Create a productive home office

How intentional are you about working from your home office?

Do you have a home office? More and more companies are allowing their staff to work from home. While most of us still go into an office, working from home has numerous advantages. A recent World at Work study found, 91% of employees say they are more productive working from home. Now, that’s a great benefit for companies. But what if your home office makes you everything but productive?

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Check your bank details

Are your bank details up to date?

Has this ever happened to you? One of the websites you’re frequently using has been updated and you can’t find anything. Well, that was me today. My bank made some changes and it took some time to get used to the new layout. Checking the settings, I realised some of my details were out of date. The updates probably overwrote the details and put them back into the every first set up. I’ve used this experience to check my other details and so should you!

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Clear out your handbag

What’s all in your handbag?

Is your husband or partner rolling his eyes whenever he sees your handbag? Are you complaining about how heavy it is? Did you know that the average handbag weighs 6.27 pounds? That’s just the handbag. If you’re anything like me, you may also carry a laptop bag, your gym bag and a bag with your lunch. Wow! That’s a massive weight to carry every day! I’d say: It’s time to clear out your handbag!

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Saturday is “Clear Your Clutter” Day!

Get ready! This Saturday, 11 March, is “Clear Your Clutter” Day. It’s your day to get rid of some of the stuff you no longer want or need. Whether you take this day and start with a shelf, focus on a room or continue on your decluttering journey, it doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you start.

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Leave the office prepared for tomorrow

Use the last 15 min today for tomorrow

Are you still in the office? Still stuck in that never ending meeting? And you’ve still so much paper on your desk? Feeling overwhelmed and don’t know how to get back in control?

Take the last 15-30 minutes of your workday today and prepare for tomorrow!

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October is another “No Spending Month”

Will you join me?

It’s a little bit later than my usual blog post. But today, I had a very good reason: I had to store all my groceries and other the other things bought while visiting my family last week. And how much I had to put away! Tons! After all, I flew back with 40 kgs (88 lbs). To my defence, not of it was for me. Some things were presents for upcoming birthdays or requests from friends.

Still, I’ve enough food till Christmas and am making October another “No Spending Month”.

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Think ahead

Think ahead till the end

“Think a step ahead!” One of my old colleagues used to say it all the time and she was extremely proud to be at least one step ahead of everyone else. Indeed, thinking ahead can have numerous advantages as colleagues, friends and I have discovered over the years.

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Going paperless

Less paper, more time for you (and more trees)

Have a look around your home and your office. What do you see? Chances are paper, possible loads of it. At least that’s what I can see now at my home. It’s amazing how so much paper can creep into my life!

It was even funnier to hear my mother say how she’s using the rainy weather in her city to clear her files and folders. My mom is decluttering her paper! On her own! This is so awesome!

While we may not be stuck inside because of rain, we all can take 30 minutes to reduce the paper piles at home or in the office and gain control of the paper flood!

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How to run effective meetings

Part 2: Holding the meeting

Last week, I provided you with tips for preparing for effective meetings. Today, I want to focus on the actual meeting, what to consider when running it and how to avoid it become a waste of your and the other participants’ time. This mini-series will finish off with the follow up of the meeting results and actions.

How can you get the most out of your meeting? Let’s look at this tips for running the meeting:

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How to run effective meetings

Part 1: Preparation for the meeting

Have you ever been stuck in meetings where you wondered what was going on? Or why you were even there in the first place? Unfortunately, this happened to me! It’s frustrating and makes these meetings appear as a waste of my time.

Companies can help their employees become more productive when setting up and running meetings. In fact, I’ve seen a number of organisations, mainly in the education sector, issue guidelines to their employees. For these teams, it has made them more productive and efficient. Given the limited resources we have, that’s a great achievement and in my view, we all should thrive towards more effective meeting cultures.

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