Displaying All Posts tagged with office

9 Healthy Habits for the Workplace

Whether you work for yourself or for an employer, looking after your health is vital. If you work without any consideration for your health, at some point things will catch up with you in one way or another. Your health is one of your most important assets. Here are 9 healthy habits that can help you stay on top of your well-being at work:

1. Exercise

Finding time for exercise is important for our health and is a great way to manage stress. Exercise is often further down on the to-do list compared to other tasks, but it is something that you need to find time for — particularly if you work at a sedentary job that has you sitting at a desk all day. If you don’t currently exercise, start small and build up. Go for a walk and start getting your body moving. Even taking the stairs instead of the elevator can make a huge difference. You can find other ways to exercise as you get more comfortable with the new routine. Make it easy for yourself and find exercise that you enjoy.

2. Eat Well

Eating well is another important cornerstone of good health. Our work habits can make it hard to eat well but with some small changes, we can take control of what we eat and stay healthy. Plan your meals in advance each week and shop accordingly. Planning your meals will help you to eat well at home and have ingredients to prepare food for work. By making your own food you will be able to ensure you are eating healthy foods that enhance your health. Bring healthy snacks to work with you (like fruit and nuts) to stop the temptation of unhealthy stop gaps. Doing this is also very good for your bank balance.
Click Here to Read Article …

Popular search terms for this article:

healthy work habits, being healthy at work, healthy habits at work, healthy office habits, healthy habits in the workplace, why is it important to be healthy at work, healthy workplace habits, good office habits, being healthy in the workplace, healthy habits

10 Productivity-Enhancing Apps from the Chrome Web Store

Google launched their Chrome Web Store last year to some well-received notice. But in reality, it serves only as a glorified directory for web apps accessible on any standards-compliant browser. And that isn’t necessarily a downer. In fact, with little intervention needed to work on Chrome, many web apps were immediately available via this store — including a bunch of awesome apps that can enhance anyone’s productivity.

The range of productivity-enhancing apps available on this web store range from PowerPoint replacements to full-fledged viewers for AutoCAD files. Let’s take a look at a few that you can use in a generic workflow.

1. MindMeister

MindMeister is a web-based mind mapping and brainstorming tool that allows you to create maps that can be worked on collaboratively. This collaboration is in “realtime” and is also global — with an integrated live chat to communicate with your coworkers when working on a map.

Once your session is over, you can export maps for offline browsing in popular formats such as Office and PDF. Plus, an iPhone and iPad application can access the maps for mobile browsing.

 

2. Vyew

Vyew is an app that’s “beyond web conference” which warrants its title thanks to its realtime whiteboard and document collaboration tools. Multiple viewers can join a session in a “room” and review documents — or watch a stream of the host’s desktop.

Webcam streaming isn’t the main feature of this app, but it is used to create a real, lifestyle conference when you just can’t meet up with your team.

Click Here to Read Article …

Popular search terms for this article:

google chrome, CHROME PROJECT MANAGEMENT, chrome apps, project management chrome, best chrome app for project management

6 Web-Based Alternatives to Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint is the ubiquitous solution to presentations on most computers. But with a profound move to the cloud, there’s a range of alternatives (most free) based on the web. These solutions offer not only features similar to the desktop app, but the ability to load your presentation anywhere you get an internet connection and, in most cases, download a copy for offline shows and/or further customization in PowerPoint itself.

In this roundup, we’ll look at a range of web-based alternatives for PowerPoint and in a future one, look at alternatives for Excel.

Google Docs

Google Docs is, of course, the first solution that comes to mind. Google offers potential replacements for Word, Excel and PowerPoint in the form of their own, slightly-less-featureful web app.

The presentation tool is basic, but gets the job done in most cases. The interface links in with Google’s other Docs properties with the addition of presentation-specific elements such as the slide browser on the left.
Click Here to Read Article …

Popular search terms for this article:

powerpoint alternative, powerpoint alternatives, alternatives to powerpoint, presentation tools other than powerpoint, alternative to powerpoint, What are some presentations-tool options available in the marketplace, web based powerpoint, web based presentation software, presentations-tool options available in the marketplace, What are some presentations-tool options available in the marketplace?

Is “The Office” Real?

For those that don’t watch the American television version of The Office, it is a situation comedy about a failing paper company led by a charming-but-impulsive regional manager. The show’s humor comes mainly from its wide variety of distinct characters (although typical office stories come into play as well), some of which seem like perfect office archetypes. Protagonist Jim Halpert is a rational, level-headed salesman who, after many attempts to bring sanity to his workplace, resigns to just enjoy the humor all around him. Jim can amuse, but there are others:

  • Dwight, a goofy, abrasive know-it-all with action hero aspirations;
  • Creed, a creepy, funny should-be-retired colleague whose ambiguous comments are often disturbing and funny;
  • Kevin, an accountant who, seems woefully inattentive and thick-headed given the nature of his work;
  • Ryan, the low man on the totem pole who has little else other than Machiavellian ambition and stories of past professional glory;
  • Angela, the peculiar, pet-loving enigma who has some strange habits that are impossible to ignore; and
  • Kelley, the customer service representative who, despite her profession, is prone to having wild, dramatic fits over the insignificant.

The show is full of office-related humor, and its meaningless meetings, inappropriate antics and professional blunders leave us saying:

“Wow, that is so true.”

But, is it? Are these characters real? Can you spot them at your job? Perhaps if you can’t spot them, could you be one of them? Let’s not kid ourselves; we can’t all be cool, collected, “Jim Halpert” types. Someone has to be the drama queen, the cutthroat, the dreamer, the know-it-all.

Are you one of them?  If so, which one are you? Click Here to Read Article …

Popular search terms for this article:

is the office real, is the office real?, was the office real, the office real life, the office real

Awesome Links #3: Beating the Heat, Cool Home Offices, Custom Toolbars

How to Stay Fit (and Cool) Despite the Summer Heat

The countries in northern hemisphere continue to grapple with scorching heat. Ask me, I’m in India and you really don’t want to know what the summers are like here. Hence, when I came across this guide by Lifehacker to beat the heat, I thought it’d be worth a share. If it’s cold where you are, this guide could prepare you for the upcoming summers.

Professional Time, Leisure Time, and Wasted Time

The Simple Dollar explores what’s the difference between professional time, leisure time and wasted time and how to measure them.

15 Inspiring Home Offices

A nice collection of 15 home office setups by our sister site, Freelance Switch. Which one’s your favorite?

SEO: The Free Beginner’s Guide From SEOmoz

A super-comprehensive and brilliant guide to SEO for beginners by SEOmoz. If you are just starting out with SEO then there’s no better place than this guide.

Create a Custom Toolbar In Windows To Quickly Access Programs & Files

If you are a Windows user then you will find this guide to creating custom toolbars by Guiding Tech useful. It’s a simple trick really that could save a lot of time on a day-to-day basis and make you more productive. Click Here to Read Article …

Where Do You Work Best?

Some people need absolute, morgue-like silence to get real work done. Others are content to type away amidst chaos like chattering coworkers or screaming kids. As a work-at-home freelancer, I love being able to vary my work environment. It was tough when I had roommates who watched TV in my “office” (also a corner of the living room), but I managed to bang out dozens of articles, blog posts, and copywriting assignments.

Now I alternate between rocking out to show tunes in my home office (blissfully devoid of coworkers or kids) or heading to the library or a coffee shop to change things up and be among other people. I’ve even been known to type on the subway with my netbook, but that’s far from ideal for me.

What about you? What’s your ideal work environment? Does silence make you nervous? Do you need a little background noise? Or do you prefer peace and quiet? Click Here to Read Article …

Popular search terms for this article:

Where do you work, best work, where do you work best, I work best when, when do you work best, where do you work?, how do you work best, what work environment do you work best in, work best

Will Google Wave Work For You?

This post was meant to happen at least a week ago, but I simply got caught in the “current event” that is Google Wave.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Google Wave (and didn’t have or feel the need to sit through the 80 minute video when it was announced), it is the ongoing realization of the question:

“What would email look like if we set out to invent it today?” – Lars Rasmussen, Software Engineering Manager, Google Wave

Click Here to Read Article …