Reminder alerts

I need to be alerted every 1/2 hr

[limbo]

Morning all

I was wondering how I could set up a reminder alert to indicate to me that I need to get up off my stool and >sssstreeeeettchhh< ahhhh :) about every ½ hour.

My doctor has warned me that my posture could lead to worsening back problems in later life. (Not to start another thread on back problems) - but on win2k and XP is there a tool that allows you to have a constant reminders.

I had thought about creating a lurker and have a popup ‘shout’ at me at constant intervals but that would become a real irritant and thus a waste of time - I need something discreet.

Anybody know of anything like this?

Also I use outlook 2000 on both machines if there is a reminder function in there.

Ta

Liam

[edit_g]

There is a reminder function in outlook - go to the calendar section and set up a task as reocurring every 1/2 hour.

Happy stretching! :)

[Macguru]

Drink way too much coffee/tea or water. Nature will do the rest. :)

[peewhy]

or get one of those little indoor fountains that trickle - same effect as Macguru's but kinder to the bladder and kidneys!

[limbo]

Thanks for the excellent suggestions ;)

I have set up a reminder in outlook - I had to lower the repeat to hourly intervals - every half hour was excessive and frankly was doing my head in.

Its a low tech answer to the problem but at least it works.

My work mates think I have gone potty though, cos I Keep getting up, lying down and wiggling - not exactly normal in this place. <grin>

Nature will do the rest

Problem here:- years in the student bar when I was pretending to go to university left me with an inordinate capacity for 'holding on' if you know what i mean :)

[dmorison]

IANAC (I am not a chiropractor)

In my logical opinion, I would say that one of the factors causing long term back problems is long term use of the same chair.

Before I quit office life for the sanity of my kitchen table; I frequently came across those who were possessive to the point of obsession over their chair.

When challenged, the answer was inevitably "it's because of my back.".

Perhaps it is becuse they sit in the same chair ALL the time that they have a problem with their back. Too much of anything is bad for you and all that...

[edit_g]

years in the student bar when I was pretending to go to university left me with an inordinate capacity for 'holding on' if you know what i mean

You should try 40 minute bus journey to and from university events... It was always like a stampede when you pulled up to the bus stop.

[drbrain]

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Scheduled Tasks, for when you don't use Outlook

[limbo]

You should try 40 minute bus journey to and from university events... It was always like a stampede when you pulled up to the bus stop.

LOL :)

Cheers DrBrain

Unfortunately our network is so ruthlessly administrated this function has been disabled - there is no automated tasks tab in the control pannel. Will try it at home though.

Ta

[Trisha]

I always thought about doing this too, but never got around to it. I tried setting up Outlook for it, but going to New -> Task I didn't see where you could set something up to reoccur every 30 minutes, without actually setting up separate appointments every half hour of the day. How do you do that?

[limbo]

Set a recurring task every day - Then when it reminds you, set the snooze function to 1hr(or what ever you like)

Click snooze - every hour it will tell you to get up off you lazy behind and take breather. Well thats what mine is telling me!

This is fairly crude but effective. :)

[edit_g]

I always thought about doing this too, but never got around to it. I tried setting up Outlook for it, but going to New -> Task I didn't see where you could set something up to reoccur every 30 minutes, without actually setting up separate appointments every half hour of the day. How do you do that?

Just set the one tast at, say, 11.30 one day and then double click on the task on your calendar. You can set this to reoccur at any interval you wish from there.

[deejay]

I had to lower the repeat to hourly intervals - every half hour was excessive and frankly was doing my head in.

I worked as a case manager in injury rehab for about eight years. One of the things that was in vogue very briefly was software for keyboard workers with wrist/hand problems which periodically popped up a reminder on their screen and told them to take a micro break.. 10-30 seconds of shaking hands out, etc.

Problem is that muscle tension caused by stress is a major contributor to these types of problems (and back problems too).... and the damned pop-up stressed people out so much that in many cases it aggravated their condition rather than relieving it.

One particular piece of software that froze the screen for 30 seconds so you couldn't just click it away and keep working produced such bad reactions in the workers that one very mild-mannered person I know of stood up out of the blue and threw their coffee mug at the wall.. hard. Another man picked up their keyboard and smashed it down so forcefully on their desk that they broke it. During the time the physios were recommending this software, I spoke to more people howling with tears of frustration than I did in the rest of my time in that field.

The problem was that people have their own work flow and the software couldn't recognise this. There's nothing worse than in the middle of typing a sentence or important thought having your machine freeze up on you.. or getting into a relaxed work flow and having something leap up in front of you on your screen, even if you are halfway expecting it. In the end there was no substitute for the people actually setting their own schedule and taking breaks at logical and comfortable points in their work.. the best reminder turned out to be their own awareness and a big bright post-it note (or several) stuck to the edge of their monitor.

(There's a lesson about pop-ups in there for web designers too).