Organizing Technology This May be Affecting Your Comfort and Energy Levels I don’t like to be too cold or too hot. For my highest productivity, I have to be at a good comfort level (just right) and I don’t want to have to “think” about this every day...I’d like it to just happen. To help me achieve this, I program the thermostat in my house at the beginning of each season so that it’s at “just the right temperature” most of the time. The temperatures you set and the time you set the device “to switch” will depend on when you wake up, when you’re home, when you’re out, when you go to bed, and whether or not you have pets at home. My thermostat allows me to set 4 different temperature time settings per day...and I adjust the setting for each weekday and the weekend. For instance, you may set the program to 75 degrees in the summer before you go to bed. In doing so, the air conditioner won’t come on unless it gets hotter than that. When you’re ready to leave for work in the morning, perhaps 7:30 AM, you can set the program to go as high as 78 degrees...until you return home. If you have heat-sensitive indoor pets, adjust a bit to meet their comfort levels. In the winter, I generally re-program the temperature at night to 67 degrees, raise it at wake time in the morning to 69 degrees, and raise it again at dinner time to 71 or 72 degrees. The heat then comes on according to house temperature and schedule. Of course, what you’re wearing makes a BIG difference. When you’re home, wear shorts and a T-shirt in the summer and don’t use a blanket on the bed. If you MUST have something covering you, use a light sheet. In doing so, you don’t have to run the air conditioner at full force. In the winter, wearing a sweatshirt during the day and using a heavy blanket at night ensures you don’t have to have the heat running on full blast. Of course, on those “perfect outdoor temperature days,” turn your entire system off and open the windows. When you turn the heat or air back on, just “run the program.”