Have you ever felt that your dedication to the job was evaluated by the number of hours you were physically present onsite, or the number of hours you were reachable? This is often used as a determination of work ethic. We ourselves often boast about the number of hours we dedicate to the job, under [...]

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“How did consumption–the willingness to buy food, clothes, cars, electronics, appliances and homes–become Americans’ defense against economic collapse?” This was a question posed by Katherine Reynolds Lewis in the Houston Chronicle’s article of 1/28/2008, “It is a U.S. duty to spend?” The reality is that the average American is surrounded by more clothes, electronics, and [...]

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Recently a headline hit all of the major papers, asking, “Is Night Shift Tied to Cancer?” The International Agency for Research on Cancer is adding overnight-shift work as a probably carcinogen. This doesn’t mean that working nights will, by itself, cause cancer. What happens is that the overnight work creates a risk when it disrupts [...]

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It is part of the thrills of Christmas Day: stacks of boxes under the tress, a morning ripping open packages, and piles of new stuff. After a day of fun and sharing, you start to put things away; or you start wondering where you are going to fit in these newest additions when your current [...]

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How easy is it for you to adapt to a sudden change of plans? I had to find out this week when my daughter had an emergency appendectomy in Phoenix. They told her it was a “simple” operation, and she went in thinking there would be no problem. But simple to a doctor does not [...]

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Q: When can you be more productive without working? A: When you need a break and start again refreshed and focused. So many people in this busy society refuse to stop when there is a lot to do. They slog along, pushing themselves during the day and again in the evenings, with both work and [...]

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In one of Scott Adam’s pointed Dilbert cartoon strips, the boss reminds employees to use their vacation time before the end of the year. When they do take the days, they are lambasted for not being there when there is so much work to do. Have you accumulated vacation days that you should use before [...]

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Everywhere you turn today you see an ad for working from home. On a national newscast I often see a correspondent urging Americans to consider telecommuting and working from the comfort of their own homes. This arrangement offers many advantages to those who are able to enjoy it! Let’s imagine a typical morning working outside [...]

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Along with other predictions of change that were going to be common events before now, online grocery shopping started to provide some services several years ago. Yet it never took off for the majority of people, and grocery shopping still appears frequently on weekends or evening task lists. While other online shopping venues have become [...]

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We’ve all heard, “time is money”, but what does that really mean? Well, in the working world, it translates nicely into a dollar per hour amount. But what about the time that you’re not at work? Are you still on the clock? Yes! And you need to be able to maximize your personal time the [...]

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