Web Worker Daily

The trouble with not working a 9-to-5 office job is that often you work more, sometimes much more, than your cube-dwelling counterparts. The risk you run with an always-connected, always-working lifestyle, of course, is of getting burned out. And once that happens, not only will you end up exhausted, but both your work and your personal life will suffer.

A List Apart recently published a great article by Scott Boms, “Burnout,” that examines the stress, exhaustion and illness often associated with web work. Burnout is not just stress, he notes, but is caused by an “imbalance in an individual’s personal goals, ideals, and needs as related to their job.” So how can you regain that balance? Boms outlines several steps you can take, including: Read the rest of this entry »

When our grandparents said that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, they were referring to the fruit, not the computer.  But it’s not far-fetched that the same thing could be said about teleworking.  By opting to telework, employees and freelancers have a better chance of keeping themselves physically healthy.

How does this happen and to what extent is it valid?
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Every one of us has a day when the demands on our time are high, when we feel the anxiety and pressure of all that we have to do, when we are so rushed that we can’t get any bearing on our day, when the phone is ringing off the hook, or meetings are back-to-back-to-back, or the IM won’t stop bothering us, or our email is constantly flooded … in short, when we are overwhelmed.

For some people, that’s almost every day.

So how to you get back under control, drop your stress levels, and get back to sanity? How can you simplify an overwhelming day? I won’t say that it’ll be easy, but it can be done.

Here’s how.

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