National days, weeks and months and the one My Home Office Hacks celebrates
Being and seeing well in your home office
Today, March 6, is National Dentist Day. At least that’s what they say. So yours truly will doff his figurative cap to the best dentist in the world, Dr. Richard Wolfert of The Toothboss in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Did you also know that March is Workplace Wellness Month? Thank you to Lisa from MM Website Design for sharing that one. Otherwise, this newsletter might be about ear buds (stay tuned).
While many organizations will focus on safety in the workplace—think food service, construction, lab/medical, etc.—My HOH will follow the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s lead and focus, pun intended, on wellness in the home office.
On its website, AAO shares some tips for people working from home with regard to screen time. Here are a few:
Make taking breaks a habit - Practicing the 20-20-20 rule will help you remember to blink. Set a timer on your phone or watch to remind you to look 20 feet away every 20 minutes for 20 seconds. This can be as simple as looking away from your computer screen or out the window. If you’re not in the middle of a Zoom call, you can also just shut your eyes for 20 seconds.
Practice eye ergonomics. Sit 18 to 25 inches away from your computer screen, about arm’s length. Adjust screen brightness and contrast so that it feels comfortable. Also, position the screen so your eyes gaze slightly downward, not straight ahead or up.
Use artificial tears. Eye drops will help keep your eyes moist and relieve the discomfort of dry eye. These can be bought over the counter without a prescription.
As a contact wearer, artificial tears aren’t an option for me (the real ones will have to suffice). AAO did recommend asking your eye doctor about computer glasses. These are progressive lenses which should be used when your eyes are 20 to 26 inches from the screen.
AAO also put the kibosh on blue light-blocking glasses. Seems there’s no scientific evidence that blue light coming from a computer screen causes digital eye strain or damages the eye.
Taking care of your eyes is but one part of wellness in the home office workplace. As we all know, mental health stands as the real challenge. Frankly, it’s why My HOH exists.
Two people who seem to have the work from home thing down are Brian and Kristine Jones of Krush It Marketing. Here’s an interview we did in 2022 about how they manage to run a business together in their home. Check it out.
SoundPEATS Capsule3 Pro Wireless Earbuds
Let’s get one thing straight. I’m not a fan of putting anything in my ears. Over? Not a problem. So, in testing out the SoundPEATS Capsule3 Pro Wireless Earbuds, it was going to take a lot to win me over. Certain criteria would need to be met.
The biggest test: would it stay in my ears for a prolonged period. It passed with flying colors on an hour long Zoom, a long walk outside, and a vigorous round of calisthenics.
Test 2: can people tell I’m on a headset. I call it the Steve Test.
Steve is one of my clients. He will always tell me when my phone sounds like s**t. Two calls to Steve and there was no mention of the how I sounded, though several objects to what I was saying. Yet that has nothing to do with ear buds.
One thing I had to get used to was when I took the buds out of the case, my Bluetooth detected them right away. This made for a few funny phone calls where I kept saying hello and couldn’t understand why I couldn’t hear out of the phone. Once figured out, it was kind of nice not to have to connect.
As I don’t often review things, I would have to give these bad boys a thumbs up. I now feel much better about sticking things in my ears. Sometimes even choosing to do so.
If you’re interested in trying these out, SoundPEATS is offering a special deal, $48.99 or 20 percent off the MSRP. You can get that deal off their Amazon page or their website. Be sure to enter this code: QG6UCCG2. The offer expires on 3/31/2023 .
Inspiring quote of the week
“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” — Sylvia Plath