Excitement builds as The Big Game Day approaches. Parties are planned, food is prepared and speculating begins about who will emerge as this year’s winner. Held February 7 in Miami, two of the best professional football teams duke it out for the biggest championship in the sport. Whether you’re a die-hard gridiron fan or just enjoy watching the commercials, you can impress and enlighten friends with these fun football facts:

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Back pain can cause a host of annoyances.  Here’s an article from spine-health.com about how to choose a good chair. You owe it to your back. Check out Write Now! for our selection of ergonomic office chairs.

Choosing the Right Ergonomic Office Chair.

We were recently named the Fastest Growing Dealer in the Planet by Proficiency Post! Check out the article:

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I hope that this story is fictional…

“A young executive was leaving the office late one evening when he found the CEO standing in front of a shredder with a piece of paper in his hand.

‘Listen,’ said the CEO, ‘this is a very sensitive and important document here, and my secretary has gone for the night. Can you make this thing work?’

‘Certainly,’ said the young executive. He turned the machine on, inserted the paper, and pressed the start button.

‘Excellent, excellent!’ said the CEO as his paper disappeared inside the machine. ‘I just need one copy.’”

The achievements of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are legendary. A fearless general, the father of our country, against all odds, led his troops to victory over the British. Unpopular at the time, Lincoln is now considered among the greatest – if not the greatest – President of all time for ending slavery and forever uniting our land.

As we celebrate Presidents’ Day, we pay tribute to their leadership, determination, and accomplishments, but let’s also recognize another gift they demonstrated – their ability to effectively communicate.

While today’s workplace “speech,” looks a little different with presentation software, computers, and sophisticated audiovisual equipment, speech fundamentals remain the same. Here are four of their techniques that still work today.

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This is from an e-mail that a coworker sent. The sad thing is that some of us may be able identify with one (or two) of these. Here’s to more productivity in 2010!

“It has come to our attention recently that many of you have been turning in timesheets that specify large amounts of ‘Miscellaneous Unproductive Time’ (Code 5309). However, we need to know exactly what you are doing during your unproductive time.

Attached below is a sheet specifying a tentative extended job code list based on our observations of employee activities.

The list will allow you to specify with a fair amount of precision what you are doing during your unproductive time. Please begin using this job-code list immediately and let us know about any difficulties you encounter.

Thank you,
Accounting

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6 Simple Ways to Stay Healthy this Winter

For most of us, winter brings two major concerns – shoveling snow and staying healthy. While you can’t do anything about this year’s snowfall, you can minimize your chance of catching the latest bug by following these six simple steps.

1. Thoroughly wash your hands. Yes, you’re probably already doing this, but are you washing long enough? Use hot water and lots of soap, lathering for at least 30 seconds – about as long as it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice. Be sure to “save your work” by using a paper towel to shut off the faucet and open the bathroom door.
2. Turn away. Turn your head away from others and cough into your sleeve, elbow or tissue. Be sure to dispose of your tissue and wash your hands immediately to avoid spreading germs.
3. Keep moving. Exercise is an excellent way to stay healthy. A brisk walk of 20 minutes four or five times a week will help strengthen your immune system to fight off whatever comes your way.
4. Use antibacterial wipes. At work use antibacterial wipes on your phone and desk. Regularly wipe everything you frequently touch including your keyboard, mouse, pens, and desktop. At home, keep kitchen appliances and countertops as well as bathroom surfaces, and all door handles and light switches wiped clean. At the store, take advantage of the antibacterial wipes often provided near the carts, a great place to pick up someone else’s bug.
5. Hands off. Did you know that people touch their faces an average of fifteen times an hour? Keep your hands away from your mouth, nose and eyes, three prime germ entry spots.
6. Get your sleep. Sleep helps your body rejuvenate itself. When you’re run-down, your resistance drops, making you more susceptible to getting sick.

Incorporate these tips into your daily routine and you’ll stay ahead of the bug… and stay strong all winter long.

Make A Clean Start In 2010

We’ve all done our share of spring and fall cleaning, but if retailers are any indication, the new calendar year is becoming just as big a time for cleaning as either of the seasons that come before or after.

Fortunately, there are dozens of new products out there that make cleaning easier than ever before.

While everyone is accustomed to cleaning their kitchens, bedrooms and baths, we rarely take the time to think about, let alone clean, our offices-whether they are at home or in a big corporate center. In fact, people whose offices are located outside the home rarely, if ever, think about tidying up their office. They leave that chore to the cleaning people, which, let’s face it, do not take the time to clean up every individual office; that’s the occupant’s job. Here are some tips for keeping yours neat and tidy.

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In light of the coming holidays, I found this humorous office holiday party e-mail exchange. Have a stress-less holidays!

Christmas

Subject: The Office Party
FROM: Pat Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: Everyone
RE: Christmas Party
DATE: December 1

I’m happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party will take place on December 23, starting at noon in the banquet room at Luigi’s Open Pit Barbecue. No-host bar, but plenty of eggnog! We’ll have a small band playing traditional carols…feel free to sing along. And don’t Be surprised if our CEO shows up dressed as Santa Claus!

FROM: Pat Lewis, Human Resources Director
DATE: December 2
RE: Christmas Party

In no way was yesterday’s memo intended to exclude our Jewish employees. We recognize that Hanukkah is an important holiday which often coincides with Christmas, though unfortunately not this year. However, from now on we’re calling it our “Holiday Party.” The same policy applies to employees who are celebrating Kwanzaa at this time.

Happy now?

FROM: Pat Lewis, Human Resources Director
DATE: December 3
RE: Holiday Party

Regarding the note I received from a member of Alcoholics Anonymous requesting a non-drinking table … you didn’t sign your name. I’m happy to accommodate this request, but if I put a sign on a table that reads “AA Only” you wouldn’t be anonymous anymore. How am I supposed to handle this? Somebody?

FROM: Pat Lewis, Human Resources Director
DATE: December 7
RE: Holiday Party

What a diverse company we are! I had no idea that December 2 begins the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which forbids eating and drinking during daylight hours. There goes the party! Seriously, we can appreciate how a luncheon this time of year does not accommodate our Muslim employees’ beliefs. Perhaps Luigi’s can hold off on serving your meal until the end of the party – the days are so short this time of year – or else package everything for take-home in little foil swans. Will that work?

Meanwhile, I’ve arranged for members of Overeaters Anonymous to sit farthest from the dessert buffet and pregnant women will get the table closest to the restrooms. Did I miss anything?

FROM: Pat Lewis, Human Resources Director
DATE: December 8
RE: Holiday Party

So December 22 marks the Winter Solstice…what do you expect me to do, a tap-dance on your heads? Fire regulations at Luigi’s prohibit the burning of sage by our “earth-based Goddess-worshipping” employees, but we’ll try to accommodate your shamanic drumming circle during the band’s breaks. Okay???

FROM: Pat Lewis, Human Resources Director
Date: December 9
RE: Holiday Party

People, people, nothing sinister was intended by having our CEO dress up like Santa Claus! Even if the anagram of “Santa” does happen to be “Satan,” there is no evil connotation to our own “little man in a red suit.” It’s a tradition, folks, like sugar shock at Halloween or family feuds over the Thanksgiving turkey or broken hearts on Valentine’s Day. Could we lighten up?

FROM: Pat Lewis, Human Resources Director
DATE: December 10
RE: Holiday Party

Vegetarians!?!?!? I’ve had it with you people!!! We’re going to keep this party at Luigi’s Open Pit Barbecue whether you like it or not, so you can sit quietly at the table furthest from the “grill of death,” as you so quaintly put it, and you’ll get your freaking salad bar, including hydroponic tomatoes. But you know, they have feelings too. Tomatoes scream when you slice them. I’ve heard them scream. I’m hearing them scream right now!

FROM: Teri Bishops, Acting Human Resources Director
DATE: December 14
RE: Pat Lewis and Holiday Party

I’m sure I speak for all of us in wishing Pat Lewis a speedy recovery from her stress-related illness and I’ll continue to forward Your cards to her at the sanatorium.

In the meantime, management has decided to cancel our Holiday Party and give everyone the afternoon of the 23rd off with full pay.

We hope that this change does not offend anyone.

For full text visit: http://www.humormatters.com/holidays/Christmas/xmasofficeparty.htm

This is a great article:
“Let’s have a meeting.” Never have so few words brought about so much dread for the organizer.

Okay, daily, run-of-the-mill meetings that run five to 10 minutes don’t usually pose a lot of problems, but the lengthier, day-long marathon meetings do. That’s because they tend to require the planner to pull together a variety of details from having the right equipment on-hand to coordinating snacks and meals.

You can hire a meeting planner who will do all of this for you — and sometimes that is a good idea, especially if your meeting is large and requires finding an off-site venue. , But with a little advance planning-particularly if the meeting is on-site-anyone can pull off a meeting with few, if any, glitches.

Consider the setting. Choose a conference room that is light and airy without too many distractions. Make sure it can accommodate all the guests. There’s nothing worse than having to squeeze too many people into a room, which can make the meeting feel claustrophobic, or having too big a room with a lot of empty chairs, which can send the message that the meeting wasn’t important enough for everyone to attend.

You will want a conference table that allows plenty of room to spread out papers. Chairs should be comfortable to sit in for an extended period of time, but not so comfortable that attendees are included to nod off after lunch.

Invest in a sturdy easel that will not wobble if someone with a heavy hand writes on it or easily tips over if bumped.

Keep a fresh pad of oversized easel paper on-hand for writing notes or brainstorming ideas.

If only a few notes are needed, consider a white, dry erase board. They come in handy and can be erased completely when the meeting is over.

Double-check that you have a fresh supply of markers and dry erase markers.

If you are showing a slide presentation or PowerPoint from a laptop, dim the lights, but don’t have them so low that people can’t take notes or become drowsy. Draw the blinds on the window and dim lights near the screen, while keeping other lights on.

A laser pointer will help the speaker make his point accurately without standing in front of the screen.

If there is a PowerPoint presentation, spend some time refining the graphics before the meeting to make it interesting. The content of a presentation might be solid, but it will appear boring if the graphics are dull. At the same time, if there is too much animation, a good presentation might appear disjointed and confusing.

Keep high-energy snack foods handy. Peanuts are good. So is granola. Serving too many snacks with a high sugar content can rev up attendees only to have them crash later on.

While you can’t avoid serving coffee at meetings, consider having some bottled water on hand.

Follow these tips and you are likely to put meeting planner

Found at: biggestbook.com