Reduce Computer Monitor Eye Strain in 2 Easy Steps

I tried these 2 simple steps after reading an article on reducing eye strain by use of computer monitor and it worked like a wonder. You may also try these 2 simple fixes.

Turn on ClearType in Microsoft Windows XP
ClearType delivers improved font display quality over traditional forms of font smoothing or anti-aliasing. It improves readability on color LCD displays with a digital interface, such as those in laptops and high-quality flat panel displays. Readability on CRT monitors can also be improved. You see better and see clearer with reduced eyestrain.

Increase your Monitor Refresh Rate
The basic thing is that monitors flicker. Many users are used to the computer monitor flicker, or your eyes are not sensitive enough to detect it, but the flicker is there. And till it flickers, it will irritate your eyes and cause eye strain. Higher refresh rates are less likely to cause eyestrain. See what is the optimal refresh rate for your monitor and reduce flicker induced eyestrain and headache in the following way.

What is the refresh rate?

The refresh rate (or frequency) refers to the number of times per second that the video board redraws the entire screen.

How to change the refresh rate in Windows XP?

Go to Control Panel > Display
In Settings > Advanced > Monitor

Always Check the box for ‘Hide modes that this monitor cannot display’ to avoid hardware disputes. This will then give a drop down list of refresh rates that your monitor safely supports and you may set it up without error.

And then increase the monitors refresh rate. Most users agree it should be 75 Hz or more for optimal results. My computer was set to 60 Hz, the minimum by default.

Note, some monitors shiver at higher rates and some of the higher resolutions and color depths may be unavailable at the higher frequencies. My computer displayed resolutions from 60Hz to 200Hz. When I clicked the ‘Hide modes that this monitor cannot display’ box, the choices were only few from 60-70Hz. So I was glad I did not mess up by selecting a higher value which my CRT monitor did not support. I decided to select the recommended 70Hz.

I became a Father…

Oct 17, 2007 my wife gave birth to a baby girl at 1.15 AM. Even though we were expecting the baby as normal delivery due to last minute complications the doctor decided for cesarean. When the doctor came out of operation theater, gave my newborn daughter in my hands and on seeing her for the first time it was the single greatest moment of my life. I was really ensorcelled and so emotional when I hold the little angel in my hands. I can never forget this moment in my life.

For the past few days I completely forgot about my other activities and thinking about my daughter always, the way she moves, the way she cries, the way she smiles, really beautiful. :-)

Some Insightful Friendship Quotes

I love this friendship quote, one of my all time favorite and for the last few years this quote is in my mail footer.

“A friend is someone we turn to, when our spirits need a lift; who fills our lives with beauty, joy, and grace & makes the world we live in a better and happier place”

As I always liked the topic Friendship, I went through lot of friendship quotes and here are some of the best ones I like.

What is a friend?

A friend is one who walks in when others walk out ~ Walter Winchill

My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me ~ Henry Ford

A friend is one with whom you are comfortable, to whom you are loyal, through whom you are blessed, and for whom you are grateful ~ William Arthur Ward

A friend is someone who is always there and will always, always care. A friend is a feeling of forever in the heart ~ Unknown

A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are ~Unknown

How to choose friends

Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them ~ W. Clement Stone

Choose your friends wisely-they will make or break you ~ J. Willard Marriott

Don’t make friends who are comfortable to be with. Make friends who will force you to lever yourself up ~ Thomas J. Watson

How to make friends

You can make more friends in two months by becoming genuinely interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you ~ Dale Carnegie

The shortest distance between new friends is a smile ~ Unknown

If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere ~ Zig Ziglar

The only way to have a friend is to be one ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

How to build friendship

Support your friends - even in their mistakes. But be clear, however, that it is the friend and not the mistake you are supporting ~ Hugh Prather

Reprove your friend privately, commend him publicly ~ Solon

Confidence is the foundation of friendship. If we give it, we will receive it ~ Harry E. Humphreys, Jr.

Much of the vitality in a friendship lies in the honoring of differences, not simply in the enjoyment of similarities ~ Unknown

The importance of friendship

To have a friend and be a friend Is what makes life worthwhile ~ Unknown

The greatest sweetener of human life is friendship. To raise this to the highest pitch of enjoyment, is a secret which but few discover~ Joseph Addison

The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Signs of true friendship

Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words ~ George Eliot

The proper office of a friend is to side with you when you are wrong. Nearly anybody will side with you when you are right ~ Mark Twain

Friendship that flows from the heart cannot be frozen by adversity, as the water that flows from the spring cannot congeal in winter ~ James F. Cooper

No man can be happy without a friend, nor be sure of his friend until he is unhappy ~ Thomas Fuller

When you’re up, your friends know who you are. When you’re down, you know who your friends are ~ Unknown

Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you don’t say ~ Unknown

Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget ~ Unknown

Miscellaneous

Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend ~ Albert Camus

FLAME

Last week Friday (05-Oct-07) & Saturday (06-Oct-07) I attended FLAME (First Leap in Achieving Managerial Excellence) training program offered by T2ID. We started with an orientation session where our chief guest Jaga (Jagadeesan Arumugam) of CODC in a traditional way inaugurated the ceremony with lighting a lamp. Jaga gave us an inspiring talk for the need and the purpose of the FLAME program. Purpose is very simple – facilitate the Managers, first-time managers and managers would-be to be good and effective in what they are doing. J

This is a 60 days program happening in two stages. As part of stage I, we had a two day session covering

1. Strategies for success

2. Proactive communication & influence

3. Leading high performance teams

And as part of stage II which we would be having after 30 days on

1. One minute manager

2. Conflict Management

3. Negotiation skills for managers

In between stages the participants would be taking up series of exercises with guidance from RM & T2ID and would be evaluated by T2ID panel.

The first day session was “Strategies For Success” and the facilitator was Dr. Shubha Rajan. There were 28 participants from various Chennai based LoB’s and Dr. Shubha randomly formed 8 teams. Dr. Shubha took us into the session by explaining us with a thought “What great learners do – M.A.R.C”.

Map – learning to both sides of the brain

Ask – questions to extend the learning

Review – the content with others

Connect – with your experience

The primary purpose of this session is to

- Unleash the awesome potential already we have within ourselves.

- Building a healthy self-image

- Understanding how self-image is directly related to performance

- Techniques to build a positive image

- How to change what and where you are in life by adopting the “Day Before Vacation Attitude”

- How to plan and prepare to win by identifying and claiming the qualities of success

- S.M.A.R.T goal setting (Specific, Measurable, Action Plan, Realistic, Time/Target)

This session was really interactive and enjoyable as I reminisce to put down my strengths & weakness, how I would like to see myself & how I like others to see me (tomb-stone message). Also we had some interesting discussion on the Qualities of Success and Wheel of Life.

To achieve Success we have to have a clear Vision, Mission & Purpose. Also we have to find out ways of doing mundane things differently so that we don’t get bored and can enjoy the real beauty of life still further.

Another exercise I liked very much is “The Day Before Vacation Attitude”. As part of this exercise we were asked to prioritize the activities that need to be finished if we are going on vacation the next day. Wow that was cool. At the end of this exercise it came out very clear and I was able to understand situation force us to accept responsibility, practice promptness, include decisiveness and became a self-starter. Also Happiness then is not in the pleasure we get from other people but in the victory we achieve by being focused on the task at hand.

As part of goal setting, Wheel of Life is very new to me. Even though I had an opportunity to set goals in some of my earlier training programs but never did wheel of life. Wheel of life is used to measure how the individual is striking the balance between personal, family, business, physical, mental, spiritual and financial life.

On second day we had Proactive communication & influence (facilitator – Ramakrishnan) in the forenoon and Leading high performance teams (facilitator – Pradeep Daniel) in the afternoon.

W. B. Yeats said “Think like a Wise Man… But communicate in the language of the People”. As this statement is very true and align with this Proactive communication session covered the following

1. Effective Communication

2. The main goals of Communication

3. Elements of Communication

4. Ideal Communication

5. Identifying the Gap

6. Dealing One-on-One

7. How to skillfully talk to people, influence people & make up peoples’ minds

8. Assertive Communication

The objective of Leading High Performance Teams is to enable managers to work and get their team members to work harmoniously in teams as interdependent achievers. Being the afternoon session even after lunch Pradeep’s session was fantabulous (as always). I was able to pick up some beautiful differences between Groups Vs Teams. Also I was able to know 10 critical elements of a team that too with some lovely comic strips.

As last activity of this session we did an exercise on Temperament Inventory formulated by Hippocrates is a self-assessed personality questioner. This is equivalent to Keirsey Temperament Sorter or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The best part I liked in this questioner is the way scoring has to be done and based on answers how the individual fits into one of the quadrant Melancholy, Sanguine, Phlegmatic or Choleric.

It was a great session for two days at FLAME, where each one of us had the opportunity to meet new leaders and learn from one another. I’m eagerly looking forward for the follow up session and activities as part of this program.