Archive for the ‘Tips’ Category

From Office Chair Advice, The 5 Essential Features That Define An Ergonomic Office Chair. This site also includes reviews on some chairs and additional pointers on what to look for when purchasing an ergonomic office chair.  

Five essential features for an ergonomic office chair you don’t want to overlook.

1.       Adjustable seat depth

2.       Adjustable back height

3.       Adjustable Arm Height

4.       Pneumatic height adjustment

5.       Adjustable tilt tension

Provided by: Linda M. Faust of Linda’s Administrative Support Services

When you spend all day at a desk or computer, you need something better than the “One size fits all” chair. If you suffer from pain, this becomes an even more important factor to consider. Buy the best chair you can afford, and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to do so.

Buying locally versus online offers a couple of additional benefits:

1) You can try them on (sit in them)
2) You can purchase a “custom” made chair with the features you need that may not be offered at an online store.

Provided by: Linda M. Faust of Linda’s Administrative Support Services

Sometimes the best things in life are free. I know, you’re thinking…”You get what you pay for” or “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true”. Yet sometimes amongst all the choices available, a true gem is found. That’s how I feel about Mikogo, an easy-to-use, cross-platform desktop sharing tool that is free!

There are a vast number of collaboration tools available, some costing more than others, and some that are feature rich and very robust. With  Mikogo, you can meet and share documents over the web, provide support by viewing another’s screen and requesting remote keyboard and mouse control, share presentations and applications, and teach others holding web seminars.

Provided by: Linda M. Faust of Linda’s Administrative Support Services

Stop interrupting yourself by organizing your office and workspace. Keep the frequently used tools, ones used every day, closest and within immediate reach of you. Items you use weekly keep close enough that you can reach it without getting out of your chair. Everything else needs a place that you have to stand up to retrieve it.

By keeping the frequently used items within arm’s reach keeps you from getting up to retrieve them. If you have to get up to get up to get something, you are more likely to become distracted with something else, lose your focus and momentum.

Provided by: Linda M. Faust of Linda’s Administrative Support Services

Use your computer to improve your home organization. Create a spreadsheet using a program like Excel to create a basic grocery list. Leave the first column blank (use to check an item needed). Second column is for the grocery item, third column for a description (frozen, canned, fresh produce etc).

Place an X   in the first column next to the items you need, you can sort by the items with an X in the first column. You can also sort by the description and have your list organized by the area of the store.

Provided by: Linda M. Faust of Linda’s Administrative Support Services

Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind? Gifts are easy, they are given; choices can be hard. “Our character is reflected not in the gifts we’re endowed with at birth, but by the choices we make over the course of a lifetime.” Watch the video of founder and CEO of Amazon.com Jeff Bezos; address the Princeton University graduation.

Provided by: Linda M. Faust of Linda’s Administrative Support Services

I attended an eWomen Network Conference in Dallas, TX, and got to hear several great speakers. Among them was Lisa Nichols, and she said two very profound things I want to leave as tips for you:

“Get out of your comfort zone, feel the fear, and just do it!”

“People are more comfortable with the familiar discomfort, as opposed to being in an unfamiliar possibility.”

When did treating your employees well become such a revolutionary idea? It’s not a radical idea for Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, it’s the model.  Check out this extraordinary video on how Tony has built a company where people love to work and provide exceptional customer service!

I’m always on the hunt for a new time management magic bullet. I’m looking for that elusive trick that’s going to add hours back into my day, and make my life better.

Well, I believe I found it! It is a combination of several techniques that take me back to my project planner days; so, I’ve made a list of the items you’ll need:

* a wall calendar you can write on
* color pens
* electronic calendar (I use Outlook)
* and, some time!

The object is to map out your month to month on the wall calendar (this the big picture scope), and then itemize the actions, activities, meetings, etc. on your electronic day to day calendar. The key is capture as much about a project, task, and/or deadline as possible. So, some people, like me, need to break it down into small everyday manageable pieces. I love looking on the wall and seeing at a glance what is coming up, but I need it practical steps within my daily list of tasks.

Now I use color pens to quickly identify things that I see at a glance. I’ve even gone one extra step and color coded all of my clients and my two businesses. So, when I see light blue pen on the board, I know this relates to Nonprofit Connectors. In order to keep that system going, I’ve color coded my files the same way. I even have colored line paper to match. This way, when I write a note and leave it on my desk, the color of the paper tells me what folder it belongs in. This may be too advanced for you now. So, we’ll revisit the color coded filing system.

The main point here is that time management is all about planning. So, be intentional, and try different techniques. When you find something that works, create a habit. For me, I have to repeat a thing daily for at least three weeks before it sticks.

Now, go pick up a wall calendar, some color pens, and get to creating your time management system. Please share your time management process; I love learning about new ones!

Just in case it was too much for you to actually call the Nestle Crunch Hotline number yourself, check out the video: