Welcome to the beautiful holiday season that brings both unfiltered joy and a heap load of stress. This season is built upon good feelings and positivity, but often times it is the source of deep stress for many individuals. Oftentimes around the holidays it is not uncommon to hear family members, friends, or strangers in the retail stores talking about how stressed and overwhelmed individuals are leading up to the holidays. Why do we get so stressed out about a season that is suppose to be filled with laughter, joy, and togetherness?

Spreading Ourselves Too Thin

We are no stranger to knowing that the holiday season is often the season of too many overwhelming experiences. Too many stressing factors can really make us feel like we are spreading ourselves too thin. Even if they are fun activities it’s easy to feel like we are drowning in parties, social gatherings, expectation, and pleasing our peers with our gift giving skills. Too often holiday stress leaves us feeling drained, rather than joyful.

Over Indulgence

With excessive gift gifting, shopping trips, pot lucks, alcohol and holiday dinners, it truly is the season of excess. Overindulging in our calories and over indulging in our credit cards can feel great in the moment, but often lead to regret of what we ate or spent. The consequences can be hard to cope with. It’s too easy to over spend when you’re in the holiday spirit, wanting to get gifts for everyone, and putting on those now form-fitting jeans that were baggy on you before Thanksgiving. Last month’s joy can become this month’s dooming consequences. Don’t let carrying debt become your new holiday tradition.

Too Much of a Good Thing: Family

Yes, we all know it’s true. The people we love the most are often times the people who can drive us insane the easiest and fastest… family. Don’t get me wrong, family is the most wonderful, beautiful gift that many of us are fortunate to experience and something we are all guilty of taking advantage of. Overdosing on family and quality time can often lead to friction and unhealthy boundaries. We all need a breather; don’t feel guilty for taking a “time out” from the party, skipping the third family dinner of the week, or not staying longer than you’re comfortable with. Creating a healthy balance starts with you. If you have been assigned a role by your family, don’t be scared to break the expectation. Your family may depend on you for cooking the Christmas ham every year, but this year you may just be too tired. Communicate with your family if you can’t fulfill set expectations. Take care of yourself first.

Prioritize

What tradition and events are the most important to you? Do you have any that bring you the most positive impact? If you do, eliminate the tasks and activities that bring you more stress than happiness. If you don’t enjoy sending Christmas cards, give everyone of importance a call instead. If you just can’t make the flight to see extended family, let them know. Eliminate tasks that will leave you feeling tired and empty after the holidays. Find the few you really enjoy and pour yourself into them. You can’t pour from an empty cup, you can only give what you have within.

Eating Smart

Luckily, we can say that most holiday stress is extremely predictable and almost expected. Unlike many other negative attributes and factors in our lives, we know that once January 2nd comes around the holiday stress will nearly be over. However, when we overindulge with food, that’s a stressor that can stick with us for the next couple of months. Many traditions are tied up in delicious food, so it’s understandable why that extra holiday weight latches onto the best of us. In addition to tradition, the emotional stress alone can drive us to indulge in our most unhealthy eating habits. Plan ahead this year! Be aware of your triggers, keep some healthy snacks, practice mindful eating, and portion the unhealthy indulgences.

Expectations

Remember that we said earlier that you can’t pour from an empty cup. Be aware of your boundaries and limitations when it comes to what’s expected of you. You’re allowed to limit the amount of social engagements you attend or throw. You are also allowed to limit the amount of time you spend at these engagements. Wouldn’t it be great if you could experience family, friends, and the joyous holiday without feeling drained?

If you’re coping with loss or loneliness, consider reading our Grief During the Holidays blog to learn how to deal with expectations. In addition to this, if you’re experiencing loneliness but are wanting to avoid the expectations, consider inviting friends and family into your own home to avoid the stressors of venturing out.

Scheduling

Pull out that old pen and paper and ditch the digital list. Have something tangible to write your plans and schedule down on that you can refer to. Holidays can be go-go-go and it’s easy to have plans fall to the wayside, or forget the date of your work’s potluck. Write important dates, names of those who you still need to buy gifts for, and a grocery shopping list (don’t forget your healthy snacks). Creating a schedule will also show you if you’re stretching yourself too thin. It can really put things into perspective when you have your schedule in your face. Maybe ditch one of your twelve holiday parties and plan a coffee date with yourself.

Relax

No brainer, right? Sometimes it’s too easy to forget this part. At the end of the day its about love and joy. If you aren’t feeling happy then it’s time to change the factors involved. We shouldn’t be spending months recouping from the holiday season. Take 20 minutes to sit by yourself once you start feeling overwhelmed, and reflect on the factors that are making you feel this way. Reduce your negative feelings surrounding the holidays. Recenter and focus on the joy that surrounds you.

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What is Machine Learning?

We’ve all shopped online, right? While checking on products, have you noticed how suddenly all of your recommendations are now centered around what you were searching for? Or the famous “frequently bought together” suggestions. Is it a common coincidence? No, it’s machine learning.

Do you ever get phone calls from insurance agencies, banks, or loan companies trying to get your business? They don’t just call everyone in your city. They only call very specific people because they think you will be a customer. This is a calculated and specific move gauged by target marketing. Machine learning allows for this easy process. Can you imagine how long this would take to create a call list without machine learning?

So let’s talk about what Machine Learning actually is. Officially, Machine Learning is defined as a subset of artificial intelligence that focuses on machine learning based on predictions based on experience. This allows for our devices (computers, machines, data-driven applications) to make thoughtful decision based on facts and experience opposed to making random selections without a theme. Essentially, machine learning allows for a device to carry out a certain task with little instruction. Over time through learning more patterns, data, and predictions these algorithms and these processes improve.

The Growth of Machine Learning

In recent years we are living in an environment where humans and machines work side by side. Like humans, machines also evolve, learn, and apply what they know to make better, more thoughtful decisions. We are only in the beginning stages of machine evolutions which means there is much more to learn. However, for being in the primitive age we are already progressing beyond what we even imagined.

How Does it Work?

Training data sets are used to create a model from Machine Learning algorithms. Then when new data is introduced into the model, it is able to estimate or predict a next move based upon that algorithm. The estimation or prediction is then evaluated based upon its relevance and accuracy. A Machine Learning algorithm is then created if accepted. If it is not determined to be valid or acceptable, it will train over and over with new data sets until the system is satisfied with the predictions.

Although there are many factors and steps involved in this complex system, this is a simplified version.

Supervised Learning.

Supervised Learning is the type of Machine Learning where you can consider the learning as guided by a teacher. We have a data set which acts as a teacher and its role is to train the model or the machine. Once the model gets trained it can start making a prediction or decision when new data is given to it.

The model learns through observation and finds structures in the data. Once the model is given a data set, it automatically finds patterns and relationships in the data set to match the patterns and structures it learned.

Real Life Examples of Machine Learning.

Image recognition is one of the most common uses of machine learning. There are many situations where you can classify the object as a digital image. For example, in the case of a black and white image, the intensity of each pixel serves as one of the measurements.

Speech recognition is the translation of spoken words into text. It is also known as computer speech recognition or automatic speech recognition. Here, a software application can recognize the words spoken in an audio clip or file, and then subsequently convert the audio into a text file.

Financial Services: Machine learning has a lot of potential in the financial and banking sector. It is the driving force behind the popularity of financial services. Machine learning can help the banks and financial institutions to make smarter decisions. Machine learning can help financial services to spot an account closure before it occurs. 

Prediction: Machine learning can also be used in prediction systems. Consider a loan example; to compute the probability of a fault, the system will need to classify the available data in groups. It is defined by a set of rules prescribed by the analysts. Once the classification is done, we can calculate the probability of the fault. 

Learning associations is the process of developing insights into the various associations between the products. A good example is how unrelated products can be associated with one another. One of the applications of machine learning is studying the associations between the products that people buy. If a person buys a product, he will be shown similar products because there is a relation between the two products.

Machine Learning is on the rise! Stay tuned for more ML and AI blogs.

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Safety First. 

Welcome to the end of 2019 where most interactions are made online. We spend the majority of our time on the internet, so why not make friends there? If you’re not too invested in the web like the majority of us you may think making friends online is still as sketchy, scary, and unsafe as it was in the early 2000’s. Although not every situation is safe, making friends online has become the new normal and many millennials would shudder at the idea of making friends in person. Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and friend matching sites such as Bumble have changed the way we interact forever. Typically, we aren’t looking for friends in bookstores, coffee shops, or local classes anymore. We are meeting in online chatrooms with people who share the same interests as we do as opposed to meeting in a class, we find pages we like on Instagram instead of saying “hey, cute outfit!’’ in person, and send DM’s instead of letters. We are a technologically advanced society now whose priorities have shifted, free time seems to diminish, and more and more of us are not wanting to leave our homes to make friends.

Fortunately, due to technology and social media we can still be socially active and make friends, if not more friends than before the rise of social media. Social media and friend finding platforms, can be scary at times. However, with the right level of awareness and safety, we are able to make friends clear across the world without having to travel, wait weeks for snail-mail, or leave our homes. Online friend connections are real and can still thrive just as any face-to-face friendship would. However, with this reward comes the responsibility of practicing safety while on the internet.  

Google is Your Friend: Just met someone awesome online? Do a little investigative work. Learn the difference between what poses as a fake account and what is legitimate. Odds are there will be childhood friends, dated photos, older postings. Was everything added in a weeks’ time? Red flag. Has this person been posting photos of themselves for a few years? More believable. Don’t feel guilty for image searching or Googling this person’s name. The internet can be scary and your safety comes above all else. Look for consistency across their channels, friends they’ve had for years, and photos that seem legitimate. You’d be surprised by the amount of information you can find just by doing a quick sweep through Google and their social media channels.

Have a Gut Feeling? Always follow your gut. The internet is a large, and sometimes scary place. There are plenty of friends to be made, so denying a couple of requests that you aren’t feeling great about won’t hurt anyone. Following intuition and instincts is something you’ll need to practice. Making friends online is great, but with that comes the lack of face-to-face interactions and being able to use our instinctual human qualities to decipher between what is truth and what is not. Not being able to watch someone’s facial expressions is a hard adjustment when speaking through monotone texts and DM’s. Pay attention to any negative feelings someone brings about within you.  

Let’s Start Making Friends! 

Friendships take time, trust, and nurturing to grow, and online friends are no exception. Just like making friends in person, you have to get out there and start somewhere. Making friends online can be a huge lifesaver to those who may live in rural areas, are new to cities, or have social anxiety. If the internet has taught us anything, it is that we can sit behind a screen and let our true selves shine. We can express our confidence, our creativity, and have a space to be ourselves.  

Find chatgroups of topics, hobbies, and things you are interested in. This can allow for the ice to break quicker when you can speak with like-minded individuals who share your hobbies and interests. Find people you’d want to be friends with, not just people to talk to because you are bored. Doing so will not result in friendship, just temporary conversations.  

If you’re looking to meet people in person but are wanting to use the internet as a gateway, start researching apps such as Meet-Up, Eventbrite, or Bumble to find local events! These are events that are put on by an organization and are usually conducted within a public environment. This is great for individuals who are skeptical about meeting strangers! These are events that are put on by an organization and are usually conducted within a public environment. These kinds of apps provide an environment to meet new friends in a public setting, and odds are you have a lot in common if you are attending the same event! 

If you have been speaking with someone for a while and are wanting to meet in person keep these tips in mind. 

Time: Have you been speaking for a substantial amount of time? If not, maybe wait a little longer. You want to know an individual, or at least their intentions, before opening that door to real-world meet-ups. Not everyone on the internet has bad intentions, but unfortunately, we have to look out for those who do. Time will show you a person’s true intentions! 

Location: We can’t stress enough that meeting in public is very important for your first meeting. Remember, you’ve only spoken with them online and everyone can put on a face. Meeting in public eliminates many risks and secures your safety!  

The internet is amazing! We definitely think so. However, it’s also a scary place. The rise of the internet has provided us all with opportunities to meet people we never would of met years back. We can go specifically find groups of people who are interested in the same things we are. We can find belonging, community, and friendship. Use these tips to help eliminate risk and safely meet friends online! 

Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/karmahubinc

You can also connect with us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/karmahub-inc

How to Get the Most Out of Your Mornings    

We get it, mornings are rough. We have the same passing thought of “how bad do I really need this check?” Mornings don’t have to be so dreadful. Developing habits and a morning routine has been proven to boost productivity. We are all different; therefore, it may take us each a different amount of time to find the perfect routine to fit our lives. However, the effort we put in will dictate how our mornings start to change and how different we begin to view mornings.

For those of us who work at home, it’s very difficult to create boundaries for yourself from being in “work mode” and “home mode.” There seems to be a fine line that can very easily be crossed. When we aren’t required to go into office it’s easy to stay in bed longer, stay in our pajamas, and not be as motivated to get up and be productive.

Prepare the night before  

A productive morning can begin the night before. Getting organized and ready for the day can take a lot of your time away in the morning. It can be helpful to start this process the night before. It doesn’t hurt to try to make your morning easier. Are there any tasks you can prep for after you complete your work day? You’d be surprised how a few small tasks can help you to be more productive for the following morning. Simple ideas could include laying out your clothes for the next day, prepping your desk and work areas, or making sure all of your devices are charged and ready to go. You’ll be happy you did in the morning!

Sleep! 

Sleep and productivity go hand and hand. Let’s be honest, we all can feel the difference throughout the whole day from a bad sleep the night before. We struggle, we’re tired, and we have trouble concentrating. Sleep is key. We want to set ourselves up for success every day, however, when we get a rough night of sleep, or aren’t prioritizing sleep, we set ourselves up for failure and a huge struggle the next day. We can start by putting our phones out of arms reach. Our phones can be very distracting, as we all tend to pick up our devices if we aren’t able to sleep. Ever get lost for 2 hours on social media before bed? Us too, don’t worry. Slide your phone under your bed, put it in your night stand, or even leave it somewhere outside of the room. Out of sight, out of mind! We are much more likely to leave our phones alone if we have to get up from our comfortable beds to get it. Sleep gives us a fresh start every day, so let’s take advantage of it!

Give yourself time every morning 

We suggest you wake up early enough to have some time to yourself in the morning, but not so early that you feel like you are struggling the rest of the day. Just give yourself an extra 30 minutes each morning. The goal is to avoid waking up and having to get right to work, or grab your phone and begin checking emails. Give yourself that extra 30! Stretch, grab some coffee, sit outside! We want to set the tone for the day in order to be productive. We want to fuel our bodies in order to get the most out of ourselves to do our best every day. Moving in the morning will be a great start to your day and will help to wake up your body. Waking up your body will help with waking up your mind. Get some fresh air in the morning, or go for a walk. A little self-care never hurt anyone! 

Don’t procrastinate  

Dreading a task you have to do today? Do it now. Procrastination of our difficult projects can throw our whole day off. Don’t spend your whole day worrying about these difficult tasks you have to finish. It may seem a little crazy to do your most difficult task in the morning, especially if it’s a Monday morning! However, we can really get caught up, tired, distracted, or really anxious about difficult tasks we put off. So, the idea is to muscle through the difficult tasks so that it can be smooth sailing the rest of our work day. Many times, we lose momentum during our work day, so we want a fresh and clear mind when it comes to the high priority and time-sensitive tasks at hand. Producing good quality work is always a confidence boost.  

Mornings can be rough, unless you are one of those rare individuals who loves the early mornings. For the rest of us, however, developing a new morning routine when we are so set in our ways can take time, adjustment, and some commitment.  The payoff though, is worth it. Giving yourself time every morning to actually wake up, as opposed to grabbing your electronics and getting started with your day will show to be helpful in your overall productivity level. For those of us who work at home, get out of the house. Personally, days go by much slower when I sit at my desk all day. Take a break, go for a walk, swap out that breakfast burrito for some brain food and have a productive morning.  

Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/karmahubinc 

You can also connect with us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/karmahub-inc 

Stay at home moms, we all know one or you might be one. Earlier this year a survey was conducted by survey.com about the value of what a mother’s work would be worth by tracking the various jobs moms perform day to day. The median annual salary for stay at home moms in 2019 climbed up $15,620.00 (increasing 9.6% from 2018) making the total $178,201.00 per year for a stay at home mom.

Mothering is being considered a hybrid role that includes careers like academic advisor, laundry manager, senior janitor, staff nurse, and photographer. Sounds about right. The combination of roles equals an annual salary of $178,201.00! If only that salary could be a reality, right? It’s clear that SAHMs do an indispensable job. Deep down all stay-at-home moms know how important the job of being a mom is, even if it’s often thankless. It helps to know that we’re killing it when it comes to what kind of money we could making even if it will never be a reality.

In addition to stay-at-home-moms, stay-at-home-dads are on the rise also! More dads are staying home to care for their kids. The number of fathers who are stay-at-home dads has risen from 4% in 1989 to 7% in 2016 according to a study conducted by Pew Research Center. As a result, dads made up 17% of all stay-at-home parents in 2016, up from 10% in 1989. Woohoo go Dads! Among Millennials (those ages 20 to 35 in 2016), 6% of dads were at home with their kids while mom was in the office working. 3% of Gen X dads were at home with their kids when they were the same age.

Among stay-at-home dads, it’s becoming more common to be home specifically to care for your family. In 2016, 24% of stay-at-home dads reported that this was the main reason they were staying home. This number is up from just 4% in 1989. One in 5 United States moms and dads are stay at home parents.

Being a stay at home parent offers many pros and cons.

You’re always there for your children

• Pro:  You will always be there when your child needs you.
• Con: Always being there can sometimes make you feel like you’re trapped. You may love being a stay-at-home parent, but there will be times when you will want some me time.
• Balance Tip: Your mental and physical health depends on getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, exercising, and just plain relaxing. Try to find a good balance for yourself and your family.

You’re never alone

• Pro: You’ll have more control over your family’s routine as a stay-at-home parent. You won’t have to worry about getting called in early to work or having to stay late to finish your work tasks. Your routine will tend to be the same from week to week as a stay-at-home parent.
• Con: Routine can often get boring fast. Your days will be planned out so well that you can easily feel like you’re in a rut.
• Balance Tip: You and your children can benefit by adding variety, such as visits to parks, museums, splash pads (in the summer), or spending time with nearby relatives or friends. If you don’t know where you can fit it in, look into streamlining your schedule.

You have a more consistent routine

• Pro: Your children are with you every hour of the day. You’re there for everything—first steps, first words, first smile, etc.
• Con: You never get a moment to yourself till your kiddos go to bed—you’re lucky if you can even escape to the bathroom alone.
• Balance Tip: Even with your kids, you need to set some personal boundaries. It is okay to establish limits and let them know what they are.

You experience different stress levels

• Pro: If you love every aspect of parenting your child and can even smile on the inside when your toddler is doing something they shouldn’t be. Your stress levels will probably be much lower than if you were having to raise your family while working outside the home.
• Con: Kids can be more than a handful with whining, coloring your walls, fighting, and misbehavior.
• Balance Tip: When you are feeling stressed, use stress-management practices such as breathing exercises, quiet time, or meditation. You can also teach these to your children so they learn to manage their stress levels at a young age. This will help them when they reach an age where stress starts to factor into their lives.

Stay at home parents benefit older kids also, not just the younger ones. Recently a study found that the benefits of having a parent staying home extended beyond the early years of a child’s life. During the study, the educational performance of 68,000 children was measured. They found an increase in school performance all the way to high school-aged children. The biggest educational impact in their research was found on children ages 6-7. According to Pew Research Center’s Social and Demographic Trends, 60 percent of Americans say a child is better off with at least one stay at home parent in the home. 35 percent said kids are just as well off with both parents working outside the home.

I am proud to be able to work for a company such as KarmaHub which offers me the stability of a career in a field I love. Working for KarmaHub has given myself and my husband the opportunity to see all our children’s firsts, go to school events, more family vacations, and we now spend more time as a family on a daily basis while working from the comfort of our own home.

At KarmaHub we offer everyone the opportunity to be able to work from home with flexibility so you don’t miss out on all the firsts or school events. A lot of companies don’t allow for children to be in the same room while they’re working but here at KarmaHub your children are allowed to be sitting right next to you as you’re doing your daily work. KarmaHub is expanding rapidly, helping stay at home parents be able to provide for their family while working in the comfort of their own home. We are now offering positions in the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, and France.

Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/karmahubinc

You can also connect with us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/karmahub-inc