Seven Tips to Reduce Your Stress

With the semester ending and the holidays upon us, this time of year can be especially stressful if you let all of the madness get to you.  Perhaps you’ve heard it all before, but just in case you need a refresher on some “quick” tips to consider when you are feeling stressed, the following tips may help relieve your anxiety and promote a peaceful holiday and semester end:

• Deep breathing- Inhale through your nose, hold the breath and exhale through your mouth.  Make sure you are in a quiet place where you can focus on calming yourself down.  Then, refocus with a renewed purpose where you aren’t in the throes of anxiety.

 • Reach out to a friend, acquaintance or family member.   Connecting with another person can help to lessen anxiety and promote feelings of community and calm.

 • Engage in a soothing regimen for the body such as having a cup of tea, or scheduling time for massage, yoga or meditation. 

• Listen to some relaxing music such as nature sounds or perhaps the Pure Moods collection, as a way to unwind and promote relaxation.

• Retreat to a piece of fiction or novel that you enjoy to escape from day to day pressures and demands, when you can.

• When you find yourself with a lot of anticipatory anxiety about the future, remind yourself to stay in the present.  Learn to appreciate all of the outdoor scenery that surrounds you such as the changing of the leaves as you embark on the autumn season.

As a rule, aim for balance in your life; when you find yourself overworked or overwhelmed by too many emergencies and putting out fires, identify the area of your life where you need to restore balance and concentrate on these when you find yourself getting derailed by life’s demands and emergencies.  Maybe it’s more time for yourself or time with family, or perhaps community activities where you feel like a part of something that is making a difference.  For more information on this topic, visit this link.

Weekend Getaway: Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

If you need some time to relax, unwind, and recharge, a quick weekend getaway at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, may be just the place to go!  From the Fairfax area, it is a short 51 mile drive.  According to Mapquest, it will only take about 1 hour and 15 minutes (from the Fairfax, VA area).  Once you arrive, you can relax and enjoy the beauty and activities.  The website boasts, ”Join a guided ranger tour, visit our exhibits and museums, hike our many trails, buy a book at the Historical Association's bookshop or just explore on your own. A short walk takes you into the town of Harpers Ferry where you will find restaurants and shops….”  If you enjoy walking, Harpers Ferry is considered one of the best walking parks in America! 

Reserve a day to get away and enjoy the peaceful scenery of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Potomac and Shenandoah river valleys at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.  Just a short drive away, this quick getaway will not disappoint you and may leave you feeling refreshed and recharged.

For detailed information, please visit their website.

Did you know that ELI also has a Facebook and Twitter account?  Follow-us, like-us, win prizes!  Once or twice a semester we have contests for students on our social media pages. 

Want to win a prize now?  Send a 200-300 word essay telling us your “NOVA story” and we will send you a box of ELI swag! 

Send your entries to ELISuccess@nvcc.edu by June 30, 2013. 

(Questions?  Feel free to email us)

https://www.facebook.com/NOVAelife

https://twitter.com/NOVAELIFE

Digital Identity: Status Updates

Have you ever been surprised by a status update in your network? Have you ever drawn a blank when trying to post a status update? Well you are in luck. Today’s Tech Talk is focused on Status Update Tips. Whether you prefer facebook, twitter, or LinkedIn here are some tips and ideas for your professional social network.

Are you going to a conference or presenting what you have been working on? Post about it. Let your network see what you are working on. Or even better, make connections with peers who you may not know, but have similar interests. You can learn from each other.

You can mention some of the profiles you are "following". This will help your peers connect with the people you find beneficial to follow. When I first joined twitter I found a couple of people and companies that I connected with and through their followers, was able to gain a lot of interesting connections.

Do you travel -- for work or pleasure? This is a great way to share your adventures with your network once you return from your trip. Use good judgment and make sure you are staying safe. Don’t let your entire network know you are out of the country.  But share you experiences when you return!

As with everything on your network, show off your personality.

These and many more can be found at iLibrarian.

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Digital Identity

In some ways, your digital identity in the social media world is just as important as a first impression in a face to face conversation. Using social media sites for networking and free professional development is a growing trend. If you are new to social media, start with this Social Media Revolution video by Erik Qualman from "Socialnomics".

Getting started in any social media site, you want to begin with your introduction. Your 160 character twitter bio can easily be your one minute elevator pitch for a potential employer. Your profile picture says a lot about you. Use this opportunity to show off your personality, but keep it professional. When you select your profile name, you want to use something that is easy to identify you as a person. Keep it professional and easy to identify you. Try googling your name and check your name domain to see what is already out there about you.

November is National Career Development Month. To celebrate, ELI is running a theme on Twitter based on enhancing your career growth. We encourage you to create a twitter profile and follow #NCD throughout the month on twitter @novaelife and take advantage of the free professional development twitter has to offer.

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