12 Ways to De-Stress At The End Of The Day

Reposting a good article I have read while trying to figure out on what to do next after a short workout trying to relieve stress.

1. Leave your work at the office 
• The best way to de-stress at the end of the day is to leave your work at the office. Finish what you have to finish and then call it a day. Rid your mind of your to-do lists and other problems because you’ll have the next day to tackle it all. For now, let it all go.
2. Have a good dinner
• There’s just something about a good, warm meal that comforts you and makes you forget about all the stress of your day once you have that first bite. Go to your favorite restaurant and order that one special dish as your reward for a hard day’s work.
3. Have a drink
• Is that good meal not cutting it? Try having a drink (or two) to loosen up a bit and relax. CNN says, “At the ‘slight buzz’ level, alcohol is a social lubricant which often improves mood. You start to let go of a few worries, pay attention to the moment with friends.” Be careful not to go overboard though! You don’t want to nurse a hangover the next day on top of accomplishing all of your tasks.
4. Treat yourself
• You’ve been working hard all day. Walk over to the mall and treat yourself with a new pair of shoes, or new clothes. Even something as simple as ice cream will do. Treat yourself to anything, big or small, and go home happy and content.
5. Do some yoga and release all that tension
• If you’ve never tried yoga before, now is a good time to start. For beginners, you can check out Yoga with Adriene. For 20 minutes every day, calm your mind and feed your soul by following Adriene’s yoga for beginners’ video. You can also try her 30 days of yoga program, free on her website. You’ll find that even simple breathing exercises can change your mind set and help you relax for the rest of the day.
6. Watch your favorite show or read a book
• Escape your world and enter into another with your favorite show or book. There’s just something about these fictional worlds that make us forget about the one we exist in. Get lost in the pages of your favorite book and then have a good night’s rest.
7. Listen to music
• Even during your stressful work day, you can put on your earphones and listen to music to calm down or let loose. If you don’t already have the Spotify app on your phone, download it. There are a bunch of Spotify playlists that you can choose from to match your mood. Choose beats that will calm you down or pick you up – whichever you prefer.
8. Go for a run
• Don’t have a gym membership? No problem! Go for a run in your village or around your street and release those endorphins! When you go running, researcher MK McGovern says, “These endorphins tend to minimize the discomfort of exercise, block the feeling of pain and are even associated with a feeling of euphoria.” Get that runner’s high and get fit at the same time.
9. Hang with friends
• You probably talk to your friends all day in your various groups on Viber, Whatsapp, Line, or social media platforms. But being in their company is a whole lot of fun too! Catch up with friends after work and end your day with a lot of laughter and a warm heart.
10. Have a hot shower
• Get into the shower and lather on calming lavender bath gel, or any other scented bath gel you have lying around. Allow the hot water and scents to relax you and help you get ready for a good night’s rest.
11. Have a massage
• We’re lucky to have a lot of home massage centers all around the metro so that we can just call and enjoy a soothing massage in the comfort of our own homes. Book a massage and let your masseuse help you get rid of all that tension in your body.
12. Get a good night’s sleep
• Nothing is as comforting as finally ending your day in your soft and comfy bed. Make sure to go to bed early so you can have a long sleep to prepare you for the next day. 

References:

12 Easy Ways to De-Stress At The End Of The Day 

Administrative Officer Exam of DOH

I took the Administrative Officer exam at DOH and these are some of the items I remembered during the untimed exam. I only remembered keywords and I believe you are either a former Administrative Officer with sufficient development trainings or an "insider" who knows the ins and outs of the agency in order to pass with flying colors.

I do not have any idea if these are the same set of questions given before for previous applicants but this is an essay-type of written exam with 18 items of different points for a total of 100 points as perfect score.

• Part I

1. Vision and Mission
2. What is "Kalusugan Pangkalahatan" and its goals
3. What can you contribute for the thrust, goals and objectives
4. Government employees' values adopted by Department of Health
5. How can you apply customer focus as an Administrative Officer IV?
6. Value of professionalism
7. E-government and examples
8. Matching type, 5 items but I only remembered RA 7305 and RA 6713

• Part II

1. What is Office Administration? What is an Administrative Officer? Functions of Administrative Officer IV? Customers of Administrative Officer IV in the Department of Health?
2. Explain PDCA Cycle of Management and Management Tools for planning, implementation & monitoring. No Gantt Chart to be use.
3. Examples of grave offenses and less grave offenses
4. Processes of Management Support Division

Pre-Qualifying Exam of DILG

This is not a post that shows sample tests about the DILG Pre-Qualifying Exam but rather a post of my experiences when I took the exam and twelve things to know about the DILG PQE.

I took the Pre-Qualifying Exam (PQE) today at the Baguio City National High School Library. I counted a total of 61 examinees, including me, who bravely took it unaware of its contents.

I only remembered the number of items and corresponding minutes and not a specific question of the exam inasmuch as I wanted to remember.
 
What is the Pre-Qualifying Exam or the DILG PQE?

1. It was (and is) a gruelling exam that will really exhausts you, the applicant/examinee.
2. It was (and is) a time-pressured exam which will rattle you once the proctor announce the remaining time during the examination.
3. It is the national qualifying exam of the Department of Interior and Local Government.
4. It is a battery of tests aimed for applicants who wants to join and become part of DILG.
5. It is a continuous exam with a duration of two to three hours.
6. It consists of four parts, namely:
• Logical Reasoning Tests -
• 55 minutes for 100 items.
• Language Tests - 
• 3 parts. 
• Part 1, PD (Paragraph Development), 7 minutes for 10 items; 
• Part 2, RC (Reading Comprehension), 13 minutes for 22 items; and
• Part 3, LT (Language Test), 10 minutes for 20 items.
• Verbal Tests - 
• 3 parts. 
• Part 1, (Analogy), 6 minutes for 20 items; 
• Part 2, (Analogy, requires 2 answers), 6 minutes for 20 items; and 
• Part 3, (Mathematical Test, no choices, input your answer after solving using provided scratch paper), 10 minutes for 20 items.
• Non-Verbal Tests - 
• 3 parts.
• Abstract part.
• Part 1, 3 minutes for 16 items; 
• Part 2, 3 minutes for 16 items; and 
• Part 3, 4 minutes for 18 items.
7. It is usually administered every last Friday of the month in the DILG Central Office located in Quezon City but in our case, it was scheduled in Baguio City and a representative from DILG Central Office officiated the examination.
8. In the case of my application, I had to write a request for endorsement to take the PQE and also indicating that it is a prerequisite for non-DILG applicants.
9. Passing the exam does not mean you are hired already. According to the DILG employee, there may be another exam to be taken depending on the position applied for. It also depends on the assessment of the regional or district office.
10. You must be prepared to read fast and analyze quickly for the logical reasoning test.
11. Mathematics is still a part of this exam and you need to know how to compute because guessing will definitely not help you on this part of the exam because you need to write an answer and there are no choices to select from.
12. Common sense and stock knowledge will help you plus lots of prayers to survive this challenging examination.

Pray. It helps.

12 Interesting Facts on May 1, 2014

• May 1 or Mayo Uno is Labor Day and is a Philippine public holiday which is also a chance for establishments like malls to schedule great sales like 5-day sale, 4-day sale, or 3-day sale for the benefit of those buyers who want to avail great bargains.
• Three new models of Samsung Galaxy Tab, 7-inch ($199), 8-inch ($269) and 10.1-inch ($369) model, released today in the United States. All three versions come in black or white, with Wi-Fi/3G and LTE options, and run on Android 4.4 KitKat.
• P13 or 13 Pesos price increase for workers in CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Aurora, Quezon) region according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) of the Philippines. It will be called socioeconomic allowance or SEA which means “no work, no SEA,” as explained by Secretary Rovelinda de la Rosa of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB).
• Philippine National Police or PNP will video rallyists for security reasons against infiltrators and saboteurs but according to Renato Reyes, Jr. of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, it will be use for surveillance of protesters.
• Motorola's Moto X Developer Edition on sale in the United States for 24 hours only, today, for only $324.99. Moto X 16GB will cost $299.99 instead of $349.99, while the 32GB model will be sold for $324.99 instead of $399.99.
• Optional memorial celebration for St. Joseph the Worker which was established in 1955 by Pope Pius XII.
• Sharia-based penal code implemented as announced by Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan wherein punishments such as amputations and death for certain crimes are included.
• 65 simultaneous job fairs with almost 115,384 vacancies from 1,985 employers from different companies held nationwide.
• 3.2 magnitude earthquake felt on Tauranga City located in the North Island of New Zealand.
• The preliminary report of the MH370 Malaysian airplane, that went mysteriously vanished two months ago, was released today according to Malaysian Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.
• The theme for 2014 Labor Day celebration in the Philippines is, “Sa sipag, tiyaga, at talino, buong mundo saludo sa Mangagawang Pilipino”. English translation is "With industry, perseverance, and talent, the world salutes’ the Filipino Workers".
• Due to heavy rains and unexpected power interruption (brownout) in our area, we were able to watched the award-winning 2012 movie "Sinapupunan" or "Thy Womb" for only 100 pesos at Baguio Cinematheque located in Casa Vallejo, Baguio City.

May 2014 Schedule of 100-peso Movies at Baguio Cinematheque

References:

New Samsung Galaxy Tabs Slated for May 1 Debut
Samsung's Galaxy Tab 4 family set for May 1 debut
Samsung Galaxy Tab4 Lineup Arriving May 1
Calabarzon workers to get P13 pay hike on May 1
FOR THE RECORD | PNP to shoot videos of May 1 rallies to ID 'troublemakers'
Moto X prices will start at $299 on May 1, Developer Edition will cost $325
Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker
Saint Joseph
Brunei announces May 1 start of Sharia law implementation
DOLE Secretary Baldoz announces 65 job fairs on May 1
Preliminary report on missing plane to be released May 1: Malaysian official
Labor Day in the Philippines
Minor earthquake – Tauranga on May 1, 2014

12 Tips For Work From Home To Work For You

Work From Home

Not every one is capable of doing work from home. Anyone can start work from home but only a few succeed and are able to maintain and sustain this alternative source of income. In light of this, here are some recommendations which you can apply if you work from home or if you have plans to work from home.

• Schedule.

• Creating a schedule is a good way for developing time management skills, and helps improves yourself to be well-organized and become a self-starter. The fact is that work from home release us from the traditional 9-to-5 or 8-to-5 schedule but working without any structure can seriously hurt your productivity according to entrepreneurs Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson in their book "Remote: Office Not Required." The recommendation is to divide your workday into three sessions, if possible, arranged to your liking: a "catch up" time to go through emails and read the news, a "collaboration" period when you work with coworkers on projects or talk about planning with your manager, and a "serious work" time when you get through the most difficult assignments of the day. Setting up a schedule makes it easier to maintain a distinction between your professional and personal lives. 

•  Savings.

• Even though you are working from home, you must consider saving part of your earnings to have a buffer in case of emergencies. Learn to have a savings goal by having a target amount of savings so that you will be motivated to save.

• Skills.

• Improve your technical skills because technical help is not always around when you encounter technical problems. You are left to your own devices if you encounter a technical glitch and you may be left alone wondering what to do. There are also some free and some paid softwares you can use for giving presentations and are really useful for you to become conversant such as Web-based meeting programs like GoToMeeting, Cisco WebEx, Join.me, TeamViewer or Google+ Hangouts.

• Paperwork.

• Get the proper business paperwork, with emphasis on "proper", especially for those who have small home business operations, proper tax registrations, business and occupational licenses and permits from different agencies are needed to operate legally. Also, you need to pay taxes in order to avoid future problems with tax agencies.

• Insurance.

• Do not forget about insurance. Try to find out the regulations regarding home business insurance because you also need to protect your valuable equipment against theft or injury to yourself. 

• Dress.

• Get dressed. Although business attire is not necessary, you still need to work using a decent dress and not pajamas. Choose something that makes you feel good. Wear colors such as yellow, orange, and purple which reflect creative auras and has psychological benefits. This is another way for you to have boundaries between work and relaxation.

• Workspace.

• Find a workspace. Designate a room exclusively for your office or workspace. If this is not feasible, then find a  corner or other empty space that will serve as a workspace for you. Whatever you do, never bring work to bed. The best work-at-home jobs are often ones that demand a quiet space where there are few distractions. Try to make the "area" for purposes of work only.

• Out.

• Go out and work outside.
  
  Try to change the aura of work occasionally by going to the nearest coffee shop, bookstore, library, or park which is especially effective for boosting your creativity level. 

• Socialize.

• In person, if you have extra time, get off the computer, put your phone away, and socialize. Participate in conferences, retreats, seminars, workshops or meet up with friends for coffee or lunch. 

• Network.

• Network electronically by getting active in Social Media groups like LinkedIn groups that relate to your work, employer, alma mater, past employers, or other interests that suits you. You can comment on posts and add your own two cents which shows a part of your expertise and gives you a virtual feeling of being connected to a community. But be careful of photos that you posts because it might be use unknowingly by others and might lead to you being scrutinize by others. 

• Creativity.

• Routine is a slow process of creative suicide and in order to avoid boring yourself to death, try to develop a new technique for your routine by downloading a new software, decorating your workspace, calling instead of e-mailing, discovering a potential partnership, reading books, attending workshops or taking on an intimidating challenge which can get your creative juices overflowing again.

• Break.

• Take a break. A break is one of the biggest advantage you have if you work from home. Sitting for long periods of time without a pause is personally and profesionally unhealthy. Try to go for a walk, have lunch at the table, reserve an hour for reading magazines or newspapers or prepare your dinner. Never take a break that consist of more screen time. It's not good for your eyes. It's bad for your health. Try to relax. Get some fresh air. Walking rejuvenates us and stretching helps boost our energy. If you are tempted to do a mid-afternoon nap, if you have a budget, consider working at a local coffee shop or library. According to the book "Remote: Office Not Required" by the entrepreneurs Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, "It sounds counterintuitive, but the presence of other people, even if you don't know them, can fool your mind into thinking that being productive is the only proper thing to do."

The Book "Remote: Office Not Required" available at Amazon

References:

9 Tips For Staying Motivated When You Work From Home

How To Make Working From Home More Productive
10 Tips For Working From Home

Working from home: 6 tips to ensure productivity

Remote: Office Not Required

Remote: Office Not Required Hardcover 

My Biggest Takeaway on 37Signals’s New Book on Remote Work (Hint: It’s Not Technology)

A Book in 5 Minutes: “Remote: Office Not Required” by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

12 Common Interview Questions

March in the Philippines is graduation month. For newly graduates, it is the time to start job hunting and for others, it is the start of a long vacation and there will be students who will be looking for summer jobs.

To guide job-seekers, below are the 12 typical interview questions I have already heard (and answered) from employers based on personal experiences and prepare to answer them confidently.

1. What can you say about yourself that is not in your resume?
2. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
3. Why should we hire you?
4. Are you amenable to work in a shifting schedule or are you willing to work longer hours or are you willing to extend your time after office hours?
5. How do you handle stress?
6. How much is your preferred salary?
7. What is your most embarrassing moment or your most unforgettable moment?
8. What are your plans 5 years from now?
9. What is your motto in life or what do you believe in?
10. What motivates you to work or what will motivate you to work every day?
11. Do you think you are qualified with this job or are you qualified with this job?
12. What can you contribute to the company or what can you offer to the company or what can you do for this company?

Hopefully, with these questions, you will be confidently ready to answer them at your own way with your own words while showing coolness under pressure and be successful with your job application.

Happy job hunting!!!