Safety at Home and On the Road

There’s a lot you can do to protect yourself, your family, and your home from intruders.
Follow these suggestions to ensure that your home is as safe a haven as possible:

• Doors that lead to the outside should be metal or solid core. Hollow doors can be easily broken through.

• Doors should fit in their frames, with no more than 1/8 inch clearance between the door and frame.

• Make sure all doors to the outside have dead-bolt locks, with a minimum 11/2 inch bolt. Make sure that locks are also installed on screen and storm doors, garage doors, cellar doors, patio doors, and any other door that leads outside.

• Door locks should be placed at least 40 inches away from windows, glass panels, and other potential openings.

• Never hide keys outside. It’s better to leave a key with a trusted neighbor.

• Don’t use identification tags on your keys or key rings.

• Secure roof openings and exhaust systems.

• Make sure windows, especially those at ground level, have good locks – and always use the locks you have.

• Make sure all porches and other possible entrances are well lit, with at least 40-watt bulbs.

• Keep bushes, tree limbs or other landscaping trimmed to the height of porches or windows. 

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Drive And Talk Safely

Drivers with cellular phones can be a danger to themselves and others on the road. Be smart about car phones, follow these safety rules:

• If you’re buying a car or cell phone, opt for the kind with a hands-free speakerphone that usually includes a microphone installed in the sun visor directly above your line of vision.

• Be familiar with the workings of your phone. Don’t try to drive and figure out how the phone works. For example, know exactly where the hang-up button is on the phone face.

• Don’t try to call or pick up a call before you assess the traffic situation.

• Dial a phone number at a complete stop. Or make use of the automatic dialing feature to call frequently dialed numbers.

• If you’re using the phone, try to drive in the slow lane.

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Increase Productivity
by Using These Time-Saving Techniques

In today’s corporate environments, almost all employees are expected to do more with less... less money, less time, less help. In order to live balanced lives, modern employees must come up with more effective and efficient work practices. The following tips may help to shave a few minutes, or even an hour, off every day.

*** When there’s a backlog on your voice mail, copy down the messages and delete them. You won’t have to waste time listening to old messages the next time you check your box.

*** Use email. Just because someone calls doesn’t mean you have to respond immediately. Instead of breaking your concentration on the project at hand, set aside a specific time to return calls.

*** If a meeting is not top priority, go for the beginning and then hand it off to an associate or assistant, who can provide you with minutes, or a verbal summary.

*** Set aside time for tasks that require stretches of uninterrupted concentration. Tell coworkers that you are unavailable and close your door, or consider working off-site to avoid interruptions.

*** Work the hours that best suit you best. If you are most productive in the early morning hours or after 5 p.m. talk to your supervisor about altering your schedule.

*** Know your limitations. If fatigue kicks in and you’re reading but not comprehending, take a five-minute break. If you can’t solve a particular problem move on to a different project and come back to it later.

*** Constantly evaluate whether anything is being accomplished, If you have a meeting scheduled between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., and after 15 minutes the ideas aren’t flying, simply say, "This isn’t working. Let’s share our ideas via email or schedule a conference call next week." Don’t waste an hour just because you scheduled an hour.

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