Jeff Davidson's Blog, page 25

Social Media and Poor Sleep

Just as you suspected, social media is not conducive to good sleep. Researchers found that individuals who devote more than two hours a day to social media are twice as likely struggle with sleep as those who spend 30 minutes or less. It is postulated that social media serves as the brain stimulant. If you’re on, say, Facebook, or Instagram, too close to bedtime, your online time might be directly interfering with your ability to nod off.

Also, the light emitted from electronic devices such as smart phones could well be interfering with your internal, bodily, clock. In any case, less use of social media, particularly close to the time you retire each day is probably a good idea for overall health and for better sleep

Wearable Technology

Wearable technology will help seniors greatly, not just hours they sleep and steps that they take: vibrating insoles will improve balance and prevent falls. The Internet of things will enable better household management, with automatic lighting, smart doorbells who detect who is knocking, and appliances that shut off when no one’s house. Also prescription regimens will alert people as to when they need to take them, and when they are not following their doctor’s instructions.

Tranquility is so Subjective

Two monks are walking along, and one says, "Life is a beautiful fountain."

Ten years later the same two monks are walking together and the second one says, "A fountain?" The first monk says, "Yes."

Fifteen years later the two monks are walking along. The second one says, "Don't you mean a river?" The first monk says, "You're always arguing."

Your Deskmanship

Is your desk always piled high with papers? Does the situation seem hopeless? It doesn't have to be that way. In my book Breathing Space: Living & Working at a Comfortable Pace in a Sped-Up Society I observe that you spend so much time at your desk -- it simply has to be a comfortable place for you!!

Also by clearing your desk every evening, you automatically have to choose what to work on the next day.

Employ Novel Approaches

The number of potential distractions -- items competing for your time and attention -- is infinite and will become more troublesome in the future, not less. It's vital to learn today how to deal with them in ways that you haven't employed before to regain control over your life and be better prepared to meet the challenges of the future.

Make That Appointment

Before most of us began carrying cell phones, being on time for an appointment was the mark of a considerate person. Now, according to James Katz, a professor of communication at Rutgers, people are routinely using cell phones to remedy being late. If you make an appointment, make that appointment.

Follow the Replacement Principle

If you bring in something new, something else that you don't need anymore has to go. (Be honest, most of what you're retaining is obsolete or confirms what you already know).

In your office, regard all of the pieces of paper in your information kingdom as mutineers, capable of overthrowing the whole kingdom at a moment's notice.

File, don't Pile

We are all soooo inundated these days! Instead of piling things on your desk, scan them or file them in the cabinet! Remove anything you can safely eliminate from your desktop. Items that you use on a daily basis, such as a stapler, a roll of tape, or pen, get to stay on top of your desk.

What you keep on top of your desk is uniquely individual. Your goal is to maintain the optimal number of items on and in your desk; enough so you function efficiently while there, but not so many that clutter inhibits work. Hold onto items you use at least once a week, but don't store those supplies too close by. Recognize that your desk drawers are not for storing supplies per se. You may store a pad of paper, but not pads of paper. You only need one pad at a time, and the general principle is to have the smallest number of a necessary item as you can get by with.

The fewer things you have in vital work spaces, the greater the sense of control you have over your immediate environment. For instance, if you choose to use one of your desk drawers for file folders, then these files should be as thin and potent as you can make them. Once your desk and flat surfaces are under control, you also gain a heightened sense of control over your time.

You might wish to place sentimental and familiar items, such as pictures, plants, and motivators near your desk, but not on it. Install items such as full spectrum lighting or ocean-wave music that support your productivity, efficiency, and creativity, near your work space, not on top of it.

From now on, manage your desktop as if it's one of the most important elements to staying organized, because it is.

Getting Lucky

Richard Wiseman writing in the Skeptical Enquirer advises readers to:

"Open your mind: consider chance opportunities. Lucky People regularly have them, unlucky people don't....

Unlucky people miss chance opportunities because they are too busy looking for something else. Lucky people see what is there rather than only what they are looking for."

Is Your Work Out too Hard?

Don’t work out so hard that you do lasting harm to yourself: The following news brief appeared several years back in Newsday.com:

Time is catching up with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ordinarily, a actor/politician's body would not be noteworthy. But what's happening now is the deconstruction of one of the greatest bodies ever. At 15, Schwarzenegger began transforming himself into a symbol of physical perfection, eventually winning more bodybuilding prizes than anyone in history… Referring to himself as the "bionic man," he finds himself with an artificial hip, reconstructed heart valves, a surgically repaired shoulder and a badly broken femur, an injury common among the elderly.