How to Reduce Computer Eye Strain

Written by John A. Manley


Continued from page 1

Transformrepparttar Way You Work and Create More Reliable Vision

•Sit Straight and Breathe - Back and neck strain create tension inrepparttar 108005 eyes and slouching preventsrepparttar 108006 lungs from expanding properly as well. Plenty of oxygen is crucial torepparttar 108007 eyes (and your brain!). Take deep breaths whenever you think of it. Keep a window open, when weather permits. Have hanging green plants over your workspace.

•Ten-Ten-Ten - Every ten minutes, look ten feet away, for ten seconds or otherwise you will create near-point stress. Our ancestors were gatherers and hunters—farsighted occupations. Our genes have not yet evolved for sustained arms-length work. A good freeware program that reminds you to take these "micro-breaks" is Workrave.

•Blink, Drink and Splash atrepparttar 108008 Sink - The flicker rate of monitors causes our eyes to blink less and thus dry out. Writers, try getting intorepparttar 108009 habit of blinking every time you read or type a period. Designers, userepparttar 108010 moving of an image as your reminder. Drink plenty of water and make a point of wetting your eyes every time you userepparttar 108011 restroom.

•Don't Use Your Eyes - Close your eyes whenever you can. If something is loading or you need time to think, close your eyes. While closed, keeprepparttar 108012 eyes turned upward to prevent sleepiness.

•If you're typing a rough draft, try doing it blind. Experiment with your computer's voice synthesizer for reading long on-line documents or reviewing your own work.

•Palming - Whenever you have a minute, cup your palms over your eye sockets (without touchingrepparttar 108013 eyes). This total absence of light will give your eyes a true rest. Rarely doesrepparttar 108014 average person experience total darkness. Sleeping inrepparttar 108015 pitch black is highly recommended for strengthening vision.

A Super-Technique for Relearning How to See

1.Retype an excerpt from a piece of writing, such as an inspirational quote, a grammar rule, or a spelling definition. 2. Printrepparttar 108016 excerpt out in small print. As small as you can read when held at arms length. 3.Cut this out and tape it acrossrepparttar 108017 top of your monitor. 4.Sitting back, takerepparttar 108018 first letter inrepparttar 108019 excerpt and mentally trace an outline around it. Include every nook ofrepparttar 108020 particular font. 5.Now close your eyes and visualizerepparttar 108021 character as filling your entire field of vision. Imagine it is pitch black on a pure white background. Seerepparttar 108022 edges ofrepparttar 108023 character as being very sharp. 6.Open your eyes and tracerepparttar 108024 letter once more. Then readrepparttar 108025 entire line. 7.Repeat this a few times throughoutrepparttar 108026 day. When you feel your vision is sharper, print out another quote at a decreased point size.

Reading small print is like lifting weights with your eyeballs. This technique has created microscopic vision in its most serious practitioners. Many legally blind people after intense practice withrepparttar 108027 Bates Method now have driver's licenses.

Unlike Spiderman, we need to work for our "spidey"-powers. But you can always try microwaving a spider and see what happens when it bites you.

Resources

The Cure of Imperfect Sight by Treatment Without Glasses (1920) by William H. E. Bates, M.D.

Self-Healing: My Life and Vision by Meir Schneider, Ph.D., L.M.T.

Relearning to See: Improve Your Eyesight--Naturally! by Thomas R. Quackenbush

Vision For Life at www.improveyourvision.com.

John A. Manley is an Ontario, Canada based freelance writer who specializes in direct mail response projects. He also writes science fiction with a metaphysical bent. His work has been published in Freebird at www.freebird-zine.com. Contact John at creativityrising@distributel.net.


How to Negotiate Rates with a Freelance Copywriting Expert

Written by Dina Giolitto


Continued from page 1

Offer your writer a weekly rate. A project here, a project there... boy, those hourly fees add up fast! If you know there’s a crunch coming up and you have a trusted writer in mind, contractrepparttar job out "byrepparttar 108004 week." Askrepparttar 108005 writer if she’s willing to devote 40 hours a week to researching and writing marketing materials for your company. Define her expected responsibilities ahead of time, agree on a set fee for five consecutive days of work, and make sure she’s easily accessible by phone and email. Most freelancers are willing to accept a much lower rate of pay if they know they're guaranteed a steady gig. Get it in writing, and bam, you’ve hired your first temp and saved a ton of money inrepparttar 108006 process!

Hire someone to “clean up” your written materials. Don’t haverepparttar 108007 money to spend on a full-scale ad campaign? Dorepparttar 108008 work yourself, but have a seasoned writer critique it for you. Askrepparttar 108009 copywriter what his proofreading rates are, and then send a few drafts his way for a quick revamp. You won't believe how much better your ads can look when you spend just a few dollars on an expert proofreader.

Askrepparttar 108010 copywriter if she’ll give you a reduced rate for just one written draft. Lots of writers factor multiple draft revisions into their fees. But what if they knew going in that they only had to write one draft? The price would likely be considerably lower because of significantly less time spent onrepparttar 108011 work. When it comes to copy, do you like to “have it your way,” same as your Burger King? Then a single-draft copywriter might berepparttar 108012 way to go. You’ll save a ton of money on copy revisions, and you can use whatrepparttar 108013 writer creates and "make it your own."

Get a written estimation ofrepparttar 108014 time it will take to complete a project. What’s your biggest fear about copywriting jobs that are charged byrepparttar 108015 hour? Thatrepparttar 108016 writer will spend hours longer than you expected on it, and as a result, charge you an arm and a leg. Eliminate that fear by asking for an estimated project time up-front. The more clarification,repparttar 108017 better. Don’t just say, “I need 4 pages of website copy written” and expect her to know how long it will take. Instead, map outrepparttar 108018 work plan. Will she be responsible for research? Project outlines? Phone interviews? Multiple draft revisions? Knowingrepparttar 108019 process will help her figure out a fair price forrepparttar 108020 work. Inrepparttar 108021 end, you’ll both feel more comfortable settling on a price.

If there ever was a doubt in your mind about hiring a freelance copywriter, hopefully this article will allay your fears! Contracting work out to a specialist is one ofrepparttar 108022 best things you can do for your business and for your sanity. Negotiating with another sole proprietor is actually quite easy, and affords yourepparttar 108023 greatest control over project terms and spending. More often than not, other entrepreneurs are looking forrepparttar 108024 same things you are: intelligent, honest people willing to collaborate talent. So, what are you waiting for? Hire a writer who can help you grow your business!

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

Dina Giolitto is a New-Jersey based Copywriting Consultant with nine years' industry experience. Her current focus is web content and web marketing for a multitude of products and services although the bulk of her experience lies in retail for big-name companies like Toys"R"Us.


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