Jul31

Sitting at your Desk All Day – How’s your posture?

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Sitting at your Desk All Day – How’s your posture?

So you have a 9 to 5 desk job where you sit comfortably clicking your mouse away at an office with swivel chairs and air conditioning. Are you even aware that you’ve been sitting for a third of the day? Have you ever looked at anything else aside from your computer screen? Has your hand left that mouse and keyboard? If you do heavy computer work for a living, you should do a posture check every hour on the hour.

Stay conscious about your posture with these tips:

  • Practice neutral posture: According to the OSHA website the following should be considered when trying to maintain a neutral posture at work:
    • Hands, wrists, and forearms are straight, in-line and roughly parallel to the floor
    • Head is level or bent slightly forward, forward-facing, and balanced. Generally, it is in-line with the torso
    • Shoulders are relaxed and upper arms hang normally at the side of the body
    • Elbows stay in close to the body and are bent between 90 and 120 degrees
    • Feet are fully supported by the floor or a footrest may be used if the desk height is not adjustable
    • Back is fully supported with appropriate lumbar support when sitting vertical or leaning back slightly
    • Thighs and hips are supported by a well-padded seat and generally parallel to the floor
    • Knees are about the same height as the hips with the feet slightly forward
  • Look out for back and neck pain: they are signs of something else so watch out for them.
  • Have movement breaks: set an alarm to get off your chair and walk around (at least) every hour.
  • Use ergonomic supports: Build an ergonomic workspace with ergonomic supports. Your body will thank you for it. Get these two things on your wishlist asap:
    • An ergonomic chair: Poor sitting posture can cause a multitude of problems from pressure on your spine to something as complicated as cervical spondylosis. To avoid these problems, get an ergonomic chair. “An ergonomic chair is a chair designed to suit a range of people. It has adjustable parts that enhance maximum comfort during sitting. It aims in giving the correct support of your posture, weight and lumbar while sitting.”
    • An ergonomic mouse: If you work at a desk, you’re probably using a mouse and keyboard all the time. An ordinary mouse can put a strain on your forearm and can result in twisting wrist movements that can damage joints. An ergonomic mouse works on maintaining a natural body posture and is extremely efficient. Unlike a typical mouse, an ergonomic mouse is tailored to the health and comfort of the human user. Specifically, it is designed to minimize discomfort and prevent potential injuries (such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis).

Do you have any tips for improving posture? Share them with us in the comments below. Remember to stay humble and hustle hard!

Written by Jaie O. The Help

References:
http://www.safecomputingtips.com/what-is-an-ergonomic-chair/
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/2833/ergonomic-mouse http://www.safecomputingtips.com/best-ergonomic-mouse/ergonomic-mouse-mean/

Jul22

Stop Drowning in Your Inbox: Email like a PRO

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Stop Drowning in Your Inbox: Email like a PRO

Of the dozens of emails you get on a daily basis, how many of them are relevant to you? Are they mostly newsletters? Are they emails intended for someone else but you were just copied in, FYI? Stop drowning in emails. The quality of the emails you receive is the quality of emails you send out. If you build a reputation for sending clear, concise and relevant emails, you will only get sent the same. If you don’t want to be bothered with pointless emails, make it a habit to send relevant emails and only include people who are stakeholders in the email you are about to send, don’t blindly copy in just anyone. Here are a few guidelines for emailing like a pro:

1.Keep the message short – only put in what is necessary but no shorter. Don’t cut words or information out just because you want to send a single sentence email. It’s best if the reader doesn’t have to scroll down to read the whole message and better if you can get the point across in 1 to 3 sentences.

Dear Kim,
Please prepare an RFQ template for the welcome kits that your team designed. I will take care of sending them out once I receive the template.
Regards,
Jane

2.Put the most important information at the top of the message. – In the military, they call this BLUF or Bottom Line Up Front. Useful for when you need to send a long email with many details, put the most important information at the top (ie. what the reader needs to know) and then fill in the body with details he/she can choose to indulge.

Dear Joe,
Please focus on finishing the copy for this month’s newsletter and send to me for copy editing once ready.
Thanks,
Jill

3.If you are asking a question or favor, call out from who you need the response and put it at the top of the message. – This is a must for emails with a lot of cc’s. To make sure there is no confusion, mention the name and ask the question. You can also use the @ system, it works the same way.

Hi Everyone,
Meeting is moved to 2:30PM.
@Sheila please come in 5 minutes early to set up your presentation deck.
@Tom Do you have all the copies ready?
Thanks,
Annie

Don’t send out weird, vague, and awkwardly formatted emails. Practice writing crisp and incisive emails and hopefully, you won’t get crappy ones in return.

Follow these three tips help you write clear emails. Make sure you keep your emails short and mention the gist at the beginning of your message, mention stakeholder names, and ensure that only those who need to be copied in are indeed copied in on the emails.

How about you? What are your pro email writing tips? Care to share them with us in the comments? Remember to stay humble and hustle hard.

Written by Jaie O. The Help

Jul15

How to be a Problem Solver at Work

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How to be a Problem Solver at Work

If you ask any employer for a list of critical skills that could make a job applicant significantly more hirable than anyone else, they would say that being a problem solver is right at the top of that list. Problem-solving is at the core of any service-centric business operation. How well its people solve problems dictate how far the company advances.

Problem-solving takes practice and it is a very learnable skill. You can be a real asset to the business if you have what it takes to be a problem solver. To practice this skill, get into the habit of asking yourself these questions:

Is it your problem to solve?
Before you ask yourself what is the problem, make sure it is your problem to solve. It’s generally bad form to stick your nose into someone else’s business, so if you know you can’t do anything about it or if it’s beyond your scope or knowledge, don’t. Problems will arise, but are you in authority to address it? Do you have the skillset to solve it? You have to be discerning and choose the problems you want to be stuck with. Make sure you are the appropriate person to solve it. If not, this would best be served by having someone who has more knowledge on how to solve take care of that.

What is the problem?
People tend to be reactive instead of proactive – this is why we feel we’re always putting out fires instead of getting to the root of the issue. So if you come across a problem – ask yourself: why is this occurring and how do I know that THIS is the problem?

Who will be affected?
Check to see if you can assess the scope of the problem and see who will be affected if it doesn’t get solved. More often than not, unaddressed problems spread throughout the company and can affect all stakeholders.

What are the possible solutions?
Here’s where help from others come in handy. Brainstorm with others for possible solutions and try to get relevant input. Ask subject matter experts or those who are directly affected and let your boss know that you are taking steps towards solving the problem.

What is the best course of action?
Gather a few ideas and select a course of action. It won’t always be the right solution but you will learn from the experience if it doesn’t go your way. If it all goes right, then well done!

  • Implementation – executing the action plan is the hardest part. You might need to get creative with implementing your solution. Make sure that everyone affected is onboard with the action plan and they know what steps are being taken.
  • Monitoring – make sure that the problem stays resolved. Share what you learned in the problem-solving process and make sure you don’t go back to the old habits that caused the problems in the first place.

What are your problem-solving tips? Share them with us in the comments. Stay humble and hustle hard!

Written by Jaie O. The Help

Jul10

Never Write Vague Emails Again: 3 Email Writing Tips from the Military

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Never Write Vague Emails Again: 3 Email Writing Tips from the Military

In the early years of the internet, I was extremely guilty of writing poorly formatted emails in ridiculous fonts. They would start with some sort of apology like “sorry for the long email” or a meek request like “can I bother you for a minute” then proceed to write a long drawn out email. These emails would turn out to be a short story.

Thankfully my email writing skills have vastly improved over the years. Also, hurray to no longer using comic sans!

We all have to admit that there’s always room for improvement. In honing my email writing skills, I take stock from the military. I learned how to format emails from an article I read: “How to Write Email with Military Precision”. This has greatly helped me in writing concise messages, be it email, copy, or SMS messages. Surprisingly, the way the military write emails isn’t like the curt, one-word email messages Shark Tank star and Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, is notorious for. Here’s how they do it:

Perfectly worded subject line:
They start where it matters, at the beginning. Right off the bat, they already have the purpose of the email on the subject line. This makes perfect sense, the recipient will know straight away what the email is for so nobody has to waste time weeding through words to find out what the purpose of the email is. This strategy also does away with writing a pointless “hello” in the subject line. Here are some examples of the keywords they use in the subject line:
● ACTION – Compulsory for the recipient to take some action
● SIGN – Requires the signature of the recipient
● INFO – For informational purposes only, and there is no response or action required
● DECISION – Requires a decision by the recipient
● REQUEST – Seeks permission or approval by the recipient
● COORD – Coordination by or with the recipient is needed

This cute little acronym called BLUF:
BLUF stands for Bottom Line Up Front which means the leading line (first few lines of your message) states the purpose of the email and the action required. Yesss! This saves everyone sooo much time. Imagine if everyone wrote emails this way.

Short and Sweet:
Time is a valuable resource and no one understands this better than the military. We can all agree that concise emails are better than long ones, so as much as possible, the military tries to fit all texts into one pane so that the reader won’t have to scroll or read through a lot of hullabaloos.
● Pro tip: they consistently use the active voice when sending emails.
○ Passive: A background brief of the project was submitted by the marketing team yesterday
○ Active: The marketing team submitted a project brief yesterday
■ The active voice sounds better and more concise, right?

How about you? What are your favorite email writing hacks for sending better emails? Share your tips with us in the comments. Stay humble and hustle hard!

Written by Jaie O. The Help

Jul2

The Internet of Things: Modernizing Your Home Office Using Smart Technology

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The Internet of Things: Modernizing Your Home Office Using Smart Technology

Last week, we talked about “How to Set Up a Home Office without Breaking the Bank”. For people who spend a few days here and there working from home – a small but functional home office will do. However, professionals who work completely from home are more invested in their home offices than those who use their office for ad hoc work or side hustles.

A dedicated home office can provide at home workers the professional environment they get from traditional offices in work buildings but with a few more perks. First off, home offices can give you the freedom to do away with the dreaded commute and terrible traffic. You also have more control over your immediate work environment – if it’s too cold, turn the AC down and if it’s too warm turn it up. You can also customize your own home office according to your requirements but still keep it professional.

The top concerns of creating your own home office space is how to reduce unwanted distractions and how to keep clutter from taking over the work space. The Internet of Things (IoT) devices can help you.

What do you mean by The Internet of Things?
Wikipedia describes The Internet of things (IoT) as the extension of Internet connectivity into physical devices and everyday objects. Embedded with electronics, Internet connectivity, and other forms of hardware (such as sensors), these devices can communicate and interact with others over the Internet, and they can be remotely monitored and controlled. Some examples of which are the smart home gadgets that control light, heat, ventilation, and AC.

Got money to burn?
The market is filled with fun things that can help you reduce unwanted distractions so that you can focus on work. Some are extremely useful, while some are…well, kind of pointless. To make it easier for you to sift through the market offerings, here are some of the fun and useful things:

A smart speaker
Gone are the days when a speaker just plays music and boosts sound. Nowadays, a smart speaker can act as your personal assistant, an extension of your phone, and a central control hub to control all of your other smart devices. This is something you can boss around and will always be “happy to help”
● Google Home with Google Assistant
● Amazon Echo with Echo Show
● HomePod with Siri

A smart plug
Have you ever left the house and second guess yourself if you unplugged the curling iron? Well, with a smart plug, you can control any appliance that’s plugged into it and turn it on and off remotely. For environment control, you can control heaters, a/c, and lamps from anywhere with just a few taps on your smartphone.
● iHome smart plugs
● D-Link smart plug
● Tp-link smart plug

A smart coffee machine
This is a “nice-to-have” item that’s on every remote worker’s wishlist. It’s surprisingly affordable and will provide you with work fuel on an uninterrupted schedule.
● Nespresso Expert Espresso Machine
● Brew Genie
● Smarter Coffee

What’s your favorite smart gadget? Share them with us in the comments. Stay humble and hustle hard.

Written by Jaie O. The Help

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