Any business owner should know by now that cloud computing is a wise move. For one, it can help you work towards an all-important paperless office. And, that in turn stands to save you money in a major way. Not to mention that, when in the cloud, your files are much easier to manage no matter where you are.
So, you could say that turning to a company who offer IT Support packages complete with cloud computing is important. The moment you start using services like these, you’ll wonder what took you so long in the first place. You may even find some surprise benefits along the way. Jobs like delegation, for instance, could become easier than you ever thought possible. And, given this is something many managers struggle with, we think it’s worth some attention here.
Despite the fact that delegation is essential for keeping your business running smoothly, it’s not an easy thing to master. In fact, many managers increase their own workload to save getting this wrong. But, overworking yourself is never the right way forward. Instead, consider the following three reasons cloud computing could have you covered here. A person for the job Part of the struggle with delegation is a lack of trust. When you pass a job onto someone else, you need to trust that they can do the best job possible. Tasks like these can, after all, have massive standing on your business reputation. And, many managers can’t bring themselves to trust anyone but themselves for the big jobs. But, cloud computing could solve this by giving you easy access to each person’s skills. All you need to do is set up a spreadsheet outlining each team member’s talents. Then, you can come to this at the start of each day and easily see who you can trust with what. An easy way to share
Another leading issue with delegation is that of time. In most cases, delegating tasks involves a meeting where you run through jobs one by one. Many managers figure it’d be quicker to just get on with things. Thus, they don’t delegate at all. But, cloud computing does away with that need for meetings and wasted time. Remember, this is the easiest way to share information with a team. All you need to do is upload a task sheet each morning. That way, you’ll be able to communicate with the whole team before you’ve even finished your morning coffee. A checklist everyone can tick Let us not forget that delegation is also a pain in the backside when it comes to chasing up jobs. Even once everyone knows what they’re doing, you may have to chase them to find out whether they’re finished or not. And, again, that can lead to a lot of wasted time. But, with the cloud in place, people can tick off or delete each task as they finish it. And, you can check this intermittently through the day without having to leave your office.
Whether you work for yourself or in an office, taking the steps to amp up your productivity can make a huge difference to your day. You’ll feel so much better about the amount you’re getting done, and you’ll have more time for yourself. You might even be able to find ways to make even more money because of the time you have spare, or get a promotion when your boss sees how hard you’re working.
Whatever your reasons for wanting to become more productive, the ideas below can help you.
Use A Timer
Sitting down and working for hours on end without a break can be daunting, and it can stop anybody from starting the things that really need to get done. Instead of thinking of it this way, why not use a timer? Using a timer can be a really effective way to get focused before you reward yourself with a little break. You could set a timer for 25 minutes and allow yourself a 5 minute break, or even 50 minutes and allow a 10 minute break. Whatever you do, don’t make your working periods so long that you need a long rest period, as this can mean becoming too disengaged from your work to get started again.
Change The Scenery
This is easier if you work for yourself. Changing scenery part way through your working day may seem like a hassle, but it gives more variety to your working day and the novelty can help you to get more done. Maybe you could do part of your work at home and the other part in a coffee shop. Sitting in one place for hours and hours isn’t great for productivity.
Drink Coffee
Coffee is a great tool when you’re feeling a little low on energy. It’s a psychoactive substance and can give you that extra kick you need to get going. However, you shouldn’t be tempted to try something stronger, like students seem to be doing these days. Doing this could mean you get in trouble for Illegal drug possession. Stick to coffee!
Make A List
Make a realistic list with up to three priorities for the day so you have something to stick to. Anything else you get done will be a bonus!
Reward Yourself
Give yourself small rewards for finishing something, such as a hard candy, or a chapter of a book you’ve been loving.
Stay Away From Emails And Social Media
Emails and social media can suck all of the productivity out of you as your head gets filled with useless information that really doesn’t need to be in there. Just focus on your work!
Listen To The Right Kind Of Music
A focus playlist could help you to get more done. Music with few words is usually the best route to take. Upbeat dance music could also help you!
Stop Multitasking
Multitasking may seem like you’re getting more done, when you’re actually getting less done. It slows you down, so avoid it at all costs!
From whatever walk of life that we are in or whatever our family situation or work life, we can all use some hobbies in our spare time. It can be a great way to relax, destress, hone your skills, and make you more well rounded. You can meet new people through new hobbies so they can be a great addition to your lifestyle. And you never know, you might find that you could make your hobby into something more lucrative.
The thing with hobbies, though, is that they can cost a little bit of money, depending on what you choose. But not everyone is going to have enough money to get all of the gear for something like a triathlon, for instance. Training for that can be a great hobby, but with things like wetsuits, cycling gear, and a bike, it can end up being a pretty expensive hobby. So here are some things that you can do as a hobby, that isn’t going to break the bank. There may even be a few things that surprise you.
If you enjoy watching professional sports, then you’ll know just how fun sport can be. It can be quite compelling as you try to guess who will do what or what the score will be. So a great way to incorporate this into a hobby, that doesn’t just mean you’re just sat watching TV, could be to get into fantasy sports. It could be fantasy football leagues or any other sport that you like, that is all based online. It can be enjoyable and bring a whole new edge to watching sport. You could do it just for the fun of it, or get into it from a betting perspective if you wanted to try to win some cash while you’re at it. It is simply just a good way to bind over your love of sports, and add a little healthy competition into your life if you wanted.
Cars or Bikes
If motorsport interests you, then it can be costly to get out to races all of the time, or to just go karting as often as you’d like. Which is why getting into car or bike repair can be a good idea for you as a hobby. It means that you get out of the house, but you don’t have to go far and you don’t have to spend a lot of money. It could be for something that you intend to use afterwards or something to sell. Either way, it can be a pretty inexpensive labor of love, with something amazingly satisfying at the end of it all.
Woodwork
If you’ve always been a pretty creative soul, there are several options to choose from. Something a little more unique than a standard creative hobby like art, could be getting into woodworking. With only a few small tools required, you can create some really amazing works of art. It could be gifts for others, furniture for your home, or even bits to make and sell on. Plus, with a few videos to learn from on YouTube, you could quite easily use the hobby as a way to develop a new skill, and just learn as you go (as long as you enjoy it, of course).
Yes, you have read that correctly; golf can be a good hobby to relax and destress, as well as hones your skills. And it doesn’t have to cost a lot. It is often mistaken with a hobby that does cost a lot of money, through golf clubs and joining a club to go an play at. But in reality, it can cost as much as you want it to. There are plenty of places where you can pay and play, rather than having to pay yearly membership fees. You can also get equipment secondhand, from clubs to golf carts, if required. If you chose to buy electric golf carts used only a handful of times, you could grab a bargain, and perhaps share the cost with family or friends. You could also go down the driving range avenue of golf, as that can be pretty inexpensive to do regularly. It can be a great stress reliever!
Fitness or Weight Training
If you want a hobby that can multitask, then getting into fitness or weight training can be an amazing hobby to have. You not only get to be fitter and healthier but can smash some of your goals at the same time. The good news is that it can be pretty low cost too. Take something like running, for example. This can be a free thing for you to do, as and when you decide to do it. All you need are some running shoes and exercise clothes. There could be cost involved with signing up for formal races like a 10K or a half marathon, for instance. But that would be completely optional if you wanted to train for something like that.
For weight training, you could join a gym if it is within your budget, or just get some adjustable weights to workout with at home. There is a wealth of information out there to help too, like videos online, and fitness and nutrition magazines to help you set and follow a workout plan.
Photography
In the age of Instagram and blogging, it can seem like anyone that is anyone wants to get into photography. But if you want to do it as a hobby, then why not? You can make it as cheap or free as you want, from using your smartphone to take photos and using editing software on your phone, to taking a photography course at a local community college. Approach it as you would with any other kind of hobby, though; take your time, learn, practice, and try out new ways of doing things.
Are there any hobbies here that you’d be interested in trying out? Perhaps there are some that you are already doing? It would be great to hear.
The classic 9-5 job is becoming less and less popular in the modern age. There are so many other options out there in terms of earning money. If you’ve started to grow tired of the limitations of your full-time job then it might be time to start seeking income opportunities elsewhere. You don’t necessarily have to leave your current job, but there are definitely opportunities which could allow you to start making money on the side. Here are some simple ways to start making money from home.
There are so many ways to make money online in the modern age, but blogging is definitely one of the most profitable. At the same time, it’s an incredibly fun way to make money – you just have to choose a topic that truly interests you. If you have a passion then you might as well write about it and get paid to do so. You just need to create engaging content that’ll help you to build a following. Monetizing your blog is all about having an audience. You can make money from adverts (via pay-per-click or pay-per-impression, for example), but you need to be getting decent traffic to stand a chance of making money that way. Sponsored deals from companies are the best way to start making money from your blog. You need followers to attract potential sponsors, so get blogging and market yourself well.
Grow your own produce.
Another simple way to start making money from home is to grow your own produce. If you live in a warm climate then you might even want to grow your own almonds (just bear in mind that almond trees don’t flourish in cold environments). If you do some research on the topic then you’ll see that the world almond demand has only been rising over recent months. It could prove to be a very profitable venture for you. Of course, as with growing any produce, you need to make sure that you enjoy the process. The manual labor involved can be too tiresome for some people, but it’s incredibly rewarding for those who enjoy growing their own food and like the idea of making some money from it on the side.
Unless you have an endless amount of clutter, you won’t be able to do this every week. However, we’re all guilty of hoarding things we don’t need from time to time. You should make a monthly or yearly habit of going through your belongings and deciding what you do or don’t need. Decluttering sounds quite boring until you consider the financial gains to be made from it. You could have a garage sale to sell your old things or even auction them off on eBay. You might find that you actually make a profit on certain possessions when people end up in a bidding war. You might even want to start buying items just to sell them for a profit on sites such as eBay if you want to make money on a regular basis.
A lot of people work extremely hard to build their businesses, yet it doesn’t take much for all that hard work to fall apart, if you don’t keep your business safe and compliant. Indeed, there are countless stories of entrepreneurs and even social entrepreneurs that are trying to do good in the world, ending up going out of business, being made bankrupt, or even ending up in prison on the charge of corporate manslaughter for issues relating to safety.
When you have worked hard to build up your business, the last thing you want is for it to be destroyed by a safety, security or compliance issue. In the majority of cases, these risks can easily be foreseen and therefore managed.
However, it’s only usually in hindsight that business owners look back and wish they had done something differently, particularly when it comes to online security and how easily preventable data loss can be. Indeed, it usually requires a disastrous situation to trigger the business owner to take the necessary steps to make their business safe, compliant and robust.
This article, therefore, looks at a number of ways to proactively keep your business safe and compliant.
EMPLOYEES
From a security perspective, your employees should be taking care of your business rather than being seen as a potential threat to the safety and security of your enterprise, but make no mistake – a lot of times, particularly within retail, it is the staff themselves that account for a large proportion of theft.
The other thing to consider is that an employee can have the best of intentions but still be negligent and this negligence can open you up to a huge lawsuit that could destroy your business.
The other thing to consider is that is can be a good idea to incorporate aspects of security into your regular staff meetings, as by educating your staff on common security threats these threats can be neutralized, as a team. Indeed, most security breaches happen due to staff being complacent, therefore, bringing them up in regular meetings can emphasize the need to remain alert.
BE COMPLIANT WITH ALL RELEVANT CODES AND LAWS
This might seem like an obvious point, but if you’re not keeping up to date with your taxes or there are accuracy issues, this could land you in serious hot water; whether it was intentional or not. That said, being compliant isn’t limited to obvious issues such as health and safety at work, tax compliance, or discrimination issues. There are hidden aspects such as backflow testing which is important to ensure the sanitation of water you supply to your premises which could be consumed by staff and customers alike.
GET GOOD INSURANCE
A decent business insurance policy is worth its weight in gold, as whilst it can feel painful to part with the monthly premiums, in the case of an emergency having this safety net has an incredible amount of value; particularly if you are running a small business or are just getting started as this means you often don’t have the cashflow security of larger businesses in order to weather the storm.
PROTECT YOUR DATA WITH THE CLOUD
Protecting your data in the modern world is extremely important, not just from a compliance perspective, but on the basis all your work is usually stored on a computer – whether this is marketing material, business plans or customer records. You might want to think about using a cloud storage application such as Google Drive in order to keep files safe.
PREVENT ACCIDENTS
Whatever line of business you’re in, the last thing you want is an accident to happen at work, be this in a kitchen environment where someone accidentally slices off one of their fingers, perhaps unintentionally poisons one of your customers due to poor hygiene, or in a more high risk environment such as building work, where there are all sorts of risks with regard to construction accidents that can take place. Prevention is often better than cure, in this respect, and ensuring you have adequate warnings in the forms of signs in place along with adequate training of staff is the best way to prevent accidents.
HAVE GOOD LEGAL REPRESENTATION
The benefit of having good legal representation, is twofold, firstly, a good lawyer will make sure there are prophylactic measures in place such as privacy policies on your website and ironclad contracts that protect your interests against most foreseeable risks.
Then, there are the remedial measures they are able to offer. For instance, if a customer were to sue your business from a vexatious or money-grabbing perspective, a good lawyer will be able to shut that situation down very quickly without it ever reaching court. Then, if it did reach court, he or she would be able to represent you in a way that truly represented your interests – as they have a long-term relationship with you, and understand your business holistically, rather being called in at the last second to try to get you out of hot water – but not really knowing the nature of your business or you, as the business owner.
PROTECT YOUR GADGETS
Today, within most businesses, we have so many gadgets of such great value, yet we take their value for granted both in economic and social terms.
Mobile phones, for instance, have become are so prominent in our daily lives that they are almost an extension of who we are; they have gone from being a mere phone to something akin to a personal assistant, bank card, mobile office, a camera, a video camera and a personal organizer. Indeed, your smartphone is the modern equivalent of a swiss army knife and contains so much of your important information that’s vital for your business it must be protected.
See, our gadgets play a huge role in our lives and even more so if you are a business owner that manages a business, yet we take these gadgets for granted and unconsciously assume they are somewhat indestructible – when in truth they are incredibly fragile technological devices.
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