Education Tip of the Day

Say for example you're still in high school. You don't want to be in class for any longer then you really need to be. I remember when I was back in high school however long they gave me for lunch was not enough. So, to get out of, say your fourth hour, class right before lunch. Cooperate with your teacher and let her get through the material quickly. You never know she might just let you go a couple minutes early and get a break on the rest of the lunch crowd.

The same also applies to those of us who get stuck in 11:00 meetings. Just agree with everyone's ideas and you'll be on your way to an early lunch!

Touring Tip of the Day

If you're ever "on tour," or just on the road for business, keep in mind you're operating on a "per diem" for food and lodging. Of course, this means you're not paying for your own food! If you were back home, you'd be paying at least for some of that food and if you're like many of us in my circle of friends, we dine out very frequently. So, you can either come back home with a large chunk of money that you saved (which would be SMART) or you could use that money to buy cool stuff in the places you're visiting! You can also rationalize larger purchases if, for example, you live alone. You could turn off your heat while you're gone and save a chunk of money on your heat bill! Don't forget gas--we all know that not driving for a week will save you plenty! So, all in all the per diem is worth far more than the amount you're allotted. It's sort of like double money!

Remembering Tip of the Day

If you think of something during the day that you have to do, but you're in the middle of eight different tasks, on the phone, and late for a meeting, do this: Open an e-mail window in Outlook or whatever e-mail client you have and type the thing you need to remember in the subject line or body. Then, later in the day when you are closing windows or shutting down your window, you will be prompted to do something with that message window and thus be reminded to do the dire task.
-Christy (StephChurch's roommate)

Foot Tip of the Day

While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with you right hand. Your foot will change direction - - and there's nothing you can do about it.

Thanks to Chad for today's tip.

Jury Tip of the Day

It's a beautiful, sunny day and everything is going well until you walk to your mailbox and open it up. In it lies the fateful letter calling you to do your civic duty: JURY DUTY. You scream. You yell. You attempt to burn the letter and discover it is nonflammable! You then realize you have to accept your fate. However, here is some advice to those of you who will one day receive this letter that requires you to call every night for a MONTH to discover whether or not you have to report. It's annoying, let me tell you. However, here is how I successfully avoided major jury duty and virtually escaped unharmed, having only to report twice.

First of all, you have to complain a lot when you get the letter. You have to call everyone you know, e-mail them, IM them, whatever it takes so that everyone knows that you DO NOT want to serve jury duty, that it is the biggest inconvenience ever, and you are very upset with your government and questioning those Bill of Rights that you hold so dear. Warn your boss you may be out of the office all the time the next month, and prepare for the worst. Then go to jury duty orientation and listen to the judge. Realize that this is your civic duty, that you may actually want to serve on a jury and serve your country. It's an honor after all, you tell yourself. (So now, you are secretly hoping that you will be chosen to sit on the jury and hear a trial.) At the end of orientation, when given the opportunity, you must ask to be excused from a day during the month (chose a doctor's appointment, a work related activity, etc.). This part is VERY vital to getting out of jury duty. You must choose a day in the middle of the month, in the middle of the week. Preferably, a Wednesday or a Thursday around the 17th or 18th. If you follow these simple steps you should be successful in having to report only once during the entire month. Oh yes--and the day you do have to report, have lots of issues with the trial. Oh--and it's good to be chosen for February--it's a short month after all. :) Good Luck!

-Rach

Fashion Tip of the Day

Did your pant or skirt hem unravel? Are you nowhere near a needle and thread, and more importantly an individual who knows how to hem with them (agh, Mom, where are you when I need you!?!)? Use double-stick tape to hold the hem until you can head tailorward. If your garmet is of a somewhat slippery fabric to which the tape won't stick, safety pins will do. If you're a woman, store a few safety pins in your change purse. If you're a guy, stow some away in the console or glove compartment of your car. Generally, women experience hemloss the most because they have zippers on boots and shoes that snag the stitching of pants or ankle-length skirts (and consequently leave a trail of thread three miles long, perhaps around the office and out to the elevator). But hey, guys, while you might not need them, if you have those safety pins handy and you end up rescuing a girl one day who's having some kind of fashion emergency or another, you will be considered a hero in her book (at least for the day!).

Inspiration Tip of the Day

Need a great idea fast? Turn to your shower head. It's true that some of the best ideas come to folks when they're in the shower. Some think it has something to do with warming your head and brain, but the real reason people can think more clearly in the shower is because they're relaxed. Or, maybe it's because they're naked. And wet. As a side note, I've found that so-called "old lady showers" help even more! They are the showers that are handheld--you can spray wherever you need to to "get 'er done." One of our colleagues, Matt, suggests sitting in the shower, often for hours on end. Give that a try too!

Pranking Tip Of The Day

It's Monday. 9:22 am. You're already bored to the max, and it's only the first day of your work week. You need a solution. FAST. I got it for you.

Ingredients: Scotch Tape

Directions: Pick your target to prank. Usually an unsuspecting nincompoop works best. Sneak to their office when they're not around, and tape down their "ALT" key on their keyboard, so it's constantly depressed. Whenever they try to click or type, they will get really strange pop-ups and things. It will take them HOURS to figure out what is going on.

Now, word to the wise. Don't try this on your boss like I did. She happened to come in late and needed to do something IMMEDIATELY and called because "the internet wasn't working." At which point, I had to coyly remove the tape from her poor keyboard, but if my boss didn't understand my prankish ways, I could've lost my job over a piece of tape.

Mac Tip of the Day

Sick and tired of time lost to mounting superfluous drives? OK, you may not realize it, but you're probably costing your company ten seconds a day. I mean it. If you regularly connect to a server on your Mac, you painstakingly have to mount it, login, put in your password--all on a daily basis. That's ten seconds every day you could be using to comment on our tips. Well, we've come up with a snazzy workaround for you. That's right...you can have a volume automatically load on restart in Mac OS X. To do it, mount the volume you want to load. (You can stop reading now if you thinking "mounting" only applies to horses.) Then, go under System Prefs > Accounts > Startup Items and drag the volume into the startup items. Everytime you restart, it'll load that volume! Take a second to brainstorm about what you can do with all this saved time. You could make sure you put on deodorant or have your shirt tucked into your underwear. :-)

Hygiene Tip of the Day

For those days you'll forget your deodorant (c'mon, you know some that sometime during the next 49 weeks of this year you WILL forget) and know you won't have time to dash to the closest Kroger, Wal-Mart, Quick-Mart, etc., keep deodorant in an essentials drawer at work. If you lack an office door, have a busy thoroughfare adjacent to your office/cubicle, or if you have a window spanning your office wall and door, you must smuggle said deodorant to the nearest ladies' or men's room (please pick the right lavoratory), and apply it. It doesn't hurt to keep deodorant stashed somewhere in the car, too, for application after impromptu outdoor endeavors (hiking, horseback riding, running, or what have you), but not during the hottest part of summer. Trust me, deodorant sticks don't react well to the greenhouse effect.

Rescue Tip of the Day

While at work there are always those who will “park” themselves in your office for a long chat as if you have nothing better to do. They probably don’t themselves, which is why they’re there in the first place. Despite all attempts to look at your computer screen more than you look at them, and even though you're careful not to add anything to the conversation except a few “uh huh’s,” these distracters can easily make your visitor’s chair their home for 30 minutes or more. Since they don’t seem to be deterred by your insistence to keep typing away on your computer, a quick AIM to an office buddy, or even someone off-site, should go undetected. A simple “can you please call me into your office right now” or “can you ring my phone and talk to me about anything” should do the trick. You may even want to set up a distress signal with someone so that they realize the urgency of the situation. “The monkeys have taken over the zoo” should be sufficient. If the distracter is persistent, you’ll definitely need someone who can call you OUT of your office immediately. If that’s not a possibility, you’ll need someone who’s willing to fake a business call with you for a minute or more before the distracter finally gives up. Hang in there—you’ll be back to instant messaging and emailing (who said they were distracting you from work?) in no time.

Warm Tip of the Day

Since we are in the middle of winter it is important to try to stay warm. Unfortunately, some employers feel that workplaces should be kept at a balmy 55°. While old men and polar bears are perfectly warm at this temperature many of us in the younger crowd, who have grown up with climate control all our lives, are unable to function inside at this temperature. (I don't want anyone yelling at me for dissing 55°. 55° inside while at work and 55° outside enjoying the sun are two different things.) So if your fingers are about to freeze and you don't think they will be able to preform necessary job functions you could put any-kind of space heater on your desk, or better yet get some gloves. Now if you Necessary Job Functions™ require a bit of dexterity in your fingers, you can simply get some cheap ones at your local Target and cut some holes in them. It'll do wonders. And don't worry about coworkers making fun of you, just remember some of us have been known to wear scars at work.

Career Tip of the Day

You want your boss to like you, right? Even if they do, it doesn't hurt for them to like you MORE. To increase their opinion of you, here's a simple tip. Access your work email at home via webmail. Then, reply to his/her emails at a time when you should NOT be at work. Like, say, 8:00 in the evening. Sooner or later, your boss will be mislead to believe that you are a hard, dedicated worker who puts in extra time. This can also be especially helpful if you know you'll be late to work. Before you take your shower, log on and send an email, just responding to work. He/she will think you're in your office, or just had to step out for a meeting. Works like a charm. If you get a raise, we at Pete & Jay's Tip O da Day need a 2% fee.