Day: April 29, 2020

Three Practical Ways To Deal With Bad News

- Roshan

With the headlines taken over by relentless news items about the spread of coronavirus, it can be easy to feel like real life is suspended. And yet, life does go on – both good things and, unfortunately, worse ones. Learning how to cope with adversity and bad news and becoming more emotionally resilient are increasingly valuable skills. Covid-19 is having a huge impact on many lives as well, from being made redundant to the breakup of relationships and of course dealing with serious illness for those who contract the virus. It can feel quite overwhelming, but learning how to process bad news is something that will support your life both through the pandemic and after it.

Allow Your Negative Emotions To Surface

There’s nothing more toxic than pretending everything’s alright when it truly isn’t. When we get over the initial shock of receiving bad news, often our first response is to try and put a brave face on the situation, but this is rarely a healthy response in the medium to long term. Let yourself experience the emotions that come without putting a value on them. It’s perfectly okay to feel sad, angry and anywhere in between when something happens out of the blue. Allowing yourself to feel and acknowledge this is extremely important. Studies have found that if we attempt to suppress our negative emotions, they are actually longer in duration.

Reframe Your Internal Dialogue

You cannot hope to control the things that happen to you in life, however much you want to. What you can control is your response to those events, and it’s this that can be incredibly character forming –  it’s the reason why you often hear survivors of terrible tragedies saying it made them who they are. There is always a way to reframe your thought process, from a negative internal dialogue that only makes the feelings worse, to something more positive. The secret is cognitive baby steps. Instead of trying to tell yourself the direct opposite – which rarely works as the brain won’t accept it – work on trying to find a replacement thought that is acceptable. So if you have experienced a job loss, instead of telling yourself everything is going to be alright, tell yourself ‘I will be okay for a couple of months looking for another job’.

Remind Yourself Of Overcoming Adversity

There will be times in your life before where you have encountered an adverse event and managed to move past it. Draw on those memories and remind yourself of your own strength. Find the professional support you need, whether that is a counselling session online or a car accident lawyer, and reach out to friends and family over the phone for their advice. It’s vital not to feel alone, and to remember that you can and will come through this situation with the right support. In the meantime, try to slow down –  if you are experiencing trouble, a mindfulness app can be a great help to calm you down and help to combat stress and anxiety.

Courses To Take Now That Could Prove Invaluable Post-Lockdown

- Roshan

Lockdown life is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. Suddenly, we’ve gone from never spending enough time at home to spending ALL our time there. And, honestly, it isn’t quite the luxury we imagined. Like anything when it’s put upon us, we’re now clawing at the walls and begging for the chance to exercise just once a day. But, as the adjustment period comes to a somewhat belated end, some of us are managing to put this new normal to positive use.

Most notably, people seem to be embracing this opportunity to finally make the most of home learning. The courses available have increased ten-fold, while even online learning outlets that have always been around enjoy unprecedented signup rates.

Of course, the lessons you choose to take away from this period are entirely down to you, and there’s nothing wrong with courses that simply help you to switch off. It is worth noting, though, that with job safety so uncertain at the moment, you could also benefit from thinking about new skills that will undeniably come in handy post-pandemic, including –

Health and safety/first aid

Even when lockdowns end, governments worldwide are talking about new safety processes to help prevent a much-dreaded ‘second wave’ of infections. In the UK, for instance, they’re talking about new layout requirements in restaurants, while the US centers around phased reopenings. Either way, workplaces globally face brand new challenges to keep customers and employees safe. As such, the call for health and safety or first aid trained individuals is about to increase no end. Even better, these courses are openly available online and don’t tend to take much more than a few days to complete.

Public relations

Even with these new safety regulations, many businesses are worried how customer interest will look after lockdown. After all, customers will still likely show some hesitancy about heading out, meaning that already struggling businesses will face further setbacks. Hence why PR experts are liable to come into play. And, hence why you’d benefit from taking this chance to learn more about public relations right now. This way, you’ll be in the best position to help brands plan promotions, marketing, and more that helps them rebuild consumer attention when they need it most.

Accounting

It’s also vital not to underestimate how much accounting services will come into play for industries post-lockdown. After all, companies will have gone untold amounts of time with no revenue by this point, and bringing the right people on board to help them overcome that will be a priority. Whether you have some accounting experience or are starting from scratch, tackling a course in this area now means you’ll be at the forefront of that increased demand, and changing the face of businesses as we know them!

Lockdown is, undeniably, frustrating, but this time also brings a great deal of opportunities. While there’s no such thing as a wasted course, then, consider these fundamentals to get your foot in these soon-to-be-booming careers sooner rather than later.

Could Lockdown Be The Ideal Time To Break Free From A Career you Can’t Stand?

- Roshan

Lockdown has been an emotional rollercoaster for everyone. So much so that many of us are only now finding ourselves able to make some positive use of this time. For some, that means finally taking care of tasks around the house, or just getting dressed each morning (a considerable achievement.) For others, though, lockdown has led to larger life questions, especially where our careers are concerned.

After all, this is the longest period many of us have gone without work, and a shocking amount of us don’t even know if our jobs will be open when all this ends. As such, in a somewhat ironic and roundabout way, it’s just possible that lockdown will prove the ideal time to break your career chains at last. And, here are a few reasons why.

Some much-needed distance

Whether you’re working remotely or not working at all, lockdown has provided some much-needed distance from the workplace. This distance may well have surprising effects for many. On the one hand, not having to head to the workplace could reveal that you perhaps weren’t as happy there as you have thought. In extreme cases, time away from colleagues could even make you aware of harassments you overlooked at the time. Luckily, you have two years to file for issues like these, so you can still take action. And, of course, you can use this newfound awareness to push you towards finally finding a workplace where respect is a given.

Skills, skills, skills

It’s always tempting to stay in a job if your skillset is limited to that area. Let’s say your degree and all your training is in accounting. You’ll naturally feel reluctant to break away, especially given time limitations that stop you from training elsewhere. Lucky for you, even if you’re working remotely right now, you’ll have a load more time on your hands. That means you can finally develop the skills you need to break into the field you’ve been dreaming of. Whether you take online classes or sign up for a remote degree, this could see you enjoying the confidence, and the resume, you need to make a career move truly work for you.

Plenty of time to search

Job searching is always tricky when you’re still upholding another role, and can make choosing a career alternative seem impossible. After all, you barely have time to search, let alone consider interviews, etc. Luckily, time is something that lockdown has granted us in spades, meaning that you can get to this searching process without worry. Admittedly, jobs are few and far between right now. But, as lockdown restrictions start to ease, you may well find that positions begin to crop up that you could never have applied for previously.

It’s impossible to say there are any silver linings to our current position. It’s certainly difficult to feel any during our day-to-day. But, if you take anything out of this period, let it be a job that you can feel happy in at last!

Being Mindful Of Your Energy Usage: What To Think About

- Roshan

The energy bill can be one of those costly monthly direct debits that you feel you have no control over. That it leaves your account, your energy supply is there and that is the end of the matter. However, the energy bill can be reduced in a number of ways and often it starts with you being more proactive. With that in mind, here are some of the top tips to help you reduce your energy costs.

Switch off appliances

One of the first things that you could consider is switching off the appliances at the wall. This can be such a great way to save on electricity and energy in your home. Too often we just put things on standby, but those appliances are still using energy while in that mode. Switching them off at the mains, and even unplugging them is a small habit to get into that in time can make a big difference to reducing your energy costs. You might also need to know how well those appliances are working. It might be that they are not working as well as they should be. It might be time to finally fix your dryer, repair your washing machine, or ensure that the fridge is working as it should be. Before they end up costing you a fortune to replace and also in the energy that they are using.

Consider alternative heating options

The next thing to think about might be more specific to the winter months, but again it could really help you to save money. Many homes have a central heating system in place, but it can be counterproductive if radiators are in rooms that you may not be using. It could be better to consider alternative heating methods. There are many things you could consider but this could be a great way to save a little on those consistent energy bills by using alternative heating sources.

Switch energy provider

Another thing you can do to reduce your energy bills is to switch providers. This can be a great way to help you get a better deal and rate. Many think loyalty pays off, but in fact, many companies save their best rates and tariffs for new customers. Switching providers is easy to do, and it can be a great way to save some money on those monthly direct debits.

Change light bulbs in your home

Often it is the small things that cost the most, and your light bulbs may be shining away money just because they are not energy efficient ones. It might be time to think about switching the for efficient ones or LED’s which can last a lot longer. They may seem a little pricey, but overall the saving outweighs the cost.

Use your common sense

Finally, sometimes it is just worth using your common sense instead of using your energy supply. If you are cold, put on an extra layer of clothing or get a blanket. You could also consider things such as closing the curtains and blinds to avoid drafts getting in. Small things can help to improve your energy usage, and in time, make a big impact on your bills. What could you do differently instead of increasing the temperature in your home or turning on a heater?

Let’s hope this has given you some idea on how you can reduce your energy costs.