Fit Fitness into Your Workday

By John Rossheim, Monster Senior Contributing Writer



For those of us who spend long days at our workstations, sitting nearly motionless under fluorescent lights, fitness can seem like a pipe dream. How do you squeeze substantial physical activity into a job that squeezes most of the air out of your day?

Katie Hamlin, a senior account executive at public relations firm Edelman, puts her finger on it: “It’s hard to stay in shape when you work 9 to 5, especially when no one really gets out of work at 5.”

But even for cynics who believe at-the-office exercise is nothing more than a comedic routine involving finger calisthenics and laps around the conference table, there is hope. You can find times and ways to exercise at work, as long as you’re willing to think creatively about your situation, occasionally push the envelope of workplace decorum and perhaps even chuckle at yourself.

Start with Modest Changes to Your Routine
You may have heard the standard advice for workers looking to fit some fitness into their days: Park your car at the farthest corner of the lot. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Use the phone and email less, and walk to talk with your coworkers instead.

If you are among the most sedentary of the sedentary, these measures will begin to get your blood moving, but they’re really just a start. “Nothing can replace solid, intense workouts,” says Salvatore Fichera, an exercise physiologist. “But being as active as possible all through the workday does make a difference over time.”

Fichera recommends brisk exercise breaks of about 10 minutes. That should be enough time to give yourself a significant interval of cardiovascular exercise without taking up more time than a typical coffee break.

Fit in a Couple of 10-Minute Workouts

“If you take a break and climb the stairs for 10 minutes, you’ll burn 150 calories, assuming you weigh 150 pounds,” says Tammy Lakatos, a trainer and registered dietitian. Within that timeframe, you should be able to rev your metabolism without getting too sweaty, she says.

Will a 10-minute workout attract the wrong kind of attention from coworkers and bosses? If it does, you can try explaining why you’re doing it, or just keep at it and ignore negative reactions, which will likely fade with time.

Trainer Susie Shina recommends these intense exercises designed specifically for the white-collar environment: Wall presses (like push-ups, only against a wall), stand-ups (squats into your desk chair), march in place (try not to notice who’s staring) and knee-ups (in your chair, bring your knees up).

Sit for Fitness

Here’s another idea mentioned by more than one fitness expert: Replace your desk chair with a big exercise ball. “When I was a software developer, I brought one of those balance balls to my office and stopped using my desk chair,” says Jeff Wooten, president of The Body Mechanic. “It almost forced me to exercise while I worked.”

Being the first in his office to go chairless earned Wooten quite a few looks and comments. But Wooten and his exercise ball became trendsetters -- and saved money for his employer, which was accustomed to shelling out hundreds of dollars for ergonomic chairs. Balance balls sell for as little as $20.

Leave the Office to Work OutStill, we’ve got to admit that doing push-ups against a wall -- let alone a cubicle partition -- may be just too much. “Some of these activities could be difficult in some work environments,” says Scott Lucett, director of education at the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

The solution may be to take one longer, off-site exercise break. Does your company claim to give its employees a substantial lunchtime, like half or three-quarters of an hour, or even 60 minutes? Then test that claim, even if none of your coworkers do. When Hamlin was training for the New York City Marathon, she would sometimes take off for lunch, go to the gym a block from work, run three miles, shower and be back at her desk within an hour.

Finally, remember that when it comes to exercise, you have more at stake than a desire for a slimmer waistline or less generous hips. “Having a sedentary lifestyle increases your risk for coronary heart disease,” says Dr. Aliya Browne, clinical director of the Hainesport Women’s Heart Center.careers, Jobs Indonesia, Indonesia Vacancy

Enam Sikap Kerja Yang Tidak Disukai Atasan Pada Umumnya

1. Kalau melakukan kesalahan, tidak cepat-cepat lapor ke atasan.
   Alasannya biasanya cukup klasik, yaitu takut dimarahi oleh Boss. Cepat lambat pasti ketahuan juga dan akan dimarahi oleh atasan, maka sebaiknya, bertindak secara jujur dan gentle, dan jelaskan kesalahan Anda apa adanya. Semakin jujur dan cepat mengakui, semakin baik !


2. Menolak tugas-tugas tambahan dari atasan
   Kadangkala, atasan akan menguji, sejauh mana Anda memiliki tingkat ketaatan yang tinggi. Sejauh mana kesiapan Anda bersedia menolong beban kerja atasan. Sejauh mana juga, Anda siap berkorban demi kesuksesan bagian yang dipimpin oleh atasan. Semakin Anda menunjukkan dukungan, semakin Anda akan dapat nilai plus dari atasan


3. Terlalu diam atau terlalu cerewet
   Pada umumnya atasan tidak terlalu suka terhadap karyawan yang terlalu diam, pasif, kurang inisiatif, takut salah mengutarakan pendapat, baru bicara kalau ditanya, dan kurang proaktif. Namun ekstrem selanjutnya, kebanyakan atasan juga tidak suka kepada jenis karyawan yang banyak bicara tetapi tidak berprestasi, terlalu banyak kritik tetapi tidak punya “way-out”, terlalu banyak mengeluh tetapi tidak memiliki solusi, tukang gosip, terlalu banyak bercanda dan kurang mendengarkan orang lain.


4. Yang ingin menonjolkan diri sendiri
   Jenis karyawan seperti ini biasanya selalu memanfaatkan berbagai situasi untuk terlihat “lebih” dihadapan atasan ( lebih pandai, lebih menonjol, lebih menarik perhatian, dsb ). Biasanya karyawan tipe ini selain akan dijauhi oleh para rekan kerjanya, juga akan membuat si Boss tarik nafas melihat ulah ”lebay”nya


5. Tipe orang yang bila diberi tugas, “ngak ngerti-ngerti aja”
   Orang seperti ini akan bolak balik tanya pada si atasan tentang tugas yang harus dijalankan. Selain menyita waktu atasan, perilaku ini akan sangat menjengkelkan, karena si karyawan terlihat tidak siap untuk tugas-tugasnya


6. Tipe karyawan yang bila ditanya, tidak siap menjawab
   Yang terakhir, adalah tipe karyawan yang kalau ditanya berbagai tentag tugasnya sering menjawab,”Wah, ada dibuku catatan saya Pak. Catatannya ada dimeja kerja,...ketinggalan dirumah,....kehapus karena virus komputer....,dll” Intinya, kalau ditanya data tertentu, selalu tidak bisa jawab dengan cepat.

Bila Anda ingin berprestasi, perhatikan faktor-faktor diatas, dan selalu berlatih agar Anda tidak terjebak dengan perilaku yang akan merugikan karir Anda.

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Work From Home With Temp Writing Jobs

By: Warren Wong

You have all the flexibility you could ever want in a job when you take temp writing jobs and work from home. There are many people who need the services of a writer for small and large projects, such as creating web content for sites, preparing sales letters, resume writing, writing ebooks and more. If you have a talent for creating exciting and informational content and you have a good grasp of English grammar and punctuation, you can earn a good living working at these types of jobs.

Freelance writers are in big demand for magazines, companies and individuals. There are also free sites on the Internet where you can post submit articles and get paid a percentage of the advertising revenue earned by that site. The pay is only pennies a day, but if you submit articles on a regular basis and build up a fine selection on a variety of topics, you will soon see the pay increasing. You make money whenever a reader clicks on an ad posted on that site.

There is more money to be made when you can write well. With the subscription sites, you pay to join and then gain entrance into the bidding sections of the site where you can choose writing jobs in your field of expertise. You browse through the writing jobs that are posted and decide how much you would charge to complete the work. You then submit a proposal to the client and if you are chosen you have a temporary writing job. Some of the jobs will take you only a few hours or a day to complete, while others take longer or could even be full time employment. You can choose to be paid through the subscription site or if the employer wishes you can be paid through an offshore bank account.

You can decide which projects you would like to take on and how much writing you do in one day. This is the perfect job for stay at home moms and dads because they can work around the children sleep and play schedules. Work late into the night or early in the morning ?whatever time you wish. You don have to get dressed for work and try to manage the traffic in the morning in an effort to get to work on time. Stay in your pyjamas all day, take coffee breaks whenever you want or just go outdoors and enjoy the great sunshine.

Your office can be your kitchen table. Just open your laptop and go to work. Your employer can be in any part of the world. The only investment you need for such a job is a computer with an Internet connection and perhaps a paid subscription. There are many ads posted online looking for freelance writers in all genres and industries. If you have technical or computer expertise, you could be a writer for a user manual or write handbooks or study guides for teachers and students. The world is at your feet when you choose this line of work and you choose your own rate of pay.

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Overcoming An Ambivalent Job Search

One of the most frustrating aspect of job hunting is completing a job search and getting results back that are uncertain or mixed in their information. Job searches using different media or sources can contribute to this confusion and uncertainty. Ambivalent job searches may also occur when the job seeker is not clear on exactly what type of employment they are seeking. Conflicting job searches are frustrating and can lead to missed opportunities and poor decisions being made on employment options and opportunities. If you complete a job search and get an ambivalent result, try refining your search using the following factors.

Be specific

The more specific that the job search is the more accurate the results will be. Broad categories or descriptors will lead to wider ranging results. This, in turn, will provide more conflicting or ambivalent data being obtained. If, for example, you were to use the Internet and search for employment opportunities for teachers, you would receive literally millions of websites to go to. Wages, benefits, working hours, job expectations, credentialing, and experience would all be different. When repeating the search if the criteria was narrowed down to a specific type of teaching job in a specific area, for a specific credentialing or training level the results would be much less ambivalent and more exact.

Know what job you are looking for

As a job seeker sometimes you are unsure of exactly what job you are looking for. You may find that if you are not sure what you are seeking, you are unlikely to find anything that strikes a chord as a job you would wish to pursue.

Researching job qualifications and training required, as well as knowing where your own interests are will help you narrow down the scope of your search. It is important to have a job that you enjoy, not just for the salary or the benefits. Liking what you do is important if you are staying in the same career area and wish to feel good about going to work every day.

Try doing some volunteer work or job shadowing to narrow down your range of possibilities. Both of these strategies are good opportunities to experience a job or workplace before committing to work there.

Get additional training if needed

If you have mixed feelings about a job or are getting ambivalent information on job searches examine your own training and qualifications and determine if you need to complete any additional training or just brush up on already completed trainings. Often job seekers have uncertainty about jobs because they feel they are lacking in training or just have the minimum requirements. Talk to the professional organization or trade group that supports that group of workers to find out the trainings available and the standards required.

Consider your options

Since ambivalent job searches may indicate that you have mixed feelings about the job or career, take time to examine what you really want. Spending some time reflecting what you would like to do for a career will help clarify what type of job you are looking for and would most enjoy doing. The more clarity you have, the more likely you will be able to find the job that you are seeking.

www.professional-resumes.com

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