Writer Burnout First Aid: Words of Prevention Equal Pages of Cure

 I've been writing since I was old enough to form letters. I've taught English and creative writing. I've blogged and freelanced professionally since 2005. Of all writing occupational hazards, writer's block is the most challenging. A word of prevention is worth a page of cure.

* Identify feelings. Writer's block, burnout, call it what you will, that stymied feeling is nebulous and deceptive. An apparent mental clog may spring from physical issues and vice-versa. It manifests like general burnout. Help Guide says dread, anxiety, depression, apathy, emptiness, despair and exhaustion characterize it. Writer Burnout First Aid: Words of Prevention Equal Pages of Cure

Debt-Free, Solvent, Unemployed: Earning Sustainable Income Online

When I tell people I'm an unemployed Michigan teacher, they show no surprise. But when I tell them I manage a family of six debt-free with no government assistance, they do. Their first question is: how?! My husband works a traditional job with benefits and I freelance and blog. Here's how work-at-home earns enough to keep me out of the job market.

Educational savings: I went back to work in 2005 after homeschooling for 10 years. I worked in a preschool/daycare because I hadn't yet renewed my teaching license. I made $300 a week. After license renewal, I couldn't find full-time teaching job.  Read more Debt-Free, Solvent, Unemployed: Earning Sustainable Income Online

Step Out of the Job Hunting Market; Think Divergent Employment

Unemployment is decreasing. Jobs are being created and the economy is improving. Or so we hear. I think such optimism premature and fanciful. Personal experience has shown me the way solvency in this quicksand economy isn't job hunting, college or even working a traditional job. Survival requires proactive, divergent thinking. For me, that meant quitting the traditional job and working online. I'm not promising get-rich-quick gimmicks, but common-sense, forward-thinking earning and saving tips. Here's how.Step Out of the Job Hunting Market; Think Divergent Employment 

Teaching Special Needs Kids Appropriate Online Social Skills

Teaching kids appropriate social skills isn't easy, particularly for special needs kids. Emotional or cognitive impairment, autism, Asperger syndrome, ADD and ADHD pose additional communication problems. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter complicate still further. Here are parenting tips for online social navigation from a 25-year special needs teacher.  Read more

Coping with Night Work, Third Shift Exhaustion

In 25 years of marriage, my husband has worked nights half that time. That's him on the left. Can you see the tiredness in his eyes? They don't call it the "graveyard shift" for nothing. Not only do you feel like a zombie when you're on that schedule, working nights for long periods will put you in the graveyard faster than many more-recognized health concerns. Third shift workers face added stress, depression an danxiety compared to those who work during the day. In 2011, the American Psychological Association listed concerns: "restlessness, sleepiness on the job, fatigue, decreased attention and disruption of the body's metabolic process." These affect safety, physical and emotional health and even relationships. Here are tips for third shifters to prevent burnout.   Coping with Night Work, Third Shift Exhaustion

Facebook, Social Media Impairs Real-Life Communication

Facebook and social networking are bubbles. They occupy a lot of time and airspace for a significant number of people. A spectrum of users interact instantly and globally. We don't yet know what all the impacts will be. From my own experiences, I see that digital interaction impairs face-to-face communication. Here's how. Distorted reality. We talk about having Facebook "friends" but that's a misnomer. Unless I know them in real life, for me, they aren't real. It's the easiest thing in the world to set up a fake profile. Kids can do it and I've known several who have. Unfortunately, adults do too. We go by aliases. We change names and pictures. We hide behind tiny thumbnail avatars. Our profile information is only as true as we choose to make it. I'm not saying people I know only online aren't real. They're just not real for me, nor am I real to them.  Facebook, Social Media Impairs Real-Life Communication

Cheap Spring Break Staycation Fun for WAHM, Parents Who Can't Get Away

Does 'Spring Break" seem like an oxymoron to you? No money to go anywhere just the two of you, let alone with the kids? Stuck working all week? House full of kids and friends looking for entertainment? Hearing all about your neighbor's trip to Hawaii? Yes, please rub it in with photos of you at the luau and describe how beautiful it was. It doesn't make me jealous, not at all. What was I doing? Oh, listening to kids complain how "everybody" is going to Miami. Defrosting the fridge, washing windows, cleaning up after endless messes (usually not mine)? Why don't you get away, you deserve it, says Hawaii gal, virtuously. What part of CAN'T AFFORD IT don't you understand? If this sounds familiar, hang in there. Here are some first aid for Spring Break homebound. Maybe not Hawaii, but cheaper and no chance to fall into a volcano.  How to Enjoy (or Just Survive) Spring Break when You Don't Get One

Drugfree Coping Tips for Menopause Hot Flashes, Night Sweats

Surviving menopause isn't for sissies. Next to menstruation and childbirth, it's the most life-altering event women experience. Hot flashes, night sweats, confusion, heart palpitations, anxiety, depression--I'm juggling them all. From one sister-warrior to another, here are drugfree coping strategies for hot flashes and night sweats.   Drugfree Coping Tips for Menopause Hot Flashes, Night Sweats

Beat Parenting Exhaustion in Healthy, Drug-free Ways

To say parenting is exhausting is a colossal understatement. Caring for rambunctious, demanding children is not like any go-to job. Work is at home and home is at work. Parenting is 24-7-365 with no built-in breaks, vacations or quitting time. It's a constant drain on a parent's mind, body and emotions. Here are tips to recharge your parenting batteries.  Beat Parenting Exhaustion in Healthy, Drug-free Ways

Free Printable Children's Valentines

Valentine's Day 2013 is mostly signed sealed and delivered. If you still needs some cards, read on. Now of course there are the traditional boxed Valentines that kids simply sign. But how about something a little different? How about printing your own this year, for free? Here are several websites with free printable Valentine cards.  Make your money multitask. Free Printable Children's Valentines