Desk, Desk Mat, Chair, and Chair Mat
Hard copy File Storage
Trash bin (and possibly Recycle Bin)
Shredder (get a good heavy-duty one that stands about 2 feet high and cross cuts)
Telephone
Computer
Printer, Scanner, Fax, and Copier
In Box or Trays
Bookshelf
Wall or Desk Clock
Wall Calendar
Planner
Stapler, Hole punch and 3-ring binders, Tape, Good Pens and Pencils
Calculator or Adding Machine
Inspiration – Whether it be family photos nicely framed and mounted or motivational posters
Name Your Business Not to Dos - by James M. Lowe
Organizing Your Home Office in 15 Minutes a Day - by Jill Borash
Video Conference Etiquette - by The Impression Engineer
Entrepreneurs Fear Not! It's Just a Big Waste of Time - by Brian Horwitz
How I’m Carving Out a Career From My Passion for Office Supplies - by Tiiu Kai Garrett
An Introvert's Guide to Networking - by Tiiu Kai Garrett
Develop Your Own Master Plan - by Tiiu Kai Garrett
Using Daily Task Lists to Accomplish Your Goals - by Michael Masterson
What is the Best Ergonomic Office Chair? - by Dr. Steve Jones, D.C., CSHE
Work From Home: Presenting 5 Steps to Setting up Your Work Space - by Brendan Brosnan
Chair Mats to the Rescue - by Stewart Baker
Home Based Business And Your Health And Fitness! - by Hayley Keen
Top 4 Exercise Routines that You Can Do in the Office - by Thomas B. Chuong
Office Organization: 5 Steps to Setting Up Your Core Systems - by Tracey Lawton
Laptop Rentals Come to the Rescue of the Small Office/Home Office Owner - By: Stella Van H
How To Set Up Your Small Office/Home Office And Avoid Paying $2,000, $3,000, Or More - By: Dan Foley
If your business is a work at home online Internet business, or staffs several hundred in a downtown skyscraper offline, you are going to be able to increase your low cost effective marketing, promotion and company image online to succeed.
To not use online promotion and exposure, in this day and age, is almost a guarantee that your business will lose sales and important recognition and emotional credits from your customers for not having a hand on the pulse of your target market for profits.
You definitely need to come up with a good keyword type business name and a good keyword type domain name so people will know exactly what you do when they are searching in any source for your business. This is an online as well as an offline necessity.
If you show people how to work at and profit from online auctions you would not have much success with, Kathy loves flowers, as your business name, right? Something to the effect of, Online Auction Trainer School would tell people what you do when they seek help to learn about online auctions.
Take the ego out of your online and offline business names. Owner ego sells nothing. Please learn this important point first. No one wants your ego. Everyone wants your useful services. This is a mountain of difference in profit or loss.
Here are some things to avoid in naming your work at home online business prior to setting up your Internet or offline site. Please learn them well.
One of the first mistakes many new work at home online business owners, and unbelievably, experienced owners and business advisers make is to ask for too much input on Internet site and business name, from way too many people. They tend to ask family and friends what their new business name should be and what domain name it should have. The problem with this is that not all will really understand the business idea, needs or jargon involved in that business.
Friends, family and many business advisers do not know squat about naming a business, per above. Ask them how many businesses they have named that succeeded that they named and you will understand exactly what I mean real fast.
The second reason to avoid this egregious consultative process is that you can only choose one name. This means that the more people you ask the more people you are going to disappoint and even insult even though they do not know what they are doing anyway.
It is far better to begin the online and other aspects of your work at home Internet business by asking the opinion and business help of those few people who have been chosen to have an important management part of your venture. You might pull these folks together and have a brainstorming session where you all feed off the ideas of each other.
That way, when the end results in a name, each will feel like they have been a part of giving you that idea. They need to know that the name must tell what the business is quickly and as much as possible in very few words.
Another entrepreneurial business naming error is to attach an adjective together with a noun to come up with one word former with a middle of the word capital letter. Getting too complicated here. If, for example, your work at home Internet or offline business were to offer online sale of luggage at discount prices you think it correct to call it something like EconoPack. This is bad for two reasons.
No one can look at that name and know what it is you offer. Is it like a UPS store that offers shipping services? Luggage for Less would be a much clearer name. Do you see the very important difference to customers and leads?
If you think of the recent work at home Internet and offline business start ups that have grown online to become household names, you will see that they all took zingy, snappy, lively names that differentiated themselves from others and were not likely to be copied. They did not take hard to understand names that could be forgotten or worse yet, confused with other companies.
Yahoo is one example that you might be looking for. It could have been World Wide Search Engine instead. This probably would have been better for the first name identification done! Google is another. This name is appropriate.
Monster is a great example of a name that is not only memorable but suggestive of high volume, strength, durability and vast reach. Monster could have been Online Job Resource. What a blah name that would have been. Customers would of found it easier to find though when they are looking for a job. See the difference?
All these started out as work at home Internet business projects by unknown entrepreneurs. Their choice of business and Web site names played a large part in their ability to brand themselves and thus to succeed. Some would of started and grown faster with more appropriate names though.
Source: http://www.articlecircle.com
About the Author:
James M. Lowe writes original articles, press releases, e-books, blogs and websites about home business opportunities. http://www.contenttomarket.com/
Do you work from home? Do you have trouble keeping your home office organized? Learn how 15 minutes at the end of every day can get you organized and on track.
Keeping your home office organized when you work from home can be a real challenge. Because not only does your work end up in your home office but pieces of your home life often end up in there too. So how can you keep it under control? Spend just 15 minutes at the end of every day keeping your home office organized.
Spend 5 minutes getting the "stuff" off of your desk
If your desk at home is anything like mine, things tend to just build up there. I clean it off daily but paper and other things end up on it by the end of the day. Organizing a home office and keeping it organized means that you need to keep your desk area clear. Try to make sure that the only things on your desk are things that you need frequent access to and are projects that you are currently working on. Everything else needs to go.
At the end of the day, take everything off of your desk. Only put back those things that you need for the projects that you are working on tomorrow. For me, this helps clear my brain and get me clear on what I need to do the next day. It is a good way to put your work day to bed.
Spend 5 minutes getting rid of the things that do not belong in your home office
Organizing your home office at the end of the day also means getting stuff out of your home office that does not belong there. When you work from home, there are often things that end up in your home office that would never end up in an office at a work building. Toys, laundry, and cat toys are all things that have ended up in my home office at the end of the day. It is not always easy to separate work space from home space but make sure that this happens at the end of your day. Anything that ended up in your home office that does not belong there needs to go to it's proper home at the end of the day.
Spend 5 minutes creating an "action plan" for the next day
This is more of a time management tip than a home office organization tip but it is a good tip nevertheless. Spending time at the end of the day that gets your head straight about what you need to be doing tomorrow is time well spent. I know that I get far more done in a day when I do this. It helps get your priorities straight for the next day and gives you a game plan to follow. I try not to spend more than 5 minutes at the end of the day doing this because otherwise I end up with a list a mile long of things I need to get done. This action plan for the next day needs to be a realistic one. If you have time, it is also helpful to prioritize that list.
About the Author:
For three more easy solutions for organizing your home office that you can use today, go to http://www.yourhomeisorganized.com/HomeOfficeOrganization.htm
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Organizing Your Home Office in 15 Minutes a Day
Businesses are beginning to do what they do in
completely new ways in order to adjust to the challenges of the current
economy. Gone, at least for now, are the days of deep expense accounts,
unquestioned travel and frivolous overhead expenses. Many tools that
companies have always turned to are being utilized even more in this new
economy. For example, as companies continue to slash travel budgets,
eliminating all but only absolutely necessary trips, videoconferencing
usage has risen dramatically. In fact, according to Regus, the world's
leading workplace solutions and videoconferencing provider, it's
videoconference services have seen a 40 percent increase so far in 2009.
Because delivering new business presentations, conducting team meetings
and interviewing job candidates for positions via videoconferencing is
different from being live and in-person, Sande Golgart,
videoconferencing expert with Regus offers the following quick etiquette
tips on how to utilize videoconferencing most effectively:
1. Dress to Impress: Think of television personalities. Remember, the camera can add a few pounds! Solid, mid-tone colors are most flattering and give the best impression.
2. Houston, We Have a Problem: Sounds simple, but make sure you know how to connect your PC, so you're not trying to connect it during the videoconference.
3. Be a Natural: Today's technology easily picks up on normal conversational voice levels, so there's no need to speak loudly.
4. Make a Mute Point: Use the audio-mute button, especially when you need to have a private discussion with colleagues in the same room or if you need to simply move coffee cups or papers around -- tabletop microphones are especially good at picking up every sound.
5. Less Is More: Keep the setting behind participants simple so as not to distract viewers from what's important -- the person who is talking.
6. Over and Out: Turn off the microphone and power when the videoconference is complete -- many embarrassing moments have been caused where participants forgot to hit the off or disconnect switch!
Remember the perception camera is always rolling and
although convenient video conferencing has it's one set of challenges.
Practice these tips and you will be well on your way to mastering this form
of business meeting. Everywhere you go, you're on. Lights, Camera, Action-
are you ready?
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for Today's Competitive Market. Order on line and receive your copy hot of
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This article is copyright
Source:
http://www.articlealley.com/article_1038508_45.html
Any successful entrepreneur will tell you that fear
is a terrible mindset to have for business. It saps the life out of your
business like nothing else can. It erodes your confidence in your own
abilities and undermines the faith people have in your ability to lead.
Entrepreneurs are faced with hundreds of decisions, both big and small,
each and everyday. If they spend too much time second guessing
themselves because they want everything to be perfect, they're not
getting as much done as they should. Fear of making mistakes is what
keeps people from actually learning. Adjust your mindset. Don't strive
for perfection. Aim for excellence, that's a lot easier to achieve.
Recognize that fear comes from no other source than you. Only you can
make yourself be afraid of something. This is especially true when we
fear the unknown. Entrepreneurs need to be able to face any challenge
with confidence. There simply is no point to worrying about things you
can't control. Adjust your mindset from worrying about the future to
strengthening your position in the present to deal with any contingency.
Fear has its place. It's there to warn us of dangers and help us to
survive. But when you're an entrepreneur running a business, there's
simply no room for fear in decision making. Adjust that mindset one more
time. Instead of thinking in terms of fear, think in terms of risk
management. You can do something concrete to reduce your exposure to
risk, but if you allow fear to set in, you've taken yourself out of the
game and are now fighting a losing battle against yourself.
One of the hallmarks of great leaders throughout history is their
ability to act decisively when the chips are down. Your own ability to
do the same in a business context is what will keep people loyal to you.
Fail to provide them with a leader they can trust to weather any storm
and you fail as an entrepreneur.
If you really want to be in charge of your financial future, then you
have to adjust your mindset. Think of the difference between an employee
whose mindset is centered on keeping his job and working his way up the
corporate ladder. Very few people make it past a certain point along
that ladder yet so many people think that's how they'll achieve
financial security. That's not all. If this recession has taught us
anything, it's that jobs don't provide the level of security we thought
they did. Entrepreneurs, whose mindset is fixed on owning a business (or
businesses) instead of being employed, have the advantage of earning
passive residual income long after they've past the age of retirement.
If you ask me, that sounds a lot more secure than hoping not to be laid
off from a job.
Being an entrepreneur doesn't require you to give up your day job. There
are a lot of opportunities for people to earn money with even in their
spare time. What's important is that you take that first step towards
taking control of your future. Don't be afraid. It will be worth it.
Brian and Krysti Horwitz are professional Internet
Marketers that coach hungry entrepreneurs how to use free and paid
advertising online to seriously profit in business. They are the authors and
creators of BulletProof Marketing, a “must-have” lead generation training
tool for any network marketer, home business owner or entrepreneur. Gain
access to their Free training right here:
BulletProof
Marketing
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What am I passionate about? Office supplies. Among other things, yes, but I love my home office and everything in it.
I used to LOVE to go to the five-and-ten the week before school started in the fall, for new pencils, erasers, and notebooks. Still love my composition books to this day.
I also love New Year’s and its inherent fresh start. Even now, pristine new notebooks, calendars, and planners are fun to get. Tuck away the previous year and begin afresh and anew.
This past year, I decided to take my copywriting skills that I acquired through AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting in a different direction.
At AWAI’s FastTrack to Success Bootcamp last November, I realized I needed to find out just how I wanted to use my writing abilities and wanted to combine them with my passion for office supplies.
My epiphany came in late December; I would start a website dedicated to the home office, including a free e-zine, weekly tips, and even a blog.
The end of June 2009 saw the launch of my website, The5MinuteBulletinBoard.com, dedicated to – you guessed it – the needs of the “solopreneur” working from home.
By penning articles for the website and e-zine, my love for writing is well-exercised (as is my peer review group, who tends to see much of it ahead of publication). My love for all things home office is, too, just by carving out a career out of my passion.
When you relentlessly pursue your interests, you acquire expertise that you can write about, monetize, or simply use for credentials.
I wish EVERYONE would step back and assess their professional lives. Discover what makes you want to rush to your home office or computer, and then make a plan to follow.
Following your passion and turning it into a career takes work, as does anything worth having. I like to say this: If it takes you five years to accomplish your goal, you would have lived those five years anyway. Why not live them doing that which you love?
I do, and I’m loving it every day. You can do the same. Just take the first step, and your passion will flow like a river and take over from there. You’ll never look back.
This article appears courtesy of American Writers & Artists Inc.’s (AWAI) The Golden Thread, a free newsletter that delivers original, no-nonsense advice on the best wealth careers, lifestyle careers and work-at-home careers available. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.awaionline.com/signup/.
A few weeks ago, while in Delray Beach at AWAI's annual copywriters' boot camp (the granddaddy of networking opportunities if ever there was one), I practiced a simple secret to easy and painless networking. Not only is it great for the introvert, it's a sure thing for most anyone.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am not an introvert myself. However, most writers are by nature. Especially when faced with three or four hundred strangers.
But before I fill you in on that, let me back up a bit...
I am part of a small inaugural group of copywriters who met last January in an Atlanta hotel restaurant. Just seven of us braved the snowstorm that pummeled the area, the draw being our now-resident copywriting 'rock star' Krista Jones.
A networking group of mostly fledgling copywriters called Write4Success was born that wintry weekend. Our member list now numbers over 20 writers. About every three months since then, a dozen or so Write4Success copywriters gather around a dinner table and talk. Technically speaking, we are networking.
What I learned that first night last January - and in the ensuing year – is that networking is essentially meeting people. And listening to them. Caring about what they have to say. Sharing information. It doesn't have to be so difficult.
Ed Gandia, a rock star in his own right, was guest speaker at our October Write4Success get-together. He was so nice – a family man who was kind and generous with his advice. He was happy to share his experiences with us newer writers because he remembers how tough it is just starting out and getting a copywriting career off the ground.
That night, we all networked with Ed. Or how I think of it, we all got to know Ed and each other a little bit better, and shared our stories.
AWAI's boot camp is really no different. Yes, there are three or four hundred people. Present are some of copywriting's mega superstars. But at breakfasts, during breaks between classes, and milling around the lobby, people are talking with one another. Listening. Networking. And making friends.
I've found that if you approach people with a mindset of 'getting to know you' instead of 'getting my business card out there,' it works well. After all, what good is your contact information in the hands of someone who doesn't remember you, or worse, someone who was turned off by what they perceived as an attitude of your just wanting to use them as a contact?
"How are you? Here's my card" just doesn't cut it.
I spoke with one woman who was nervous about being there. I'll call her Lisa. She didn't know what to say to anyone because she was brand new. I assured her she was in good company, with so many others in the same shoes. She felt out of place and awkward, and as a new writer, felt that she had nothing to offer by way of 'copywriter conversation.'
I suggested if she simply viewed the four days as a time to meet new people, and forget all about networking, she would overcome the fear and actually network. She was doubtful but promised to try.
What I learned from being a part of both the Write4Success group, as well as going to boot camp two years in a row, is that people are people, and probably a whole lot more like you than you first suspected. Whether they're doctors, sales clerks, or writers.
As with any group of people, you'll find those with whom you'll click, and those with whom you won't. You talk some, listen a lot, and get a feel for each person. You exchange phone numbers and email addresses, and begin a relationship.
Yes, you're networking. But you're really just getting to know them.
Lisa emailed me recently to say hi and excitedly shared how she is now involved in a peer review group. She seemed to have bridged the gap between scared-to-death newbie, and full-of-expectation copywriter. She faced her fears head-on, and now networks every week as she reviews copy with her peers.
You know what? I believe she'll be a networking diva yet. And you can do the same.
Based upon principles developed by Rick and Becky DuFour related to
educational leadership, this worksheet merely suggests a starting point
from which you develop your own Master Plan.
By consistently tweaking your plan and keeping it posted in plain sight
as you work, it will help keep you on track – focused and not led astray
by distractions.
Mission Statement - Develop your own unique mission statement. This
should be short and to the point – your purpose – and why you, as a
business, exist. See the ABOUT page at this site
(www.the5minutebulletinboard.com) for an example of what a mission
statement should look like.
Vision - Your vision should be a series of bullets which indicate
specific and detailed word pictures as to how you envision your business
in the future. It’s what you have to do to become what you wrote in your
mission statement. An example might be ‘to be an authority in the field
of home décor’, or ‘to motivate the home owner who wants to turn their
house into a home’. A series of eight to twelve of these bullets would
suffice.
Values - This section might be several bullets having to do with your
commitments – what you’re willing to do to make your business happen.
Your first bullet might be something like, ‘Commitment to working
Saturdays and evenings until website is complete’ or something similar.
SMART Goals – Consisting of the following five concepts which make up
the acronym SMART, these bullets will be specific actions you intend to
take. One such bullet might read, ‘contact webmaster to build website’
and another might be ‘start blog and make weekly entries’. Each bulleted
goal should be a SMART goal.
Strategic and Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Results-oriented
Time-bound
Final Note: Let’s say you intend to start an internet-based business
that deals with all types of flooring for home and business. Someone
visits your site and recognizes the value in the information you
deliver. They suggest that you start an ezine related to your website.
You find that an ezine is not in your Master Plan.
At this point, you decide whether or not you need to alter your Master
Plan to include writing and delivering an ezine, OR you say no. It helps
keep you on track by keeping you focused on YOUR goals, not someone
else’s.
I didn’t always plan my days. For most of my career, in fact, I didn’t.
I had written goals. And I referred to them regularly. My goals kept me pointed in the right direction, but I was always moving back and forth. Often for no good reason.
Driving to work in the morning, I would think about my goals. That helped motivate me and often gave me specific ideas about what tasks I should accomplish that day. I’d walk into work meaning to complete those tasks… but by the end of the day, many of them were not done.
What happened? The same thing that may be happening to you right now. You sit down at your desk, and there is a pile of new mail in your inbox. You pick up the phone, and 15 messages are waiting for you. You open your computer, and find that you’ve received 50 new e-mails since you last checked. You tell yourself that you will get to your important tasks later. Right now, you have to "clean up" all these little emergencies.
Before you know it, the day is over and you haven’t taken a single step toward achieving your important goals. You make an effort to do something, but you are tired. Tomorrow, you tell yourself, you will do better.
Does that sound familiar?
If so, don’t feel bad. You are in good company. Most people deal with their work that way. Even people who set goals and achieve them. Over the long term, they get everything done. But on a day-to-day basis, they are constantly frustrated.
You can be successful without planning your days… but you will have to work a lot longer and harder. The reason? When you don’t plan your days, you end up working for other people - not just for yourself. You feel that before you get to your own work, you should first deal with their requests.
Starting your day by clearing out your inbox, voicemail inbox, and e-mail inbox is just plain dumb. Most of what is waiting for you every morning has nothing to do with your goals and aspirations. It is work that other people want you to do for them.
If you want to be the captain of your soul and the master of your future, you have to be in charge of your time. And the best way to be in charge of your time is to structure your day around a task list that you, and only you, create.
As I said, simply writing down my goals helped me accomplish a good deal. But my productivity quadrupled when I started managing my schedule with a daily task list. If you use the system I’m going to recommend, I’ll bet you see the same improvement.
I have used many standard organizing systems over the years, but was never entirely satisfied with any of them. The system I use now is my own - based on the best of what I found elsewhere.
At the beginning of the year, I lay out my goals for the next 12 months. I ask myself "What do I need to achieve in January, February, etc. to keep myself on track?" Then, at the beginning of each month, I lay out my weekly objectives. Finally, every day, I create a very specific daily task list.
Here’s how I do it…
My Personal Daily Task List
I begin each day the day before.
What I mean by that is that I create my daily task list at the end of the prior day. I create Tuesday’s task list at the end of Monday’s workday. I create Wednesday’s at the end of Tuesday’s workday.
I begin by reviewing the current day’s list. I note which tasks I’ve done and which I have failed to do. My new list - the next day’s task list - begins with those uncompleted tasks. I then look at my weekly objectives to see if there are any other tasks that I want to add. Then I look through my inbox and decide what to do with what’s there. I may schedule some of those items for the following day. Most of them, I schedule for later or trash or redirect to someone else.
I do all this in pen on a 6" x 9" pad of lined paper. I divide the paper vertically to create columns for the tasks, for the time I estimate it will take to do each one, and for the actual time it takes me to complete it. I also create a column for tasks I will delegate to my assistant.
On most days, I end up with about 20 15-minute to one-hour tasks.
I like doing this by hand, in pen and ink. You may prefer to do it on your computer. The point is to enjoy the process.
Because longer tasks tend to be fatiguing, I seldom schedule anything that will take more than an hour. If you have a task that will take several hours, break it up into pieces and do it over a few days. It will be easier to accomplish. Plus, you will probably do a better job because you’ll be doing it with more energy and with time to review and revise your work as you go.
A typical day for me includes two or three one-hour tasks, three or four half-hour tasks, and a dozen or so 15-minute tasks. The kind of work you do may be different, but I like that balance. It gives me flexibility. I can match my energy level throughout the day to my task list.
Ideally, you should get all of your important tasks and most of your less important tasks done almost every day. You want to accomplish a lot so you can achieve your long-term goals as quickly as possible. But you also want to feel good about yourself at the end of the day.
You may find, as I did, that when you begin using this system you will be overzealous - scheduling more tasks than you can possibly handle. So set realistic time estimates when you write down your tasks. And double-check them at the end of the day by filling in the actual time you spent on each one.
When you complete a task, scratch it off your list. One task done! On to the next one! I’ve been doing this for years, and I still get a little burst of pleasure every time.
Creating each daily task list should take you less than 15 minutes. The secret is to work from your weekly objectives - which are based on your monthly and yearly goals.
This system may not work for you, but I urge you to give it a try. I think you’ll like it.
Before your colleagues, competitors, and coworkers are even sipping their first cup of coffee, you’ll have figured out everything you need to do that day to make you healthier, wealthier, and wiser. You will know what to do, you will know what your priorities are, and you will already be thinking about some of them. You will not have to worry about forgetting something important. And you will have a strong sense of energy and excitement, confident that your day is going to be a productive one.
[Ed. Note: Achieve all your personal, social, financial, and business goals with the help of ETR’s Total Success Achievement Program. Learn more by clicking here.]
This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.
Being a chiropractor in San Diego, I am often asked by my patients "What is the best ergonomic office chair?" You would be amazed by how many cases of neck pain, back pain and headaches could be relieved completely or at least reduced in frequency and intensity simply by reducing the stress that a poorly designed office chair can cause. I always tell my patients that while your weekend warrior exploits will sprain and strain tight muscles, it is the postural stress that you are exposed to during your 40 plus hours per week of sitting in poorly designed chairs that is the real culprit in your ongoing aches and pains.
Regarding office chairs, anyone who has gone to an Office Depot or Staples or any of the other countless office supply stores has seen how many different office chairs that are available.
The question is, which one should you choose? One thing is for certain, as far as your back and neck goes, the color doesn't matter. However, plenty of other features do matter and can determine how your back feels at the end of your work day.
There are specific brand names that manufacture high end chairs that cost in the thousands of dollars. If you decide that a chair like that fits your needs by all means buy it.
On a regular basis I hear patients comment in a negative way about the expense of ergonomic office products. My response usually draws a correlation between the costs of their vehicle versus the cost of a good chair. Very few of us spend more than 8 hours per week in our cars that we spends tens of thousands of dollars on yet we often scoff at spending more than a few hundred bucks on a good chair that we sit in for 8 hours per day. That is some backwards logic isn't it?
That being said, you don't have to spend a small fortune on a good office chair. My chair fits all of my needs and I found it at Costco for about $100.
What features does a $100 chair need to have in order for it be the right chair for you?
This is a short list of general features that should be present in a good ergonomic chair.
1) It should have a high back 2) It should have arm rests 3) The
backrest should recline and be slightly concave and include a 5 cm
lumbar support that preferably is adjustable 4) The seating surface
should be able to tilt from front to back 5) The height of the chair
should be adjustable 6) The armrest height should be able to adjust up
and down 7) You must be comfortable in it. A chair with all these
features is worthless if you don't find it comfortable.
The bottom line is this, finding the best ergonomic chair for you is extremely important regardless of whether or not you currently suffer from neck pain, back pain, headaches or any other symptoms related to postural stress. Once you are in pain, chiropractic care will help you restore your health but you need a healthy ergonomic environment to prevent ongoing postural stress. A good ergonomic chair is an important part of a healthy ergonomic environment.
Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice. Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs. www.JonesPainRelief.com www.ErgoNav.com
The number of people now working from home is at an all time high, and it is becoming a more important income stream in these times of change. If a person decides to make an income by doing some kind of home activity then it will be important to set up a nice comfortable work space.
Here are some of the important steps to be taken in order to get set up:
1. Choose location: This will be the area of the house in which to set up the work station. It will be important to select a part of your home that has some natural light, and some brightness. It will give you that needed inspiration that you wouldn't get from a dark or gloomy part of the house. Just make sure it's a nice clean and spacious area.
2. Get Essentials: Get hooked up to the internet, get your PC or laptop in place, get your work desk, and if you want to go the extra mile, you can buy a nice swivel chair. For me, it just makes me feel good. When I look at my own desk and swivel chair, it usually puts a big smile on my face. Some people are easily pleased! Also when deciding on the best location for the desk, I would recommend placing it adjacent to the window facing a wall. It is often a distraction to face out the window, as you will be caught daydreaming before long!
3. Get Organized: You should invest in a nice book shelf if you don't already have one. Often work station desks come in a combination with a side shelf. You should place your books, novels, business magazines, folders, notes, A4 pads, and recommended and scheduled reading materials here right next to your work station area. Most work from home ventures need only a few basics and they are in business. Keep the phone handy, the internet going and the resource shelf close at hand for prompt decision making and communication.
4. Use Displayed Thinking: Use your wall space to help you to organize and plan. Use calendars and planning maps on your walls, and creative idea maps on the walls. This will keep you posted on progress, and you will be able to add to the work and write new ideas and strategies up there when they come into your head.
5. Stick to Business: In the home office, it is recommended to avoid other interests in the work space. It should be idea, and creativity centered and there shouldn't be any clutter or other distractions. If there are distractions, they should be positive and stimulating, like the aforementioned idea wall maps.
That's five steps you can take in the next few days or weeks to set up
your new home office, or renovate and radicalize your existing home work
space. In any efforts you make, remember to make it a feel good area,
and a lot of the choices will be up to your individual preferences and
interests. Its something to have fun with.
® All Rights Reserved
Brendan Brosnan is an author and entrepreneur for e Home Business Plus+, a continuing education and business development company showing people how to build home business success. Get No Obligation Free Tips and Training at http://www.ehomebusinessplus.com/
Have you ever noticed how hard it can be to sit in a computer chair and move it around on carpet? I find this incredibly annoying and I would imagine you do as well. Fortunately there is something we can do about it. No I am not going to suggest that you tear out your carpet and put new flooring in. I will suggest however that you start looking for a good chair mat. The chair mat is a simple and useful invention that is now being used in offices all across the country and is rapidly being adopted by users at home.
As soon as you put the mat down you will find that pesky little problem of not being able to move your chair is solved. All of the sudden moving around in the home office just became a whole lot easier.
Helping you move around with ease is not all a good chair mat accomplishes. Have you noticed how much wear computer or desk chairs put on carpets? They tend to sink into the carpet leaving wheel or leg shaped indents embedded in it. It is very frustrating when you look at your office floor and notice that the carpet everywhere is just fine except in the area you work at. Putting a good mat under that computer chair greatly reduces the stress that is being put on the carpet you roll around on constantly.
Even if you have a different kind of flooring, like hardwood for example, there is a better than even chance that your chair is wearing away at the finish on the floor and leaving fine scratches in the surface. Just as chair mats protect carpets from being damaged by chairs, they also protect hard flooring from being worn and scratched.
Chair mats are so widely used now that they come in a very wide variety of styles and sizes. You should have no problem finding one that will fit your room or office perfectly.
There are really two things you want to keep in mind when you are looking at chair mats. First, how big do you really need it to be? Getting a mat that is too small is really annoying because you will constantly be rolling off it, so don't underestimate your space requirements. Secondly make sure you get a mat that will easily grip whatever type of floor you have in your room. If you get one that does not grip well it will constantly be slipping and over time this will become extremely aggravating.
Stewart Baker writes for ModernOfficeFurniture.com An established office furniture etailer for over 30 years, you will find not only chair mats but drafting furniture and roll top desks. Each piece offered is handpicked by their furniture experts for durability and value.
We all know what we should be doing, for many of us it's about habits
and routines follow these 3 simple steps to ensure you maintain health
and fitness.
Take Regular Breaks I like the commonly used 50/10 ratio, 50 minutes of
work and then a 10 minute break, some days I find it more productive to
do 100/20, 100 minutes of work and then a 20 minute break. Hey, 20
minutes is long enough for a power nap or a power walk, alternatively if
you are very eager you could easily fit in 3 sets of 3 exercises with no
equipment necessary, how about power lunges, push ups and sit-ups, with
time to spare to stretch!
Stretch Be sure to stretch regularly, we all know the dangers of RSI
(Repetitive Strain Injury), while waiting for the kettle to boil, take
the time to stretch, there is plenty of information available on
preventative stretching for people working on a computer or in an
office. Hanging out the washing during one of your regular breaks is
another great way to stretch, and don't forget to breath!
Ergonomics Ensure your office is set up ergonomically; there are many
factors to consider however the most notable being adequate natural
light, ergonomic desk and chair. Good posture is vital. Your feet are
flat on the floor hip distance apart. Your body should create right
angles from the top of your head to your knees and from your thighs to
your feet. Your shoulders should be back and down, your arms should be
at right angles, your wrists should be held above the desk, your screen
should be positioned so that when your head is held straight your eyes
are level with the top of your screen.
Working on these areas will ensure you maintain healthy fitness habits
without sacrificing valuable business time.
Hayley is a successful online marketing entrepreneur, committed to
sharing her knowledge. Hayley's mission is to inspire others on their
journey to success.
Hayley works with an amazing group of entrepreneurs with an incredibly
powerful system in place you can check it out here!
"Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get."
B.R. Hayden
Top 4 Exercise Routines that You Can Do in the Office If you have a nine-to-five job, you have to pick the kids to and from school and you have to squeeze in doing a bulk of the household chores when you get home, it is quite difficult to find the time to get some decent workout.
However, if you allow yourself to not have the time to exercise at all, this will not just lead you to having a sedentary lifestyle that can cause you to be overweight - but it is also disadvantageous for your health.
So what is the solution for this? What you can do is learn which
exercise routines you can do while sitting down at your desk in the
office.
4 Exercises to Do in the Office
If you decide that the only time that you can do some physical exertion is while your workload is not too heavy in the office, then here are some exercise routines that you can get into:
1. Do the chair crunch. Believe it or not, this is an exercise that you can do right in your computer chair at the office. With your feet flat on the floor, sit up straight and slowly bend your head towards your knees using your abdominal muscles. Hold the position for about 5 seconds, sit up straight again and repeat.
2. Do the calf raise exercises. For this, you need to stand in front of your desk and hold onto it for balance. To start the exercise, slowly lift yourself up onto the balls of your feet, hold the position for about 5 seconds and go back to your original position. About 10 or 20 repetitions of the calf raise is a good enough workout.
3. Do some desk pushups. To prevent a paunch in your belly from developing due to all that sitting, do some desk pushups to work on your abdominal muscles.
Stand about four feet away from your desk, relax your lower body and lower your chest down towards the edge of the desk. It's the typical way of doing pushups, only you are leaning on the desk for support.
4. Do some squatting exercises. For this, you need to stand up in front of your chair. Make a squatting motion which looks as if you are about to sit down on the chair again, but push yourself back up before you hit the chair. Repeat this motion and it's a great exercise for your leg muscles.
By following these easy-to-do exercises, you don't need to be harassed in making the time to go to the gym for an actual workout: you can work on those muscular kinks right there in your very own chair and desk in the office.
Thomas B. Chuong is currently writing about topics related to home improvement & decor, personal fitness, and home & garden. Find out more by visiting these sites Platform Bed, and Entertainment Center.
For many solopreneurs they think that once they've set themselves up
in business it's all about marketing, marketing, marketing. But there's
one very important piece of the puzzle you need to have in place before
you start your marketing ... and that's your managing.
Building a successful long-term profitable business isn't about
"marketing" your business, it's about "managing" your business - the
marketing comes once you have your management systems in place... this
is a really important concept, and once you've got to grips with this,
marketing becomes a whole lot easier!
You cannot begin to market your business if you can't find the
information you need, don't know who you are marketing to, and don't
know where you are in your business.
So what I'd like to share with you today are my top 5 steps to setting
up your core office organization systems.
1. CREATE your paper-based filing system. Having an efficient filing
system in place will enable you to find the information you need, when
you need it! First of all invest in your filing storage, whether that's
a dedicated filing cabinet or plastic filing crates. Keep in mind you
will need TWICE as much storage space as you think you'll need. When
setting up your filing system it's important that you design a system
that fits YOUR style.
2. TACKLE the Paper Pile using my super-simple Two-Step System. This is
a really quick and simple way of tackling your piles of paper. The goal
is to get all the papers off your desk and floor and either have them
filed away for when you need them again; in a special 'action' folder
that you work on during your allotted 'action focus' time; or quite
simply tossed! You would be surprised at how many papers you are holding
on to that when you look back at them you find are either out-of-date or
simply not relevant to your business needs anymore.
3. CREATE your PC filing system. Once you've got the first two steps
completed, this third step actually becomes quite easy. Your PC is also
a large filing cabinet, so it makes sense to replicate your paper-based
system for the PC. If you have created main category files, then create
a main category folder in your 'My Documents' folder on your PC, and
create sub-files in this main folder as necessary. Repeat this process
for all your main filing categories.
4. ORGANIZE your Inbox. Emails! Another huge time drain if not organized
properly. Use the same system again to store and manage all your emails.
Instead of them all going into one huge Inbox that's totally
unorganized, break your Inbox down into different folders and move the
relevant email into that folder. Follow the same system as for your
paper and PC-based filing systems. In Outlook you can create Email Rules
so that emails are automatically moved into the appropriate folder as
they come into your Inbox. Consistency is the key to an efficient filing
system. Keeping to the same system will make it much easier for you to
manage.
5. CREATE a PC and file back up system. Now that you've spent time
creating all these systems it's vital that you also have a PC back-up
system in place. You simply cannot afford to lose any of your vital
documents when you run a solo service business. In fact I highly advise
having two back up systems in place - one onsite and one offsite. The
onsite back up can be through an external hard drive, and the offsite
back up service can be through an automatic backup service.
Make a plan today to get these core systems in place and your business
will start to become effortless and fun - isn't that an exciting
thought!
Office organization expert, Tracey Lawton, teaches professional speakers, coaches, and authors how to operate an efficient, organized, and profitable business. Learn how to create an efficient and organized office in 7 EASY steps, and receive free how-to articles at http://www.OfficeOrganizationSuccess.com
Want an example of how laptop rentals can help small business owners who work out of their home? Here's a good one, told to me by a friend, using her voice.
Her story begins as many about laptop rentals do - with a crisis. I'm sure you'll find many aspects of this story familiar:
"I had noticed some changes in the performance of my laptop. It started to slow down - gradually but noticeably. Over the course of a few months, it seemed to be taking longer and longer to open basic Word documents. Spreadsheets were a nightmare! I began timing them. Some took over ten seconds to open, and they were very small files with very simple calculations.
Then I noticed a long, thin line on the monitor that never seemed to go away. I was told by an IT person I know that this was not a good sign.
Next came trouble with the USB ports. I had three on the machine, and I used them for my printer, my cordless mouse and my keyboard. Being a cautious user, I would back up daily to an external hard drive, which meant I had to unplug a couple of peripherals to free up the USB ports. When I went to plug my keyboard back in, it wouldn't work. I had to unplug and reconnect it two times to get it working again. This happened even when I didn't move the keyboard cable. If I unplugged my printer cable, the keyboard would still conk out.
Other problems occurred too. Web pages took forever to load. I knew it wasn't my ISP or wireless network because the other computer in our house was fine.
I ran the disk cleanup and the defrag, which helped for a while. But the performance problems persisted. Then one day I pushed the power button and nothing happened. The laptop was plugged in - as always - and the printer that shared a power bar with the computer was working fine. Eventually I was told that the computer had failed - something with the motherboard - and that it would have to be replaced.
Now I was in trouble. I had a project due, no computer and no idea what model to buy to replace it. Laptop rentals saved the day. I called a local vendor and they had a machine to me the next morning. They had loaded the software I needed and I was able to call up the files I needed from my backup hard drive.
I found another benefit of laptop rentals as well. I discovered some features in the rented laptop that I hadn't had in my old machine. The ports were on the back of my old laptop, making them less accessible than I liked. On the rented computer, the USB and power ports were on the side, making them much easier to reach. And there were more USB ports, which gave me greater flexibility. The headphone jack was closer to the front too, a nice feature consider I am often plugged in when working.
I know that the laptop I rented was higher-end (although still affordable), and I was able to determine that while its big 17" screen was nice, it wasn't a necessity. To confirm what kind of laptop I really wanted, I tried renting a lower-end laptop to see if it had the features and performance I needed. Although I paid an extra week of laptop rental fees, it was worth it to decide what I really needed when it came to buying. All in all, renting a laptop helped me in two ways - by getting me through an emergency and helping me decide on a new machine."
I couldn't have said this better myself. Laptop rentals are a great option when crisis strikes in your home office. I'm sure this person would advise all small business owners to keep the name of laptop rental firm handy, in case disaster strikes.
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• About Stella Van H
When starting out in business there are great temptations to buy "the best of everything" and spend too much money in the process. This is one of the potentially devastating mistakes that new companies make and it can be a killer from the start.
It is the intention of this article to help you avoid spending thousands of unnecessary dollars when setting up your Small Office Home Office (SOHO). It addresses your PC and the software that you buy for it.
First off, think of your PC as a business tool only. Don't fall for the temptation to buy a PC that is also a game machine or a video player to watch movies with. This way, you will reduce the amount of money you spend.
Equipment You Should Have
PC - You can buy a great PC from several places including Dell, Gateway, Best Buy, and CompUSA for about $500.00. Your PC should have a minimum of a 1.2GHz processor, 512MB of memory, and a 40GB hard drive.
It should include:
* A sound card or integrated sound chip. The sound card/chip will have ports for a microphone, "in-line" (which you may never need but allows for other equipment sound input) and speakers.
* A video card or integrated chip which your monitor plugs into and also drives your video display.
* USB 2.X ports. USB ports are the interfaces where USB cables plug into your computer. USB cables allow you to attach equipment like your mouse, printer, and Scanner.
* PCI slots. These are interfaces on Mother Board that allow you to add cards with customized functionality to the PC. They are also the places where video cards and sound cards are attached.
Mouse - I recommend that you get a Wireless Optical Mouse. The price of Wireless Optical Mouses (or is it Mice?) has come down so far that there is no reason to have the old kind. The convenience of being untethered from the PC cannot be adequately described.
Monitor - I still have the old fashioned CRT (TV type) of monitor but when this one goes I will get a Flat Panel Display. The prices have dropped enough to afford one.
Printer - You will need a laser or inkjet printer for everyday tasks like seeing how your web pages come out on paper. You can print ebooks or reports. Many people find it difficult to read from the monitor and like to print much of what they read.
You can buy a good inkjet printer for about $50.00. If you do a lot of printing it will last at least one or two years.
The advantage of buying inexpensive printers is each year the manufacturers come out with new printers that are better than the previous year so you always get better quality for a lower price.
Operating System - the Operating System is the machine code software that makes your PC run. It is the brains of the PC.
It is worth the cost of Windows XP to have a PC that has thousands of compatible programs available to it.
Applications
Word Processor - You are going to need a word processor to do business. You will need to communicate with suppliers, your bank, and with customers. Your word processor should be able to output documents and read documents with the .doc extension. The extension is three or four characters with a "period" in front that tells the computer what kind of program to use to process your file or document.
When you buy your computer, you can save hundreds of dollars by getting Microsoft Office bundled with it. MS Office contains their "Word" word processing system, Excel Spreadsheet, and PowerPoint presentation system. These are all industry standards.
WYSIWYG Editor - If you plan to have a website, you will either need to pay someone $2,000.00 or more to do it for you or you will have to do it yourself. If you are starting on a low budget, then you will probably want to do it yourself.
You should really have a WYSIWIG (What You See Is What You Get) editor like Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver. What a WYSIWYG editor does is take the information that you visually create on a web page and translate it into the HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) computer code that make the web page show up in the Browser like Internet Explorer or Netscape.
Adobe Acrobat Reader - Hundreds of thousand of documents on the web are in the .pdf format. Most ebooks are formatted in .pdf. This is a document compression program developed by Adobe. They have a free reader called Acrobat Reader that can be downloaded at their site http://www.adobe.com.
Macromedia Flash - Macromedia Corporation invented a program called Macromedia Flash that makes it easy to have animations or movies on the web. It is almost a necessity if you want to take the many free courses or tutorials that are available on the web.
You can download the free Macromedia Flash Player at
http://www.macromedia.com.
If you follow these recommendations, you will have everything you need
to get your Small Office Home Office set up and ready to go.
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• About
Dan Foley
