| Women's Life Link

With the digital age way past full swing, many of us find it difficult to get away from our computers, ipods, Blackberries, etc. For some this reality takes a toll on their health. It tends to show up in the form of a headaches, carpal tunnel, neck problems, and even depression. Well, I decided to do a little experiment. I really wanted to understand is it the specific activities we’re doing on the computer that bring the stress or is it just spending too much time with our digits amalgamated to the keyboard and our eyes glued to the screen that causes problems? Though I am not saying you should never physically get away from your computer, I’m suggesting experiencing a variety of activities online may be in order to lighten your stress load if leaving the digital world is not possible.

My “experiment” included spending my usual time writing and recording how I felt at various stages (physically and emotionally). Secondly, I spent the same amount of time doing “other” things online like socializing on Face Book, playing games, and taking silly quizzes. After analyzing my results it was extremely clear to me that I was not as physically or emotionally as stressed when I spent time doing those “other” things as I was when it was all about work and money. Interesting.

I suspect that varying your online activities frequently will give you a break from the pressures of digital work. As a writer I know how hard it can be to get the “flow” back if you step away from the keyboard for even a moment. So the alternative is to find a distraction right where you are that won’t cause the intense interruption. Just taking a minute to look at a beautiful photo of a landscape, the water, or a loved one does the trick for me most of the time. Occasionally, however, I need a longer break. Here are some of my other online stress busters.

888 Bingo

I’m not a big gamer myself, but I was recently introduced to a fun distraction that intrigued me. Who’d a thought I would ever play bingo games. I guess I always stereotyped it as something that the older crowd did religiously on Saturday night at the ladies auxiliary club and that I would never assimilate with that scene. Well… online bingo is SO not that! The site was extremely easy to navigate and the information useful for a “greenie” like me. Just to let you know, I played the freebie game to get the hang of it. Someday, I might take a shot at winning some cash, but for now, it’s a great stress reliever.

Have a Piknic

Another site I frequent is one called Piknic.com, a photo design studio. Though you can pay for an upgraded membership, using the basic photo editing tools is free. It’s a blast to take your current photos and change them into works of art! You can get pretty silly with them, too; just ask my daughter, who has comically rendered us all unrecognizable with the painting tool. Give it a try; it’s great for creating fun, unique Face Book profile pics. Here’s one that I did recently!

Open Pandora’s Box

The day I discovered Pandora.com, I was in heaven! What? A site where you can create your own music station, nothing short of amazing! Music breaks are imperative for me on long work days. I try to listen to relaxing tunes when I feel the most stressed out. It usually doesn’t take long to bring me back to a calm state.

Recap:

Give yourself frequent breaks from hard and intensive work you do at your desk or computer.
Find online activities that suit your personality and allotted time for leisure.
Try new things like games, art, music, social media.
Get away from your computer and move around, stretching out cramped muscles.