Thursday, September 13, 2007

The Key to a Happy Life: Striking a Balance at Work and at Home

In a culture obsessed with high tech gadgetry, cellphones, credit cards, fast cars, large houses, and job titles --- it should be no surprise that most people experience stress and anxiety. The strain of striving after material advantage and the dictates of the Almighty Dollar have made many people virtual slaves in their offices.

Even after working more than 50 hours a week... even after getting every material need and luxury that money can buy... many people still live unhappily. The corporate success, instead of bringing fulfillment, has left many executives and employees with a feeling emptiness and disillusionment.

The over-concentration on fame and fortune have made many professionals weary and depressed. The incentives, awards, and accolades somehow could not help them get rid of stress and anxiety.

But there is still hope for the tired executive and the downtrodden worker. Stress and anxiety need not ruin lives and careers. To get back on track, it may be helpful to consider the following advice on how to be an achiever who lives a balanced life:

Writing It Down

What we really are lacking is balance. A good start would be to have a career and life plan that balances your time and effort between the office and the home. If we plan carefully, we will most likely make the right action or choices. Life shouldn't be a big enigma. Life can be made simple and enjoyable. A career or life plan must start with having a stated purpose. Knowing what you really want helps you get rid of unnecessary fatigue brought about by things which are not really important to you. Knowing your priorities also help you get rid of unnecessary worries and prevents you from wasting energy. Writing it down --- putting your plan on paper --- is the first step on having a balanced life. Your first agenda would be knowing what you want. Do you prefer to have a fun personal or family life, vibrant health more than having financial success or a well-respected position? Maybe you can have both without making any sacrifice in terms of time or quality of life? When you write it down, the process of marking your priorities would be much easier.

Recharge Yourself

Like most people, you too must be so full of stress about the daily traffic, office politics, family chaos, the endless bill payments --- the foibles that sap all the energy in you. You rarely have fun at home or enjoy your work because you always feel tired and hassled. Maybe it's time to ask yourself when was the last time you spent quality time to re-connect with your family. Maybe it's also time to take a look at your inner life...your spiritual bearings. The very heart of the matter is that in order to live a life you love, you need to have a healthy body that will allow you to live it. You must take care of your physical and spiritual well-being. Take time to recharge, which is really what stress management is all about. You can start recharging by answering these questions:

l Am I bored?
l Do I get enough exercise?
l Is my medication any help at all?
l What really makes me sick?
l Are my loved ones (or friends), or my job draining all my energy?

Fact is, our state of physical well-being has a direct impact on the quality of our lives. It impacts our work, business, and relationships. So we must take care our bodies well enough by taking vitamins, eating right, getting enough sleep and rest, and by exercising regularly.

Are you being too self-satisfied?

To get our bearings, it is important to be constantly aware of our priorities. A good way to start re-defining one's priorities is by answering the following questions:

l Are you neglecting yourself physically, mentally or spiritually?
l Are you neglecting your spouse, your children, your peers?
l Are you fulfilling your commitments?
l Are you operating in your comfort zone?

When you say “mostly” yes to to those questions. Well then, its not the end of the world. Being self-important can be overcome through a conscious decision to strive to do just a bit than you used to do. Being self-satisfied or having an air of self-importance is a detriment to creating or even maintaining a balanced life. Pride, selfishness, and conceit should always be put in check.

It's all about balance

You might be wondering where did Time go? Your to-do list is increasing, you have countless meetings, on top of it, its your wife's birthday, pick up junior from his baseball practice this Friday. You just have so much to do that your life is eroding away. You don't realize it but you have to power to manage your everyday stresses and these helpful tips will ease the pressures off your back.

l Utilize Your Plan of action – Start focusing. Which ones from your to-do list is the one you really want to do? Which ones can be delegated.
l Don't be the Lone Ranger for every crisis or situation- Even The lone ranger can used a side kick and not everything can get the job done by just being alone.
l Give yourself a pat on the back- Every once in a while. Give yourself credit. Acknowledge all the good things you have done.

Being overwhelmed or too stressed out is really your making. Remember that you always have a choice between feeling good or feeling bad about yourself and the world you live in. It is up to you to say no to commitments you can no longer keep...it is up to you to say no to negative thoughts and yes to optimism...it is up to you to live a balanced, happy life.


http://www.articlebliss.com/Article/The-Key-to-a-Happy-Life---Striking-a-Balance-at-Work-and-at-Home/143155

Tips for Getting Started With Online Data Entry Jobs

Most of us like to start business and work from home without even having knowledge of what is required to start a home based job. Some of the tips discussed in this article will help bring forth certain factors to be considered before starting a home based work.

The first thing to be considered before starting a business is to actually setting up a business. The person should have got the employer identification number or social security number on the first place. It is the first step towards starting a legal business venture as all the businesses have to pay taxes.

The next is to keep record of all the income earned and expenses made. This report also needs to be submitted at the end of every financial year. It is wise to keep all the receipts and proof of expenses made, as any business venture needs to be audited.

The next important thing is to run the business venture professionally and if not it may be the reason for losses. Getting a professional email account is very important to stay in the business for long. Even though the person works from home, it is good to have a dedicated phone line for the business as no professional would like to get an answer from a kid or servant of the house. Also back ups are needed to avoid unforeseen circumstances like a hard drive crash or virus attack etc. The information the person deals with may be very important and if any of them is lost it can cause huge damage to himself and the client. Being well prepared before starting a business is a proactive way of dealing things.

Tips for sourcing the best data entry job from home program:

It is better not to go for free data entry job programs as nothing is given free of cost in this world. Such free programs at the end may cost more due to hidden and undisclosed costs. It is good to select a program with lower application fees since they cover training support needed and help in setting up of the accounts etc. in a proper way. Such kinds of programs are worth the money paid towards application fees.

To get good kind of work and that in good volume, it is good to update databases with the companies who are in need of data entry workers who work from home. Constantly updating the databases will fetch more and more jobs.

It is advised not to concentrate on incentive based work options as many of the jobs pay incentives but less remuneration only. If the person is aiming to earn more it is good to get data entry jobs which pay high remuneration.

Data entry jobs require hard work as, it is not an easy job and also it is not for people who like to make money doing nothing. If a person has good typing skills, and willingness to work data entry jobs, it can be really promising. Also it is good to get work from reputed data entry job sites which can be known through people who are already into it, or from friends and relatives. There are lot of forums were all the questions are answered.


http://www.articlebliss.com/Article/Tips-for-Getting-Started-With-Online-Data-Entry-Jobs/146003

Continuous Growth Seen For Hospitality Recruitment Services

The global hospitality industry is growing rapidly and is currently worth $3.5 trillion. It is considered the biggest employment generation sector worldwide. In fact, estimates show that the industry will need between 30,000 and 35,000 trained people in the management and supervisory levels each year until 2010. This growth is mainly attributed to the unceasing demands of travelers from all over the world particularly for food and accommodation. For this reason, more and more hotels and restaurants have been sprouting in a bid to gain a share of the market. This, in turn, leads to an increase in employment opportunities.

Fortunately, there are hospitality recruitment services responding to this concern. These services have evolved through the years with a growing number of social networks being organized to fulfill the needs of people wanting to join the hospitality industry. Since the 1990s, these services have gone online to cater to internet users who want the convenience of applying for a job through websites. In fact, the volume of registered users of these recruitment networks has gone up rapidly now reaching more than 500,000 as of March 2007.

Hospitality recruitment firms provide their clients with the right candidates for various positions whether top-level, middle or rank and file. A system of reciprocity is normally in place here allowing web users to gain access to information provided by other users. Hospitality companies are encouraged to post their staff requirements on recruitment sites while interested applicants also provide information about their personal, educational and work background.

The most common top level positions in demand today in the industry include the general hotel manager, executive chef and F&B manager. A general hotel manager covers a wide variety of duties and responsibilities like qualifying new applicants, supervising hotel staff, enforcing rules and policies, monitoring hotel expenditures, rental collection, building maintenance and security, performing yearly re-certifications, maintaining productive relationships with community resources and conducting regular meetings as well as submitting monthly reports.

Executive chefs, meanwhile, are in charge of the kitchens of hotels, resorts and restaurants although they do not necessarily do a lot of cooking. They are responsible for coordinating, supervising and directing all areas of food production and maintaining high quality products and service to satisfy guests. A chef also handles the training of kitchen staff, ensures that quality standards are met and implements food specifications, portion control, recipes, menu development and sanitation. Other responsibilities include budgeting, maintaining payroll and keeping records of food costs.

The F&B manager operates the food and beverage service area and ensures that standards are met. Other important duties are to maintain stocks for food and non-alcoholic beverages, silverware, china and linen, make an inventory of items in the records, maintain cost control without ignoring quality, control food wastage, account for all guest checks and staff tips, ensure all room service orders are served on time and conduct briefings to staff.

Hospitality services date back to 1949 when Bob Luitweiler first put up a non-profit, volunteer run organization called the “Servas Open Doors.” It was followed by the setting up of a Traveler’s Directory in 1965 by John Wilcock which later became the Hospitality Exchange in 1988 through the efforts of Joy Lily. As for the online services, Germany was the first to begin an internet-based hospitality service back in 1992 through Hospex. At present, it is the biggest hospitality exchange network and continues to grow at a fast rate.


http://www.articlebliss.com/Article/Continuous-Growth-Seen-For-Hospitality-Recruitment-Services/146011