If Only Desks Doubled As Beds

Do you ever feel drowsy at work? Do your eyelids have to work overtime just to stay open? Do you imagine getting reprimanded for just plopping your head down and taking a short snooze at your desk? Well snap out of it!

Don’t feel too alone, however. In a recent poll;, conducted in the United States, 68 percent of workers claimed that sleepiness interfered with their ability to work. That’s well over half of those polled.
So you can step out of the sleepy majority, here are some tips to help you stay awake and alert on the job:

1) Wake Up And Smell The Coffee

Literally! Studies have shown that smelling freshly brewed coffee and coffee beans can increase wakefulness. Other smells you can try are peppermint, rosemary, or eucalyptus.

2) Pump Up The Jams

Take your iPod to work and make an upbeat play list that will keep you up and motivated. (Might I suggest some Chumbawumba?)

3) Feel The Pressure

No, I don’t mean freak out about your next deadline or what your coworkers think of your latest fashion statement. Acupressure, massaging specific pressure points around your body can help you feel rejuvenated and awake. Some pressure points are your ear lobes, the top of the back of your neck, just below the knees, and the top of your head! Just tap those areas lightly with your index finger and feel alive!

4) Nap Time

If you can manage it, a 15-20 minute power nap has been proven useful in combating the sandman. If your boss catches you sleeping, tell him you’re just increasing productivity!

5) Bedtimes

No, you’re not seven anymore, and your parents aren’t there to give you a bedtime, but be your own mom and dad and set a bedtime that allows you to sleep for at least 7 hours a night. Stick with a set bedtime (say 11?) night to night and your cicardian rhythm will be jamming like Ringo Starr.
Don’t be afraid to grab that cup of job in the morning either. Coffee is packed full of antioxidants and can be helpful in giving you a nice boost in the morning. Just don’t count on it all day or you’ll wind up crashing like a blind horse come afternoon.

Unemployment Shmunemployment

The U.S. unemployment rate is currently sitting at 9.8% That’s a hefty 5 percent higher than what it was in April 2008.

Instead of wallowing in such a ridiculously high unemployment rate, let’s just pretend that the 9.8% means something else…

1) Imagine that 9.8% was the number of babies being born cross-eyed in America.

2) Imagine that 9.8% of the U.S. is still using 2-way pagers.

3) Imagine that 9.8% of parents of children who use Facebook, are actually friends with their children on Facebook.

4) Imagine that 9.8% of U.S. workers didn’t have jobs…. (whoops.)

5) And finally, imagine that 9.8% of pizzas ordered were topped with pineapple AND canadian bacon.

Ahh. Now doesn’t that feel better? I doubt whether any of these things are true (except number 4), but it sure does feel better to ignore your problems. Doesn’t it?

Worried About Health Care Reform? How About Your Job?

Unemployment nationwide is up yet again since September, rising to 9.8 percent, from 9.7 percent in August. That’s a 26-year high.

Attention in the mainstream media has definitely switched, however, from the plummeting employment rate to a strong focus on President Obama’s proposed health care initiatives, which have, throughout a series of town hall meetings set up across the nation, reinvigorated allegations of socialism to angry mob status.

Senator Arlen Specter, who switched from the GOP to the Democratic party earlier in the year, has faced a barrage of hard hitting insults during the recent town hall meetings to discuss future plans for health care in America (My favorite of which: “socialist, fascist pig.” it’s concise hard hitting, and it’s got a nice ring to it).

Now, there is nothing wrong with Americans voicing their opinion about government initiatives, however, one seriously has to wonder where the mojo regarding job creation has gone. It is likely that, should the unemployment rate in America persist as it has been for the past 12 months, many of these enraged socialist haters will have no health care plan to either complain about or praise.

One must wonder how the option of socialized health care sounds to a citizen faced with a mountain of debt after a single emergency room visit: A cherry topping to the ice cream sundae that is unemployment.