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Noise Pet Peeves: Part 2

May 16, 2012 By emily

People have a lot of pet peeves, especially those that involve noise.  Last time I threw out a few of Facebook’s most annoying noises regarding babies and children crying and whining.  Nothing like a screaming kid, especially if it’s your own!   Anyway, next on the survey came annoying noises around the house.  You may wonder how these noises affect “office privacy”?  This one goes out to those of us who work from home, as well as all of us who want to be able to sleep at home.

These are the rest of the results from the survey:

  • hubbie snoring :) While I try to sleep of course!!
  • Husband Snoring keeps me awake
  • Neighbor’s lawn mower or tractors rank fairly high around here but the worst is kids playing loudly which inevitably dissolves into fighting and screams for, “Mooommmm!”
  • Lawnmowers/weed whackers while kids or I are trying to nap. drives me bonkers
  • Barking dogs during the day while trying to work or study inside or out.
  • Seagulls! I have visions of avenging my wakeful state with blow-dart tranquilizers.
  • House noises, dishwasher, heating unit…and some guy yelling at the Blackhawks game until 2am :)
  • Birds tweeting….I was going to go back and buy {a} bird canvas for {my daughter} and I didn’t because the bird woke me up that morning.
  • We have water dripping right outside our bedroom window when it rains and it drives me crazy when I’m trying to sleep.
  • Noises from other apartments can also be bothersome
  • Ting sound when a fan chain is hitting the globe of the light(at my in-laws). Taped it to the globe, lol!

A lot of these problems are annoying because they take place when our own homes quiet down and we’re trying to sleep.  Noises that happen during the day don’t usually affect us too much unless we’re trying to nap or work from home.  When we are trying to settle ourselves or our children down for much-needed rest or when we need some peace and quiet to work, every noise counts.  Here’s what I use for every single one of these problems [except the light chain- I would also tape it}: white noise.  Just like annoying and overly chatty co-workers, most of those noises listed above can be tuned out with the help of a good sound machine.  Who wouldn’t prefer nature sounds to a dripping faucet or snoring significant other?  I find having my own noise by choice is much less distracting and infuriating than being held captive by the neighbors’ noises of choice.

 

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Noise Pet Peeves: Part 1

May 14, 2012 By emily

What are your pet peeves?  What really gets you going?  I have a long list of pet peeves, from my kids leaving drawers open to leaving an empty toilet paper roll.  I also struggle with what my husband calls “sensory-overload,” in which I flip out when too many things are going on around me.  Usually, it’s crying babies and whining children, and usually, they’re my own.  Being responsible for 3 kids means that i deal with a lot of noise.  Apparently, I am not alone- I did an online Facebook survey to find out what annoys people the most and how they deal with it.  I’ll start with those that are like me…

Top Most Annoying Child-Related Noises

My little survey showed that many people struggle with the same noises I do.

  • Can’t concentrate if there is a crying baby. I cant even walk through a shop hearing another persons baby crying. My stomach just turns and I feel like just want to console their little heart
  • Whining. I can’t think straight if my kids are whining.
  • I concur with whining. Detest it.
  • Also a child blowing a whistle in my ear- happened.

With the flip of the switch, you and your kids can experience a little more peace.

The next thing I did was see what they did to deal with or manage the noise.  Most of these parents admitted that these noises are their own kids, too, and as such, they joked about ignoring it with comments like “I normally do some amazing parenting technique like switch on the telly.”  A few others said they took a shower to tune out the noise. Most did not have a great solution, because they didn’t think there wasn’t much they could do.  Fortunately for this blog and for you with kids, I completely disagree. Besides having perfect children like I do {ha!}, there are a few creative things you can try that involve white noise if you can believe it!

  • If you have a spouse, take a break!  Get out of the house and enjoy some time by yourself.  Even if you have a tiny baby you’e breastfeeding, nurse the baby and then GO!  Or leave a pumped bottle.  Everyone deserves a break, even moms (in fact, especially moms).
  • Give your kids a break.  Some call it a time out.  If they’re crying or whining inappropriately, there’s no reason to have to just grin and bear it.  Set a timer and tell them that they can come out when they settle down.
  • Sometimes your kids need a break from their siblings’ crying.  We use a sound machine for them, too!  Whether my toddler is throwing a temper tantrum during the baby’s nap or the baby is waking for her early morning feeding, there’s no reason for everyone to lose sleep over it.
  • If you can’t leave the house and it is okay to do so, turn on a sound machine.  There are times my husband are home, but I need to be home, too, yet I don’t feel like dealing with excessive issues.  He takes over and I tune it out with my sound machine for half an hour.  I’m not kidding.

Kids can be noisy, especially our own.  Just because it’s your own child making a fuss doesn’t mean you have to be held captive to it.  Try some much-needed breaks and even your trusty sound machine when you need some peaceful time.

 

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Tips for Jet lag {with kids!}

May 9, 2012 By emily

Tips for Jet Lag

Last time, I went a bit off topic for an office blog by supplying 2 tips for recovering from jet lag more quickly and effectively.  The tips included jet lag reduction pills as a homeopathic option that you take every few hours as you fly.  They do not help you sleep at the right times, but they do help you feel better instead of crazy-tired.  The second was to try a jet lag sound machine like the Night Wave that uses a blue light to silently guide you in a unique pre-sleep relaxation session. The “luminance” of the light slowly rises and falls and you synchronize your breathing with the blue wave as its movement becomes slower and slower. After a short time, NightWave shuts off and you roll over and fall asleep. And unlike sound machines, the soft light does not disturb others.

Today, I’m going a little further off topic to discuss jet lag with kids.  No, it has nothing to do with work or office noise.  Yet, if you have kids and travel with them out of your time zone, these tips will help you.  {We can just pretend that they’re accompanying you on your business trip if it makes you feel better.}

Tips for Jet Lag with Kids

The main thing to keep in mind is that kids will adjust if given the right parameters.  You’ll stay more sane if you are prepared and know what to expect.  So, here goes.

  • Count on 1 day for every hour of change.  We had a 6 hour change- therefore, it took about 6 days for everyone to be completely back on track and feeling well.
  • Be reasonable in your expectations- you can’t expect to regain 6 hours in 1 night, no matter how tired you are.  (see #1)
  • Eat meals on the NEW time schedule.  This will help your (ahem) bowels, as well as your ability to sleep at the new times.
  • Shorten naps- don’t allow yourself or your children to nap for long periods during the day (unless they are infants).  This will only prolong the nighttime troubles.
  • Decide on a course of action for middle of the night wakings- will you snack a bit, get a drink of water, watch a movie, etc.?  You’ll make better choices ahead of time than in the moment.
  • Get black out blinds- almost everyone sleeps better in a dark room.
  • Use white noise.  Chances are you’ll be sleeping at odd times, possibly when the world around you is up and about (and therefore making noise).  Thus, mask it with white noise and they even have jet lag sound machines.

Lastly, let me remind you- be patient, reasonable, and prepared and you and your kids will make it through this!

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Tired of Jet Lag?

May 7, 2012 By emily

Tired of Jet Lag?

I usually write about tips for productivity in a cubicle among many others and in which noise is a constant problem.  However, today, we’ll focus on another topic- jet lag.  It may seem unrelated, but jet lag is a real problem for many workers due to the fact that they travel for work.  Some fly from coast to coast, some trans-atlantically, others just cross a single time zone.  Whether it’s a 1-hour time change or an 18-hour one, jet lag affects you physically and it certainly can make being productive for work quite challenging.  If it’s important enough for you to fly to a new place, then it’s equally important to be on top of your game and not too fuzzy to function.

Check out these tips on how to reduce the effects of jet lag, and as quickly as possible.

Tips for Reducing Jet Lag

  • Many people recommend jet lag reduction pills as a homeopathic option.  You simply swallow the pills every few hours as you fly.  They do not help you sleep at the right times, but they do help you feel better instead of crazy-tired.
  • Sound machines can help more than just at work to tune out noise.  Some sound machines come with jet lag reduction features.  Sound machines like the Night Wave silently guide you in a unique pre-sleep relaxation session in the privacy of your own bedroom with a soft blue light.  The “luminance” of the light slowly rises and falls. Simply lie with eyes open and synchronize your breathing with the blue wave as its movement becomes slower and slower. After a short time, NightWave shuts off and you roll over and fall asleep. And unlike sound machines, the soft light does not disturb others.

Whether you try the pills or the Night Wave, or both, do what you can to beat jet lag so you can be on top of your game at work or on vacation.

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Sound Masking: the Big & Small of It

May 2, 2012 By emily

Loss of Time in Businesses

Getting distracted at work is all too common.  The average worker is distracted more than 2 hours a day.  Interestingly, it’s not actually internet ramblings that claim the bulk of that time, but rather office noise.  Office noise includes loud machinery and doors slamming, but it usually centers on conversational distractions in the form of co-worker chatter.  This could be water cooler gossip that workers intentionally take part in, but it also includes overly loud sales guys and the convos workers in neighboring cubicles are having that are too close to ignore.

Sound Masking: From Individuals to Entire Offices

Sound issues like these are a common problem for almost every business with cubicles.  It’s part of working with other people- you are held hostage to their chatter, and they to yours. Instead of trying to get people to quit talking, why not try sound masking? There are 3 ways to deal with noise: absorbing, blocking, or covering it.  Usually a combination of all three is most effective, but it is coverage that is most effective in conjunction with others or even on its own.  Coverage is the use of white noise to help the brain tune out distracting sounds, thus keeping it focused on work.

You can plug in a sound machine for individual use, but the most helpful speech privacy system is something like the VoiceArrest.  This type of system is mounted directly in the ceiling tiles and provides uniform, consistent coverage that covers noise and even increases privacy levels for multiple workers.

In sum, sound masking works by reducing background sounds. Speech privacy systems, on the other hand, prevent conversations from becoming background sounds in the first place.

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Tips to Feel Less Tired & More Productive

May 2, 2012 By emily

 

It’s sad just how many people feel wiped by the end of the work day, and have to go home too tired to enjoy their ‘down’ time and/or families.  And we all know that children are at less then their best at 5pm, so not being on top of your game at that time ends up being a nightmare for everyone, only to have to start it all over again.  Now, we don’t have any tips for enjoying your job more, but we can help you better use your time and body at work so that you end the day feeling better and more productive.  Check out the tips below for recovering energy at work.

Tips for Recovering Energy at Work

Try Using White Noise –You wouldn’t believe how much time you lose to office noise.  What you don’t get done has to get done sometime, which often ends up being after-hours and on weekends.  More than that, your efforts to tune it out waste mental energy.  Thus, a good solution would be a sound machine you keep on your desk to tune out extraneous noise.  You’ll be more productive and less stressed and frustrated.

Limit Your Energy-Draining Tasks. We all have tasks and people who take too much time and require too much attention.  Instead of spending tons of time on stressful, time-draining tasks, try to block time for those when you feel refreshed and ready to face them- possibly after a break or a good cup of coffee.

Upgrade to Ergonomic Tools. Ergonomic products are specifically designed to encourage a natural,  ergonomic posture where your muscles are at their lowest strain and and work is minimized. Start with a supportive, ergonomic chair that helps maintain good posture for long periods of time. With any chair, make sure your back has good support;  try adding portable lumbar support if your chair doesn’t provide enough.

Drink More Water.  If you wait until you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Because our bodies and brains are made up largely of water; even slight dehydration of less than 5% decreases our energy and productivity by more than 20%. A good place to start is with the general rule of daily drinking at least eight glasses of water.

Every day we are bombarded with distractions, interruptions, and physical discomfort that quickly, and unnecessarily,  drain our energy and breaks our concentration. Consider using white noise to cover the office noise that continually interrupts you. And upgrade to a good ergonomic chair to improve your posture and relieve some of the energy-draining pain. Adjusting your office environment and habits can make a huge impact on your energy and productivity.

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Sound Masking for Graduate Offices

April 27, 2012 By emily

The Woes of Office Noise

Office noise has been a problem since offices came about, I imagine.  Any time you put a bunch of people in one place for more than a few minutes, you’re going to see personality clashes and tempers flare (see any reality show).  Throw in deadlines and work stress, and all those seemingly insignificant co-workers issues multiply until they just about explode.

Interestingly, I mentioned “offices.”  Frequently, I think of cubicle farms and TPS reports when I write about office distraction.  Today, however, we’re going to bring it a little closer to home.  You see, my husband is a PhD candidate at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.  Moving over here seemed like the best choice as the program is top-notch and has a great reputation world-wide.  Something that has been surprising has been the office drama.  You would think men and women old enough to have already earned at least one masters degree could hold it together enough to be able to work together well.  Unfortunately, this is not the case.  Once again, it’s an issue of personalities and temperaments.  Some need it quiet to think and write, while some prefer the sound of hustle and bustle as they brainstorm.  Some view the office as a library, a certain kind of sanctuary for study and reflection, while others see it as an opportunity to collaborate with like-minded students.  Thus, you can see how some needing quiet and others feeling the freedom to converse could potentially clash.

Dealing with Noise

All that is to say that noise has become quite a problem in my husband’s building.  Sometimes it’s the productive workers frustrated by the talkative, less focused workers.  Other times, it’s the street noise as people like me walk by with our children and are too lazy to actually call our spouses and therefore just shout up to their windows.  And, last but not least, there are the grouchy students who are irritated by group lunches or coffee breaks in the common area that is situated a little too close to their own work areas.  All in all, the noise adds up, and it is threatening to destroy relationships and kill deadlines and goals.

What’s the solution?  Contrary to what administration seems to believe, sending out a group email telling people they can’t eat together in the common area is not the solution.  Why not try a less ridiculous option, such as a sound machine?  Individuals could use a desktop sound machine when noise is a problem and turn it off when it’s not.  That way personal relationships could be saved, and people could still get work done, too.  Win-win.

If office noise is a problem for you and your studies, try a sound machine for better focus.

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What is White Noise: Part 2

April 25, 2012 By emily

A few posts back, we talked about what white noise is.

What Is White Noise & How Is It Used?

Like white light is a combination of all the colors of light combined in the visible light spectrum, white noise is a combination of all sound frequencies.  The purpose of white noise is to present so many different sound frequencies that the brain cannot process just one.  This may sound like a bad thing, but its applications are for a reduction of distraction and the establishment of speech privacy.

  • Example #1- Reduce Distractions: You might be having trouble falling asleep because of unwanted noise, or you might struggle to be focused at work because of office noise.  Either way, you can use a sound machine to tune out the unwanted, distracting noise.
  • Example #2- Establish Speech Privacy: Many businesses have trade secrets, HR issues, or other such sensitive conversations that need not be overheard by the wrong people.  Even counseling services, churches, and real estate offices have similar confidentiality needs.  White noise can be expanded beyond a single machine to a sound masking system to achieve speech privacy for all involved. {This works for businesses, too.}

What White Noise is NOT

Equally important to what white noise is is what white noise is not.  I recently had a discussion with someone about their misinformed understanding of what what noise does.  To spare us all embarrassment, I will sum it up by saying that running a white noise machine in your bedroom means you don’t hear your kids, not that your kids don’t hear you.  Thus, I will quickly discuss how white noise works so everyone can keep their dignity in tact.

  • To mask sound, use a sound machine where you are for your own benefit, i.e. in your room to cover sounds in other rooms.  If you feel other people will need a sound buffer, give them a sound machine, too.
  • You do not have to crank up your sound machine to cover noise, i.e. it does not have to be louder than the noise you’re trying to mask.  The simple configuration of white noise distracts your brain so it doesn’t focus on any one sound.
  • If you need wider application, using a bunch of machines probably wouldn’t be the best idea.  This is where a sound masking system would be more beneficial.

Hopefully you now know how white noise works, as well as how it doesn’t.  If you have individual sound coverage needs, a sound machine should do it. However, if you require a larger application, a sound masking system is a better option.

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Tips for Productivity: How to Work Smarter

April 20, 2012 By emily

Work Smarter, Not Harder

There aren’t a whole of people who couldn’t use a couple extra hours, even minutes, to get things done.  While we can’t physically add that time to any given day, we definitely can use less time accomplishing tasks, as well as use our time more efficiently.  I guess that’s where the “work smarter, not harder” idea came from.  As annoying as a cliche can be, that’s why it’s there- it;s usually true.  So, how can we work smarter?

Check out these tips for reducing distraction (a huge time-suck) and working more efficiently, as well as more ergonomically, to get the most out of your work day.

  1. Eliminate self-inflicted distractions! It’s easy to point the finer at someone else, but a recent study found that people tend to interrupt and distract themselves at work more than 30 times a day!   That said, do what you can to not be your own worst enemy at work.  This may include blocking time for specific tasks and/or limiting personal email and phone calls.
  2. Rearrange your desktop. A cluttered desktop does not exactly inspire clarity of thought.  Free up your mind by ridding your desk of unnecessary items.  Trash or file papers.  Keep only frequently-used or -referenced items on the desktop. Keep your keyboard and mouse centered in front of you, an inch or two above your legs. An adjustable keyboard tray can help optimize your work space. Try upgrading to an ergonomic keyboard to increase your comfort and productivity.
  3. Use white noise. Office noise can really derail your train of thought.  Thus, rather than plugging your ears like a child, try  sound machine to block excessive office noises that fight for your attention. If you have never used white noise, try out this free white noise generator to see you find it helpful at work.
  4. Stand up! A recent study showed that standing can increase brain function by 5% to 20%. Find some creative ways to work while standing, like while answering phone calls, or just take a break from your chair. For even better results, maybe its time to try a sit-or-stand ergonomic desk. This device it attaches directly to your current work surface to provide easy height adjustment for your monitor, keyboard and mouse, allowing you to stand up ergonomically while still using your computer.

You can learn to accomplish more during a work day by eliminating distractions. Start by using a white noise machine to block the time-consuming distractions and office conversations. Try taking a break from email and phone calls for a while and turn on some white noise to help you concentrate.  At the end of the day you will feel less stressed, more productive and able to leave on time for a relaxing evening.

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What Is White Noise?

April 18, 2012 By emily

Many people aren’t quite sure about white noise- what is it, and does it really help?

What Is White Noise & How Is It Used?

An individual sound machine for bedsides or desktops.

Like white light is a combination of all the colors of light combined in the visible light spectrum, white noise is a combination of all sound frequencies.  The purpose of white noise is to present so many different sound frequencies that the brain cannot process just one.  This may sound like a bad thing, but its applications are for a reduction of distraction and the establishment of speech privacy.

  • Example #1- Reduce Distractions: You might be having trouble falling asleep because of unwanted noise, or you might struggle to be focused at work because of office noise.  Either way, you can use a sound machine to tune out the unwanted, distracting noise.
  • Example #2- Establish Speech Privacy: Many businesses have trade secrets, HR issues, or other such sensitive conversations that need not be overheard by the wrong people.  Even counseling services, churches, and real estate offices have similar confidentiality needs.  White noise can be expanded beyond a single machine to a sound masking system to achieve speech privacy for all involved. {This works for businesses, too.}

White noise does not have to be noisy itself- usually its application is very low-level so that it is rarely even noticed, much like the hum of an air conditioning system.  Thus, the purpose of white noise is two-fold: you can help people tune out distracting noises so they can sleep or work better, or you can provide a protective barrier for sensitive conversations.  You can use white noise in an individual sound machine or as a system for a larger area.  Either way, white noise is extremely helpful for many individuals and businesses.

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