Small Office, Home Office Information

Another big project fell into our laps overnight so today is turning into a mad rush to clear the decks so we can focus on that work. And just to add to the fun we’ve got two deadlines due today that the team has been working on to have it on my desk by lunch time.

One of the crew who isn’t part of those deadlines is off to Splendour in the Grass at Byron Bay - a weekend of music and fun - and that just makes Toni and me feel rather envious. But it is so important for any small business owners to sometimes take time out for some rest and relaxation … while we won’t be getting away this weekend we will be heading down to our local Small Business monthly get together to have a few drinks and do some networking … so perhaps this weekend you too should be taking some time out.

Go on … you know you deserve it … even if it’s nothing more than taking a walk on the beach or down by the river. Just do something that will take you away from your small business and give you a chance to enjoy time with your family. It’s good for your health and the health of your business.

Look After Yourself

By Stuart Livesey

Toni and I were talking to another couple last week who operate a small business. We were chatting about the challenges all small businesses face and they mentioned the matter of health and wondered what they would do if they both fell ill.

What would you do if you fell ill and were unable to work for any length of time?

Of course illness can strike at any time but you can take steps to protect yourself from some of those problems through exercise, limiting the amount of time you actually spend working each day and eating the right foods. But sometimes there are circumstances that can affect your health where the things I’ve just mentioned won’t be of much help.

Right now we’re in the middle of summer and our offices here at home are not air conditioned (and won’t be till next summer). The day before yesterday the temperature in my office got up into the high 30’s (around 100 F) and yesterday it was set to do the same.

Fortunately I was able to escape to the airconditioned comfort of the computer shop. While I’m never as productive there as I am here I was certainly more productive than I was if I had tried to work here in that heat.

But if you’re home office gets hot in summer and you can’t escape you need to take precautions to safeguard your health. You need to drink plenty of water, you need to set up a fan or two (I have a ceiling fan here and I sometimes bring in a pedestal fan as well), you need to take regular breaks and go somewhere in the house that it might be a bit cooler and even be prepared to have a couple of cool showers throughout the day.

Heat stroke and dehydration can soon set in and once they do your productivity will sink to zero very quickly. And the effects can last for days so look after yourself, you are your small business’ most important asset.

As I’ve said here before, all too often small business people - and especially those who work from a home office - never get away from work. It’s always there and it’s hard to take a break. But that is something that you really have to discipline yourself to do - especially when times are tough.

At those times especially you need to be able to escape and recharge your batteries before diving back into the fray again. Sometimes the escape can just be in your mind. When I need a short break I’ll dive into an online game for ten minutes just to clear my mind.

At other times though you need to get right away from it all - even if it’s just for an hour. One of those times came for us yesterday and this is what we found.

Sunset on the beach last night. It was just us, a lone fisherman and that stunning sky.

Today I had to research and write a short piece for another online publication about Mesothelioma. That’s the disease otherwise known as Asbestosis.

One of the scariest things I found about this disease is that it’s not just related to people who have working in the asbestos industry. It can affect you and me too and so I’m re-publishing the piece I wrote here for your information.

Asbestos was a common-as-grass building material not all that long ago so it is probably in the houses and offices across the world and as it degrades it has the potential to affect a huge proportion of the population.

“Mesothelioma is described in Wikipedia as an “uncommon form of cancer”; unfortunately whoever wrote that may soon want to rewrite that brief description because the disease is very definitely on the increase.

The Queensland Asbestos Related Disease Support Society is currently gaining up to 10 new members every week. When the society was first formed in 1992 there were 35 members, today the membership stands at 620 despite the grim fact that around 60 members die every year.

Mesothelioma is a malignant form of cancer that develops in the mesothelium. The mesothelium is the protective lining that covers most of the body’s internal organs and mesothelioma attacks that lining.

The most common points of attack are the outer linings of the lungs and chest cavity all though it may also occur in other parts of the body including the lining of the abdominal cavity and the sac around the heart.

Mesothelioma is caused by the inhalation of asbestos particles that ultimately lodge in the lungs. The effects are usually not immediate and the disease can lay dormant for many years.

Most people who develop mesothelioma have had some prolonged exposure to asbestos. It is extremely common in people who have worked in asbestos mines and in their families. It is also becoming more common in people who have been involved in home renovations where asbestos products such as early forms of fibro and early forms of insulation have been disturbed.

But it is not limited to just those people. Anyone who has any contact with asbestos fibers can succumb to the disease because it takes just one fiber to start the ball rolling. There is even a case here in Queensland of a school teacher contracting the disease from asbestos dust that settled on the desks of her classroom after the school roof began to degrade.

Unfortunately short term exposure to asbestos fibers is no guarantee that the disease won’t develop and more and more relatively young people are beginning to be afflicted by the disease.

Diagnosis of mesothelioma is not easy because the symptoms that many display are similar those produced by a number of other conditions. Ultimately a biopsy is needed to confirm a diagnosis of mesothelioma.

Treatment of mesothelioma is not well advanced and traditional methods used in treating other forms of cancer have proved ineffective. Once the symptoms of mesothelioma manifest themselves the disease quickly develops and long-term survival is not common.

Queensland Workcover chairman, Ian Brusasco, admits that the average life expectancy for a person who develops the disease is 163 days from diagnosis till death.

Fortunately there have been some small developments in treatment therapy recently but the disease is still considered to be incurable.

Perhaps the scariest thing about the disease is that many people are either completely ignorant of the dangers or they simply don’t care. Earlier this year a complete but badly degraded asbestos roof was removed from a house in Cypress Street. Neighbours and the occupants of the house were not warned and the contractor and his crew took no precautionary measures and wore no protective clothing.

There are already several Mesothelioma sufferers here in Hervey Bay and now, thanks to that work, there could be many more in the future.”