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Four-thought: Good ideas

By J. Carlton Collins, CPA

Please note: This item is from our archives and was published in 2016. It is provided for historical reference. The content may be out of date and links may no longer function.

TOPICS

Presented below are four ideas I hope you will embrace.

  • Keep phones out of sight. Many companies are starting to establish the policy that during meetings, especially client meetings, all phones should stay out of sight, unless there is a life-or-death situation. Some companies are going further by adding that phones should stay out of sight during business lunches as well. The rule is based on the idea that if you pull your phone out during a meeting, you are essentially suggesting to your guest(s) that they are less important than anyone who might possibly call, text, or email you. You may also be indicating to them that you let your phone control you.
  • Take a daily vacation from your technology. If you constantly allow yourself to check your phone calls, texts, or emails every waking minute, you may never truly get time to mentally unwind or get away from work.
  • Stand up every hour. Science is finding that sitting is more harmful than we once believed, and sitting for hours at your computer can have adverse consequences over the long haul. Standing and walking a few minutes every hour can be beneficial to your health. Some people are installing height-adjustable desktops so they can continue to work while standing.
  • Check YouTube. When I stumble upon a computer problem or attempt to use a software feature I don’t fully understand, I find that I can resolve the problem faster, or understand the feature better, by searching YouTube compared to using the product’s help files. Not only are videos easier to understand and follow compared to text descriptions, but usually the YouTube clips have been created by users who are trying to explain the feature or how to troubleshoot the problem; in contrast, help files are usually written from the perspective of explaining how things are intended to work.

About the author

J. Carlton Collins (carlton@asaresearch.com) is a technology consultant, a CPE instructor, and a JofA contributing editor.

Note: Instructions for Microsoft Office in “Technology Q&A” refer to the 2007 through 2016 versions, unless otherwise specified.

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