15 Aug 09 Being A Better Worker
Being a better worker is all about time management. We all have a ridiculous amount of things to get to in one day, and sometimes that mountain can look pretty insurmountable, but keeping on top of it isn’t impossible. Plus once you do get your day under control you’ll find yourself being a much more productive worker, and that’s better for you and your company.
-Firstly, organize everything. Don’t just make sure that your work environment is well organized and neat, but make sure that your day follows suit. Set aside time for phone calls and checking your email so that you don’t get bogged down trying to keep up with both, as either could end up dominating your day and interfering with how much actual work you are able to get done for that day.
-Secondly, don’t fall into the work distraction pitfalls. These include mostly bringing in aspects of your personal life to work. Such as browsing the internet, making personal calls, having a non-work related conversation with coworkers. All of these are huge time wasters and will significantly cut into how much work you are able to complete each day.
-Thirdly, try using one single planner for all of your daily goals and activities. This way you’re never confused or having to check more than one place to keep yourself organized.
-Fourthly, figure out your work strengths and weaknesses, and be completely honest in your self assessment. This way you can focus on your strengths in a clinch to get work done and done well, and also be aware of your weaknesses so that they do not dominate your performances. By pointing out your weaknesses you can become a more complete and better worker.
-Finally, know when to take a break. It’s unhealthy for your body to sit down for long periods of time, as it constricts blood flow to different parts of the body. Every 60-90 minutes you should be taking a quick 5-10 minute break where you stand up and take a few steps, either to walk away from your desk for a moment or to just walk around your office. Your mind and body will feel much better, and in the end you’ll get more work done because of that.
Tags: Blood Flow, Break, Browsing The Internet, Coworkers, Desk, Distraction, Email, Long Periods Of Time, Personal Life, Phone Calls, Pitfalls, Productive Worker, Self Assessment, Strengths And Weaknesses, Time Management, Time Wasters, Work Environment
11 Jul 09 Make Your Computer More Environmentally Friendly
When your job is so dependant on the sort of technology that has been a huge contribution to the pollution that has been damaging our world and environment in a devastating fashion, you may be wondering how you can possibly help. Well there actually are a large number of ways that you can at least reduce how much pollution you output, or how much energy you consume, and your computer is a good place to start.
Firstly, think about changing your computer’s power use settings. If you don’t do a lot of work, or leisure activities that require a lot of your computer’s processor power, consider setting your computer’s level of use lower. This way you’ll conserve power without compromising performance. Or if that is not an option, configure your settings so that your computer will go into hibernate/sleep mode when not in use, thereby greatly reducing the energy you use to keep your machine turned on.
Try to print paper less, as no matter how many people are good at recycling renewable resources like paper, there are far more that aren’t as good about conserving resources. Consider options to use less of that paper in the first place. Try to send as much of your paperwork as possible digitally, through email or the internet, so that everyone is still receiving the documents that are needed, but without using up any of the paper resources that don’t need to be consumed.
For any software upgrades, or if you purchase videogames for your computer, consider downloading the programs online, instead of buying a disc from a store. Most companies offer downloads through their websites for software, and there are many services for downloading videogames. This way you’re still able to buy the software you want, and you can avoid wasting any of the resources that don’t need to be wasted in the form of the boxes/discs that you’ll just end up tossing at some point anyway.
Finally, watch out for your power draining peripherals. Some peripherals like speakers and computer monitors continue to draw power in their standby modes, even when your computer is off. So make sure that you turn all devices off, or just switch off the surge protector that everything is plugged in to, when your computer is not in use. Not only with this conserve a lot of energy, you’ll also be saving money either for yourself, or your company. And saving money is always a good thing.
Tags: Boxes, Computer Job, Computer Processor, Conserving Resources, Digitally, Email, Environmentally Friendly, Fashion, Leisure Activities, Lot, Paper Resources, Paperwork, Peripherals, Pollution, Processor Power, Renewable Resources, Sleep, Sleep Mode, Software Upgrades, Videogames
04 Jul 09 5 Tips To Motivate Your Team
Increasing productivity means keeping the people you manage motivated to stay positive and accomplish their goals in a timely fashion. The perfect employee team is a cohesive unit with a good morale about wanting to accomplish tasks quickly, and to the best of their abilities. Sometimes, especially during an economic recession like this, it’s hard to keep your people properly motivated, and that’s bad for them and for the work that needs to be done. A team with low morale is unlikely to meet deadlines on target, or is more likely to produce sub-par work. You’ll find motivating your team is a constant battle, but one that you need to win, and in doing so remember these tips:
- Communication
- Involvement
- Setting Goals
- Manage Poor Performances
- Celebrating Performances
Communication is an essential element to any employee team, as it’s the most important aspect of working together to complete a project. Keep communication channels open through team meetings, email, and conference calls. This way everyone’s voice is heard, and nobody will feel as though they can’t get through if something is frustrating them. Proper support will help that morale stay on the up.
Involve everyone as much as possible with every aspect of the project. Listen to your team, and let them communicate ideas and suggestions into the development of your projects. This way they stay motivated to always strive to be successful, as they know you’ll listen to their ideas for innovations.
Set lofty goals that your team can be proud to shoot for. Don’t set them ridiculously high obviously, but find a comfortable middle ground above the standard, but not impossible to achieve. This way you’re keeping your team motivated to be better and better, but not overworking them to the point they lose the faith.
Manage your poorer performers. Not everyone on your team can excel like you would want them to, and some people will turn in a substandard performance from time to time. But that’s where you take the time to personally manage them. Work with them to help resolve any issues reflected in their performance, this way you can get them going on producing the quality of work you want them too, and their attitude will get better as they receive the help they need to achieve the goals you set.
And finally, celebrating individual and team achievement is crucial. One of the oldest archetypes throughout nature, is doing work for a reward. Yes your team receives a paycheck for their effort, yes technically this is their reward for their hard work, but that’s no reason not to throw in a thank you here and there. Recognize your top performers, and make sure to congratulate your team when they work together the way you would like them to, as this will keep them upbeat, and motivated to keep your compliments true to their ability.
Tags: Cohesive Unit, Communication Channels, Economic Recession, Element, Email, Employee Team, Excel, Faith, Increasing Productivity, Innovations, Lofty Goals, Low Morale, Par, People, Poor Performances, Setting Goals, Substandard Performance, Target, Team Meetings, Timely Fashion
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