Happy New Year 2023 from the Bach Seat
Ready or not, 2023 is here!
So raise a glass to all the memories made in 2022 and the possibilities ahead in 2023.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
It is winter the winter solstice in North America. The days are short. The temperature is low. People’s moods are blue. That is because many people have a natural connection between emotions and the weather. The connection has been celebrated in England at Stonehenge. The link between weather and emotions can develop into a condition physiologists call seasonal affective disorder, or SAD.
Susan Albers, a psychologist with the Cleveland Clinic told WTOP that SAD typically manifests as,
Feeling blue or depressed during the winter months. The symptoms appear to be similar to depression but in a milder form and often pass when the season changes again.
Symptoms may include:
Feeling sad or down.Those suffering from SAD report, “…I’m just feeling really down. I’m having a hard time getting up in the morning. I just don’t feel like doing anything.”
According to the American Psychiatric Association, SAD affects about 5% of Americans. Symptoms usually lasts for about 40% of the year. But it’s unclear exactly why it occurs and why some people experience it while others don’t. Dr. Samar McCutcheon, with Ohio State University says that fluctuations in the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain can affect your moods. He explains:
… the causes of winter depression including changes to circadian rhythms that occur with seasonal variations in sunlight, genetic risk and biochemical changes to the levels and processing of serotonin and melatonin in the brain…
Stress can also bring on SAD. Cleveland Clinic’s Albers reports that, “... people who are experiencing stress or a significant change in their lives. These conditions also impact your serotonin levels, which are the feel-good chemicals in the brain.”
Dr. Paul Nestadt, at Johns Hopkins says that how we eat during the winter can be both a trigger and a result of SAD, “We tend to eat more carbohydrates.” Comfort food may be what you are craving during the winter. But reaching for that mac and cheese might actually be contributing to your feelings of seasonal affective disorder. Dr. Albers explains:
… a 2020 study indicated that people who start to feel the blues during the fall due to shorter days, also have a significant change in their eating habits. They also demonstrate a higher frequency of binge and emotional eating, more cravings for starchy food and high-fiber foods.
Dr. Albers recommends her patients change their diet to help combat SAD. Eat more of the following items to fight SAD:
Fresh produce and a balanced diet. During the winter months, eat a balanced diet. Be sure to include good fats like avocados, nuts and olive oil. These fats can help you feel fuller longer and may discourage overeating or carbohydrate cravings.
Fermented foods. People who have increased ‘bad bacteria’ in their gut have higher levels of depression and anxiety. Studies have shown that probiotics can help increase the level of ‘good bacteria.’ Eating fermented foods such as pickles, yogurt, kombucha and sauerkraut can increase ‘good bacteria’ in your gut.
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient has been shown to support mood. It also supports bone and immune system health, reduces inflammation and may even lower risk for certain kinds of cancer. Your body actually makes vitamin D in your skin when it’s exposed to sunlight. However, most people in North America stay inside during the winter, making it more challenging to make sure you’re getting enough. One study suggests that more than 18% of people have a vitamin D deficiency.
Dr. Nestadt explains that getting enough vitamin D can be helpful for addressing depressive symptoms in the winter months. He says, “there’s an association with low vitamin D levels and lower mood.” Adjusting your diet to make sure you are getting vitamin D from the foods you eat might go a long way toward a better mood. Vitamin D is present in a variety of foods:
There are a number of lifestyle changes that can help treat SAD. Some activities that can help boost your mood when you’re feeling down this winter include:
Engage in regular cardiovascular exercise. Dr. Albers notes that keeping up with your exercise routine, during the winter can improve symptoms. “Unfortunately … When it gets dark early, people often skip their evening walk or feel unmotivated to go to the gym. This decrease in exercise can exacerbate SAD.”Related article
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
It is time to give your resume a post-pandemic refresh for 2023. You should make sure that your resume is focused on current job skills. To make your resume more modern, focus on current job skills instead of those that no longer are quite so relevant. Here is a list of things you should take off your resume. These obsolete skills take up space on your resume. FinanceBuzz says they may actually reduce your chances at landing a new job.
In the past, mail rooms that packed and shipped memo, reports and packages were important to keep business moving. In 2023 you can delete the packing and shipping skills from your resume. These have been replaced by email and online programs that can print labels and track packages.
Typing is a skill that has become ubiquitous in the modern workplace. In the past, typing proficiency was reserved for people who held positions in which typing was regularly needed. Now, most employees have computers on their desks.
Filing is another office skill that computers have replaced. Files are no longer pieces of paper, to be managed, they are kept in computers. There is no need to boast of this skill.
Using a web browser is another skill employers assume your have. It is pointless to list web browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Firefox, or Google Chrome on your resume. Be sure to delete references to outdated browsers like Netscape or (gasp) AOL.
With the rise of technology in the workplace, most workers have some understanding of basic data entry. You can skip mentioning proficiency related to data entry unless the job requires you to add large amounts of information to a database. In that case, mention a specific database entry program you understand thoroughly.
In 2023, online research can come off your resume. Online research is another universal skill for most workers. Most workers know how to use online search engines like Google or Bing to find the information they need. Save the space on your resume for more relevant skills.
It used to be that understanding how to write, send, or receive emails was a new concept, but that’s obviously not the case anymore. You can also remove any references to your work with Microsoft Outlook, as well as web-based email such as Gmail.
You might have experience with multiple computer languages, but it’s probably better to limit your resume to mentioning languages specific to a job opening. Some computer languages are outdated now, so adding them to your resume might make you appear out of touch with today’s technology.
Microsoft Word has become so prevalent in the workforce that employers assume you know it already. Adding it to your resume might be seen as unnecessary bloat. Word isn’t the only ubiquitous application. You can remove other Microsoft applications such as Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint from your resume.
City and state are really as granular as you need to get. These days, it can be dangerous to include anything more. “You don’t need everybody in the world knowing exactly where you’re living,” says CNBC. “A lot of people consider it a security concern, either for identity theft or because you don’t want someone showing up at your house.”
Don’t overemphasize your degree. Harvard says employers might not be as interested in your college degree as they once were. Did you major in a field that doesn’t have much relevance to your current position? Did you graduate more than a decade ago?
If you’re an older worker and want to keep your college degree on your resume, remove your graduation date. Instead, highlight recent certification programs or continuing education classes that are relevant to your most recent positions.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
