TresSugar

Self-Help: De-Stress at Work

DearSugar — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:00:00 -0700

Work can totally stress a person out because of a whole combination of things - deadlines, annoying distractions, noise, skipped or unhealthy meals, orders from the boss, time constraints, and the commute.

Here are some tips to help your work day run a little more smoothly:

Organize your workspace - Sometimes de-cluttering your desk is a way to de-clutter your mind. Make sure all your stuff has a special "home" on your desk. Pick up some cute storage containers to put things in. It won't take long to tidy up your space, and it can make a world of difference. Plus knowing where everything is will save you time.
Organize your day - Make a to-do list of all the things you want to get done and how long you think each task will take -- I guarantee this list will help you feel less overwhelmed.
Jot down ideas - It's important to start a project and finish it, so if you get another idea for something else while working on a project, write it in a notebook or on a post-it note so you don't lose your train of thought.

To hear more helpful hints, read more

Listen to relaxing music - Calming tunes can ease your mood and make you happy, which will make you more productive at work. When you're more productive, you get your work done and feel less stressed. Headphones in your ears can also tune out annoying distractions like chatty co-workers and other office noise.
Make sure you eat! - Forgetting to eat breakfast or lunch is just going to put you in a cranky and irritable mood. Plus you won't have the energy or brain power to get your work done. Plan ahead and pack yourself a lunch so it'll be ready for you the next day. Also keep a stock of healthy snacks at work just in case you need a little pick-me-up. Keeping healthy options near by will prevent the temptation to reach for a Snickers bar out of the vending machine.
Don't take on TOO much - If your boss asks you to take on another project and you're already bogged down with an avalanche of work, don't try to be Super Woman. Doing a normal amount of work brilliantly will impress your boss more than doing a ton of mediocre work.
Take a break - Make sure that at least once during your day you take some time for yourself. You don't have to eat lunch during that time (since you most likely eat at your desk anyway), but you can make a phone call to a friend, take a walk, do an errand, grab a cup of tea, read in the break room, do some online shopping - whatever will stop you from working for at least 20-30 minutes.

Got any other suggestions? Share your ideas below.

Source

Thank God for Headphones

GiggleSugar — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 16:00:00 -0700

This Holiday Inn ad shows why it's important to have definable and secluded workspaces. (In case your cubicle partner likes to imitate whale sounds, for example!) In the absence of that, headphones do the trick, too. (Thanks, Ad Freak!)

So I Married an Inanimate Object? Woman Marries Eiffel Tower

CitizenSugar — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:30:10 -0700

Erika La Tour Eiffel is not the first person to fall in love with the Eiffel Tower, but she is the first to say "I do" to it. Last year she married the iconic, iron structure in a small ceremony while surrounded by friends, and afterwards changed her name accordingly. But the tower is not her only love, nor is she the only person to love, love objects.

At least 40 people have joined an online group for objectum sexuals (OS) - a term for people who feel attraction, arousal, love, and commitment for objects. The idea of having a relationship with a person is as absurd to them as the idea of having a relationship with an object is to other people.

While objectum sexuals see the object-human bond as metaphysical, psychologists see it as an abnormal attachment - a barrier between them and other people. Sexual abuse and Asperger's syndrome (a form of autism, which impairs social interactions) run rampant among self-identified objectum sexuals, and most have histories of childhood abandonment and rejection.

To see a clip from Strange Love: Married to the Eiffel Tower, a documentary about OS and the objects of their affections, read more.

I must warn you, it's a little long (20 minutes) and, maybe, not entirely safe for work. Headphones on!

Source

Wow, This Chick Can't Sing to Save Her Life!

GiggleSugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:30:00 -0800

You know how you walk down the street sometimes listening to someone singing off-key really loudly, and you wonder if they can hear themselves? Usually, it turns out they're wearing headphones and think they sing wonderfully. In this woman's case? I think she's just tone-deaf.

You Don't Need Permission To . . .

DearSugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:00:00 -0700

. . . listen to music on your headphones all day at work when you don't feel like talking to anyone.

Source

You Asked: He Likes His Computer More Than Me

DearSugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:00:00 -0700

Dear Sugar,

My boyfriend spends all day on the Internet. If I ask him a question while he's checking blogs, he dramatically takes off his headphones, presses pause on whatever music he's listening to, sighs and says "yes?" in a hostile tone. He checks all his favorite sites first thing in the morning, is on them when I get home from work, and is looking at them throughout the day. I think he feels that since we live together we're automatically spending "quality time together" by being in the same house even when we aren't interacting. Clearly, I feel differently, and his habits are driving me crazy.

Occasionally he makes jokes about being a bad boyfriend and ignoring me, but other than that we don't really discuss it. It's really starting to affect my self-confidence and our relationship. I just don't feel like a priority, and I'm coming in second to a computer screen! What can I do?

- Computer Woes Cassie

To see DearSugar's answer, read more.

Dear Computer Woes Cassie,

No one should feel like she's less of a priority than her significant other's computer, and while normally I would simply suggest that you talk to him about how you're feeling, I think there might be something deeper going on here. I'm concerned that he seems to think ignoring you is somehow joke worthy, and that even though he's obviously aware that what he's doing isn't right, he continues to do it without regret or apology.

Consciously being hurtful or disrespectful to someone you love is not a good quality to have. Though everyone lashes out at their loved ones from time to time, it's a much different story to consistently put your needs ahead of someone else's even though you know it's causing them strife. Your boyfriend is doing the latter, and that's not OK. It's time to take the confrontational route and tell him that he can no longer put his Internet needs in front of your relationship. Be very clear on how what he does is both hurting you and deteriorating your relationship.

Suggest therapy as a means of combating his addiction to the web, and try to come up with a reasonable schedule for him to be online versus spending time with you. Try doing activities that get you outside of the house where he won't be inclined to hop on the computer. If he simply won't change or acknowledge your feelings then you may want to consider moving out and moving on.

Source

Do Tell: What's Your Before Bed Routine?

DearSugar — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:00:00 -0700

I like to watch television before bed after I soak in the tub; it’s my way of unwinding and getting to that sleepy place. Now, my roommate in college loved to talk. She could talk for hours before bed; it was her opportunity to process the things that had happened during the day and get everything off her chest. Sometimes she talked for so long, I couldn’t help drifting off. But of course, others like to read, talk on the phone, stick in some headphones, check email, or get physical with their bed buddy. So what about you? What’s your standard bedtime routine?

Source

The Future of No-Frills Flying?

GiggleSugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:30:00 -0700

Whenever I'm offered headphones for $2 or a "snack pack" for $5, I wonder if it's only a matter of time before the airlines start charging for peanuts. Or, as this Mad TV skit imagines, charging for a solitary peanut. I just hope I have exact change when those oxygen masks come down.

No Frills Airlines - Watch more free videos

Ask E. Jean For DearSugar: How Do We Compromise?

DearSugar — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:00:00 -0800

Dear E. Jean,

Though you won’t be able to tell it from this email - I’m a little frazzled right now - I am intent on becoming a serious novelist. I’m also in love with a very wonderful man who works for a polling company. And it is crazy now with the Republican and Democratic primaries. Just absolutely nuts. Every night he comes home from work not tired . . . but pumped. He wants to go out on the town to clubs, restaurants, parties, bars with banjo players, etc., etc. He loves the whole nighttime scene!

But in the evenings I want silence. Peace. I need to think and read. Nights are the only time I have to write. (I work in the fund-raising office of a university during the day and it is exhausting!) So what do we do? When we stay home, he is so jumpy and plays the television so loudly all the ideas fly out of my head. Plus he keeps walking into the bedroom (where I work) to tell me something “interesting” he just saw on The Daily Show! We are heading into a whole year of politics! Help!
- Wants to Be the Next Margaret Atwood

To see E. Jean's answer read more

MARGARET, MY YOUNG TROLLYMOG: If you are serious about becoming a great writer, you have four options:

The Toni Morrison Option:
Switch your writing time to the morning before you go to work. Toni Morrison wrote for three hours every day before she left for her editing job at Random House. When she was younger and teaching at Howard University, she raised two kids and wrote The Bluest Eye.

The Doris Lessing Method
Keep your night-time writing schedule, wear headphones which block out noise, and any time the chap enters the bedroom, shout: “Begone Beastly Man! I am struggling towards the golden dawn!”

The Virginia Woolf Prerogative
Rent a small room, go there after work to write, and then meet the lad for a late dinner. Turn out brilliant work. (Do not drown yourself later by loading stones in your pockets.)

The George Eliot Program
Move out, get your own place, write a piece for the Westminster Review called “Silly Novels by Lady Novelists” and go on to compose one of the grandest books of your century.

Whichever you choose, you must lock yourself up, do battle every day, and follow your aesthetic bliss. . . . or, you will never emblazon your name across the Great American Novel.

To see more advice from E. Jean visit Elle magazine and AskEJean.com.

Handle This: Pornography at 1,500 Feet

DearSugar — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:00:00 -0800

You're on your way home from a wild New Year's weekend in Aspen, Colorado. You're dreading going back to work in the morning and know that you need to get as much shut eye on this trip as possible but unfortunately you're hung over and completely irritable. You're stuck in the window seat next to a man who has unpacked his entire carry on and is cluttering your personal space.

As you doze in and out of consciousness, your eye catches his bright computer screen and you immediately shoot up in your seat. You rub your eyes, but you were right after all - the man next to you is watching a full fledged porno! Thank goodness he is wearing headphones, but you are so grossed out that you can't fall back asleep. Although he has every right to watch whatever he pleases on his computer, you can't stop thinking about what he's going to be doing in the seat next to you while you're sound asleep. I know this is a tough one, but ladies, tell me how you would handle this!

Source