Career

Do you work at home and you just don’t know how to organize your day? Do you love working in pajamas and getting up at whatever time you want, eating whenever you are hungry, and staying awake with the help of coffee or caffeine pills?

We don’t know a lot about the effects of working at home because the work model “home office” has only become slightly more popular in the last few years. For decades, the individuals working in an office among us have gotten up between 6 and 7, started work between 8 and 9, and finished their day between 4 and 5. We have breakfast at home, lunch at the office, and dinner at home with our families. What happens if all of a sudden we are obliged to work from home and provide buy research papers online? Great, most of us think, my dream has become reality; this is what I always wanted.

But be careful, what seems like paradise might soon turn into a nightmare. Suddenly you don’t have to set your alarm clock anymore, you determine your working hours and it feels like you have all day to start working.

Dress Appropriately

Get out of your pajamas and dress appropriately, just as if you were to leave to go to the office. The first couple of days or even weeks it might be a great feeling wearing your PJs or a sweatsuit while working but you are setting yourself a trap. Pretty soon you will forget to brush your hair, stop wearing makeup or forget to shave and just run around in the same clothing day and night. It sounds absurd but it will happen if you don’t control your habits.

Set Yourself Fixed Working Hours

Don’t start working at a different time every day. You can make exceptions but these kinds of exceptions should not become the rule. You will lose your rhythm and be more stressed than before. Why more stressed? Well, think about it this way. Our body gets used to getting up at a certain time so if you get up at 9 am on one day and at 2 pm on the other day, your body will become confused.

Apart from that, our body will neither be able to produce sufficient amounts of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is stimulated by outdoor light and is significantly responsible for our health and well-being nor will it be capable of synthesizing enough melatonin, a hormone that is produced at night through which you become inactive and tired. These two hormones have a great influence on our mood and energy levels and if their production and hence our day-night cycle is disrupted or changed frequently, the risk for feeling depressive symptoms rises.

Don’t Forget Your Social Life

When you work at home, you will be communicating non-stop by email, through social networks, via Skype, or other instant-messaging tools. Don’t forget to pick up the phone to talk to your friends and colleagues. It can become unbearable if you don’t hear a human voice all day long and the beeping noises of your instant messaging tools will soon haunt you in your sleep.

Spend Time Outside

Spend at least 30 minutes outside in daylight. Don’t lock yourself inside and make your computer become your best friend. The world is happening outside and sunlight should be your best friend. Sunlight stimulates the production of serotonin and thus leads to happiness. 2 hours a day is the dosage required for your body to produce sufficient amounts of serotonin to get you through the winter. In the winter, when there is a lack of sunlight, your body produces less serotonin which is why many people feel depressive symptoms in the winter. So don’t forget to spend some quality time outside.

Avoid Artificial Light at Night

Try to avoid using your computer at night. The artificial light will hinder your body’s production of melatonin and will disrupt your sleeping and waking cycle. According to scientific studies, using artificial light at night, such as by watching television, writing narrative essays, and using the computer can lead to depression, and all of that is because you are confusing your sleeping hormone. If you are receiving work late at night and if you are not pushed by a strict deadline, leave your job until the next day. You will feel energized by new serotonin being produced, triggered by sunlight, and you will be more concentrated, deliver better results and work more efficiently.

Remain Physically Active

Don’t forget to remain physically active. Physical activities will have several benefits for freelancers. As freelancers, we are often condemned to sitting in front of our screens all day long. This makes it more difficult to manage our weight and our health. It also reduces the risks of high blood pressure by boosting high-density lipoprotein and decreasing unhealthy triglycerides. Your blood is able to move more smoothly and the risk of cardiovascular diseases can be lowered. And here we come across serotonin again. There is a connection between serotonin and physical activities. For one thing, exercise increases the rate and frequency at which serotonin is synthesized and produced. Secondly, the level of tryptophan which is an amino acid that produces serotonin is increased. Practice your favorite outdoor sports or just put on your rollerblades and skate around a bit while you recharge your batteries and stock up on serotonin.

Watch Your Nutrition

Eat healthy, regularly, and at fixed times during the day. Most of all, pay attention to the kinds of foods you eat. There are certain kinds of foods that trigger the production of serotonin such as foods high in B-vitamins (eggs, brown rice, chicken, corn, green leaves, legumes, peas, sunflower seeds, and nuts), calcium (green leaves, almonds, and cruciferous vegetables, fish with bones, tofu, and sesame seeds), magnesium (green leaves, brown rice, sesame seeds, shrimp, salmon) and tryptophan (turkey, peanuts, soy foods, almonds). The Omega 3’s are fatty acids necessary for serotonin production. These can be found in fish oils such as mackerel, salmon, sardine, and tuna. Omega 6’s is equally important. These are contained in chicken, eggs, sunflower oil, and turkey.

Reduce Your Stress

Reduce your stress. There may be different stimulators. If you experience stress on a long-term basis, your serotonin levels will be depleted and you will find yourself with a lack of the “happiness”-hormone. Stress on a short-term basis actually increases serotonin but if this happens too much, you risk experiencing burn-out syndrome and it will be extremely difficult for your body to produce sufficient serotonin levels. Try to listen to relaxing music. It will soothe your mind, calm your nerves and take your mind off of troubling thoughts.

When your mind starts relaxing, this relaxation will go over to other parts of the body. It was found that a continuous rhythm of 60 BPM has a relaxing effect on your body as your heart rate will harmonize with the music’s rhythm.

Avoid Stimulants

Don’t take stimulants because they reduce your serotonin levels significantly. Avoid coffee or pills containing caffeine, refined carbohydrates, chocolate with a high quantity of sugar (dark chocolate was discovered to have positive effects on your heart), alcohol, drugs cigarettes, or any other form of tobacco.

Try following this advice and you will see your serotonin levels soaring up. Your mood will change for the better and you will have energy in ways never seen before. Teach your co-workers and supervisors the importance of organizing their day working from home and the magic of serotonin and they will soon become much more pleasant to work with too.

Methew Harbor

Matthew is a Co-Founder at BusinessFinanceArticles.org. Matthew was a floor manager at a local restaurant in Wales. He lost his job after the pandemic and took initiative to make a team and start the project.

More often than not, most careers are geared towards a specific direction. Job seeking, company selection and the overall work environment that one chooses are correlated in one way or the other to the career path you choose.

While making money is crucial to being able to afford daily essential amenities, another aspect of choosing a career path is driven by our overall desire to be in that particular field. So, what drives your career path and how have your goals influenced the choices you make in relation to the same? If you are curious, keep reading to know more and get tips on how to re-evaluate your career goals.

1. Understand What Makes You Happy

Of course, we are not saying that loving money is bad. The main goal here is to understand what has driven your career so far. If you have been chasing money in your career path, then that is what has fuelled your decisions.

When it comes to offering solutions, it means that you are not only open to giving the services you are equipped with, but you are giving yourself a chance to learn. Call it passion! It fuels you every desire to be better in the field. For instance, if you handle throttling ball valves in the production section, you’ll want to learn how to minimize the costs while increasing the quality and durability of the output.

Alternatively, you may be placed in charge of servicing the food packaging machine in the firm, you will ensure that you give a special touch to each accessible element and ensure that it functions better. Or maybe you have been given an opportunity to work for medium voltage switchgear manufacturers, your desire to offer solutions will open the willingness to go the extra mile without being pushed into anything.

Point is, while it’s good to ensure that you get a good “thank you” for your services when you do it with the desire to offer more solutions, you are able to achieve your career goals faster.

2. Look into the Growth Spectrum

Goals re-evaluation is not just about taking up a pen and changing your previously written ones. When you re-evaluate your career goals, you look at the attributes and aspects that put you in that particular goal and weigh both the privileges and outcomes.

Looking into the growth spectrum is an essential way to know whether you are heading towards the right outcome or you are simply moving with the flow.

If you check and find that you are not getting the growth that you expected, you can easily change your plan and see if you get a better outcome.

Moreover, the goals that you made at the beginning of the year or your career path will change along the way as you navigate the industry and gain more experience. So, as part of your re-evaluation, cancel out goals that you have already accomplished so that you can pave the way to new ones.

3. Have a Good Breakdown Strategy

Making goals, quite easy! Achieving them is another story altogether. In the re-evaluation, the point, as mentioned earlier, is to know which goals will be achievable in the short-term and long term.

This is where a good breakdown strategy comes in handy. Whether short-term or long-term, you need a way to discern which ones will be achievable in a simpler way and which ones are going to need much more time and a sophisticated plan.

When you are able to critically elaborate what each goal means to your accomplishments and what each plan needs to be accomplished, you need to go ahead and get a good strategy to break each one. This helps to make the accomplishment easier and small celebrations after each accomplishment can go a long way for you.

The breakdown also helps you to understand more where your motivation lies.

4. Have a Now and Future Comparison

Career goals re-evaluation need to give a better view of what you want in the long run. Now, have a current and future analysis of the goals you have presently. What do the now and future reflect? Is the barrier big or small? What does all this mean to you? Does the future look promising with the prevalent conditions or are your goals unattainable in a way?

Being honest with yourself saves you from frustrations and avoidable stress.

The Bottom Line

We can never tell you to choose between money and offering solutions in creating your career goals. We can, however, advise you to follow what makes you happy, it gives you a balance of both. Keep in mind that skills and knowledge have a better futuristic return. Good luck!

Ayesha Saeed

A happy mom, professional article writer, SEO practitioner, blogger, guest blogger & freelancer. She’s been in digital marketing since 2018. She loves reading books and spending time with her family.

If you are a truck driver, you have a lot of opportunities before you. If you accept different types of cargo, you can significantly increase your earnings potential, even if you haul general freight.

The type of commercial driver’s license (CDL) you have can affect whether you can obtain various endorsements that may increase your earnings. So, here are a few different types of CDL endorsements and CDL endorsement codes so you can bring career to the next level.

Endorsements for CDL

You can operate different CMVs depending on which endorsements you have on your CDL. You need to apply for which endorsement you wish to receive when applying for your CDL. You’ll receive the appropriate CDL endorsement test once you have declared which ones you want. Each state also requires an endorsement, just as there are different CDL Classes between states.

A commercial driver’s license endorsement must operate certain commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). For the following federal endorsements, additional tests are required outside of those required for Class A, B, or C CDLs. State-specific endorsements may also be available.

Among the different endorsements you can pursue are:

H Endorsement

When an endorsement H is added to a CDL, the driver is permitted to drive a vehicle loaded with hazardous materials. A written knowledge test is required before the H endorsement can be granted.

N Endorsement

An N CDL endorsement allows an operator to operate a tanker vehicle (which transports liquids and gases). Drivers who wish to obtain a tanker CDL endorsement N must pass a written knowledge test.

P Endorsement

It would be best to have a P endorsement to operate a vehicle or bus that seats 16 people (including you, the driver). You must pass both the passenger P knowledge test and the road test to receive this endorsement. To drive a school bus, you must fill out separate forms and undergo a federal background check (since school bus drivers need two different endorsements).

S Endorsement

An S endorsement is the second endorsement a school bus driver needs. As stated previously, to receive an S endorsement, you must pass a written knowledge test, a driving test, and a background check.

T Endorsement

You can operate double or triple trailers if you hold the T endorsement, but you must clear a written knowledge test to obtain it.

X Endorsement

You can operate a vehicle hauling hazardous materials in a tank with the X endorsement. It needs to pass a written test to get the combination endorsement.

The app can help you manage your driving career if you want to get a CDL and advance your career with the right endorsements. Applying to new jobs is easy to store all your application information, including endorsements and certifications. There are also jobs available based on the licenses you hold.

Ayesha Saeed

A happy mom, professional article writer, SEO practitioner, blogger, guest blogger & freelancer. She’s been in digital marketing since 2018. She loves reading books and spending time with her family.

Retirement is one of the most challenging topics for many people. Some people have to forcefully retire because of an illness, job loss, or other reasons. On the other hand, some people even fear thinking about retiring. It is either because they love what they do or aren’t ready to face the unknown.

What’s more difficult is deciding what the right time to retire is. Some people plan out their retirement according to age (usually above 60), while others set a financial goal. However, it is imperative to ensure that you have enough to support yourself and your family before giving up your paycheck. Read the seven signs given below to make your retirement assessment easier.

You have enough financial support

Financial support is the first thing you need to think about before retiring. Ask yourself whether you have enough money saved? And will you be able to live comfortably with that amount? Figuring out finances can be a hassle. You must understand that you cannot live on social security alone. You need to have some extra source of income to ensure you can sufficiently fulfill all your needs.

Consider hiring a financial planner. Financial advisors are highly qualified professionals who can help you set realistic goals, save time, minimize self-bias, and reduce stress. However, no one can tell you a fixed amount you need to retire. Your expenses will also highly rely on where and how you live. For instance, many say that retirement in Australia is pretty costly because prices are skyrocketing compared to other countries. Still, no financial advisor can tell you exactly how much do you need to retire in Australia or any other country for that reason. However, they can give you a pretty close estimate that can help you decide whether you should quit now or later.

You don’t owe anyone anything

Paying debts can become a nightmare without a steady stream of income. So, if you have any unpaid mortgages, loans, credit lines, credit card balances, or any other debt, know that it is not a good time to retire.

Your savings and money post-retirement should only cater to your personal needs and requirements and not pay off your debts. Some finance experts also call retiring with debt a ‘financial sin.’ By paying off debt before retirement, you can reduce the amount of interest paid overtime. You can also enhance your credit score and remove the emotional/mental burden off you. And most importantly, you will be able to focus on your savings solely for retirement purposes. It is always helpful to have a pre-plan and remain organized whenever you plan to retire.

You can cover your healthcare

It is astonishing how costly healthcare has become. It would be almost impossible for an average person to afford primary treatment without external help or some healthcare program. Medicare usually begins at the age of 65 and above. So, if you are planning to retire before that, you must look for ways to cover your healthcare.

If you get healthcare benefits through your spouse’s or a family member’s employment, then that is a sign that you can retire early. Similarly, you can also retire if you have health insurance to conveniently pay out of your savings. Several private health insurance schemes offer tax-free distributions to provide pocket-friendly medical plans.

You have a plan for emergencies

Emergencies can strike at any time. As much as we don’t like thinking about something wrong, we must always remain prepared. 

An emergency fund is crucial because it will help you deal with unanticipated circumstances in the best way possible. You might need a sudden car repair, home repair, or pay major dental expenses. Sometimes people need to travel or pay a bigger-than-expected tax bill unexpectedly. There could be several other reasons, and therefore, you must have a plan to cope with emergencies. Planning such scenarios will help avoid panicking and stressing out later if anything happens.

You have a social life

Having friends or family or both is highly essential when you retire. Even if you want to spend your retirement years alone, there will come the point when you start feeling lonely and isolated.

Often, people make their job their identity. Their social life lies within office boundaries. If you are also like them, make sure you find a new social circle before quitting. Otherwise, you might feel lonely and alone. Keep in mind that you will no longer get the chance to meet, have lunch, or converse with your colleagues once you retire. If you can live with that fact, then that is a sign that you are ready to retire.

You have a hobby

As mentioned above, retirement isn’t easy for many people, especially workaholics. You must pick a hobby to keep yourself entertained if you consider retiring. Having a hobby will help you feel less stressed about leaving your job and keep you busy.

Some hobbies you can look into are joining a book club, volunteering in your local community festivals, or gardening. You can also look into learning photography, pottery, and woodworking. If you are into sports, you can join some local sports clubs and play for charities.

You know about your tax bills

The last and the most crucial thing to understand before making your retirement decision are your taxes. You must account for taxes and figure out how much savings you will have after tax deductions. If the excess income is sufficient for you to enjoy your past years, nothing should stop you from quitting your job.

Every city and country has a differing set of tax rules for seniors and retired individuals. Some are also more favorable than others, hence, do your research and then choose.

Conclusion

Retirement can be a daunting yet exciting thought. The thrill about not having to work anymore and just sitting back and relaxing is indeed exhilarating. However, the transition from a workaholic individual with a strict routine to a freebie isn’t going to be easy. You must make sure that you are both physically and mentally prepared to retire before you take any step. If you are not, you might affect both your health and peace of mind. Therefore, review the signs mentioned above, think carefully, and decide.

Jason Obrien

Jason is the Marketing Manager at a local advertising company in Australia. He moved to Australia 10 years back for his passion for advertising. Jason recently joined BFA as a volunteer writer and contributes by sharing his valuable experience and knowledge.

Freelancing is a perfect way to be your own boss with nobody dictating you around and telling you what to do. There are more than a billion freelancers in the world today, which indicates that this is the field to be in.

Changing economic situations and the COVID-19 pandemic pushed many youngsters to become freelancers. The field has been popular for quite some time now, but the pandemic forced all of humanity to stay indoors. During this time, millions of people lost their jobs and livelihoods; in this case, freelancing platforms proved to be a great option to earn.

The best thing about freelancing is that you don’t have to go anywhere and can carry out work from the comfort of your house. This is enough to entice people to become a freelancer. Many people with stable jobs also freelance part-time for some extra cash.

Freelancing is exceptionally fruitful; however, a few concerning issues arise when working with clients from different parts of the world. International clients prefer hiring freelancers from other countries because the exchange rates are comparatively much more economical for them.

Having clients from across the border is a wonderful feeling because you are essentially getting a decent amount of money, but this awesomeness comes with a few limitations. Let’s look at what are some of the problems faced by freelancers with international clients.

1. Language Barrier

The biggest problem that arises while working with clients from other parts of the world is the language barrier. Clients speak a different language, and some of them are not as fluent in English as others.

Sometimes this causes a lot of problems because understanding what the other person wants becomes difficult. Due to this issue, it sometimes takes a considerable amount of time to be clear about everything. This also develops a sense of irritation among both parties and the chances of losing the business increase.

What a freelancer should do in this situation is to ask all the questions as simply as possible. The skill of understanding what a client wants develops over time and with experience. So, hang in there.

2. Communication Gap

The communication gap is another factor that creates problems for the freelancer and the client. In a physical setting or a job environment, the person asking us to do a task is near us and can guide us if they want things to be a certain way.

With the language barrier already in play, not being at the same place brings out the communication gap. This results in more revisions and consumes a good chunk of time that might affect the task completion for other clients.

When the freelancer thinks they are all done and submit their work, the client informs them about the things that need to be done differently, and they might have to start working on the project all over again.

The best thing to do is gather all the minute details about the project before working on it to avoid future mishaps.

3. Payment Issues

One of the biggest problems is getting paid as a freelancer. Freelancers begin their careers with freelancing platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr. Once they are experienced enough and have gained stable clients, they try to take up the clients personally out of the freelancing platforms.

The thing about freelance platforms is that they charge a fee for bringing the clients and freelancers together. This fee depends upon the payment you are receiving, and as the payments grow, the fees increase as well. People don’t want that and move outside of the platforms. This creates payment issues because of the country differences.

4. Tax Issues

Taxes are not fun, but they are essential. In addition to your country’s taxes, there might be tax implications of the country your client is from.

You have to figure out all the taxes before getting your hopes high and later get disappointed. We suggest you get some professional advice regarding the taxation process and begin your projects with foreign clients.

5. Time Difference

Time is another concern for freelancers. Clients from across the borders have different time zones than freelancers, which can be a major inconvenience. Because of this reason, the responses can get delayed and limit your work. Getting a quick response for something important related to the task will become a hassle because of the time zones.

The same goes for the client; they will have to wait a long time if they want to get in touch with you regarding a few chances.

If you want to work with foreign clients, you either have to adjust to the different time zones by changing your working hours or communicate everything before starting the projects together.

Although there are a few complications in the freelancing world with all its advantages, you can ignore the issues. You can work around the problems and solve them, not get too flustered, and be patient.

Ayesha Saeed

A happy mom, professional article writer, SEO practitioner, blogger, guest blogger & freelancer. She’s been in digital marketing since 2018. She loves reading books and spending time with her family.