I said it a year ago, and I'll say it again: Journalists are privileged.

We learn something new each day. In my case, this column's been a windfall.

I've applied many things I've written about in Business Edge to my personal and professional life. A year ago I mentioned that I'd become a regular in the gym, volunteered to mentor a high school student, practised new time management techniques and learned to laugh more on the job - all a result of the insightful people I'd interviewed across North America for stories.

I continue to do all of the above, and believe I am a better worker and person as a result.

File photo by Jack Dagley, Business Edge
Brian Laird and Bev Matthiessen work together at their office at the Alberta Committee of Citizens with Disabilities in Edmonton.

What did I learn this year? Here are a few highlights:

* An inch taller/no longer a virgin.

Get your attention? That's what happened this summer when I wrote about yoga in the workplace.

Noon-hour and after-work yoga has become a growing trend in Alberta and B.C. As a 40-something who's been slouched over a computer for 26 years and has suffered from neck and back problems, I was looking for a better way of aligning my spine than visiting a chiropractor 15 times a year.

After interviewing yoga instructors for a Business Edge story this past summer, I was sold. Edmonton's Marcia Langenberg and Vancouver's Sunny Trim both became practitioners - and later instructors - because yoga rescued them from chronic pain more than a decade ago.

As an instructor, Trim regaled me with tales of "yoga virgins" who tried it once, and downward-dogged their way into becoming "yoga junkies."

Langenberg then described yoga's power to energize, focus, relax and even help workers fight off the symptoms of the cold and flu.

Buoyed by their testimony, I signed up for a 13-week program this fall. The results have been encouraging.

Simple breathing exercises and a well-organized progression of poses that stretch the entire body have done wonders. My body's much more relaxed, I do feel an inch taller, I haven't had to book an appointment with the chiropractor, and (touch wood) haven't yet suffered through a cold or the flu.

In short, it's amazing what happens when you line up your chakras.

* You're getting sleepy.

Friends and family know not to call the Dempster house after 9 p.m. Chances are, we're in bed.

After surviving most of my life on five and six hours sleep, I'm now getting several more hours of quality snooze time every night.

This new regard for a proper night's rest was reaffirmed this May when Dr. Adam Moscovitch delivered a wake-up call to readers.

The medical director of the Canadian Sleep Institute in Calgary and an internationally recognized expert on sleep and fatigue disorders served up some nightmarish statistics.

Among the salient points, he noted that people who go sleepless for 20 hours have the performance skills of someone with a blood alcohol reading of .08 per cent. Twenty per cent of people surveyed in a 2001 U.S. Gallup poll said they'd actually fallen asleep at the wheel. And Statistics Canada has reported that more than 50 per cent of Canadians are cutting back on their sleep.

Moscovitch, who regularly power- naps in his office between 2:30-3 p.m. each day - he hangs up a Do Not Disturb sign - says it's critical we understand the benefits of getting proper sleep.

He is armed with research that shows how accidents on the road, in hospitals and at industrial sites are linked to our sleep patterns. He notes in a poll of North Americans that 10 per cent of us are believed to be in a chronic state of sleep debt.

Sleep debt - think of a person who needs seven hours sleep of night and only gets five on a continuing basis - has serious consequences.

Ramifications include: Fatigue and sleepiness; memory or concentration problems; increased irritability and depression; impaired decision making; headaches, high blood pressure and a depleted immune system.

Moscovitch says the clock's ticking on people's health. It's a notion we should all be sleeping on.

* Learning to say 'No'.

I'm a bit of a softie and always had a hard time turning down requests.

But early this year, I took a page from Fran Hewitt's book, Power of Focus for Women.

Hewitt, a "yes woman" for much of her life, says people who don't know how to say no often end up bombarded with work, harried, over-committed - and resentful. It's clearly not the attitude we want at work or home.

While men and women are both victims, women - especially those in their 40s - are particularly vulnerable. As natural caregivers, they feel guilty about saying no, and instead sacrifice themselves and their time for others.

Hewitt offers up a number of tips to gain the confidence to turn down requests.

Build up gradually, she says. Practise on telemarketers and make it a habit to say no once a day. As our confidence grows, we set boundaries for charitable groups, family, co-workers and even bosses.

And as she explained to me, once you've said no a couple of times, it becomes much easier. The guilt disappears.

This year, with regrets, I withdrew from some volunteer work I once did, even turned down freelance writing jobs. I said no in order to maintain balance in my life.

Yes, I felt guilty at the time. But it was also freeing and gave me an opportunity to do things for myself. As a consequence, I sleep better at night, something Dr. Moscovitch would appreciate.

* The Energizer Bunny.

So you think you put in some long days?

I bet Brian Laird has most of us beat - often starting at 8:30 a.m. and finishing at two or three the next morning.

Laird is one of those unique people who puts life into perspective.

A triple amputee since a farming accident 30 years ago, the 56-year-old father of two young adults is one human dynamo.

As a full-time staff member of the non-profit Alberta Committee of Citizens with Disabilities in Edmonton, Laird is responsible for organizing 100 bingos and a dozen casinos each year. He not only organizes the volunteers, but he works the events at night. Additionally, he speaks at area schools in an education outreach program, and acts as an adviser to businesses on accessibility for the disabled.

Laird lost both arms and one leg in the farming accident and began his full-time job with the disabilities group in 1988.

Most mornings he answers the phone at the reception desk, deals with paperwork and adeptly uses his hook to type on the office computer.

"There's really not much I can't do in the office," he says.

Well, there is a catch. He can't carry a hot coffee. So each day a fellow staffer delivers the java to his desk.

"For that I feel very, very privileged," he says.

During our interview, I was touched by Laird's humility and drive. He is inspiring.

That's been the case with so many interview subjects and readers I've spoken with this year.

As we move into 2005, I wish everyone all the best. Thanks for your support and feedback.

It's been my privilege.

(Mike Dempster says, 'Yes,' he can be reached at miked@businessedge.ca)