7 Signs Your Work-Life Balance is Broken

7 Signs Your Work-Life Balance is Broken7 Signs Your Work-Life Balance is BrokenThis is the problem. The topic of having a work-life balance is not new to the United States, yet some cannot strike that perfect balance between work and life.Work-life balance has been broken in the USA for over 200 years, As this CNBC article showed in 2017, way back in 1817 a Welsh manufacturer and labor rights activist Robert Owens coined the phrase, Eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest.By 1890, when the US Government started tracking work hours, it was discovered full-time workers in manufacturing were pulling 100-hour work weeks. Now over 100 years later, and after a 20th century of reformed work conditions and labor union growth, todays world of changing technology is increasing the demand for productivity.Once again, work-life balance is very important. Americans are working an average of 50 hours a week. Employees intech and finance average 60 hours. Doctors are discoverin g the damaging effects of stress on the human body while 1 in 3 Americans complain their work-life balance is broken.Learn to binnensee the signs that your work-life balance is broken.1. You can no longer play hard after workChronic health issues are causing you to live life like a hermit outside of work. Even when you try to stay fit, eat right, and exercise, for some reason your body is quitting on you. This is a sign your body is feeling overworked and it is affecting your life.2. You can never get enough sleepYou get 8-hours a night of sleep and it never seems to matter. The weekend rolls around and you want to sleep more. Sometimes, you may even fall asleep in your chair at work. This is a sign your brain is burning out and overloaded.3. You have 0% patience for everythingAs work-life balance slips away, your abilities to lose your temper and hold grudges increases. Before you know it, everyone and everything that gets in the way of your job turns into a personal grudge. Your w ork-life balance has slipped away and you are in danger of becoming toxic to your own workplace.4. All of your relationships are disappearingYou know more about your co-workers than you do about the recent events in your familys lives. Your friends and family complain they never see you and it seems your weekends are spent just trying to recover from the work week. And your spouse starts complaining he/she never sees you. You have all the signs you need to make a work-life balance change.5. You use your phone in bed at nightYou have endless connectivity to work because of your iPhone or Smartphone. People who work after-hours are asking questions. If you are in bed and think you should start working, your work-life balance is in trouble. You cannot set the boundary between work and life, but you need sleep.6. Your priorities are out of whackWhen you have no understanding of how to prioritize work, physical and mental health, family, and finance, it is time to stop what you are doing and think. Ironically, as much as Apples Steve Jobs influenced that tech community working 60+ hours a week, many ignore his final words of regret for living a life in the pursuit of wealthWhat is the most expensive bed in the world? Sickbed You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you. Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost - Life. - Steve Jobs7. You are an uncompromising perfectionistWe all want to feel successful. However, when you find you can no longer stand for an opinion from another, or your failures make you so depressed and filled with anxiety that you cannot function, your work-life balance has taken its toll.Getting control of your work-life balance is necessary. You may want to consider working in a less stressful industry. You may be very good at what you do, but your endless drive for perfection may cause you to lose all the thi ngs you worked to achieve due to the destructive behaviors caused by a broken work-life balance.

10 ways to face a mental creativity block right now

10 ways to face a mental creativity block right now10 ways to face a mental creativity block right nowAt some point, you hit a creative mental block that leaves you caught in a cycle of frustration and desperation that simply compounds the problem. Mental blocks are typically the result of stress or a loss of focus. Luckily, there are many ways that you can face a mental block head on and enhance yur creative thinking process.1. Get it down on paperJournaling, specifically a process known asfreewriting, uses the act of writing to encourage you to clear your mind of clutter and allowing you to focus. Freewriting is simply writing whatever comes to mind down on paper whether it relates to your creative pursuits or not. Then, you can go back and sift through your writing to pull out the parts that are relevant or inspirational.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreIf writing isnt your th ing, a sketchbook can provide you with a similar experience. Sketch out your ideas, try new color combinations or techniques without constraint. You can also use your sketchbook as a source of inspiration if a mental block occurs again.2. Go back to natureNature has long been a source of inspiration for creative thinkers, but beyond this,nature can help you break through creative mentalblocks by removing the distractions of everyday life and allowing your mind to wander and make associations you may not have considered. Studies suggest that even 30 minutes spent outside can have a significant effect on your mood and thinking patterns. Nature also offers the best color palette to help calm a noisy mind.If you cant get outside, bring nature into your creative space. Plants, crystals and gemstones in soothing natural tones can create a calming atmosphere and reduce stress. They also offer plenty of other health benefits such as purifying the air.3. Move moreThere is a reason they say t hat a healthy mind lives in a healthy body. Exercise forces you to make a strong mind-body connection which allows you to become present and mindful. Both are important factors in boosting creativity. Exercise also causes your body to release the hormones serotonin and dopamine which elicit feelings of euphoria and well-being and reduce fear and stress.Make exercise a regular part of your daily routine. Do exercises you enjoy and are comfortable doing, whether that is a morning yoga session, laps at the pool or lifting weights.4. Try something newScience suggests that creativity occurs when the brain makes connections between unrelated concepts. One way to break through a creative mental block is to increase your neural pathwaysand one of the best ways to do this is to learn something new.Try learning something unrelated to your field. The more repetitive the task, the faster your brain will make new connections.Jewelry-makingis a great way to combine creativity with focused attenti on or you can boost the creative side of your brain by learning a new language.5. Tune inMusic has the power to affect how we think and feel, and geschftslebenes are increasingly using music to improve productivity and creativity. However, not all music will do the trick.Different musical styles and sounds promote activity in different areas of the brain. Music with specific soothing notes can boost serotonin levels in the brain and relieve depression, while other tones can improve alertness.Hemi sync musicis said to boost Alpha brain waves which have been associated withdecreased stress and increased creativity.6. Tune OutMindful meditation has become common practice in business as a way to eliminate stress, but it also has a significant impact on your creativity. The key to meditation is to tune out the background noise that can clutter your thinking and enhance the important factors that contribute to creative thoughtlateral thinking, focus and resilience.Studies suggest that eve n 10 minutes of mindful meditation can help eliminate a creative block. But, if you think that you cant set aside time for meditation, one of the best places to practice mindful meditation is in the shower.Shower meditationtakes only 5 minutes out of your busy morning and can prepare you for a productive day of creative thinking.7. Get boredIt may sound counterintuitive however, sometimes doing the least creative tasks can stimulate the most creative thinking. If you are suffering a mental block, take a break to perform some menial tasks around the house or office.Do the dishes, vacuum the floor or organize your inbox. Any task that does not require too much thought will leave your mind free to look at your creative problems from a new perspective, and the feeling of accomplishing these small tasks can give you the momentum you need to get over this creative hurdle.8. Change your environmentThe jury is still out on whether clutter helps or hinders your creative process. Some studies suggest that a messy desk can stimulate creative thinking, while other studies concluded that a clutter-free environment is better for boosting focus. It has even been shown that certain stones,like Amethyst, help produce mental clarity. Whatever the state of your environment, changing, organizing or tidying your creative space can have a positive impact on your creativity.Try changing the position of items on your desk or removing them altogether. Take your work to a different location such as a coffee shop or a local park. Simply changing your environment can give you a changed mindset and may give you a different perspective on your creative problem.9. Take a tech detoxTechnology is a huge part of our lives, but more studies are suggesting that excessive exposure to technology can overstimulate our brains and increase our stress levels. Give your brain some downtime by taking a tech detox.Unplug your TV and computer, leave your phone in another room and find a space where you ca n think without distractions. Regular tech detoxes can improve mental processing and improve your concentration to enhance your creativity. It can also help you sleep better which, in turn, can help you to regulate the stress hormones in your body.10. Talk it overA problem shared is a problem halved. Simply talking about your creative block with another like-minded person can help you to feel less pressure and consequently less stress.Talking can also stimulate new ideas and give you a fresh perspective on your creative problem. If your creative block is affecting your work, consider working collaboratively with another colleague to help share the physical and mental load.Final thoughtsDont let a creative mental block stand in the way of you producing amazing ideas. Try some of these simple methods to clear away the clutter in your mind and get those creative juices flowing.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social clas s in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

LinkedIn is Not a Billboard - Stop Using it that Way

LinkedIn is Not a Billboard - Stop Using it that WayLinkedIn is Not a Billboard - Stop Using it that WayAre you at the point in your job search where you want to push past the basics and into the stuff that will take you to the next-level?If you answered yes, then that means changing up what youre doing on LinkedIn, and were not just talking about sprucing up your summary.Here are a few next-level secrets weve discovered about using LinkedInDont be afraid to break the moldYou should always craft a custom message for every connection request you send but dont stop there You should customize everything.Lets look at the generic Thanks for endorsing me for eingabeaufforderung you receive after someone endorses you for a skill. What good does sending that message really do for you?Why not send Hey (first name) Thank you for stopping by my profile and giving me an endorsement, how have you been? instead of that robotic thank you.Its all about the human touch that seems to get lost in this technology driven world were living in. If you really want to make an impact, give your interactions that human touch every time. This applies to every interaction on LinkedIn, from those work-anniversary congratulations to the way you accept connection requests. Just adding a few personal lines will result in a big difference with your job search.Dont just use it for job searchingLinkedIn is definitely a powerful ally when youre looking to leave your present company. You can optimize your profile so that it appeals to recruiters, reach out to others to set up informational interviews and, of course, you can view profiles and learn more about your dream company.However, if you are only using LinkedIn for job search, youre missing out on some serious career firepower like1). Listening in on relevant LinkedIn groups can help you or your team develop new products and services2). Following newsfeeds of your competitor which allows you to stay updated on whats happening i.e., new service s or market gaps they might not fill3). Viewing profiles of those who have RSVPd to the next Meetup kind of like a first handshakeAll of this information is sitting there at your fingertips, so dont let your account gather dust until it comes time to look for another job.Think about othersDont think of LinkedIn as a billboard on this digital road, simply a place to broadcast information about yourself for the lucky individual who stumbles upon your profile. Thats a little one-sided, dont you think?Heres a little tip LinkedIn is not a billboard, its a bulletin boardDo a little mind-flip and look at it as a dynamic place where you share resources, ideas and, most importantly, yourself with the LinkedIn world.What does that mean? It means its not enough to just share updates, you should actively comment on and share others posts as well. Its called making a proactive effort to engage with what your connections are doing.Now, lets talk about connecting. Building out your base of contac ts is important but thats just the first step. To really boost your connectivity, think about like-minded individuals you can introduce to each other. It shows the value youre adding to their networks and, in turn, add more value to yours.With these tips in mind, the next time you attend a networking event remember to balance your me-me responses with some we-we-we introductionsWith some well-placed keywords and a carefully crafted profile, you can have a powerful LinkedIn profile but to really boost it to the next level and see bigger results, get active in some new ways by using these tips