YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOUWritten by Paul Bilek
Making money is cool. Very cool. But fact is that you can't take it with you. As we live in Information Age we must learn new skills AND take advantage of new technologies to maximize our productivity.We're not working at car factory any more. First let me say this very clearly. I am NOT your Mother nor am I trying to put any guilt trips on you. But here's a FACT. You will work better and achieve your goals faster if you are healthy and maintain that health. Not preaching, just practical. There are some simple things you can do to improve yourself or to PREVENT losing your good health. And hey, if you are in your 20's and think you are indestructible, look around at 40 or 50 somethings. You're heading there too. The first thing we can do is TAKE BREAKS from computer. The Net is 24/7, you don't HAVE to be. If you find yourself saying I'll catch up on my sleep on weekends you're kidding yourself. Walk away for a few minutes every hour or so. Good break habits today mean you can do more work tomorrow, whatever your work might be, and make more money. The second thing is to avoid caffeine ADDICTION. The fact is that many of us use caffeine as a little pick me up and that's OK from time to time. But when it becomes a lifestyle, WATCH OUT. Caffeine does lots of nasty things to your body if you get too much of it. Just use common sense and you should be good to go.
| | PREVENTING PAIN CAUSED BY LONG PERIODS OF COMPUTER USEWritten by Laraine Anne Barker
If you use a computer for much of your day you MUST take steps to prevent crippling pain this can cause. The first thing to consider is correct (ergonomic) set-up of your computer desk and chair.Both chair seat and its back should be adjustable. The chair back should have good lumbar support and you should be able to adjust it to fit neatly into your back while you're sitting in chair. The seat should have gas lift to make adjusting its height easy and should slope down at front so that back of your thighs are not put under pressure. With your back against chair back you should be able to sit up STRAIGHT--not slumped either backwards or forwards--and your feet should rest firmly on floor. If you feel need for a footstool, your chair height is definitely too high. With your fingers on keyboard, your forearms should be level or sloping slightly down. Your wrists should be straight, not sloping upwards. If they slope up, keyboard is too high. This is why you need a FULLY ADJUSTABLE computer desk, i.e., monitor and keyboard should have their own platforms that can be raised or lowered separately as required. The top of monitor should be about level with top of your head, i.e., you should be looking straight into screen, not with your head bowed. You could build a desk specially to your measurements, but this doesn't make allowance for computer upgrades (for instance, going from a desktop machine, where monitor can sit on top of computer, to a tower model, or switching from a 15" to a 21" monitor). The monitor distance from your seat, BTW, should be about arms length. Set up your computer in a position that doesn't allow reflections in monitor from windows or overhead lights. Reflections will create eyestrain and tend to make you tense because you can't read what's on monitor properly.
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