Carpe diem! Seize the day! But how can you do that if you’re tired or hungry? One way is to start thinking about what’s happening to your body circa diem—in around a day’s time. The Latin circa diem evolved into circadian, defining a 24-hour cycle. Your circadian rhythms, then, are the changes that naturally occur in your body and mind in 24 hours.

I recently got a strong reminder of why I love my job as Director of Key Accounts Healthcare for Xybix. I was at the airport in Austin, Texas, sporting a Xybix golf shirt with the company’s core values printed on the back. A fellow traveler stopped me, asked if she could take a picture of our values, and exclaimed, “Does such a company exist?!” I gave her my card and proudly said, “Yes it does!”

No matter what your job, sometimes you need a reminder of why we do what we do. I got just such a reminder last week when I ran across this article:

Labor Day means a return to work. And highlights the dangers of sitting all day.
Like the frog in the pot of ever-warmer water, the danger from stillness may not be obvious until it's too late.

After I got over my jealousy of that great teaser—who doesn’t love boiling the frog analogies—a Xybix value came to mind:

 We design products for a healthier and more productive workplace.

We’ve been through a lot these last couple years, so let’s give ourselves a break in 2022. Rather than a resolution to return to your fighting weight, how about committing to simply moving more for your overall health? Even light movement benefits your muscles, bones, joints, brain, heart and lungs. And if a few pounds fall away in the process, all the better.

I do tend to believe the old adage “cold hands, warm heart” as my mom has the coldest hands I know. But I can’t prove that cold hands specifically lead to more errors at work—at least not in the type of work we all do at our desks. In my research about cold hands, however, I learned a few things that confirm my devotion to climate controls at individual workstations.

"Go out there and enjoy.” That’s the gov’t guidance on trick-or-treating this Halloween. And given that it’s a Sunday night after a year of pent-up demand, we may see more kiddos out than normal. To get in the spirit early, share your photos and inspire others. We’re looking for creative office décor, costumes, face coverings and mask selfies.

June 2021 marks the 30^th year in business here at Xybix. The Carson family founded Xybix with the goal of enhancing the health and productivity of our valuable dispatch, command & control and healthcare workers with our ergonomic consoles. We’re proud to say that we’re continually meeting that goal while moving the goalposts to provide even better products to our customers. And we’re also proud that we’ve been able to provide so many stable jobs through the design, engineering and manufacturing of our high-quality, made-in-the USA products.

Pop quiz: What are McDonald’s colors? Red and yellow. Two colors that just happen to increase appetite. Plus, yellow makes us happy. What franchisee doesn’t want hungry and happy humans ready to order up Big Macs and Happy Meals? Like Mickey D’s, we all can benefit from applying a little color psychology to our surroundings.

I’ve been known to bore friends at the bar with talk of ergonomics. What can I say—I’m passionate about it. I know the height of the bar is wrong for the bartender’s lower back. I know the waiter’s hands must hurt from the position of the keyboard for entering orders. But when my friends need help with ergonomics, they know where to turn.

Like all of us struggling through pandemic, I’ve done my share of doom scrolling and Netflix bingeing on top of being glued to a computer screen all day. By 4 p.m. every day, my eyes have had it. Digital Eye Strain sets in with tears, light sensitivity, double vision and a slight headache. I feel tired, uninspired and prone to making mistakes.