Make Your Workday a Healthy One

By Suzy Kridner
Career Specialist
We all try to eat healthy ... well sometimes. Exercise regularly ... well sometimes. And in general take care of ourselves and keep stress under control.
The new year is a time when many of us are thinking about changing our bad habits.
Whether you’re employed but worried about keeping your job, or unemployed and hoping to find a job this year, here are some tips from web entrepreneur Justine Grey for a healthier workday.
Your workday may be job hunting, but it’s still good to treat it like work.
Taking a break for a few minutes is one of my favorite stress relievers. Grey says when you do take a break, consider stepping outside your home or office. And here we don’t have to contend with snow or freezing temperatures (except for a few days a year.)
A quick way to help settle anxiety and mental stress is mediatation, according to Grey. Find a quiet spot to sit in a chair or on the floor. Keep your spine straight and close your eyes. Then, focus on breathing in deeply, holding your breath for two seconds, and letting the breath out slowly. Repeat this deep breathing for five minutes. Deep breathing can help refocus and regroup the mind while squashing stresses of the day.
Locally, Mental Health America of East Central Florida is sponsoring new Live Your Life Well Support groups in Daytona Beach and DeLand. The groups are for those having difficulty or experiencing stress in their lives, or for those who would like to learn new skills to improve their lives. For information, call 386-252-5785.
Read more of Grey’s tips in her web article, “8 Ways to a Healthier Workday.”

Turn Back Clocks Saturday Night (Or 2 a.m. Sunday Morning)

By Suzy Kridner
Career Specialist
Daylight savings time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday so don't forget to set your clocks back.
It's easy to lose track of time when you're unemployed and busy applying for jobs.
The days often run together and you don't even realize it's the weekend.
This weekend also is important as a reminder to check the batteries in your smoke detectors.
Most of us don't think about them until the smoke detector starts beeping in the middle of the night. Who wants to get up, go the garage, get a ladder and replace the batteries at 3 a.m.?
With an extra hour on Sunday, take a break from job searching and do something for yourself for an hour. Read a book, take a walk, call a friend or bake cookies.
Or you could use that hour to sleep, although many of us still wake up at the same time.
Me, I hope to get to the gym, since I always say I don't have time. Now I have an extra hour -- and no excuses.

Keeping Those Creative Juices Flowing

By Suzy Kridner
Career Specialist
It's summertime and the living is easy.
But sometimes we're too busy being laid back to keep our creative juices flowing.
In this job market, we need to stay on top of our game and be quick with new ideas.
Blogger Mike Michalowicz has several good suggestions for staying alert, including taking a walk. Even though it's hot, going outside for a few minutes will increase oxygen to your brain and get the blood flowing -- and maybe get ideas flowing too.
Another idea is cleaning your office. Although I've only been in my current job a few weeks, it's amazing how quickly the stack of paper piles up.
And a little break to do something different each day keeps us all fresh and out of a rut.
Read more ways to get your creative juices flowing.

Stress Relief

Posted by: Darlene Duncan, CWDP, JSS
Training Coordinator

Everyone of us deals with stress everyday. Some people handle it better than others. We all know someone that never seems to be bothered by stress. You know the ones, they handle crisis after crisis and never seem to be stressed by anything. The reality is that those people either have some method for coping with the stresses of life or they are suppressing that stress. Suppressing stress, living with stress and not reducing it can lead to a variety of health problems.

To check out this article on how to reduce your stress level click here.