mental health – Jellybeans in the City

From financial tips to entertainment: the importance of content creators during a recession

The global recession has had a significant impact on people worldwide, affecting their jobs, finances, and overall well-being. During such challenging times, people turn to different sources for information, entertainment, and inspiration. Content creators can play a crucial role in addressing people’s needs and providing valuable content that meets their need.

One of the most significant effects of the recession is financial insecurity. Many people have lost their jobs or have reduced income, leading to stress and anxiety about their financial future. As a result, they may be looking for information and tips on how to manage their finances effectively, save money, and find new income streams. As a content creator, you can provide valuable information and advice on personal finance, investing, and entrepreneurship, helping people navigate through challenging economic times.

Another effect of the recession is a shift in people’s entertainment preferences. As people spend more time at home due to lockdowns and restrictions, they are turning to digital entertainment for comfort and distraction. You can create entertaining and engaging content, such as podcasts, videos, social media posts, that bring a bit of happiness to an otherwise dreary day. You can also create content that addresses the current situation, such as comedy sketches that poke fun at the challenges of working from home or educational videos that teach people new skills to try while stuck at home.

Lastly, the global recession has caused people to rethink their priorities and values, leading to a greater demand for content that speaks to their personal beliefs and interests such as social issues, mental health and self-care. By providing content that is authentic, empathetic, and addresses people’s values and concerns,can build loyal audiences and make a positive impact on their lives.

5 ways content producers can contribute in a downturn

It is evident that as a content creator, you have a unique role to play during these times. While economic downturns can impact various industries, you have the flexibility and creativity to adapt to changing circumstances and continue to thrive.

Here are five key ways you can play a vital role during a recession:

Providing Entertainment and Escapism. During times of economic uncertainty, people often turn to entertainment and escapism as a way to cope with stress and anxiety. Valuable and uplifting content can bring joy and distraction to audiences, helping them forget about their financial worries for a while.
Sharing Practical Tips and Advice. During a recession, people are often looking for guides on how to navigate through challenging economic times. By offerin valuable insights and guidance on how to save money, budget effectively, find affordable resources, or create new streams of income, you can empower your audiences with practical knowledge and tools to manage their finances during tough economic conditions.
Creating Educational and Skill-Building Content. When faced with a recession, individuals may look to improve their skills or learn new ones to increase their employability or explore alternative career options. You can create educational content, such as tutorials, courses, and workshops, that teach valuable skills in various fields, from cooking and crafting to coding and entrepreneurship. By providing educational content, content creators can help your audiences enhance their skills and increase their chances of success in a challenging job market.
Collaborating with Brands and Businesses. You can play a pivotal role during a recession by collaborating with brands and businesses. As businesses may face budget constraints, you can offer cost-effective advertising solutions by partnering with brands to create sponsored content or promotional campaigns. This mutually beneficial partnership can help content creators generate income while providing brands with a less costly way to reach their target audiences. Additionally, you can also collaborate with local businesses and support your communities by promoting local products and services, which can help stimulate the local economy.
Providing Authentic and Empathetic Content. During a recession, people often crave authenticity and empathy. By crafting relatable and authentic content, and showing vulnerability and empathy towards your audience’s struggles, you can build a loyal and engaged community that seeks comfort and connection in your content. Authenticity and empathy can foster trust and loyalty, and you can play a crucial role in providing a safe space for your audiences during a recession.

While a recession can be a challenging time for many industries, content creators have the flexibility and adaptability to thrive. By understanding people’s information and entertainment needs during a recession, you can create valuable content that meets their audiences’ needs. When you harness your creativity, authenticity, and empathy, you can continue to flourish and make a positive impact on people’s lives, even during the most challenging times.

Additional Resources

Here are five highly recommended books on Amazon.com that can help you develop useful, relevant, and engaging content:

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger. In this book, Berger explores why certain content goes viral and what makes people share it. By understanding the psychology behind viral content, content creators can create more shareable content that resonates with their audiences.
Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley. Handley offers practical advice on how to create engaging content for different platforms, including social media, email, and blogs. With a focus on clear and concise writing, this book is an excellent resource for content creators looking to improve their writing skills.
The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization by Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer, and Jessie Stricchiola. In today’s digital age, search engine optimization (SEO) is critical to driving traffic to your content. This book offers practical advice on how to optimize your content for search engines, ensuring that your content is discovered by your target audience.
Epic Content Marketing: How to Tell a Different Story, Break through the Clutter, and Win More Customers by Marketing Less by Joe Pulizzi. In this book, Pulizzi offers a step-by-step guide to creating content that resonates with your audience and drives business results. With case studies and examples, this book provides practical advice on how to create a content marketing strategy that works.
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller. Miller offers a framework for creating a clear and compelling brand message that resonates with your audience. By understanding the power of storytelling, content creators can create content that connects with their audiences on a deeper level, driving engagement and loyalty.

Shop for these and more resources for budding content creators at my Amazon Storefront!

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Header Image by Ivan Samkov on Pixels

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Check out my previous posts about Influencer Marketing:

Take a sneak peek into the beginnings of your favorite influencers with LikeToKnow.It

How small businesses can tap the power of micro-influencers

From Hobby to Career: 8 factors to consider in making content creation your livelihood

Newbie content creator? Here’s an 8-step guide on how to find your audience

The surprising realities of building a career as a content creator

Images by Lifestylememory on Freepik

The benefits of flexible scheduling for remote workers

When it comes to finding jobs in the Philippines, work from home arrangements have become especially popular among job seekers, and research suggests that remote work and other flexible working models will be the norm for the foreseeable future. Trends also show that remote jobs are more likely to receive applications than in-person jobs. Additionally, more and more job candidates count workplace flexibility among the top three factors to prioritize when choosing a workplace.

Although many Philippine businesses were initially forced into adopting more flexible scheduling during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more employers have also come around to the benefits of flexible work arrangements. They’re well aware, for instance, that more flexibility widens their hiring pool beyond those who are able to report to their company’s physical office, allowing them to work with employees in any part of the country and even the world. There’s also copious research to verify the positive influence workplace flexibility has on employee engagement, productivity, and ultimately profitability.

Are you a business owner contemplating the possible advantages of offering more flexibility to your employees or a job seeker wondering what a job with a flexible schedule can do for you? Read on for a deep dive into some of the most compelling benefits.

Makes Employees More Productive

More traditional employers are often of the mindset that the more time employees spend at work, the more they’ll get done, but modern research has disproven this claim. Recent studies in fact draw a positive correlation between productivity and work-life balance, indicating that companies that prioritize flexibility enjoy doubled employee output. This is because when given the freedom to work when, where, and how they like, most employees will develop setups that allow them to be maximally productive and deliver high-quality results.

Traditional in-person working models are also full of interruptions and distractions that can compromise workers’ productivity. For one thing, having to commute to the office alone is already stressful and time-consuming for many employees, particularly in urban centers with problematic public transport systems and frequent traffic jams. Furthermore, ambient noise, procrastinating co-workers, and other factors can also keep employees from working their best once they’ve settled down at their desks. Flexible work schedules eliminate these variables entirely and give employees more leeway to create the working environments that are most conducive to them.

Supports Good Physical and Mental Health

Healthy, happy employees not only do their best work, but they’re also in a good position to continue doing their best work for much longer. Employees with flexible work schedules have more freedom to pursue activities that improve their physical and mental health, such as exercise, eating more balanced meals, and spending time with loved ones. And the better your employees are doing physically and mentally, the less stressed and more focused they’ll be when it’s time for them to hunker down and work.

The positive effects of work-life balance on physical and psychological well-being are both numerous and well-documented. A balanced work routine reduces stress levels, improves mood and concentration, and reduces a person’s risk of developing mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. Work-life balance also alleviates the detrimental effects of stress on the body, such as elevated blood pressure, poor sleep, and migraines. In the long run, flexible working arrangements can lower the risk of serious diseases such as heart disease, hypertension, and certain cancers.

Boosts Employee Retention

Because workplace flexibility is so closely associated with job satisfaction for modern workers, offering employees flexible working arrangements makes them more likely to stay with your company for the long term. High employee retention rates can help boost your company’s reputation in your industry and will make you look especially good to potential hires. Moreover, if your employees choose to grow along with your company for the long term, this choice can lead to even greater productivity and more opportunities for innovation.

It’s likewise important not to underestimate how much better a high retention rate is for a company’s operating costs. Employee turnover is highly costly to manage, considering the amount of time and resources companies have to spend on recruiting, screening, onboarding, and training new hires. If your workforce is full of people who are committed to staying with your organization for the long run, on the other hand, your company will be able to get more done from day to day.

Opens Up Opportunities for Professional Development

Flexible work arrangements make it easier for employees to explore opportunities for professional development, such as workshops, conferences, and further education. For example, employees who work remotely can perform their tasks while attending out-of-town seminars or training sessions. Meanwhile, employees who are interested in going back to school can build their class schedules around their work hours. The skills and knowledge that your employees stand to gain from pursuing these opportunities will both enrich their lives and contribute positively to your company’s bottom line.

On the whole, flexible working arrangements have copious benefits both for businesses and for the people they employ. Embracing flexible work is key for modern businesses to attract and retain top talent, maximize productivity, and outpace competitors.

Sun Life in the midst of sun, sea and fun in Boracay

Summer is in full force, and Sun Life Philippines is one with Filipinos in welcoming the season with bright and fun activities in Boracay.

Tourists who headed to the island paradise for the recent five-day break were greeted by colorful paraws that were specially designed for Sun Life. As a bonus, Giftaway e-gift certificates are also up for grabs for those who will join Sun Life’s Spot the Paraw promo. To participate, one only needs to take a photo, reel, or video of Sun Life’s paraw in Boracay, post it on their Instagram or TikTok account, and tag @SunLifePH. The promo is currently ongoing and will run until May 31, 2023.

Sun Life Boracay Activities - Sand Castle

Sun Life Boracay Activities - Henna Tattoo

Meanwhile, massages, henna tattoos, an afternoon tea break, and a Partner for Life photo session were also offered at the Feliz Hotel located at Station 2 last April 9. These will be scheduled once again on April 29 for those who will be in Boracay for the Labor Day long weekend. These activities, which will be provided for free, are perfect for those looking to make their summer vacation with their partners, family, and loved ones more memorable.

Highlighting Health and Wellness

Sun Life will also take the opportunity to highlight health and wellness this summer by bringing its Wheel of Life Pop-up Fair to Boracay on April 29.

The fair will feature various health activities, including free consultations, health risk assessments, and nutrition counseling. A mental health check-in will be offered by the Philippine Mental Health Association, while diabetes testing will be courtesy of Sun Life’s healthcare partners, Doctor Anywhere and the Institute for Studies on Diabetes Foundation Inc.

Sun Life Boracay Activities - Photo Session

Sun Life Boracay Activities - Tea Station

There will also be game booths, free massages, a wellness corner, and other fun activities onsite. Boracay is the only stop the Wheel of Life Pop-up Fair is making in the Visayas region.

A Purposeful Summer

Those eager to make their summer memories more meaningful will be happy to know that artworks created by local artists out of recycled materials will be on display at D’Mall Boracay from April 27 to May 2. All proceeds from the sale will go directly to the artists.

Meanwhile, there will also be coastal cleanup sessions happening on April 28, May 13, and June 10 for those who want to help preserve Boracay’s beaches. Volunteers who are licensed scuba divers can also participate in the underwater cleanup activities during these dates. The Sun Life ReCycle PH Machine will also be on hand so participants can exchange their plastic bottles for GCash credits.

All these activities are part of Sun Life’s new health campaign, Wheel of Life, which aims to inspire Filipinos to prioritize their health and help them pursue a healthier lifestyle so that they can live life on their own terms.

Sun Life Boracay Activities - Paraw Promo

To stay updated on the latest updates and promos, follow @SunLifePH on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. To learn how Sun Life can help you live life on your own terms, visit www.sunlife.co/WheelOfLife.

Details and images provided in a recent press release.

Sun Life and Donny Pangilinan team up to promote health and financial wellness

There’s no question about it: it’s Donny Pangilinan’s time to shine. The young star has projects left and right, numerous billboards that sport his charming smile, and a fandom that is incredibly supportive of his engagements.

Donny is making the most of the opportunities coming his way. However, the glitz and glamor of showbiz can easily distract from the reality that it all comes with hard work, commitment, and even sacrifices. The busy schedule and daily pressures can take a toll on one’s health, both physical and mental, and Donny knows this all too well.

It’s a good thing that he grew up knowing just how important it is to take care of his body and mind, having been an athlete from a young age. He has raced in triathlons and competed in basketball tournaments, among others.

“Health has always been a top priority for me,” he says. “One important thing I’ve learned is to plot not just your work schedule but also your workout schedule. Don’t just revolve your work around your workouts. They must revolve around each other.”

He also makes it a point to protect his mental health. “It’s essential that we find a safe space to express ourselves,” he muses. “At the same time, we must also listen to others and be present for them when our capacity allows it.”

Donny reaps the fruits of good health in more ways than one. Apart from being physically and mentally well, the discipline and drive he has developed also extends to his finances. At only 25 years old, he has already invested in real estate and recently secured a health insurance plan.

“I don’t splurge anymore,” he shares. “I’m very hands-on now with my savings. I do still have moments when I treat myself and invest in memories through traveling or experiences, but I make sure that a big percentage of my money goes to savings and investments.”

Donny recognizes that others, especially those from his generation, may not have the capacity to secure their finances just yet and are still working hard for it. “I encourage them to avoid comparing their journey with others because everyone is on their own different road. Instead, find a group that will motivate and inspire you. Surround yourself with people who will help you reach those goals,” he advises.

It is this levelheadedness about building his own brighter future that Donny was selected by Sun Life Philippines to be its health ambassador specifically for the younger generation.

“We’re excited to have Donny on board because we share the same advocacies,” said Sun Life Chief Client Experience and Marketing Officer Carla Gonzalez- Chong. “Moreover, he is both a credible and inspiring model for the youth. We look forward to working with him as we strive to help the Gen Z secure their future.”

Donny is currently at the forefront of the digital activities for Sun Life’s new health campaign, where participants will not only get to learn how they can protect their health but also have a chance to win exciting prizes. He will also be a part of the Sun Life Cycle PH, which will be held on April 23 at the Vermosa Sports Hub in Cavite.

To learn more about the #SunLifeWheelOfLife campaign, please visit www.sunlife.co/WheelOfLife.

Details provided in a recent press release.

Easy and hassle-free online games with Plays.org

Now that the world is opening up again after being put on an extended pause due to the pandemic, we can expect our days to be a lot busier. Already, Zoom meetings take up quite a sizeable chunk of my workday, along with other tasks needed to churn out the outputs need to support my company’s goals. Soon, I might have to return to the harrowing commute from my home to the office and back again. Sigh!

At the same time, the kiddos will also be returning to some form of classroom learning, which means that they will depart from the relatively less-regulated learning environment to a more structured one in school. For the young ‘uns who have grown used to learning from home, going back to school (literally!) will be quite an adjustment.

The reshaping of our lives that this shift to the New Normal requires should not hinder us from taking care of the family’s mental health, though. Now, more than ever, we need to factor in activities in our day that give us a respite from our run-of-the-mill tasks as well as some enjoyable moments that add up to happy memories for ourselves and the family.

Fortunately, these kinds of activities are easy to find at Plays.org!

Who would have thought that, as a Gen X’er who grew up hearing a near-constant admonishment from my folks about playing computer games back in the day, I would be advocating for online games as a form of self-care?

However, we really shouldn’t discount the various benefits that online games bring to the table. Check out these Plays.org games that are big hits with my fam:

Welcome breaks from the daily drudge.

During my well-deserved coffee break, I like to indulge myself in a bit of low-stakes fun with Space Adventure: Pinball while my little ones can let off some steam after school with an exciting beat ‘em game like Adventure Time: Break the Worm.

Opportunities for fun family time.

We discovered the joys of casting our games from our laptop to our large-screen TV so that the family members can all take part in trying to best each other at the Tetris-inspired Tetra Blocks. On the other hand, educational games such as Garfield Sentences provide a fun way to supplement the kiddo’s school learning.

Brain relaxers before sleeping.

For minds that are too wound up to doze off, playing Neon Invaders, a throwback to Space Invaders, or a few rounds of Classic Solitaire would provide a sense of accomplishment that serves to round up the day and get us in the mood to sleep.

Plays.org is a website that houses thousands of free online games. These highly enjoyable pastimes can be accessed any time of the day using our desktop or mobile devices. Plays.org users are not required to register to be able to play, eliminating the need to keep track of yet another set of login credentials. Plus, since the games are web-based, downloading an app is also not required, thereby saving us some more of that precious storage space in our devices.

Another plus factor of Plays.org is that the site does not serve online ads so you won’t have to deal with irritating commercial interruptions nor the risk of exposing the little ones to advertising.

Ready to engage in some fun family playtime at Plays.org? Be sure to check out its newest games. You can also browse through its entire game catalog posted in the site’s footers.

Let me know how it goes!

Mindfulness Coach Vince Dizon asks the important questions that lead to clarity

When you hear the word “mindfulness,” what usually comes to mind?

For me, it was usually a picture of someone effortlessly and serenely engaged in a yoga pose, one with the universe.

If that seemed too highfalutin for you, it certainly seemed so to me.

That is, until circumstances in my life forced me to look deeper into the concept.

I manage several roles in my life: as a wife, mother, daughter or sister to my family members; as a colleague, a subordinate or an immediate superior to my workmates; as a blogger or co-hobbyist to other people and many more.

I don’t compartmentalize my roles either. From time to time, tasks and responsibilities of one would impinge on those of the others. For example, I used to feel that my responsibilities as a mother precluded me from going for other career opportunities. On the other hand, the knowledge or skills of one role would inform the others, such as when my learnings from my blogging life added some important insights to my marketing job.

Still, by juggling multiple roles from day to day, I sometimes wonder if I’m doing enough or even if I’m doing well enough in any of these.

The need for mindfulness

For many of us who used to operate in the so-called rat race, we were conditioned to be single-minded. We were given a goal and we are expected to give our all in order to attain it. We always trained our eyes to the future and worked towards it.

Mindfulness, on the other hand, teaches us to be fully present, aware of where we are, how we are feeling. We purposively pay attention to the present moment, without judgement, in order to gain self-understanding and wisdom. Through this state, we can avoid being too reactive or overwhelmed by the things that happen around us. We can also avoid being a slave to our emotions or moods – to step outside of and investigate them – when our situation calls for us to get past them.

A guide to mindfulness

While we all have it in us to be mindful, we may get too inundated with stimuli in our daily life, especially in our career, to be able to practice mindfulness effectively.

A mindfulness coach is someone who will help us be mindful of our presence and effect to others, so that we can relate better to others and take appropriate leadership, whether of our subordinates, peers or even our bosses.

A mindfulness coach also acts as a thinking partner, one who helps us work out causes and effects to help us avoid making rash decisions.

A mindfulness coach will not prescribe the “right” courses of action, nor give generic advice on what you need to do. Instead, a mindfulness coach facilitates a meaningful conversation, one that can expand our awareness of ourselves and our impact to others so we can work out for ourselves how to sustainably navigate our way to what we want to achieve.

A mindfulness coach can also act as a sounding board for ideas and thoughts to help spur self-reflection or broaden our thinking to overcome limiting beliefs or blindspots.

Meet Mindfulness Coach Vince Dizon

I recently started on my own journey towards mindfulness with my friend and former coworker Vince Dizon.

In the years since he left the company, he has acquired a prestigious certification from the International Coach Federation and embarked on a new career to help executives and corporate workers sustainably optimize their performance as a Career Performance Coach.

Recognizing that the ongoing pandemic has brought numerous changes to the work environment that many people still struggle through, he has made his coaching services more accessible by conducting them over Zoom.

The start of my mindfulness journey

I’ll admit: it took me some time to decide to open up to Vince (or to anyone!) about my issues. While I do tend to share funny stories and interesting anecdotes about my life in my blog posts and on social media, my inner self where my grand ambitions, insecurities and vulnerabilities reside is usually well-hidden.

However, with my resolve this year to also nurture my mental health after all the stresses of the past year, I deemed it necessary to seek the help I need.

My first session with Vince was basically an hour spent examining my thoughts and biases about my life, relationships and work which hinder me from appreciating and claiming my achievements. It encouraged me to not look outside of myself and my immediate circle for validation such as lofty work titles, large salaries or grand recognition. Instead, his questions guided me towards greater clarity and giving value to what is already intrinsic within me: my good intentions, my knowledge and skills I bring to my work, my talents that I use to help the people I encounter and my love for my family.

It also helped me acknowledge and claim the things that deep down I know I have a right to: self-love and contentment – that I am enough and I do enough.

Start on your own mindfulness journey

My path towards mindfulness may not be the same as yours.

In fact, fellow bloggers Sarah, Ivan and Sherile also had mindfulness coaching sessions with Vince but had different takeaways.

This is because we all have different needs, wants and situations, as well as different ways forward in our life journeys.

What’s important is to find the way that works for you.

With a mindfulness coach like Vince, this becomes a lot easier.

Vince has made his services more accessible, not just by conducting them online (eliminating the need for traveling for face-to-face meetups), but also by packaging them to be more affordable and hardworking in favor of his clients.

To learn more or to book your own sessions with Vince, you may send him a message via his Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn pages.

Vince also conducts mindfulness Yin Yoga classes. Check out his videos on Youtube.

What would you want to accomplish with your own mindfulness coaching sessions?

Disclosure: My first session was conducted for free to facilitate this feature article.