You reply to emails in your sleep and wake up in cold sweats about your box of un-filed receipts. Lunch breaks get skipped, and dinner with the family is a distant memory. You can’t remember the last time you trimmed your fingernails, let alone dedicated an hour to pampering. It’s easy to slip into the routine of working all day, only to come home and work all evening, but sometimes, you need to make time for yourself. Here’s how.
Unhappy with your day job?
Do you find yourself asking the question, “Is this all there is?” about your career?
Do you feel you don’t have enough time for yourself and no longer happy? Is your motivation running low?
Why not try freelancing instead?
Let’s face it. Freelancing isn’t easy and it requires a leap of faith. Getting out of your comfort zone is always difficult. You have to ask so many questions. Is it worth it? Am I not going to regret it? Am I ready to take the big leap?
Challenge yourself to step out of your habit and routine if you expect something to change or evolve in your life and career.
Now, is freelancing for you? Here are good reasons why you should consider freelancing. [Read more…]
Have you ever thought of leaving your full-time corporate job to try freelancing?
There is an increasing demand for freelancers and more online opportunities are becoming available.
Taking a leap from your traditional job to go freelancing full-time may take a lot of risks so you have to understand its advantages and disadvantages.
Freelancing is rewarding but there is always the other side of the coin. Is freelancing for you? Check out challenges below and how you can overcome them.
Finding a client, especially if you’re a newbie, may be hard since competition around the world is tough. Not to mention there’s a number of countries who offer services at a more affordable cost. [Read more…]
With over 180 million users world wide, LinkedIn has proven to be the premier social media tool for professional networking. LinkedIn is toted as being the most valuable social media channel for making business connections and building professional relationships. Additionally, it’s often a popular place for individuals in search of new employers, employees, or clients.
But, how important is joining and using LinkedIn? Especially if you are content in your current industry or job? Some feel that LinkedIn is crucial for building your career, even if you’re not looking to make a change in jobs. Those in favor of LinkedIn argue that by forgoing LinkedIn, it’s easy to miss the wealth of available professional opportunities.
Others feel LinkedIn is not valuable, and since a number of LinkedIn’s users do not maintain their profile, the quality of candidates and information is poor. Given it’s mixed reviews, let’s consider a few pros and cons of LinkedIn.
Monday is often considered the most dreaded day of the week, and why shouldn’t it be? After a weekend filled with activities of our own choosing, the last thing we want to do is wake up early and start in with our weekday morning routine. Mondays can be arduous, but they don’t have to be downright terrible. Here are a few ideas to make the first day of the work week a little more manageable.
The best way to deal with Monday is by preparing on Friday. Rather than falling prey to a relaxed pace at work on Friday, try to keep up your momentum instead. I tend to use Friday as a day to catch up on work as it’s usually a quieter day in the office with fewer meetings. In addition to working at a steady pace, take a few moments to organize your email inbox, clean your desk, and make a to-do list for Monday.
Take some of this focus and planning into your weekend by preparing yourself for Monday morning. Catch up on your laundry, lay out your work or gym clothes, and pack your lunch on Sunday night. By preparing and planning ahead of time you will feel more in control, and less stressed or rushed come Monday morning.
Use your weekend wisely. Take time to recharge and relax after your busy week. Take part in activities you enjoy and use your down time to catch up on any personal tasks that have been nagging you. The weekend is also a great time to unplug. Avoid checking work email, especially if it isn’t urgent. Your weekend is your break from work, so don’t spend too much time thinking about work tasks or worrying about work issues you can’t do anything about over the weekend.
The calendar year is winding to a close, and most of us are now reflecting on the goals we set for ourselves this year. Did you struggle with any of your goals this year? If so, you’re not alone. We all encounter obstacles along the way, often times finding ourselves face-to-face with our own fears and doubts. When fear and doubt enter the picture it’s easy to let them take over and influence our decisions. Once that happens it’s not uncommon for our goals to get pushed aside.
Take for example someone who has wanted to start a blog for a long time, but keeps putting it off because they are worried about certain what ifs. What if no one reads it? What if their friends and family don’t understand? What if they aren’t a good enough writer? As these fears and doubts begin to creep in, they decide to hold off on starting a blog of their own. They promise themselves that once their writing improves they’ll feel more confident about starting a blog.
We all face feelings of uncertainty and vulnerability at one time or another, and it’s easy to let that fear dictate our actions. However, rather than letting our fears and doubts put our goals in jeopardy, we need to enable strategies to help us overcome fear and doubt. Consider these four steps to help you break through your feelings of fear and doubt, and put you on the path to achieving your goals.
If you want to start a blog, or even a freelance writing career, don’t put it off just because you’re afraid your writing skills aren’t up to par. By taking a step in the direction of your goal and simply starting the process, you will feel an incredible boost in confidence. The more you work towards your goal, the better you will get. If you write every single day you are guaranteed to improve. You’ll be glad you chose to start when you did, even though you weren’t perfect in the beginning. But, you need to start today. The simple decision to take action is more than most people can do. You don’t need to be the best at what you do, you just need to be the one who actually goes ahead and does it.
If you don’t like your day job, you’re not alone. Plenty of people are stuck in unfulfilling jobs for one reason or another. Maybe you’ve been searching for a new job and haven’t found the right fit yet. Perhaps you are building a business on the side and need it to grow a bit more before you can make it your full time gig. Or maybe you aren’t sure what your next career move is and don’t have immediate plans to leave your job.
One of the best things you can do when you find yourself feeling unfulfilled at work is to make an effort improve your overall job outlook. That’s because a positive outlook is essential for job satisfaction. Consider these five ways to help improve your job outlook.
Although they can be difficult to recognize when you’re unhappy, every job comes with at least one valuable benefit. Does your job offer generous paid time off, tuition reimbursement, or a discounted gym membership? Surely you can come up with a few job related benefits. Create a list of the benefits which you find most valuable. The practice of making a list can help elevate your job appreciation. Keep the list handy and look at it whenever you’re feeling negative about your job. While it’s not a magic wand that will take all your job related problems away, it is an easy method to help you through the more dissatisfying elements of your job.
There are less than three months left in the year, which means it’s crunch time if you still haven’t achieved your 2014 goals. Although time is ticking down, there is still plenty of time to accomplish the goals you have set for yourself this year. Consider these four tips to help you achieve your goals.
What is motivating you to achieve your goal? Do you want to make more money, change your career, or improve your skill set? Get clear about what you want, and then use that to inspire you throughout your journey.
Put your goals down on paper and keep them visible. A goal that you can see is more powerful than a goal you write down and tuck away. Write down your goals in a journal, on a post-it, or even make a vision board. Make your goals specific and detailed. Review your goals often and make changes as necessary. Remind yourself why you set these goals in the first place, and why they are important to you.
Routinely practicing gratitude can have a big impact on the success of your business. More than just a simple “thank you”, gratitude is as defined by gratitude researcher Robert Emmons as, “a felt sense of wonder, thankfulness, and appreciation for life.” This type of grateful thinking can be applied to your business as well. By expressing gratitude and relishing in the success of your business achievements you are setting yourself up for the growth and success you desire.
There are a wealth of benefits that come with being grateful. Increased energy, focus, and optimism to name a few. Most importantly, gratitude increases happiness which is a predictor in success. Think of gratitude as an advantage you can utilize to help you reach your business goals.
It’s important to practice gratitude regularly. There are many ways to practice gratitude. The best way is to find a method that you enjoy and will stick with for the long-term.