking occupied around the clock by using home automation technologies to turn on and off lights and entertainment.

Invest in Home Security

Invest in a monitored home security system. Often times, trouble is brewing long before we know it and have a chance to act. A monitored home security system serves as your early alert and puts help in motion far sooner than it would happen otherwise.

On average, 28% of households include just one individual. Living alone is an exciting adventure, but it helps to exercise caution in any adventure, including living alone. Home security and automation systems can be a helpful tool in keeping yourself safe. If you have any questions about home security, call GuardMe today.

You have every gadget known to man. You are the first to integrate new technologies, the first to see their potential, and the first to leverage them in fantastic new ways. You’re smart, fast, and awesome and expect your technology to be the same. So what if Bond has the Aston Martin and detonating devices, you’ve got Bluetooth and wireless everything.
So how do you up your game? The practical real-world application of home security and home automation technologies used to save the world. Your world, anyway. After all, what does James Bond do in every movie?

You are An Intruder’s Worst Nightmare

Come on. You know you want to be. Ideally, you’d like your house boobytrapped with a huge net to swoop up anyone who dares to cause a problem (for the effect of course), but seeing an intruder hauled away in the back of a squad car isn’t so bad either. And it is all thanks to your arsenal of real-world, practical, electronic home protection solutions.

Mission: Save Your World

You may not hear the 007 music in the background but when it comes to amazing protection technologies, truth is far better than fiction. When you roll out in your Prius, you know……. Everything is under control with a cool set of home automation and home security tools in place.
Undeniably, the cool factor is totally there with bright, color touchscreen control panels that connect you to just about everything. But it is about far more than coolness. It is about protection and control, and you have that dialed in, too.

Features Evil-Doers Hate

Choose your villain, whether it is Goldfinger, Colonel Von Hammerstein, or Blofeld it doesn’t matter. You have the weapons they fear most. Motion sensors, door and window contacts, and glass break sensors, all work together to form an impenetrable wall of protection.

But Bond would not stop there, and neither do you.

Indoor and outdoor surveillance provide a live stream of intelligence about what is going on in and around your home. It is information you can access from anywhere with your mobile device, naturally. Seriously—anywhere in the world.

You can also keep your nemesis on his or her toes by being two places at once, or at least seeming like it. Think about it, the tides of war have been dramatically changed with great fake-outs, and with home automation you have that same power. With the power to answer the door remotely through the doorbell, have lights and entertainment go on or off with a touch on your mobile device and it is impossible to be certain whether the house is occupied or not. Even the most determined villain will not mess with that.

World (and family) saved.

GuardMe Security is a premier provider of monitored home alarms and commercial security systems serving locations around the country. Contact us today for a complimentary in home consultation.

We all know the pressure to keep up with the latest technology. Trying to understand the uses and nuances of every new gadget is a full-time job in itself! And, if we are honest, some of us just don’t want to keep up with knowing everything about the latest technology. We just want it to work. Ok, and maybe we want to look like we know what we are talking about in the process.

Home Automation for the Technically Challenged

If there is anything that can make you look like the ultimate techie without requiring you to get a degree, it’s home automation. Even the most technically challenged can master home automation in a day, and look like they have this whole technology thing dialed in. Don’t believe us? Here’s why and how.

Home Automation Simplifies Everything

Even if you bailed back when setting a VCR was the most technically challenging task, don’t worry. You can jump right in without a single problem. This is because home automation has the power to simplify all of the systems in your home. Rather than having to know many things, you can know one and do it all.

Home Automation Eliminates Technology Confusion

Thirty different remote controls, a ton of hundred-page manuals, and a maze of wires and cords are all gone. G.O.N.E. gone. Home automation is one platform that provides unlimited control of numerous other enabled systems and devices and eliminates the confusion.

It Gives You the Power to Fuse Unrelated Systems

Instead of having a lot of ways to manage a lot of things, home automation provides one way to manage everything. It gives you the ability to manage previously unrelated systems such as heating, lighting, entertainment, and security into one platform which you can control with just a few taps. How’s that for techie?

You Can Remotely Access Your Systems

No matter how many people rib you about what you do not know about technology, you can combat it with your home automation super power. It’s the power of not having to know it all, or do it all—all you need to do is tap into your system from wherever you are to do what you need to do. Whether it is adjusting the temperature or lighting, disabling or enabling the alarm, or locking doors all you need is your phone or tablet and you have the power to control them from anywhere, anytime.

No matter your level of technical knowledge you can master a home automation system in minutes and customize your life to meet your needs. Techie or not, you’ll feel as if the world is at your fingertips because it pretty much is! If you have any questions about how to up your technology game, call GuardMe today.

Every so often you just get that feeling that tells you everything is not as it should be. It may be far too quiet, too noisy, or just somehow out of place. Life today provides plenty of distractions, detours and trouble for kids to get into, so there is bound to be some bumps in the road. Of course, we always want to prevent as much trouble as possible. As a parent, the “six sense” comes in handy when it comes to keeping the kids in line but even the most in tune parents can use a little help sometimes.
Fortunately, today’s parents can combat today’s parenting challenges with some awesome and surprising technologies, such as their smart home security system. Even though a strong intuition can prevent a lot of problems, smart home technology is a useful tool in keeping kids safe. Here are a few ways you can enhance the six sense with your smart home security system.

Always Know Where the Kids Are

How many times have you turned around and found that your son or daughter was not where you thought they were. Suddenly seized with fear, you rush around the house calling their names, opening every door and looking in every hiding place. Then there is the great relief when you find them quietly playing outside. If only they had asked to go outside you could have saved yourself from the heart stopping fear. Since we probably can’t get them to remember to let us know where they are, you can set up alerts to let you know when the back door opens and know exactly where they are and when they went there.

Make Some Areas Off Limits

Some areas of the home are nearly impossible to childproof, such as the garage or kitchen. Of necessity, these areas contain tools and equipment that could be dangerous so naturally you would like to have little extra control of those spaces. For areas of the home that you would like to monitor or keep off limits, your home security system is a parent’s best help. When you think of using contact sensors, you typically think of using them on exterior doors, but they actually be used on any door, including closets, cabinets and refrigerator doors. If any of the sensors are triggered, you get an alert and can respond immediately.

Front Door Open Alert

It is easy to forget to shut the front door or miss shutting it tightly after going in and out several times while unloading groceries or other things from the car. While totally innocent, it is a small mistake that can have huge repercussions. The ‘door left open’ alert sounds when the door is open for more than 60 seconds, and possibly prevent a very serious situation.

GuardMe Security is a family owned and operated company with over 20 years in the industry, providing creative integrated technology solutions.

School may be out for the holidays, but you are still hard at work. This is prime time for teens to cook up a little trouble in the form of an unauthorized house party while you are away. Before home automation technologies, the best that parents could do was get heads-up from an alert neighbor, or worse, from the authorities. Now, tech savvy parents armed with home automation can not only see the party, but shut it down in 6 simple steps.
Here are some simple steps to keeping things under control, even if it means being a buzzkill.

Warn Them

Text your teen with real time photographic evidence of what is going on and let them know that you are fully aware. This alone may be enough for them to shut the party down, pronto. If not, don’t worry. You have more tricks up your sleeve.

Kill the Music and Television

What’s a party without music and television, right? One option is to kill the music altogether. The next is to have a playlist ready just such an occasion. A steady stream of opera or anything else that makes it perfectly evident the party is over will work well.

Take Control of The Lighting

It is hard to party when the lights are flickering, or off. If the teen does not get the message, the guests will find it annoying enough to call it a night.

Control the Temperature

Spoil the mood from afar by controlling the thermostat. The idea is to make the temperature either too hot, or too cold to be enjoyable.

Lock the Doors

If the party moved outside, or you want to prevent more from entering, lock the doors from your phone. You can monitor the action through your outdoor cameras.

Sound the Alarm

Finally, set off the alarm. Tenacious teen partiers will not know whether or not the alarm is just sounding, or if the authorities are actually on the way. That is enough to send anyone on their way. Sorry guys, party is totally over.

GuardMe Security opened our doors in 1997 with a mission to serve the community with custom integrated home security systems based on their very unique needs. Or mission has not changed. We treat every customer as if they are the only customer. If you have questions about home automation and home security, give us a call today.

Every guy wants a space totally dedicated to relaxation—a retreat away from all the pressures of the day. And of course, every guy wants that space to be amazing. So, if you are planning the ultimate man cave, let us help you out with a few tips.

Pick the Perfect Space

Choose a space that is best suited or most easily adapted to converting to a man cave. You will want to consider things like having enough space for furniture and equipment, a lower ceiling for optimum acoustics, and fewer windows for best theater lighting.

Choose One Comfort Piece

A man cave can fill up fast so begin by choosing that one piece of furniture that will define the space, whether it is an incredible sofa or theater chair. If you have a larger space, you can always add more pieces, but get the most important pieces in first and build around them. After all, you need to reserve some room for the mini-frige and the popcorn machine.

Choose the Right Television

Not every television is best for every space, and sometimes the biggest isn’t necessarily the best. Keep in mind the recommended viewing angle and distances. There are online distance calculators to help you figure out if the television of choice is a good fit for your space. Typically, however, the recommended viewing distance is 1.5x the diagonal measurement of the television, so you want to ensure there is enough space from the seating area to the television.

Automation is a MUST

Even if you call Google “the Google” or still say “www” when giving a website address, you need the latest automation technologies in your man cave. Don’t worry, you do not have to be techy to manage home automation, and that is kind of the point. Automation can manage all of the details for you, from adjusting the temperature to managing sound and lighting. You can set up scenes triggered by your actions, so if you turn on the television the lights go off, so you have the perfect atmosphere for enjoyment every time you enter the room with zero effort—and that’s what a man cave is all about, right? You can be totally in sync with just one tap on your app.

GuardMe Security has been a premier provider of home technologies for over 20 years. If you want more information about how to use home automation in your ultimate man cave, give them a call today.

FOMO- Fear of Missing Out for the parent is as inevitable as teething is for the baby or after school mayhem for middle-schoolers. As a busy parent, it is impossible to be everywhere at once. As much as we wish we could be with our children for every special moment, missing some of those daily moments is inevitable. Frankly, it kills us. We hate missing out on seeing the routine of life that happens while we are taking care of other needful things. It is a feeling that never quite goes away.
How many times do we say to ourselves that there must be a better way? If we can put a man on the moon with less technology than in today’s cars, surely there must be a way for parents to enjoy more of those moments that make up daily life. The great news is that there really is a better way.

Your Security System is for More Than Security

Of course, you bought your security system with protection in mind, but it can also be a tool to help banish FOMO and keep you connected to those special moments.
Instead of hearing from the babysitter what has gone on all day, or spend time worrying what else went on all day, you can use security technology to see for yourself. And you won’t believe how much it helps.

You Feel More Connected

Most parents can relate to that left-out feeling you get when someone tells you about an exciting moment that happened while you are away. You can alleviate that feeling by tapping into their life at home through your security cameras and security app on your phone. Do you know that are getting home from a field trip or a day of fun? See their excitement for yourself.

It Lessons (Your) Separation Anxiety

Hey, we know. No judgement here. We want to be with our kids. It is just that simple. And we worry about them every moment that they are not with us. Now you can tap in and ease that anxiety.

You Can Know Things are On Track

If you are not home to make sure the homework is out and the television is off, being able to take a peek can be a real asset in keeping everything on track.

It Helps You Stay Productive

It is pretty difficult to stay completely focused when you are worried about the kids. It is easy to let our minds wander then get caught up. We may not realize it, but it can be a huge time robber. What is amazing about using your security technology is that one quick check-in on your phone to access your video cameras can immediately put your mind at ease and help you focus on the tasks at hand.

Is it time to banish FOMO? Call GuardMe Security today at (877) 969-2093 for interactive smart security systems. It is always on, protecting your family 24/7.