Christmas won't be Christmas: Types of stress Guest post by Valerie Hartland

Christmas won't be Christmas: Types of stress Guest post by Valerie Hartland: When you feel overwhelmed and uptight, do you notice the familiar physical symptoms that come with it too? headache or backache, racing...

Social media tips for you and your business

1. What’s your social media goal? If you don’t know where you want to go, it’s pretty hard to get there.
2. Promote your most popular posts – and that goes for blog posts as well as social media posts.
3. How do you get the conversation going on social media? Try humor and controversy. They’re very powerful.
4. Social media is a powerful thing, but never mistake just playing on Facebook with being productive. Stay focused!
5. Look for questions repeated over and over on your chosen social networks. Provide good answers!!!
6. Analyze your own tweets. Which types got most retweeting? Most Interaction? Questions or graphics?
7. Don’t be shy with your social media presence. Go for it – but don’t overdo it and be a pain.
8. Still trying to be everyone’s “friend”? Each connection counts – and speaks loudly about who you are to your other connections.
9. If you want your social content to attract, do your best to share quality tips that are unique
10. Make sure you speak with an identifiable, individual voice when posting social content. Your posts should never sound “canned”.
11. Be consistent and post regularly but again don’t overdo it.
12. Include a mix of rich media in your social content. Video, photos, Instagram, Pinterest
13. Make sure all new product posts are made regularly. Don’t let gaps occur. Keep it fresh in people’s minds (without overdoing it.)
14. Use sites to create free surveys. You can ask questions and share the link on social media.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk

https://www.surveyhero.com/

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/free-online-surveys

https://surveyplanet.com/

https://kwiksurveys.com/

https://www.easyquest.com

https://www.allcounted.com

http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/11/10/best-online-survey-tools

15.  Only your short description displays in your Facebook header section, but fill out your Profile 100% for max searchability.
16. If you consistently get endorsements that are not relevant on LinkedIn, be aware you can remove endorsements completely.
17. Check “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” in LinkedIn to see who is finding you ..don’t be afraid of LinkedIn and find it daunting …it is an essential business tool !!!

How to get a job past the age of 50

Still an excellent helpful article , even though written in 2013 on how to get a job past the age of 50

United States Department of Labor....History of Labor Day

United States Department of Labor

Labor Day: What it Means

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.

Happy Labor Day to all my many readers across the USA

However, what is Labor Day …never heard of it said one of my friends when asking me what it is, and another friend in the USA, asked me if we have Labor Day in England.

So, if you were asked what is Labor Day? Do you really know? As far as the American holiday is concerned many British people know no more than it is a long weekend over the first Monday in September and considered to be the official end of summer, the beaches and water resorts stay open for a last summer celebration, and a tradition used to be that you didn’t wear white clothes or shoes after Labor Day. The day used to also coincide with the start of the new school year after the summer holidays but more schools now return in mid or late August.

The tradition of celebrating Labor Day as a national holiday across the USA goes back over 100 years. It began in 1882 in New York as a parade by the Knights of Columbus to give credit for the contributions to New York life of working class citizens. In 1884, a parade was held by the Knights celebrating the working class. The date chosen was the first Monday in September, and then the Knights decided to hold all such future parades on this day, and from then on the first Monday in September was seen as Labor Day.

The Socialist Party also held a celebration to commemorate the working class, this was on May 1^st and became known as May Day. Both the Socialists and Communists celebrated it and so in the United States the first Monday in September was chosen to remove the Communist associations.

This May Day celebration is more in line with the May Day observances held in the UK and many other countries on or around May 1^st. This celebration has origins as a pagan celebration of the end of winter and start of summer, closely associated with fertility, but was taken over as a celebration to honour workers. The First Monday in May is a holiday in the UK … http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/early-may-bank-holiday. Many places in the UK have ancient traditions surrounding May Day, involving such things as dancing around May poles and crowning a May Queen .

In the 20th century May Day has also become linked to International Workers' Day in Great Britain, even though the holiday is not officially a "Labour Day". In London the May Day march and rally, organised by the London May Day Committee (South East Region Trades Councils), gather together in Clerkenwell Green near the Marx Memorial Library before marching to Trafalgar Square for a rally with speeches from representatives of local, national and international trades unions and campaigning organisations. This event always takes place on May 1 with the intention to reinstate May 1, regardless of what day it falls on, as a national holiday.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day

Toward the end of the last decade of the nineteenth century, Labor organisations were lobbying for Labor Day to be observed as an official state holiday in the USA. The first states to do so in 1887, were Oregon, Colorado, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. In 1894, Congress passed the law that made Labor Day an official national holiday.

Labor Day is celebrated in the USA and in Canada on the same day , though called Labour Day due to the differences between American and British English , it is also celebrated in many other countries around the world , although the dates differ , it is mainly either the first Monday in September , or in May , or the 1^st May itself . While May Day has its roots in ancient celebrations of the coming of summer and fertility rites and May 1^st is associated with being a day to celebrate workers, Labor Day is a day that officially ends the summer season, but all of these celebrations have come to have links to celebrating the achievements of work and the working class.


Valerie Hedges

Be happy now , not later

Today my Open University books arrived for the coming academic year , I am studying for a BA Hons Social Sciences …So many people spending most of their time at work or looking for work, or running a home business feel that they do not get nearly enough time to do what they want to do. Many people feel and even experience depression as a result, that they do not have the means to have leisure time and activities such as hobbies and so they work harder because of this pressure.

There is never a perfect time to do the things you want to do and fulfil ambitions, there will always be something that makes it not quite the right time, finances, family circumstances etc. However, what about the things you have achieved so far? Was it ever a good time? If you’re a parent, then was it a good time to have a baby? Was it a good time to get married? A good time to start a relationship? A good time to buy a house?

When we have to, we make things work. There’s never a perfect time so do it anyway.

It can be easier Than You Think

Many of the dreams we have are much easier to fulfil than we might initially think. For example, if you want to travel then you don’t necessarily need to spend a fortune or take a year off work.

How about identifying places a little nearer that you can travel to?  Want a better home? You don’t need to spend millions – just empty out your property of things you don’t need and clear out clutter, do a bit of decorating and you will be surprised what a difference small changes can make!

Do you want to do a course but are put off by the cost? While adult education has had massive budget cuts, there are still available online, several reputable sources of free online courses, including Open Learn from the Open University and Vision2learn, with whom I gained an Equality and Diversity level 2 qualification. Just Google free online courses, for more opportunities.

maybe you have a craft or hobby such as writing and want to start a business, but for now you must stay in your current job? why not do what you enjoy doing at weekends and then when you retire or are in a better financial situation, you can turn that craft or hobby into a new career.