I’ve been using the “Open Source” version of MS Office since the trial version that came with this computer expired. Does pretty much the same job as the real deal and it’s free. However, yesterday I noticed that the spell check tool that’s built in was not functioning. I just hope I didn’t do something similar over the last few months…

Eye Halve a Spelling Chequer

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Missteaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rarely ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
Iam shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect in it’s weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

My legs cramp, my toosh is constantly sore and it seems that I now have a pinched nerve (sciatic) running down the back of my leg. With no cushion left, I seriously think it’s time for a new chair for my home office. 7 years x’s at least 10hrs a day x’s 7 days a week x’s over 200lbs.. yep the poor chair is down to it’s frame now.

Here’s today work from home Wednesday tip;

How to Choose An Office Chair.

There are so many different types of office chairs available. From swivel task office chairs to an executive office chairs even ergonomic office chairs.

There are also low back, mid back and high back office chairs.

The options are endless from an office chair with adjustable arms or an office chair with no arms at all.

So how do you choose the office chair that is right for you?

Before choosing which office chair is right for your needs, first consider what are you going to be using the office chair for?

Are you purchasing an office chair for the work place or is this an office chair for your own use at home.

If you’re shopping for an office chair for the work place, consider the person’s position this office chair is for.

If you are looking for an office chair for someone whose in an authoritive position, like a C.E.O., President, or Manager. You would probably look for an office chair that states, “I am the boss!” This type of office chair would most likely fall in the category of an executive office chair. These types of office chairs usually have a high back are pillow soft or leather. It is important for this office chair to be very comfortable, especially when the person sitting in it is making important company decisions.

Maybe you need to purchase an office chair for a secretary or receptionist. Some factors to keep in mind for this type of purchase are how easy does the office chair move around?

Usually you would want to choose a swivel office chair. Swivel office chairs usually have the option of low, mid or high back. A swivel office chair is ideal for someone who needs to move around the desk a lot. Secretaries are constantly moving from the computer, to the fax machine, to answering the company phone. You may also want to consider an office chair with adjustable arms or an office chair with no arms at all. You wouldn’t want to restrict an employee who needs flexibility.

You should also consider how long you would be sitting in your office chair. For those who will be spending a long period of time in their office chair it is important to pick an office chair with the right lumbar support.

Maybe you need an office chair for someone who works in something like printing production. Quality assurance production requires someone to be in the same position for a long period of time. Usually those in this position have a high desk or work station. You would probably want an office chair with a high lift and excellent back support. Usually these office chairs are mid-back or high-back.

If you are purchasing an office chair for yourself at home consider your needs. What kind of back support do you require? There are office chairs that can be specially contoured to your own back. What color office chair best fits your décor? Office chairs come in a variety of colors from black to burgundy and many more. There are many different kinds of office chairs to choose from if you can clearly define your needs.

Courtesy of Toby Pizur. 

Analyzing Your Time - Work Smarter Not Harder
How well are you managing your time?
Do you end the day wishing for more hours? If this describe you, there are ways to get more from your day without having to need more hours.

Time management is a very important skill for anyone working in a flex-based environment. For mobile workers it can be the difference between sanity and insanity.

Creating and keeping a schedule will require some effort initially but once you get into this routine, it will become second nature to make plans and stay organized. You will need to breakdown your activities based upon Work and Home/Chores.

If you analyze the time spent doing various activities over a period of one or two weeks, you will see patterns developing. Those patterns are what you need to track. They will be either time wasters or maximum use of time.

Work

* Telephone calls and dealing with email can be two of the biggest time wasters we have.

* Keep all calls short and on topic. It’s not the time for socializing and catching up on gossip.

* Have separate email accounts for work and personal use. Leave reading the personal email until you are not on “the clock”.

Working in a remote environment it can be very easy to get side tracked and forget what your original purpose was.

* Make sure you stay focused and if you have to, use a timer.
* Set time limits for how long you have to work on a specific task.
Don’t set unreasonable limits, as you will frustrate yourself.

Keep favourite sites and search engines bookmarked. This will save valuable time. Save information in a text file that lists different sites and what information is found there.

Save your reading/writing/training for times when you know that you will not have to worry about interruptions. Nothing is worse than trying to learn something new and having the phone ringing from co-workers asking questions or looking for information.
Chores
Your first priority, especially when working from your home office is your job. Save chores for after work hours or for break times. If you allow yourself to get caught up in household chores, you will not get any work done.

Don’t forget you still need regular breaks and time to eat. It is too easy to get caught up in work and miss meals or not take a break and you will pay for that later.

Organizing your day to include regular breaks and scheduling your work tasks will enable you to work much smarter and it will also be lesss stressful.

This piece is courtesy of Catherine Roseberry.

Work from home Wednesday. This new segment will appear every Wednesady from now on and will focus on one work from home (telecommute / freelance) tip for the week.

I love working from home and couldn’t see myself doing anything else… well maybe being the chef at my own restaurant One of the things I suggest to people who are now starting off a work from home career is… DRESS THE PART! Many of you who work in a home office may never see your clients (or prospective clients) - so you say “Why does it matter how I dress as long as I make money?”

You’ve heard it said, “Clothes make the man (or woman).” But, have you stopped to consider that the clothes you choose to wear (or not wear) can affect your work attitude and production?

Experience forces me to wake up every morning and make myself ready for work. I’m not saying you should end up in a 3 piece suit, however getting out of those pyjamas, boxer shorts, birthday suit, etc is a good start.

Have a great day!

Chris

I’m getting an early start this Saturday morning (3 more days until school starts for the girls ) since I have a ton of loose ends to tie-up. I usually try not to have work that I scheduled to complete in a month move over into a new month. It’s already the 2nd day in September and I find that I didn’t fully complete all that I wanted to in August, so today is my official “tie-up” day.

Usually while I have first tea in the am I browse the news feeds just to see what’s making the news. Here’s a story I came across on working from home and how it may affect the whole climbing the corporate ladder tingy…

By ROMA LUCIW
August 31, 2006

Working from home might seem like a godsend, but a survey released this week suggests that employees who chose to telecommute might find it harder to climb the corporate ladder.

Nearly one-third of Canadian respondents said telecommuting is best suited for staff-level employees, according to a poll by staffing service OfficeTeam. That compares with 28 per cent who said it was most beneficial for managers, 16 per cent who said executives, and 15 per cent who said administrative staff.

Teletech
Although soaring gasoline prices have led a growing number of people to consider skipping the commute to work, the survey found that 38 per cent of respondents said the senior executives at their companies rarely telecommute, while 20 per cent said their bosses never work from home.

Diane Domeyer, executive director of OfficeTeam, said supervisors need to be available to consult with staff who might need advice with day-to-day projects.

Although staff-level employees generally find it easier to telecommute, they need to make sure to spend at least some time in the office, Ms. Domeyer said. “Employees who work from home must ensure that being out of sight doesn’t also mean being out of mind for promotions, team projects and plum assignments.”

A separate study released in July by an employment agency found that a majority of Canadian executives said their companies were taking some steps to help ease the burden of higher gas prices on their staff. Two of the most common were to allow for increased telecommuting and allowing employees to work from office locations closer to home.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)

I’m not sure how this really affects the majority of people who works from home, since the ones I know are all independent contractors, it’s their own business they run from home and/or only works from home part time to earn extra cash.

Enjoy the rest of the day!

Chris..