Month: November 2016

Facebook is pushing to be seen as more than just a social networking site. Last month, the web giant introduced the option for users to order food and make appointments directly through companies’ official pages. Now the website is making it easier for businesses to connect with potential employees as well as consumers: As TechCrunch reports, Facebook is experimenting with ways for job seekers to find and apply for positions within the site.

Businesses can now share special job posting status updates that display details like job title, hours, and salary. By clicking the “Apply Now” button, applicants can submit their resumes using personal information already available through their profiles. Business pages will also feature a “Jobs” tab that displays any openings to Facebook users without redirecting them elsewhere.

This could be beneficial for both employers and candidates: Businesses can pay to have their News Feed postings seen by a wider audience, and users can subscribe to their favorite companies to stay to up-to-date with openings they may have missed otherwise. The announcement may spell bad news for LinkedIn, however. Though it’s one of the top recruiting sites on the web, it only has 467 million members. Facebook, in comparison, has 1.79 billion.

[h/t TechCrunch]

Have you ever wanted to attend a formal dinner party or wedding dressed as Iron Man but were afraid of the social implications? The geek clothiers at Fun.com may have a solution. They’re now offering a line of suits designed to mimic the costumes of some of Marvel and DC Comics’s biggest attractions.

Here’s the runway version of Tony Stark’s alter ego:

Slick, no? A back shot of Batman:

The sublimated costume patterns are laid over polyester and come with a complementary bow tie. The Man of Steel cut also comes with a cotton undershirt that displays his trademark emblem:

If you’d prefer a more subtle nod to your fandom, Fun.com is also offering a line of suits that have comic panels and imagery printed on their interiors:

The suits, priced at $249.99 for adult sizes and $169.99 for child sizes, are available for pre-order. Dry clean only.

All images courtesy of Fun.com.

[h/t Licensing.biz]

Americans are hard workers. According to Gallup, adults employed full-time report working an average of 47 hours a week—essentially a six-day workweek—and nearly four out of 10 people log more than 50 hours each week on the job. It’s no wonder we don’t have much time left to play. We grilled mental health experts and career coaches to figure out how to find an appropriate work-life balance, even when our jobs are more demanding than ever.

1. SET REALISTIC GOALS.

Instead of blindly believing that you can do it all, decide what your priorities are and set goals that will keep you focused, Jaime Kulaga, licensed mental health counselor and author of The SuperWoman’s Guide to Super Fulfillment tells mental_floss. “Use the acronym SMART when setting goals for yourself: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound,” she says.

Many times, people set goals that are out of reach, either because they’re comparing themselves to someone else or they’re thinking too many steps ahead. “It’s okay to dream big, but be sure that each goal you set toward your dreams is something that is realistic and attainable for that moment in your life,” Kulaga says.

2. IDENTIFY YOUR PRIORITIES.

Take time to list all of your life roles and circle the top five. “Those top five need time and attention, and if you don’t focus on these roles, you will feel the lack of balance in your life,” Kulaga says.

While you may not have a lot of time to spend on each of these roles (be it spouse, parent, or professional), think quality versus quantity. “Your children would rather have 30 minutes of your time where you’d talk to them and play with them than four hours when you’d do everything on your to-do list and don’t acknowledge that they’re there,” Kulaga says.

3. STOP LIVING BY YOUR TO-DO LIST.

You won’t get it all done, says Mary LoVerde, a work-life balance strategist, but that doesn’t mean that you’ve failed. “There’s too much to do and not enough time to do it, so give yourself permission to not get it all done,” she says.

4. STOP MULTITASKING.

Researchers at Stanford University found that multitasking is actually less productive than doing one thing at a time. And those who regularly try to multitask, or who take in several streams of electronic information at once, have a harder time recalling information, paying attention, and switching from one job to another.

While you might think that doing more things at once will help you get everything done faster (and therefore give you more “down time”), it’s actually making you more frantic. So slow down and focus on one task at a time—you’ll not only feel less stressed, but you’ll get more done.

5. MAKE YOUR ACTIVITIES DO DOUBLE DUTY.

While you shouldn’t multitask, you can make sure that your actions do the multitasking for you, LoVerde says. We know we should be exercising because it helps us stay fit, and we also should be doing breathing exercises to stay calm—but who has time for all of that? Instead, take a yoga class, which does both, she suggested. And when you need to de-stress further, reach for a book instead of turning on the television—reading is calming and it also helps your mind stay strong. “Adopt the attitude that every action should have more than one benefit,” LoVerde says.

6. TAKE ONE MINUTE.

Carve out 10 strategic minutes in the day—one minute at a time—to take a break, says Jeff Davidson, work-life balance expert and author of Breathing Space. One minute every hour isn’t going to effect your work at all, but it does wonders for your mind. “You’re giving yourself permission to pause,” he says. “One of the laments from people who say they have no work-life balance is that they say they never have a break; but realistically, anyone at any time can carve out a minute for themselves.”

7. VISUALIZE THE FINISH LINE.

If you’re in a crunch situation at work, or are on a deadline, you might need to cut back on free time, Davidson says. “But continue to practice strategic pauses, continue to focus on the end result and how you’re going to feel when this is over,” he says. Recognize that this busy period is finite and take on a divide-and-conquer strategy: For these two weeks, this is where my attention needs to be. And then I will have more free time.

8. SAY “NO.”

If you feel unbalanced, chances are that you say “yes” too much, Kulaga says. You may have earned yourself a reputation as the go-to person or the people pleaser, which can cause your work to pile up and take over your life. Saying “no” gives you self-control and confidence, and it lets the favor-asker know your priorities, Kulaga says. When you do turn down a request, be sure to provide other options or resources to get the job done.

When you’re sad, so angry you could cry, or trying not to weep at that ASPCA commercial again, you’ve probably felt a big lump in your throat during emotional moments. Why?

According to clinical psychologist Ad Vingerhoets, it’s all part of our natural fight-or-flight response. When humans feel stressed, our bodies prepare us to physically take on the obstacle or flee the scene. Our heart rate increases, our blood pressure skyrockets, and our respiration rate increases. “The faster rate of respiration impacts the muscle that controls the opening of the throat called the glottis (middle of the larynx),” Vingerhoets told IFLScience. “The glottis expands to allow more air in during the preparation for fight or flight.”

The glottis is where that lump comes in. Though the jury is still out on the exact reason the lump forms, it has something to do with muscle tension and the glottis. The first theory is that when you try to swallow (a process that requires closing the glottis) against that expanded glottis, you’re creating muscle tension, and thus discomfort. Theory number two is that the lump mainly occurs when you’re trying not to cry, which means you’re trying to constrict the muscles in your throat while your glottis is trying to expand.

The next time you find your throat burning during an emotional moment, the best thing you can do is to take a couple of deep breaths and try to relax. (Easier said than done, we know.)

Have you got a Big Question you’d like us to answer? If so, let us know by emailing us at bigquestions@mentalfloss.com.

A remarkably well-preserved shipwreck from 132 years ago has been located near the northern shores of Lake Superior, Minnesota’s Pioneer Press and Forum News Service report. In 1884, the 130-foot-long J.S. Seaverns sank near the Ontario harbor of Michipicoten, a dangerous area on the northeast side of the lake that had never been surveyed.

While leaving a stop at the port one May night, the 4-year-old ship struck a rock, and sunk while trying to get to shore. Luckily, the whole group of crew and passengers, 60 in all, survived. In addition to passengers, the Seaverns hauled freight shipments between lumber camps and railroad construction sites, and lost more than $30,000 worth of cargo when it went down.

The long-forgotten ship was located by a group of shipwreck enthusiasts using sonar in July. Their dives and camera footage show that much of the ship is still intact, including the wheel, some of the lower cabins, dishes still stacked in cupboards, and more. Most of the hull seems to be intact, too, and the divers couldn’t find the hole that sank her. Some of the freight the ship was carrying, like equipment for a planing mill, is still in good shape, too.

However, the wreck-probing group won’t be back to the scene anytime soon, because of the difficulty of getting to the remote and still-precarious location. For now, they’re still examining the data they brought back from their first quest.

[h/t Pioneer Press]