Last week, as I was hunched over my laptop trying to rustle up content for a couple of blogs, I felt an odd “pull” in my back.

Pull shmull I thought – I’ve got deadlines to meet. And so I stubbornly pecked away for hours until I had some great Blog content, and some real honest-to-goodness back, shoulder, and neck pain.

I hear you, body.

So I decided that for the next few days I’d  take some time away from my computer, applying heat and assorted salves to my back, neck, shoulders, arms, and wrists.

(Since it’s World Cup Season, this seems to be a most appropriate time for “rest”).

So, today I’m back (briefly) with what I learned about how I got all twisted up, and a brave new plan for working daily with a laptop.

The first thing I learned is this: Save the laptop for travel and emergencies! A laptop is simply not a great ergonomic choice for someone who works with a computer at a desk as much as I do.

If a laptop is all you’ve got though, you can still make some minor adjustments to your laptop set-up to make the best of it:

1. Use a laptop docking station. This will allow you to plug your laptop into a unit which already has a keyboard, monitor, and mouse connected. It’s like having a desktop with a “removable” computer. (Why didn’t I think of that??)

2. If you don’t want to buy a docking station, then at least attach a separate keyboard and mouse to your laptop. Having these items separate from the laptop keyboard and trackpad will allow you the freedom to position them in much more ergonomic positions. USB mice and keyboards are cheap.

3. Take a lot of breaks! This is surprisingly easy to forget. You get into your tasks, your vibe (whatever you call it) and pretty soon hours have gone by. So get up, stretch, play with the pooch…Just get up and move around at least 5 – 10 minutes every hour.

4. When you are not typing on your keyboard (or using a mouse), allow your arms and fingers to relax.

5. If you don’t have one already, get an ergonomic office chair. Mine even has a “massage” feature! (And I’m trying to teach it how to make coffee!)

Why all the fuss about laptop ergonomics?

Laptop (mis) users (like me) are increasingly being diagnosed with back problems, muscle problems, and nerve damage. It’s a posture thing.

We don’t need more problems, do we?

I logged into Google a few weeks ago to access my… well, most of my everything.

And on this particular day the home page at Google was very, very odd…

Apparently, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of PacMan, Google introduced it’s first interactive “doodle”- which quite a few online folks thought was extremely annoying.

It is a game, Google said. Games have sounds. “We want the &!^%* sound off” the masses screamed.

Countless bouts of ranting and raving and “I’m switching to Bing” ensued for hours.

But 48 hours later when the Google/PacMan brouhaha was all over, and everyone got back to business – I started thinking a lot about Google and the substantial impact it has on our daily lives.

I use Google a lot.

And what if Google wasn’t around anymore? Or what if their many online offerings were no longer free?

5 Things I Would Miss Most About Google

1. Gmail

With email forwarding, POP3 and IMAP access, built in spam filtering, virus protection and a host of additional features, Gmail is one of the most full-featured free email services around.

2. Best Search Engine Ever

Surely, I’m not the only person who believes that Google is simply the most efficient and blazingly fast Search Engine there is. (Am I?)

3. Google Calendar

Google Calendar is an online calendar (free, of course) that lets you keep track of your appointments, events, etc. You also have the ability to share your calendars with others, and send reminders to yourself – via text to your cell phone or as email.

4. Google Voice

Google Voice is an online based  phone and virtual pbx service (yes, free) which gives you a local number, forwarding, and a myriad of other cool features.

5. Google Analytics

I design, install, and manage a lot of websites and Blogs.

And one critical aspect of running any site is analyzing it  – determining who your site visitors are, how they got to your website, etc.

Google Analytics is simply the most powerful free web analyzing tool I’ve seen. The application has so many report features – you’ll probably never even use them all!

So that’s my Google Love List (for today).

What do you think about Google?

What did you think about the PacMan/Google Home Page thingy?

What would you do without Google?

I know a lot of people who say they want to do many things.

Learn a new language.
Play the piano.
Start an online business.
Meet new people.

We all claim to want to do things – I do it too.

And yet, when it comes to actually doing these things – we rarely do them.

How come?

Why do so many of us fritter away our hours doing only things we have to do, and things we do not want to do and do not have to do – and then wonder why our days feel uninspired?

All of us (who are mature enough to care) must do some things  – our “day” jobs, our dirty laundry, our root canals.

As adults we accept that not all things we do will be pleasant ones.

But lately I’ve been thinking:

Why do so many of us continually set it up so that no time is left over for what we really want to do?

Seems to me there are 7 Possible Reasons:

1.    The concept of setting priorities eludes us.
2.    Someone else is telling us what to do.
3.    We don’t really want to do what we say we do.
4.    We like to complain.
5.    We don’t know how to do what we want to do.
6.    We don’t know what we want to do.
7.    We are overwhelmed – with not enough energy to do what we want to do.

Let’s look at it this way:

1. I don’t know who said it (Churchill?) but: “Failure to plan is planning to fail”.

Without setting goals and making priority lists, doing anything at all – whenever, becomes a way of life.

So set your goals and priorities.

2. If  someone else is telling you what to do – then tell that person to sit down and shut up.

3. If you don’t really want to do what you say you do – no problem. (But why keep saying it?)

4. If you like to complain – that’s fine. Most of us stopped listening a long time ago anyway. (Also see #2 – sit down and shut up).

5. If you don’t know how to do what you want to do – learn how to do it.

6. If you don’t know what you want to do – what are you waiting for? You can’t get somewhere unless you know where “somewhere” is.

7. And if you are feeling overwhelmed…

Stop doing things you do not want to do!