Sales Meeting Hacks During COVID

By Jon Bradshaw | Business Tips | No Comments

Has anyone ever been excited about attending a sales meeting? Probably very few. Now try convincing your sales team to get pumped about an upcoming meeting during a pandemic. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Thankfully, you can use the following hacks to ensure that your meetings will be fruitful and worth their time. And, they may actually have a little fun and look forward to these events during this strange and stressful time.

Sales Meetings 101

It’s a stressful and uncertain time right now. The last thing that you want to is to pile on even more stress onto your team member’s shoulders. That’s why you need to do a little planning and preparation in advance before scheduling a meeting.

If you don’t think that meetings have been stressing your team out, think again. Between getting pulled away from their work, the fear of public speaking, and experiencing technology problems (this accounts for 90% of meeting stress), it’s easy to understand why so many people dread meetings.

To relieve this stress, you need to make sure that all meetings aren’t just necessary — but also productive. You will assure a session is productive by:

Setting a single goal or objective for the meeting.
Designating a meeting leader, time, date, and location.
Setting a time limit and keeping it short — preferably around 30-minutes.
Inviting the right amount of people — ideally around seven attendees.
Addressing tech issues before the meeting.

Does this preparation seem like a tall glass to fill? Your preparation is not only possible but beneficial if your meeting contains the four elements of a successful meeting.

Use a standardized agenda.

An agenda lets participants know exactly what to expect. It’s the foundation of any productive meetings as it contains the following components:

A header that identifies who’s calling the meeting, assembling the body, type of meeting, date and time, start and end time, and location.
Key objective that answers two crucial questions. Why are we meeting? And, what do we hope to accomplish?
The topics that will be discussed — limit this to 5. If you want to get your team more involved, ask for their input on what they want to be covered. Milestones, pipeline updates, obstacles, monthly targets, noteworthy insights, and what your competitors are doing are solid topic ideas.
The meeting work plan. Also called the agenda body, this is everything that will be discussed and in what order. Always start with your most time-sensitive or urgent matters.
Allocate the right amount of time to each topic.
At the conclusion, make sure you follow-up with the attendees by distributing minutes and assigning responsibilities.

The agenda should always be sent to invitees a day or two in advance so that they have time to prepare.

Provide value.

You want your team to walk away with valuable information that they can use to close more deals. Examples would be training, customer feedback, or the latest news or trends influencing your business.

Team participation.

Don’t bore your team. Keep them engaged by adding some interactivity to it. Ideas would be answering questions, playing games, or breaking your team into groups and having them answer questions.

Also, include use data visualization. It’s more efficient, allows everyone to focus on what’s important, and helps attendees make faster decisions.

Be consistent.

More then ever, we’re striving for normalcy. And, routines and rituals can provide that since they give us certainty. Think of rituals as actions with meaning or emotion attached to them,” Tonya Dalton, a productivity expert, told Healthline. “Rituals keep our day moving along but are infused with joy, pleasure, or positive emotion.”

What does this have to do with meetings? Well, if they’re recurring, then make sure that they take place on the same day and time.

Super-special bonus element: Make your virtual meetings rock!

As of this writing, you have no other choice but for the location of your sales meeting to be remote. So, pass along the following tips so that your virtual meeting will be productive and professional.

Work from a quiet, carpeted room.
Use a neutral background and have good lighting. But, if it’s within reason, encourage attendees to have some fun and change their backgrounds digitally.
Have the meeting on a laptop and not your phone.
Test the technology before the meeting, as well as your mic and camera.
Raise your webcam to eye-level.
“Make the conference application as small as possible and position it adjacent to your computer’s camera,” suggests Joseph Liu on Forbes.
Always dress like you’re in a real, professional meeting.
Turn off all notifications during the meeting.
Look at your camera, not screen, when talking, and mute the mic when you’re not.
Avoid multitasking.
Learn videoconferencing tricks, such as these six tips about Zoom that Calendar Co-Founder shared on Entrepreneur. If you use Teams, here are 25 gems over at Medium.

Shake Up Your Sales Meetings

Even though you want to give your team consistency, you also don’t want them to get into a rut. That’s why you should occasionally switch things up. It will keep your team engaged, motivated, and will give them something to look forward to.

If you need some creative ideas, Salesforce has the following 6 suggestions:

Pump up the volume. “Ask a different team member before each meeting to share a track that gets them particularly motivated or energized before they begin their first outreach to customers in the day.”
In the news. Open the meeting “with a brief overview of the trends or stories that stand out, and discuss what they might mean for what the sales team needs to do in terms of approaching customers and prospects.”
We shall overcome. Your meeting is the perfect time to provide your reps with strategies and tactics. Or, “even additional information they can use to persuade customers to think differently about whatever’s stopping them from making a purchase.”
Sell me this pen. Close your meeting with a fun role-playing exercise where team members must pitch for something like, well, a pen.
Here’s what I noticed. When recognizing your reps, outstanding work “be specific about the behaviors and actions that demonstrate a real effort to provide value to customers or the organization.”

Need some other ideas? Well, you could have a meeting with colleagues from departments or experts to expand your rep’s knowledge and skillset.

Another idea would be to have goal-setting sessions. And, you can never go wrong with meetings helping your team overcome roadblocks, reviewing metrics, sharing prospect feedback, and sharing company information.

Because the word “meeting” is often associated with negativity, you could even call these events by a different name. Examples could be:

Calling your recurring meetings “team cadence,” “daily huddle,” or “weekly meetup.”
Instead of a status update, try “progress check.”
A one-on-one could be referred to as a “coaching session.”
You could use a “brainstorming session” when generating ideas.
For problem-solving, try “root-cause resolution.”
Training meetings could be titled “skills certification.”
When making an announcement, use “press briefing.”

Use Sales Meetings to Boost Morale and Motivation

“Psychological experiments have shown that the way a meeting starts, sets the tone for the whole meeting,” says Alexandar Kjerulf, aka the Chief Happiness Officer. “Start the meeting with complaints, problems, and mutual blame, and that’s what you’ll get.”

However, if the meeting has a more positive vibe, they will be more engaging and fun. That’s why Kjerulf suggests that you kick-off each meeting by asking participants “to briefly (= less than 30 seconds) share something positive.” Examples would be sharing successful sales stories, asking what they’re grateful for, or telling an exciting or funny story.

You can also use sales meetings to boost your team’s morale by:

Recognizing your team’s hard work and dedication and thanking them for all that they do.
Let your team members show off their unique skills and help them enhance their existing skillsets.
Prioritize time with each team member so that you can find out their personality traits. Knowing this allows you to customize meetings and rewards.
Remind them of their purpose. Research from Dr. Valerie Good of Michigan State University shows that purpose is the primary source of motivation in sales. “Instead of focusing on financial payouts for sales personnel to perform better, concentrating on meeting the intrinsic needs of salespeople can lead to better objective performance outcomes.”
Always be honest and transparent with them — even if it’s not good news.

Harness the Power of AI

“Artificial intelligence, which consists of natural language processing, machine learning, and bots, is still in its early stages,” explains Calendar Co-Founder John Hall. “We’re already witnessing its influence in areas like scheduling. Take intelligent calendars as an example. By using machine learning, they can “suggest when and where a meeting should occur after reviewing past invites. You can also create a new event just by speaking into your smartphone.”

That can be a game-changer right now. Instead of going back-and-forth with the team, who currently are juggling not only their work but also home responsibilities, a smart calendar could determine that 1 p.m. is an ideal time.

We may not be there just yet, “but AI can record meetings and transcribe and email notes after they’ve concluded,” adds Hall. That information could be used for future reference and replace having someone keep minutes. “It can make smart suggestions on the invitees and documents needed” and “automatically assign tasks and meeting roles.” AI “may even be able to read the room so it can make suggestions on how to keep specific attendees engaged.”

What’s Your Most Productive Work Time? Here’s How You Can Find Out

By Choncé Maddox | Time Management | No Comments

Should You Offer Unlimited Vacation Time?

Whether you call them your golden hours or peak work times, or biological prime times, these are when we have the most concentration and energy. As such, we shouldn’t waste these hours. Instead, we should spend them on our most important and challenging tasks. But, before we get there, we first need to identify when you’re actually the most productive.

The most productive hour, day, week, and month of the year.

You likely already know when your most productive time is. For example, I’m a morning person, and wake-up at 5:15 am every day. Because of this, I’m more alert in the A.M. But, I also have also worked with people who are night owls, and forcing themselves to wake-up as early as I do would be counterproductive.

However, after analyzing 1.8 million projects and 28 million tasks gathered from Priceonomics customer Redbooth, says that the most productive time of year is at 11 am on a Monday in October.

That timeframe is extremely specific, but they also found “that most people don’t really get going until 7 am (a typical start time). The study shows that after 5 pm (typical finish time), work quickly tapers.”

However, the “percentage of tasks completed (9.7%) peaks at 11 am — just before the typical person takes lunch.” The data has shown that productivity takes a hit between 11 am and 1 pm, “and after 1 pm, productivity never quite returns to its peak.”

“The highest percentage of tasks (20.4%) are completed on everyone’s favorite day of the week: Monday,” Priceonomics reveals. “Tuesday (20.2%) is just behind — and after that task completion perfectly tapers off as the days progress toward the weekend.” Fridays are “nearly 20% less productive than Monday.”

“We complete far more tasks in the latter months — September (8.8 percent), October (9.5 percent), and November (9 percent) — than in the earlier months,” notes the post. “We only complete 7.2 percent of our yearly tasks in January,” The reason?

Priceconmics suspects that it “maybe because the early year is typically for setting goals, not completing them — and as we near year’s end, we’re struggling to get everything done.” You have to learn how to work smarter — not harder.

How to find your most productive hours.

Hopefully, the data from Priceconomics can be of use. For example, instead of scheduling a meeting on Monday mornings, you do that on Friday afternoons when most of us aren’t as productive.

But what if you want to find out when you’re most productive? Well, here is a simple process that can help you figure this out.

Choose a time tracking period.

The first step you need to take is to determine when you want to start tracking your time and for how long. Some suggest that you can get away with just tracking your time for a week. But I disagree. The longer you follow your time, the more accurate of a picture you’ll have. Ideally, you should do this for 30 days.

Get the right tools.

You can honestly stay old school and use a pen and paper for this activity. You could also use a notebook or index cards. Other options would be creating a spreadsheet (or this one from Chris Baily) or premade worksheets like the 168 Hours Timesheet.

If you prefer to go digital, you may want to try out time tracking tools. Some of the best available are RescueTime, Clockify, Toggl, or ATracker — and of course, Calendar.

Maintaining your time log.

Here’s the moment you’ve been waiting for, actually tracking your time.

Jeremy Anderberg writes that there are two necessary frameworks for tracking your time. The first tracking is using the time of day. If you go this route, “you’ll write down your activity for a set chunk of time, say 9–9:15 am. Set a timer for every 15 minutes (at first, at least; it can be longer as you’ve gotten into it), and take a quick second to jot down what you’ve been doing.”

The second is by the task. “With this method, you’ll go about your day and activities as normal, and simply write down what time you change tasks and start something new,” explains Anderberg.

Jeremey suggests that you try both out and see what works best for you. “For my first few days of time-tracking, I did so by the task. I’d write down, to the minute, when I started and stopped doing something and moved on to a new activity.” For him, this helped “figure out how long things actually took, and how my day was naturally being structured

“After that, I went into tracking by time increments, which is more useful for planning purposes, understanding what times of day you’re more likely to waste time, how to structure your breaks, etc.,” he adds. “Another benefit is that when you have a timer to “remind you to write down what you’ve been doing, it re-focuses you if you’ve gotten off track.”

Regardless of which approach you take, there are some essential things to keep in mind:

Be honest and consistent.
Record your activities in real-time.
Note when you start and end an activity, as well as the duration.
Be meticulous and include as many details as possible. For instance, instead of just writing done “working,” record the specific thing that you were doing. But, you don’t have to be perfect.
Don’t just focus on your workday. Create categories and subcategories for home, family, social, commuting, and health and wellness.
Make sure that you write down how you feel for each activity.
Leave room for additional notes like what interrupted you or if a task took you longer then expected to complete.

Chris Bailey, the author of “The Productivity Project,” also suggests that you eliminate factors that may affect your productivity, such as caffeine, diet, waking up without an alarm, or staying up too late. He also recommends keeping a log of your energy levels every hour.

After you’ve done this for around month, go ahead, and analyze your data. Pay close attention to patterns — primarily when there’s a surge or dip in focus or energy. For most of us, because of ultradian rhythms, this would be after working for 90 to 120 minutes.

You should also be on the lookout for how much time you’re dedicating to low, medium, or high impact activities and where you can improve. Think about using time tracking — don’t think of it as time policing.

How to create more “peak” hours during the day.

That may seem like a lot to take in. But, after a week or two, tracking your time should become a habit. But, the main takeaway here is that you also listen to your gut. As I’ve said, you probably have a clue when you’re most productive without having to track your time. But, it’s still worth doing to see what exactly you’re doing and spending your time.

Knowing this, you can then use your “peak” hours more wisely. For me, I’m ready to tackle the day before 8 am. So, I block out from 8 am to 10 am for the most critical task of the day in my calendar. I then take a 30-minute break and get back to work until noon.

Since my energy may start dropping by then — my afternoons are spent on lower energy tasks like meetings. Then I have a snack later in the afternoon, take a break, get revived, and get going again for several hours.

I’ve also been able to create more “peak” hours in the day by taking care of my health — mainly getting enough REM sleep, eating a nutritious diet, and finding ways to relieve stress like meditating and exercising. The reason? All of these can impact your productivity.

Additionally, I also remove the unnecessary items from my calendar. The easiest way to do this is through delegation or dropping them entirely. It’s an effective way to ensure that you aren’t wasting your golden hours on things that aren’t important.

The Best Remote Work Setup To Keep You as Productive as Ever

By Jon Bradshaw | Knowledge Base | No Comments

Just a few months ago, remote work was a luxury. But for many of us, it’s now a necessity that’ll take some getting used to.

Not only do you have to adapt your workflow and make communication simpler for team members, but you also have to adjust your work environment to optimize productivity. That desk in a dark, dingey corner of your basement is far from an ideal workspace.

What does an ideal remote workspace look like? To get more out of your day, upgrade your desk with:

1. Your office favorites

When you’re at the office, you have access to all the tools you need for the job. Highlighters, legal pads, your favorite pens — whatever helps you work faster and more efficiently. At home, you may not.

Splurge a little next time you’re at the office supply store. If you really want that top-of-the-line desk organizer, get it. Throw those cute paper clips that cost too much in the cart, too. Those small joys are worth it.

Think, too, about your personal wellbeing. A water bottle at your desk keeps you hydrated. If you don’t have a coffee maker to keep you when the days get long, invest in one.

Other than that, be selective about what you keep at your desk. When you take a broad essential, it opens the floodgates for a stream of inessential things. Before you know it not only does your desk get cluttered but also your mind.

2. Lighting

You know how hard it is to work in a dim space. Adequate light reduces eye strain and fatigue.

Studies suggest access to natural light trumps a host of other office perks. It makes workers more energetic and can even improve mental health.

Keep lighting in mind as you perfect your home office setup. Instead of working in a space that is wholly reliant on artificial light, move your workspace to a room with a window.

If you don’t have that kind of natural light available, there are also lamps that simulate daylight. These are great for fighting seasonal affective disorder during times when you find yourself inside a lot. They are also useful if you need to work at night. Don’t let your circumstances keep you from getting the right amount of light.

3. Plants and greenery

Another way to foster a productive work environment is to surround yourself with plants. Like natural lighting, greenery brings the great outdoors inside.

Studies have shown that plants can give you a productivity boost of up to 15%. The reason is reduced stress levels: A little nature can help you move forward with ease and certainty. Caring for your plants can provide a sense of purpose.

Maybe now is the time to start the garden you’ve been wanting to grow in your home. If you don’t have a green thumb, you can always buy pre-grown plants. Either way, the added greenery will cheer you up whenever you look away from the screen.

4. Sounds

Home noises can be distracting, but not all sounds are bad for productivity. Boosting your productivity is as easy as tuning into the right ones.

Classical music can actually enhance brain function. It’s called the Mozart Effect, and it’s been known to help students perform better on tests and study better. The same kind of focus is great for powering through your more involved work tasks.

If you’re not a classical music fan, a great alternative is nature sounds. A relaxing waterfall or a chorus of birds make great background noise. And if you need a pick-me-up along the way, you take a break to listen to some of your favorite songs.

To enjoy your nature sounds or songs to their fullest, get some stereo speakers. Noise-cancelling headphones are an even better solution, but they can be pricey.

5. Art

You might assume that a focus-first workspace should be as bare as possible, but that’s not the case. Enriching your environment with art can actually increase your productivity.

What art you choose isn’t necessarily important. What matters is that your selections inspire you and make you think. You don’t need to be an expert in art history to appreciate something that’s aesthetically pleasing to you.

Experiment with different media. Choose some paintings for the walls. Add a small sculpture to your desk. Hang something with stained glass in your window.

6. Aromatherapy

Your home workspace should look, sound, and feel like your own — but it should also smell appealing. Aromatherapy is a great way to give your home office that finishing touch.

Smell is an underappreciated sense. An essential oil diffuser can give you a whiff of lavender when you’re stressed. Try mint or eucalyptus for an energy boost. If you’re feeling short on fresh air, why not go for a soft forest scent?

Whether you’re working remotely by choice or doing so by necessity, you can always improve your space. Experiment: If a stationary set doesn’t bring you joy, find one that does. Make it your own, and you’ll see the difference in your mood, output, and more.

The 10 Best Business Calendar Apps of 2020

By Amanda Abella | Time Management | No Comments

How to Optimize Your Appointments in 2021

No disrespect, but the days of hanging a calendar on the wall or placing one on your desk are probably over. You have a calendar with you 24/7 in your pocket thanks to your smartphone. It’s your smartphone and laptop where you can tap into the best business calendar apps. Now, we have the calendar apps of 2020 to keep us organized.

Unlike those old-school paper calendars, an online calendar allows you to access your calendar from multiple devices. Schedule meetings and appointments from anywhere, set-up reminders, create recurring events, block out time for specific events — all in your hand.

If there’s one catch, however, it’s that there are hundreds of online calendars and apps out there. So, which one should you rely-on? To be fair, the online calendar you’re using should already be pretty solid. Google Calendar, Microsoft Calendar, and Apple Calendar have been used by most people to organize and manage their lives successfully for some time. These may be already on your list of top calendar apps of 2020.

However, it seems like every day there’s some sort of new calendar tool launching. We decided to make your life easier and share with you the ten best calendar apps that are currently available. You can either switch over to a new calendar or use these apps to beef-up your existing online calendar.

Best Business Calendar Apps of 2020

We’ve put together a list of the ten best calendar apps of 2020:

Calendar for smart scheduling, calendar and productivity tool integration, meeting transcriptions, and analytics
Rooster for the ability to manage your calendar and to-do list simultaneously within one app
CloudCal for syncing with Google Calendar, Microsoft Exchange, Trello, Evernote, Eventbrite, and Meetup
Vantage Calendar for its clean interface and scrolling, visual calendar
Business Calendar 2 for its user-friendly dashboard and task organizer that syncs with Google Tasks
Plan for its potential to improve organization and integration with your email, JIRA, Zendesk, Salesforce, and Github
TimeTree for sharing your calendar, tasks, and schedule with others
Fantastical 2 for its Apple compatibility, sync capability, natural language processing for smart scheduling
aCalendar for its customization features and automatic data import from Google Calendar and Facebook.
Trevor for its AI power to create smart scheduling and sharing

1. Calendar

Launched in 2017, Calendar solved one of the biggest headaches surrounding scheduling — it eliminated those back-and-forth emails.

By using a smart scheduling link, you can now share your calendar availability with others. When someone sees an open date that works for them, they chose the date, and it’s automatically added to everyone’s calendar.

The free app can also harness the power of machine learning so that it can make smart meeting suggestions based on your previous calendar date.

With Calendar, you can also quickly create events using natural language and a glimpse at your schedule with an innovative map view. It’s timezone friendly, categorizes projects, and has the ability to send invitation follow-ups — Calendar is ideal for teams.

2. Rooster

This app helps you stay on top of everything because you can manage both your calendar and to-do-list in one app. What makes this app unique is that it comes with a single-view design. That means you can just glance at both at the same exact time. With the QuickCal Keyboard, you can add appointments in just a couple of taps.

Another handy feature is the ability to prioritize your tasks by pinning your most important tasks at the top. You can also receive a summary of your schedule, share your calendar with others, and it works with Apple, Google, and Outlook Calendars, making it one of the best calendar apps of 2020.

3. CloudCal

CloudCal is an Android app that has been around for several years. But, it’s one of the few calendars that can unite all of your calendars in one convenient location, making it one of the top calendar apps of 2020. It syncs with Google Calendar, Microsoft Exchange, Trello, Evernote, Eventbrite, and Meetup. This makes organizing and scheduling your calendar a breeze.

The coolest feature offered by CloudCal is the ‘Magic Circles’ feature. This transforms days of the month into clock faces. This way you can see the hours when you’re busy and free with just a glance.

The app also allows you to customize your day, week, and month views, color-code your calendars, receive reminders and invite contacts to meetings through email.

4. Vantage Calendar

This app is equipped with a clean interface that provides a scrolling, visual calendar. This gives you a birds-eye view of your schedule. If you need more details, you can tap on an event to see more information.

Next to your events is your to-do-list. You can simply drag them over a date to make them appear there. To separate the various areas of your life you create “books.”

Vantage also lets you color-code your calendar, assign due dates to your todos, and iCloud, Google, Exchange, Facebook. You can only download Vantage on iTunes.

5. Business Calendar 2

Business Calendar has been a popular Android app for some time now. And, it’s easy to understand why. The app is user-friendly and was designed specifically with professionals in mind. As such, the app lets you navigate easily between month, week, or day ¾views. The task organizer syncs with Google Tasks, you can add event details with your voice, invite attendees to events, and create notifications for recurring events.

While you can download the app for free, you may want to purchase the Pro version to access all more of the robust features to get the most out of this tool that makes our list of top calendar apps of 2020.

6. Plan

This is a newer app that has a ton of potential since it can be used to organize your life.

With Plan, you can sync all of your tools. This means that instead of bouncing between a variety of apps, you can access your tools. You can use a calendar, email, JIRA, Zendesk, Salesforce, and Github in one platform. Plan states that this can save you and your team around 15 hours per week.

Speaking of teams, with Plan you can use its dashboard to see who’s responsible for certain tasks and when they’re doing it in realtime.

This calendar is optimal for one or two users — and you can use Plan for free. Larger teams will have to opt for the $9/month plan.

7. TimeTree

If you’re looking for an app that allows you to share your calendar, schedule, and tasks with your family or co-workers then TimeTree is arguably your best option.

With TimeTree everyone can put their schedules onto one shared calendar. You can then add and edit events or tasks so that everyone in on the same page. There’s also a communications section where you can add comments and attachments.

Perhaps the coolest feature is that you can share your schedule with anyone — even if they haven’t downloaded the app.

TimeTree offers support for Google, Apple Calendar, and Outlook Calendars. It can be downloaded for free at both the App Store and Google Play. You can also download the app directly to your desktop.

8. Fantastical 2

Fantastical 2 has long been a favorite among Apple users as one of the best calendar apps of 2020. It’s packed with features like the ability to sync schedules with others, create events and reminders quickly with natural language and time zone support, and alerts.

The app can also let you know when it’s time to leave for a meeting. There’s also support for Google, iCloud, Facebook, CalDAV, Exchanged, and iPhone calendar.

A lot of users really dig the “Dayticker” feature because it allows you to quickly see which days have been booked out and what’s available. Another popular feature is the “Today Widget” which allows you to access your schedule without having to open the app.

You can give Fantastical 2 a spin for free for 21 days.

9. aCalendar

Here’s another one of the most popular calendar apps of 2020 made for Android users that’s free to download.

With aCalendar, you can customize the calendar by changing the view or colors as you see fit. It transitions smoothly between day, week, and month view. And, you can use it to assign tasks, invite people to events, and create recurring events.

aCalendar also automatically imports all your data from Google Calendar and Facebook.

10. Trevor AI

Finally, we have one of the many AI chatbots that have been given a human name.

Trevor is pretty much a personal assistant that connects your calendar with your phone’s task list. Doing so can help you manage your time more efficiently. How? Because Trevor can find available time slots for you to complete these tasks automatically.

For example, let’s say that you need to pick up groceries or office supplies. You can tell Trevor what you need to buy and after analyzing your calendar Trevor can text you suggested times that would be best for you to run this errand. When you find a time that you like, text Trevor back and the app will schedule this task into your calendar.

Currently, the Trevor app only integrates with iOS Reminders and Todoist. But, more app integrations are expected to arrive soon.

Download Best Calendar Apps of 2020

Even better is that many of these best calendar apps of 2020 are free or low-cost. With more people working remotely than ever before, it even makes sense to see which best calendar apps of 2020 have team tier pricing to ensure everyone has access to these productivity tools.

Top 15 Calendar Planning Tools That Will Help You Love Your Calendar

By John Rampton | Scheduling | No Comments

If you want to be more organized and productive than you absolutely need to be — use a calendar. But let’s be honest here. Calendars, while essential and useful — aren’t exactly the most fun. You just add an event to your calendar and that’s it.

How about some calendar planning tools?

Fortunately, you can use these 15 calendar planning tools to not only get organized and boost your productivity, but to also make you fall in love with your calendar.

1. Calendar

Let’s say you just made some high-profiles connections at a recent networking event. You want to follow-up with these individuals so you send them an email or text asking when they’re available to meet. Next thing you know you’ve exchanged several messages without finding an ideal time to meet-up.

Calendar eliminates those time-and-consuming back-and-forth emails for you.

A simple share.

Simply share your Google, Outlook, or iCloud calendar with others via an email or embedded link. After viewing your availability, they’ll pick a date and time that works for them. Once they’ve selected a meeting time the event is added to everyone’s calendar.

Machine learning.

Because this scheduling app uses machine learning it can also make smart suggestion on where, when, and what how your meetings can take place. In other words, this handy tool automates the scheduling process for you.

2. Plan

Most of us use several different tools throughout the day. As a result we spend a lot of time switching between applications. Even worse, we may make some innocent mistakes when planning our our calendars — like forgetting you agreed to meet with a colleague for lunch when you already committed to a meeting with a client.

Plan resolves this problem by syncing tools like your email, calendar, Salesforce, Zendesk, JIRA, and Github. Now you have a real-time dashboard to see who and when are handling specific tasks. This ultimately ensures that you and those in your life will never drop the ball on any task, meeting, or project again.

3. Fantastical 2

This is a robust and popular iOS app that provides a clear presentation of you events in either a daily, weekly, or monthly view. But that’s just the beginning. With Fantastical 2 you can set geofence or time reminders, time to leave notifications, and view the availability of your coworkers. If you need to add an event you can use natural language to do so with ease.

Today Widget

There’s also the handy “Today Widget” that allows you to easily view and manage your schedule on your desktop without having to open the app, your email, or any other tool that displays your schedule.

Fantastical 2 supports iCloud, Google, Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo, and any other CalDAV account.

4. DayViewer

This free online calendar comes with a daily, weekly, or monthly planner. You can also also add notes and create tasks and reminders. If you want to achieve goals you can record your days to see when you’re most productive and when you get distracted.

Assign and discuss tasks.

If working with others you can assign and discuss tasks so that there is no miscommunication when working on a project.

DayViewer is also working on an appointment booking system so that clients can book time with you without exchanging emails, texts, or phone calls.

5. Informant 5

Informant 5 is a powerful multipurpose calendar, tasks, and notes tool. You can create color-coded calendars and use emoticons in your calendar view. The popular 30 day view with “mini text,” uses Travel Assist to manage time zones, travel ETAs, and suggest locations when you create events.

Using natural language.

Additionally, Informat 5 lets you organize tasks into projects, create checklists, task modes like Simple, GTD, or Franklin Covey, and import reminders. You can even turn emails into tasks and use natural language to create tasks.

While there is a free version, you may want to opt for one of the subscription models to unlock the features you’ll really need.

6. Teamweek

Teamweek is a free online calendar planner that’s perfect for project managers, event planners, HR managers, and anyone who is working with a team. That’s because it’s a straightforward online calendar that lets you set deadlines, see who’s working on what in real time, check availability, and add notes.

You can also use Teamweek for scheduling appointments or meeting with clients by simply sharing a view only version of your calendar.

You can take this tool with you.

Besides the desktop version, you can take the tool with you on the go by either downloading the app on the App Store or Google Play.

7. Wunderlist

If you want to get your life more organized than give Wunderlist a spin. It’s a collaborative tool that makes coordinating with colleagues, family, and friends a cinch — since you just share todos, lists, and tasks with them.

Sharing and reminding.

You can also add reminders and set due dates for these items. If you do you and your collaborators will receive email, push, and in-app notifications.

Wunderlist also lets you track, complete, and share your goals with just the click of one-button. You can also assign tasks, add comments, and group related tasks in accessible calendar.

Available on most sites.

Wunderlist is available for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone, as well as OS X and Windows; and Google Chrome.

8. RescueTime

RescueTime is a time management app that you can use to make sure that your days are as productive as possible. That’s because the app records how and where you spend your time.

Analyzes time spent on activities.

By analyzing the time you spend on emails, your favorite websites, or with meetings you have an accurate picture of what you days look like. You can then make the appropriate changes.

Alarm.

For example, if you’re spending 2 hours per day on emails, you can set a goal to spend less than an hour daily on emails. The app will then send you an alarm if you’re spend more than an hour going through emails. It will also block distracting distractions websites so that you can stay focused.

Once you know how you spend your days and improve your productivity, you can create a calendar that encourage you to be more productive and efficient.

9. ZenDay

This award-winning time management app, which is available on Google Play and the App Store, takes a timeline-style approach to managing your schedule. This is accomplished by a fluid 3D timeline where you can view all of your upcoming reminders, deadlines, tasks, and events in your calendar that are based on priority.

Syncs well.

ZenDay allows you to quickly add events, meeting, or reminders directly in the app or just allow it to sync with your existing calendar. You can then set deadlines and start dates.

One of the more unique features is the debrief mode which allows you to view how well you’ve kept up with your schedule in the previous weeks.

10. Day by Day Organizer

If you use Google Calendar and have an Android device then you can use this tool to plan your schedule and maintain to-do lists, as well view them in different formats across all your devices. So instead of bouncing between several applications you can view all of your events, appointments, and tasks from this app. Because it syncs with Google Calendar and Google information is shared automatically.

Voice will send to different sites.

For example, if you just made a doctor’s appointment, you speak into your phone or desktop and add the event in the Day by Day Organizer. The app will then add your doctor’s appointment to your Google Calendar.

One of the coolest features, however, is that if you don’t check-off a task it will automatically be moved to the following day.

11. TimeTune

This nifty app can be used as a calendar, timetable or daily planner, daily task reminder, time manager, routine schedule organizer, or productivity management tool.

Custom notification and tags.

You can then create custom notifications, such as by sound, popup, or vibration. You can also generate custom tags to easily identify activities and color-code your calendar so you can quickly glance at day, week, or month.

You can even create routines and schedules for others, like your family or employees, so that they can also stay organized and productive.

12. Any.do

Want to keep your life organized? There may be no better tool to accomplish this then Any.do. It’s an intuitive and straightforward planner where you keep all of your tasks, todos, lists, and reminder in one location.

Award winning app.

The calendar feature lets you manage and view your day, week, or month. And, this award-winning app also comes with the Any.do assistant that will handle all of your recurring tasks for your.

Any.do works seamlessly with Google Calendar, iCal, and Exchange Calendar. It also syns quickly across Android, iOS, web, and desktop. It even works with Alexa so that you can verbally add reminders or events or hear what you have planned for a specific day. It’s also been seen as a top calendar app as well.

13. HabitBull

Are you looking for a tool to help you break a bad habit or build some positive ones? If so, then HabitBull is just what you nee.

HabitBull is a smart tracker available for both iOS and Android based on Jerry Seinfeld’s “don’t break the chain” productivity hack. This allows you to mark off the successful days that you completed a goal, such doing 20 push-up or reading for 15-minutes a day.

Give yourself a star with goals completed.

Each habit comes with its own calendar. And there’s also reminders and graphs to help you stay on-track.

Additionally, there are discussion forums so that you can connect with other trackers and motivational quotes to help keep you focused and inspired.

14. Basecamp

Basecamp is one of the most popular project management tools on the market. And for good reason. The app’s dashboard display your team’s discussions, to-do lists, and events in one convenient location. This way everyone can stay on the same page throughout the course of a project.

View and track progress.

With Basecamp you can also view and track your team’s progress without nagging them for status updates. This way you know exactly what everyone is working-on today, tomorrow, and next so that you can plan accordingly.

You can also embed images into messages, comment directly on lists and tasks, attach code samples, and forward emails into Basecamp. Again, this keeps everyone in the loop, while also freeing up your calendar from sending these messages individually or switching between multiple communication tools.

15. Canva

Canva is an amazing tool that allows you to design anything. This includes logos, cards, brochures, newsletters, and infographics. You can also use Canva to create your own personalized calendar or personal daily, weekly, or monthly planner.

Lets you start from scratch.

Instead of using a generic template Canva lets you start from scratch. This means you can use whatever images, fonts, background, and colors you like. You can further customize your pages by breaking your days into hourly blocks or making sure that there’s plenty of space to jot down todos, lists, and notes.

After you’ve created your own calendar or planner you can share it as a PDF file, via email, or on social channels like Facebook or Twitter.

4 Unexpected Ways Crises Can Hurt Your Productivity

By Jon Bradshaw | Time Management | No Comments

While the crisis created by COVID-19 has revealed a lot of weaknesses in our social systems and institutions, it’s also an opportunity for growth. And the same thing can be said about our productivity habits.

You might already be experiencing the difficulties of working from home. Maybe you have to homeschool your kids amid school closings. Perhaps your pets are distracting you from accomplishing tasks. Chances are, you’re worried about possibly contracting the virus.

Those challenges are, unfortunately, par for the course. You probably have a plan for each of them, such as online tutoring and social distancing.

To truly protect your productivity, you have to go a step further: You must expect the unexpected. These are some of the productivity drains you might be having trouble pinning down:

1. Losing Track of Time

Do you ever pause to remind yourself what day it is? Can you feel the weeks bleeding together?

In a crisis situation, it’s easy to lose track of time. If you’re not going to the office, Mondays may no longer feel like the beginning of the workweek. The days may seem to fly by, and weekends might start to lose their significance.

This disorienting experience drains productivity because the concept of time is essential to our ability to work in an orderly manner. You can’t efficiently tackle your tasks if you have no idea how long they’re taking you.

It’s important to adapt your schedule to the situation. Although it’s a good idea to maintain some of your same rhythms from before the crisis, like getting dressed and grooming, you must also account for new needs. Key ones include:

Commute time

If you aren’t headed to work, try taking a walk or meditating during that time. Slowing down can help you feel more prepared for the day.

Exercise time

With gyms closed, you’re probably working out at home. Use it to break up times that seem to slip away from you, such as your workday.

Bedtime

When you’re experiencing stress, you may need more sleep. Listen to your body.

It’s also a good idea to use cues to help you track your time:

Keep a physical calendar in your workspace where you can mark the days as they go by.
If wearing a watch gives you a psychological sense of time management, use that to your advantage.

Set timers when you worry that you’ll take too much time on a task. When it goes off, move on.

2. Managing Food Distractions

Yes, food can definitely be a distraction in times of crisis. You might be tempted to stress eat: There’s something about being home all the time that makes you more snacky than usual.

At the office, food is usually less of a distraction because there are more limits on what, when, and where you can eat. If not explicit, these limits are at least implied: You know crunching chips distracts your deskmate, for example, so you wait until lunch time.

At home, you have more freedom as well as more choices. And if you choose the wrong foods — as people often do when they’re stressed — your health will deteriorate and you’ll feel lethargic.

Limit your snack options at home. Keep healthy ones on hand, and avoid buying things that are high in sugar or fat. You’ll feel better and work more efficiently.

3. Getting Cabin Fever

You’ve probably heard of term cabin fever but have never experienced it at the level you are now. This feeling of being isolated from the world can make you feel restless, irritable, depressed, and exhausted. Not only does this make you less productive, but it also makes you unpleasant in ways that can affect your interactions during a virtual meeting.

When working from home, it can be difficult to realize where these negative feelings come from. It’s important to remind yourself that the outside world is still accessible.

Combat cabin fever by reminding yourself of the broader world. Ways to do it while obeying social distancing guidelines include:

Going for a walk
Calling a friend
Doing yoga outdoors
Taking a drive
Doing yard work

4. Doing the Chores

When you’re stuck at home, you may become acutely aware of the conditions of your living space. It might feel like everything is disorganized all the time, including right after you picked up. This has the potential to make you anxious.

You may react by becoming hyper-focused on chores, or you might be tempted to give up entirely. Be proactive and get things done, but don’t let chores swallow all your time. Remind yourself what actually matters: your relationships and your wellbeing,

When you think through the unexpected things that can diminish your productivity, these things become expected. Expecting challenges is the only way to combat them. And when the next unexpected thing comes your way, remember: You’re smart and strong enough to work your way through it.

Data Visualization is the Key to Team Productivity

By John Rampton | Business Tips | No Comments

What is data visualization? That’s an excellent question since it plays a vital role in analytics — you know, which are two vitally important topics in today’s high-tech world. Anyway, data visualization as easily defined by the SAS Insitute as “the presentation of data in a pictorial or graphical format.”

SAS adds that this “enables decision-makers to see analytics presented visually, so they can grasp difficult concepts or identify new patterns.” That means using interactive visualization to “take the concept a step further by using technology to drill down into charts and graphs for more detail, interactively changing what data you see and how it’s processed.” Or, to put it more straightforward, data visualization is one of the steps you need to take in data analysis and science.

What’s interesting about data visualization, though, is that it’s not a not concept. It’s been used for centuries in the form of maps in the 17th century and the introduction of the pie chart in the early 1800s. However, one of the most well-known examples is the statistical graphics that Charles Minard mapped during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. The map, as SAS explains, “depicted the size of the army as well as the path of Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow — and tied that information to temperature and time scales for a more in-depth understanding of the event.”

Data visualization today.

But, data visualization came into its own as technology advanced. Since computers are now able “to process large amounts of data at lightning-fast speeds,” we need a way to digest this information efficiently. By breaking down this data, we’re then able to identify problems and develop solutions. It can also be used to drive innovation, spot emerging trends, and uncover new insights — just to name a few.

While these benefits are incredible, did you also know that data visualization can be the key to team productivity as well?

Visual learning is more efficient.

Humans are visual creatures. Sure, some of us may be auditory or kinesthetic learners. But, a majority of us learn best visually. The reason? We’re just better able to respond to and process visual data than any other type of data.

It’s been found that the human brain can process images 60,000 times faster than text. Also, 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual. Even more impressive, MIT neuroscientists have reported that the brain can identify images seen in just 13 milliseconds.

It’s also been found that when using visuals, the average worker can increase both retention and comprehension by 50 percent. Moreover, visuals can break down language barriers and motivate others.

Focuses on what’s important.

Let’s say that your organization uses a visual aid like a dashboard. For those unfamiliar, Stephen Few defines this as “a visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives; consolidated and arranged on a single screen so the information can be monitored at a glance.”

A dashboard, adds G2’s Laura Nunneley, “makes your team’s most important data visible, understandable, and actionable so that they can measure and improve their performance.” Having this at their fingerprints can improve their performance in several ways.

At the forefront, this makes their critical data accessible, and this shows where they’re making the most impact. As a result, this keeps them motivated and inspired to take action. But, most importantly, it keeps your entire team on the same page by reminding them what’s most important.

“When your team is taking care of day-to-day tasks, they can get distracted and lose sight of what’s important,” writes Laura. “A dashboard avoids this by making any KPIs (key performance indicators) or meaningful and important objectives visible for your team.” In turn, this will encourage them to “focus on work that will make a difference. And, “when priorities change, a dashboard makes new objectives clear to keep your team on course.”

Data helps make faster and better decisions.

It’s been estimated that the average person makes an astounding 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day. So if you’re indecisive or hung up on decisions, then you need all the help that you can get so that you can proceed. And, this is most true when others can’t move forward until you’ve made a decision.

For example, before implementing a marketing campaign, you have to OK it before it’s launched. The longer you wait to make the decision, the longer your marketing team is just sitting there waiting.

How can data help in this area? Well, when you’re presented with data visually, you can spot any patterns or trends more easily and quickly –or even those that you may have never noticed. With this information at hand, you can make more informed decisions promptly.

Advances AI and machine learning.

Big data. Artificial intelligence. Machine learning. I’m sure you’ve heard all about these buzzwords. While each is unique, they’re also closely interconnected. For instance, you need to collect and analyze specific datasets for machine learning algorithms to make predictions and automate particular actions. Case in point, machine learning could learn you and your team’s schedule to make smart suggestions on how everyone should spend their time.

Of course, that’s just one example. Machine learning and AI can be used virtually everywhere, ranging from providing customer service to creating content for managing shipping logistics. In turn, this frees up your team’s time so that they can devote their time and energy on the most critical matters.

If this isn’t your wheelhouse, then that’s where data visualization comes in. It puts the data in context so that it can be applied to automating decisions.

Enhances communication and collaboration.

Finally, and most importantly, data visualization enhances both communication and collaboration. That’s because, through visuals, you can quickly and more effectively communicate your story to others. Furthermore, visuals give you and your team access to everyone’s strengths and skills. That means you can assign the right tasks to the right individuals and fill in the gaps when you need to.

Getting the most out data visualization.

Here’s one final advantage to data visualization; it can be accessed and shared from anywhere. That makes it an indispensable tool for both your in-house and remote teams. The caveat? You need to make sure that you’re using it properly. And, here are some ways to make that’s possible.

SAS suggests that before doing anything with data visualization, you should take the following steps:

Understand the data you’re trying to visualize, such as the size and uniqueness.
Determine the data you want to visualize and what needs to be communicated.
Know your audience and their learning preferences.
Use visuals that present the information as briefly and simply as possible.

Also, keep in mind that there are different diagrams for various situations that write Nishadha Silva over at Business 2 Community. Examples include:

Mind maps for brainstorming. They’re able to “stimulate creative thinking and work both the left brain and the right brain.”
Flowcharts to visualize processes and flows.
Gantt charts can be used when updating the status of a project.
Organizational charts “provide a visual hierarchy of your organization.” You can use this to clarify the various roles and responsibilities within your organization.
Fishbone diagrams, also known as cause and effect. These are perfect when you need “to find defects or inefficiencies in a process.”

What is the Best Desk Setup for Productivity?

By John Rampton | Time Management | No Comments

Your work environment plays a massive role in your productivity. Try to get stuff done when you’re hunched over your coffee table, or slouched on the couch with your family screaming in the background. It just doesn’t work. But what is the best desk setup for your productivity?

If you could only afford one item for your office — that one item needs to be your desk. Your desk will make a difference in productivity. That’s not saying the occasional make-shift desk, like your kitchen table or coffee shop couch, doesn’t have its place. It’s just that you need a proper place to work day-in and out.

What’s more, besides having a desk, you also need to set it up properly so that it’s inspiring and motivating.

If that’s something that interests you, then check out this handy guide on what the best desk set up for productivity. Here, I’ll cover what the best standing desks are, how to set your desk up, and the only things that should be placed on top.

The 10 Best Standing Desks

Before you set up your desk for maximum productivity, you first actually need, well, a desk. But, what type of desk?

Well, nothing against your current desk, but my money is on one that allows you to sit and stand. A desk that you can use both sitting and standing is not as large and bulky as other office furnishings. That means more office space and less clutter on top. More importantly, being able to stand-up throughout the day is beneficial to your health, such as reducing obesity and heart disease.

Research also shows that standing desks can reduce back pain, improve your mood, and boost energy levels. As a result, you’ll be more productive and efficient.

With that in mind, if you’re considering investing in a new desk, here are ten of the best sit-stand options on the market.

1. UPLIFT V2 Standing Desk

Forbes, Lifehacker, and Wirecutter have all named this desk as the best standing desk. And, there’s a good reason why. It can be fully customized to meet your specific needs.

For starters, there’s a wide range of desktop size options from 42″ x 30″ to 80″ x 30.” You can also choose from a variety of materials and styles like bamboo, laminate, whiteboard, eco curve. You even have many shapes, such as L-Shaped, Curved Corner, and 120 Degree, to pick from.

As with many other standing desks, there’s a control module that allows you to select your preferred height. In other words, when it’s time to adjust from a sitting position to a standing one who just hit a button and adapt to the taller height.

There are also a lot of nifty add-ons for this sturdy desk, such as a power strip, cup holder, and under-desk hammock. Best of all? Pricing starts at just $539.

2. Jarvis Whiteboard Standing Desk

There’s not too much difference between a Jarvis desk and UPLIFT. They have a similar appearance, come in a variety of styles and shapes, and adjust heights. Even the price point is the same as the Jarvis desk, starting at $529. However, the desktop is a little thinner than that of UPLIFTs.

But, unlike other options, Jarvis has a model where you can scribble ideas and thoughts directly onto the desktop. The whiteboard tops are Greenguard-certified, scratch-resistant, and made from recycled materials. Plus, they’re easy to clean and keep your desk free from clutter — like pens and notepads, that may be distracting to you.

3. Lander Desk

At first, you may think that the Lander Desk is your run-of-the-mill standing desktop. And, you would be correct with that assumption. After all, it looks like every other standing desk has similar specs, and comes in a variety of colors.

What separates the Lander Desk from its competitors, however, are its revolutionary features. For example, there’s the hi-resolution LCD control paddle. That means you can easily adjust the height by just tapping twice up or down. There’s also a built-in coach that reminds you to stand at intervals. And, you can even adjust the height using your smartphone via the desk’s app.

The Lander Desk is capable of lifting to 360 pounds, has an exclusive 3D-laminated surface, and features an ergonomic “comfort edge.” If you like, you can also add-on a monitor arm, keyboard tray, or storage drawers. Pricing starts at $1,049.

4. Apex Elite Series

Sure. Compared to other standing desks, there may not be as many options for customization with the Apex Elite Series. But, that doesn’t mean it should be excluded from this list. The reason? It comes with a contoured desktop making it both spacious and stylish design.

But that’s just the beginning. The desk adjusts quickly at 1. 5″ per second. Furthermore, thanks to the customizable preset, you can easily switch to your desired setting with sitting or standing height as the day goes on. Also, you can purchase add-ons like a cable management tray and a three-drawer file cabinet. The price is affordable, starting at $649.99.

5. StandDesk® Natural Wood Adjustable-Height Standing Desk

Durable steel frame? Check. A fast and quiet motor that quickly adjusts from 24.5″ up to 50.25″? Yep.

So, what makes this standing desk so unique? It’s all about the durable top with a natural wood finish. Besides brightening up your workspace, these tops are handcrafted and have been selected from natural eco-sustainable wood pieces and free of toxic compounds or chemical air pollutants. That’s great for the environment and the air quality of your office.

As with other options, there are several upgrades available such as a power strip and cable management tray. Pricing starts at just $784.85.

6. Ergotron WorkFit-T

Do you love your current non-standing desk? No problem. Just purchase a convertor like the Ergotron WorkFit-T and place it on top of your existing desk. Now when you want to stand, you just hit a button, and you have handy a standing desk without spending a fortune.

Most of the models can hold around 40 pounds and have enough space for a monitor and keyboard. If you want a smaller desk that doesn’t require as much space — there are compact converters available.

Depending on the exact desk model, you can purchase a sit-stand station from Ergoton for just $199.

7. Seville Classics Airlift Tempered Glass Electric Standing Desk

Looking for a clean, simple, and affordable electric standing desk? Look no further than this beauty from Seville Classics.

It features a tempered glass top, that’s neon-dry erase ready, with rounded edges. That means you can jot down notes mark off your calendar directly from your desktop. The dual motors rapidly and quietly lift the desk from 29 inches to 47 inches high with the press of a button. There’s also dual USB charging ports for simultaneously charging your devices. Best of all? This desk starts at just $399.

8. Varidesk Pro 60 Full Electric Standing Desk

If you want more of a high-end or large workspace, then this is the desk for you. It’s 60 by 30 inches, can rise from 25.5 to 50.5 inches, and contains a stability crossbar. As for the desktop, it’s a durable laminate with chamfered edges in a variety of finishes, such as the stunning reclaimed wood finish.

The desk also comes with a cable management tray at no additional cost and can be assembled in a matter of minutes. Pricing starts at $795.

9. Autonomous SmartDesk 2

If you’re on a budget, then the Autonomous SmartDesk 2 should definitely be on your radar. The home office model is reasonably priced at $399, while the business edition costs $479. Not too shabby considering that both have the familiar frame and ergonomic designs that other more expensive desks also have. Some of the people who have the SmartDesk also claim that it’s quieter and more durable than it’s competitors and is incredibly fast to assemble.

The biggest drawback though, is that there aren’t as many options when it comes to the size and color.

10. FlexiSpot ClassicRiser Standing Desk Converter

Here’s another converter if you want to give your existing desk a sit-stand experience. The catch is that it doesn’t have an electronic control panel. Instead, you have to squeeze to lift the desk, which should accommodate users up to 6’1″ — other models can accommodate users up to 6’5″ tall.

The ClassicRiser also features an extra-wide keyboard tray and space-saving vertical adjustments. And you can’t beat the price at $249.99.

Getting the most out of your standing desk.

While there’s no denying that standing desks are fantastic in several ways, they look sleek and make you more productive; there are some caveats to be aware of.

For starters, standing too much can cause health problems. “Standing idly can cause problems, mostly vascular,” Dr. Andrew Elkwood, MD, founder and director of the Center for Treatment of Paralysis and Reconstructive Nerve Surgery at Jersey Shore Medical Center, told NBC News. “Standing all day puts a lot of pressure on your legs, which can cause swelling, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids.”

The solution? Alternate between sitting and standing about every hour.

At the same time, if you’ve just gotten a standing desk, then you probably can’t stand for an hour anyway. You have to build some strength up. You can achieve more exceptional core strength by standing in 10-15 minute increments.

“Using a standing desk does take some getting used to,” says Jonathan Webb, VP of Workplace Strategy at KI. “We get so used to sitting in a sedentary position all day, so we forget that we have this sit/stand desk to use. I encourage users to set alarms on their phones or on their computers to remind themselves to stand up — and sit back down. You can set the times whenever you want a change. After a while, switching will become second nature to sit and stand throughout the day.”

How else can you get the most out of your standing desk? Experts suggest that you do the following:

Work in yoga moves for your neck, shoulders, back, and legs.
Practice good posture.
Take frequent breaks from typing.
Position the keyboard and mouse at belly button height to create a bend in the arm that is 80-85 degrees.
Use a standing desk mat and accessories like ergonomic chairs and keyboards.
Wear shoes with firm insoles and arch support.

10 Amazing Desk Setup Tips for Increasing Productivity

Now that you’ve invested in a standing desk, it’s time to set it up for maximum productivity. I mean, you didn’t think that you would just assemble your desk and dive right back into work, did you? I wish it were that easy. But, if you prevent getting distracted and overwhelmed, then you can’t afford to skip this part.

1. Dream up your ideal workspace.

First things first, set aside a couple of minutes and think about your dream workspace. Sure. You may not fulfill every detail. But, this gives you an idea of how you want your desk and workspace to look and feel. The reason? It will keep you energized and inspired — that’s a big deal considering Americans spend 8.44 hours per day at their workplace.

For example, let’s say that the great outdoors gets those creative juices flowing and keeps you invigorated. Well, your ideal workspace should tap into that by having a wood-finished desk. You could also surround yourself with plants and place your desk close to a window. Extra points for using a tool like Nosli or Calmsound that plays nature sounds in the background.

2. Location is matters.

Speaking of location, you should place your desk near a window — regardless if you’re into nature or not.

“Lighting can affect everything from workplace safety to productivity to mental health,” says Deanna Ritchie writes in a previous Calendar article. “More specifically, natural light is essential for circadian rhythms and can boost happiness and Vitamin D intake.”

“If you haven’t been able to install more windows in your workplace, you can use mirrors or reflective furniture,” suggests Denna. “But, find a way to amplify the natural light you do have. Or, you can purchase full-spectrum lightbulbs that can mimic the appearance of natural light.”

An additional consideration on the location of your desk would face away from visual distractions, like a door or entrance. You may be tempted to see who is walking past or entering your office than keeping your focus on your work. Also, if you work best in silence, then you should find a quiet place instead of placing it in the center of an open -office design.

3. Set your desk up ergonomically.

“Another critical consideration is your workspace’s ergonomics–how efficiently and safely you can work at your desk and with your computer,” writes Melanie Pinola over at Zapier. “It’s about setting up your environment to keep you healthy and avoid problems such as repetitive strain injury (RSI), back pain, or even fatigue.”

You can do this by making sure that your desk is the right height. “Your desk should ideally let you type on a keyboard with your arms and hands roughly parallel to the floor. Your feet should be flat on the floor, and your legs should fit comfortably under the desk when sitting. You’ll want to be able to comfortably cross your legs under the surface,” writes Pinola.

Or, you could visit Ergotron’s Workspace Planner. When there, just enter your height, and it will determine the best desk measurements for you.

On top of the height of your desk, you can also think more ergonomically by:

Keeping “your monitor or laptop screen between 20 and 40 inches in front of you.” Pinola also recommends that “the top line of the screen is at or below your eye level.”
Placing your keyboard and mouse “close enough to your body so you can hold your elbows comfortably by your sides, preventing strain on your shoulders.” You may also want to try out a keyboard tray or stand “that positions the keyboard pointing downwards.”
Purchasing an ergonomic chair so that you can sit after working in long sessions. Look for a chair that provides lumbar support, can recline, and can be adjusted so that it’s the proper height.

4. Feng Shui your desk.

“The better the energy in your office and at your desk, the better the quality of your energy,” writes Rodika Tchi for The Spruce. “Good feng shui is not just about things looking good. A room may be visually appealing and well-designed, but lack elements that are essential for good feng shui.”

Most standing desks use materials like wood, glass, metal, or laminates that activate feng shui. The same is true with the colors and shapes available for most sanding desks — mainly the standard rectangular desktop and various colors that represent a specific feng shui element.

We’ve also covered the placement of your desk. If you need a reminder, though, the least beneficial arrangements would be facing the wall, back to the door, and in line with an entrance. You may also want not to face a window as well.

But, here’s an essential part — feng shui your desk’s surface.

“A constantly cluttered desk is terrible feng shui. Of course, it all depends on your definition of clutter!” adds Tchi. “If you are working intensely on a project that is due soon, then it is certainly okay to have your desk busy for a while.”

“For a while does not mean forever, though,” she explains. “Once the project is done, the desk has to be cleared. Having old, unnecessary items occupying your space is bad feng shui.”

If you can, you should clean your desk at the end of each day. But, that’s not an option, then you should block out time on Friday afternoon to do this.

Tchi also writes, “that when it comes to a good feng shui desk, less is ideal.” Or, in other words, “place only the very minimum on your desk surface.”

Finally, you should learn more “about the powerful Bagua, also called the feng shui energy map.” That may sound complicated, but it just means you’re dedicating various spaces to create good feng shui. For instance:

Upper Left: Wealth and Money area
Upper Right: Love and Marriage area
Mid Left: Health and Family area
Mid Right: Creativity area

5. Keep your values to the forefront.

“Something I’ve always found helpful and have suggested to plenty of clients throughout my years is to put a reminder of your values front and center. Whether that’s with a Post-it Note, a printout, or a computer screen background,” says life and career coach Kelly Poulson. “That way, when you’re feeling overwhelmed and need to decide what to tackle next, you can use those values to help you decide what to do.”

“For instance, if you value flexibility and haven’t had much lately, it might be time to reprioritize a bit, so you remember to honor what matters to you. It’s effortless to get swept up in work and spend time on less important things,” explains Poulson.

6. Put everything in P-L-A-C-E.

Need a simple and effective way to de-clutter and keep your desk organized? I recommend trying out the P-L-A-C-E approach from the book “Organizing for Dummies,” which goes as:

Purge. Get rid of what’s unnecessary, like pens that are out of ink.
Like with like. Create centers for similar items.
Access. Make sure that everything you need can be easily accessed — even if it’s in a drawer underneath your desk.
Contain. Don’t just let stuff overrun your desktop. Use drawers and containers when needed.
Evaluate. Does this system work for you? If not, make adjustments until it does.

7. Make sure that your desk is habit-friendly.

“Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior,” writes James Clear. “We tend to believe our habits are a product of our motivation, talent, and effort.” And, while these qualities do matter, “your personal characteristics tend to get overpowered by your environment” over time.

So, how can you design an environment that promotes success? James suggests trying out the three following strategies:

Automate good decisions. “Whenever possible, design an environment that makes good decisions for you,” writes James. One example would be “using software to block social media sites can help overcome procrastination by putting your willpower on autopilot.”
Get in the flow. As James explains, this is “where good habits ‘get in the flow’ of your healthy behaviors.” If you wanted to get more exercise, then you could keep a gym bag next to your desk or invest in equipment like stretch bands, free weights, yoga mats, or a balance ball chair.
Subtract negative influences. Here’s an example. Instead of surrounding yourself with junk food, have healthy and brain-boosting snacks within eye level.

8. Set up a workflow for your desk.

“In his book How to Set Up Your Desk, Matt Perman offers a simple system: Move through projects on your desk from left to right. Keep the right side of your desk free and store the majority of your supplies and incoming papers on the left,” writes Pinola. “As you start to deal with paperwork or other items that need your attention, move them to the right and then finally off your desk at the end of the day (or back to the left to resume working on in the morning).”

Even cooler? You can also use this concept when working on your computer. “If you work with multiple windows or monitors, keep your ‘inbox’–email app, Twitter app, Slack app, tabs of articles you need to reference, etc. on the left,” explains Pinola. “Keep the apps and tabs you’re directly working on in the right half of your monitor. Move things left to right to organize your projects visually. It’s like Kanban boards, but with paper on your desk or tabs in your browser.”

Just remember to use this setup at both work and home “to minimize friction switching from one environment to the other.”

9. Schedule breaks.

Yeah. You have a million things to get done. But, that’s just not possible from frequently stepping away from your desk — even if it’s your ideal setup. Mainly, this is for your health and well-being, like preventing eye strain and reducing stress. However, getting up from your desk can also make you more productive by:

Improving your focus.
Helping you solve problems.
Encourages creativity.
Prevents burn out.

Having a desk that allows you to adjust from standing to sitting can help. But, don’t be afraid to get up and move around the office or take a walk outside. Ideally, you should take a 17-minute break after working for around 52-minutes.

10. Be playful.

“The opposite of play is not work. It’s depression,” says researcher Brian Sutton-Smith. So, why not have a little fun with your workspace by incorporating a little fun or the things that you love into it?

For example, you could swap out an office chair for an exercise ball or have Legos nearby to fiddle when thinking. You could also surround yourself with knickknacks from home or items that put you in a better mood, like inspiring quotes or drawings that your children made. Just remember not to overdo it and limit these personal items to no more than five.

The Only 10 Things That You Should Have on Your Desk — If You Want to Be Productive

As already mentioned, you need to keep your desktop clean and clutter-free. It’s not just wise, hygienically; it also prevents your mind from getting distracted. Think about it. If there is a pile of papers on the top of your desk — your mind will wonder what’s in that stack.

But don’t take my word on this. A study published in The Harvard Business Review found that a messy desk can negatively affect productivity and performance at work. That means if you have unnecessary or sensitive documents on your desk, they should be trashed or filed. Moreover, you should avoid eating at your desk — it’s just gross and discourages you from taking a much-needed breather.

Additionally, you should have a drawer in proximity to your desk. Having this will let you store your phone, grooming items, or office supplies. Besides being a distraction, these are things that don’t need to be displayed.

1. Calendar, planner, or notebook.

Like most of you, I rely on an online calendar. For me — it’s Calendar.com. It works exceptionally well. I also keep a notebook on the top of my desk so that I can quickly jot down thoughts, ideas, or notes, and even a to-do-list. One of the essential productivity hacks is to stay on top of your schedule and calendar your days.

2. Ergonomic keyboard.

Ergonomic keyboards are a must — if you want to reduce strain. That’s because they’re designed to keep your hands, wrists, and arms a comfortable and natural position. Check out affordable options like the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard to the pricier KINESIS Freestyle Edge.

And, while you’re at it, don’t forget to purchase a computer mouse. Logitech’s MX Vertical and Anker 2.4G Wireless Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse are both solid choices.

3. Desktop or laptop stand.

If you’ve got a keyboard and mouse on your desktop, then you’ve probably got a computer or laptop accompanying them. To prevent damaging your neck, shoulders, and back, you should look into an ergonomic stand. Some of the best options are the AmazonBasics Ventilated Adjustable Laptop Computer Holder Desk Stand, AVLT-Power Laptop Riser Stand, or ENHAO Monitor Stand Riser.

4. Desktop organizer.

The easiest way to avoid desktop clutter? Get yourself an organizer so that you can keep your desktop nice and clean. It also helps you give everything a “home” so that you can quickly locate a pen, marker, or document when you need it.

Best of all? There are a wide variety of organizers out there that can fit your needs and taste. So, just make a quick search inquiry and find one that you like.

5. Clock or timer.

Some people don’t like having a clock on their desks. And, that makes sense. Instead of working, you may be tempted to keep checking what time it is.

On the flip side, having a clock lets you keep track of your time in a good so that you can take frequent breaks. Even better, invest in a kitchen timer or a gadget like the TimeCube that helps you implement strategies like the Pomodoro Technique.

6. Headphones.

Whether you need a Spotify playlist to get you in the zone or just need to block-out background, it wouldn’t hurt to keep a pair of headphones on your desktop. If you’re looking for some suggestions, Rolling Stone has a list of options that cost under $100. You may also want to get a headphone stand.

7. Desk lamp.

Want to avoid eye strain? Then you need to have a desk lamp — it also helps you avoid mistakes since you can see exactly what you’re reading or typing. Ideally, you should purchase a LED desk lamp that matches your aesthetic and fits on your desk.

If you have the extra cash, I’m all about the Dyson Lighcycle series. Not only do they look cool and sleek, but they also stimulate natural daylight and can be linked to your phone.

8. Water bottle.

Is this the sexiest entry on this list? Of course not. But, drinking plenty of water isn’t just beneficial to your health. It can also boost your productivity. One study found that drinking water increases productivity by 14 percent since it reduces anxiety, improves your mood, and keeps you energized.

9. Plants.

Always remember the plants. Plants can make you more productive, improve your mood, and even remove pollutants from the air. They’re also affordable and come in sizes that are small enough to fit onto your desk. If you’re someone who will let a plant dry up and die — even fake plants will lift your spirits and help with the aesthetics in your office. Examples of great desk plants include the ZZ plant, snake plant, Dracaenas, Aglos, Peace lilies, and Philodendrons.

10. Things that make you happy.

You don’t want to go overboard with any one thing. But, there’s nothing wrong with surrounding yourself with things that make you happy. Pictures of loved ones, inspiring quotes, art, and knickknacks can all have a place on your desktop. Just keep these items neat, tidy, and organized.

5 Small Habits That Can Make or Break Your Productivity

By Jon Bradshaw | Time Management | No Comments

If you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, it can feel like your whole day got turned upside down. Why? Because your first 90 minutes set the stage for the rest of your day.

Pivotal habits, such as eating breakfast and journaling, can significantly change the trajectory of your productivity. They give you a better outlook on the day and clarify your work intentions.

What small hacks can keep you motivated and productive throughout the day? These five are key:

Defining your ‘why’

Get used to it: You won’t enjoy every task you have to do in a day. Nobody gets inspired by things like taking out the trash or sorting through emails.

That’s why you need to establish your “why.” It’s never a smart idea to rely on willpower alone to get you through menial work.

Simon Sinek, author of “Start With Why,” suggests treating your “why” as your root. Yours might be different than someone else’s, and that’s OK. What’s important is that your goals and your tasks logically grow out of it.

Ask yourself: What do you ultimately want out of your productivity? To enjoy leisure time? To live out your potential?

Make your goal something greater than paying the bills. For example, you could think of it as: “providing a secure life for my family and children.” When you have a clear direction for what you’re doing, it’s easier to get through rough times.

Mapping out your week on Sunday

If you want to be more productive, you have to plan your week out on Sunday.

There are probably a million things you would rather do on Sunday, but you only have to spend 30 minutes to plan out the rest of your week. Then you can go to the beach or catch up on your favorite television show.

Here’s how you can map out your week on Sunday:

Write everything down that needs to get done.
Separate main priorities from what can wait.
Add main priorities to your calendar. Stick to three or fewer per day.
Add sub-priorities to your main priorities. If you want to landscape your yard, for example, you may need to make a trip to the hardware store.
For to-do items that can wait, schedule them during leftover availability.

Now you have a weekly schedule. Review it and make sure it truly reflects what you have to get done. Also ensure that you don’t have any events conflicting with each other. You wouldn’t want to schedule a client visit the same time you have to conduct employee training.

With your remaining time on Sunday, take care of housekeeping items. Prepare meals, do laundry, and clean up. This ensures you can keep your focus on more important things during the week than what you’ll be eating for lunch the next day.

Having a morning routine

Is your go-to morning routine hitting snooze on your phone several times and throwing your wrinkled clothes on? Habits like that ruin the rest of your day. You set the stage for hurriedness and laziness from the moment you open your eyes.

Some tasks you might consider including in a morning routine:

Reviewing your goals

Are the goals you set out for yourself on Sunday still valid. Focus on finishing those first. Once your priorities are done, work on the ones that are not as pressing.

Making your bed

Making your bed is a small task that can make you feel like you accomplished something big. It takes less than five minutes and builds your confidence.

Exercising

Did you know that experts say mornings are the best time to exercise? Exercise wakes you up by getting your blood flowing bright and early.

Implementing a get-out-the-door routine

Getting out the door on time helps you feel ready for work. This means having your clothes ironed and ready to put on the night before. Have essential items — like your laptop bag and lunch box — packed and in a specific spot. Place pre-planned meals in the fridge and ready to pack.

Decluttering your workspace

Have you ever tried getting work done when your desk is full of junk: pencils that don’t work, papers you don’t use, knick knacks that are collecting dust?

It can feel impossible to work in that environment. Clutter makes it difficult for you to focus, and hard to relax. It also reminds you of all the cleaning you should have done but haven’t.

Take a few minutes to clean your workspace, starting with your desk. Put items in a box that you don’t need. Get rid of the paper agendas from old meetings. Return books that belong to another department.

Then, clean up your computer. Delete old files, and archive your emails. Organize the documents you actually need into folders.

Finally, take care of the area around your work station. Vacuum the carpet. Clean out your filing cabinet.

Working smarter, not harder

There’s no point in discovering your why, having a schedule, morning routine, and decluttering your workspace — if you’re overworked. Why grind it out when you can find alternative ways of working?

Working smarter might mean outsourcing data entry tasks to a digital assistant. It could mean listening to your favorite podcast on your walk instead of when you’re trying to meet a deadline.

Working smarter helps you focus on priority tasks. It also shows you the value of delegating appropriate tasks, allowing your time to be better spent elsewhere. Working smarter allows you to get tasks done quicker, which lets you use the leftover time to relax.

To get the big things done, start small. Know what you need to get done, take care of yourself (and your workspace), and find efficiencies where you can. That’s all there is to it.

How Do You Measure Your Efficiency?

By John Rampton | Knowledge Base | No Comments

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There’s a misconception that productivity and efficiency are the same things. But that’s kind of a problem when it comes to improving your performance. But how do you measure your efficiency?

Ben Mulholland explains this nicely over at Process Street. Productivity “measures output over time, whereas efficiency measures input versus output. Together they can tell you how quickly something is completed, the resources it takes to get there, and (through analysis) whether the whole thing is worth your investment.”

Or, as Jessica Greene from Zapier, explains, “Productivity measures how much you do or produce within a given timeframe. Efficiency, on the other hand, is about being productive with less effort.”

“So if you answered 50 more customer support tickets this week because you worked through them as fast as possible, you were more productive,” writes Jessica. “But if you answered 50 more tickets because you used a text expansion app to respond to commonly asked questions, you were more productive and more efficient.”

In other words, “to be more productive in a way that won’t burn you out in the long run, you have to figure out how to be more efficient.”

Hopefully, this clears the difference between productivity and efficiency. But, more importantly, I hope that you understand why it’s essential to measure your efficiency. And, here’s how you can do just that.

Performance metrics.

If you have employees, you probably use performance metrics to see how, well, they’re performing. Typically, they fall into one of the following four categories.

Work quality metrics

“Work quality metrics say something about the quality of the employee’s performance,” explains Erik van Vulpen over at HR Analytics. “The best-known metric is a subjective appraisal by the direct manager.”

Examples include:

Management by objectives. The management objectives are goals that an employee works towards and receives points if he reaches them.
Subjective appraisal by the manager. Usually, a nine-box grid holds the stats for assessing performance and potential done by the manager.
Product defects. Product defects are usually involved in an industry that manufactures products. You could determine performance by the number of defects the employee was responsible for.
The number of errors. Similar to the above, the “number of errors” can be applied to programming.
Net promoter score. “NPS is a number (usually between 1 and 10) which represents the willingness of a client to recommend a company’s service to other potential clients,” explains Erik van Vulpen.
360-degree feedback. 360-feedback is when peers, subordinates, customers, and managers are asked to asses the individual’s performance.
180-degree feedback. 180-degree feedback is a simpler alternative to the above where only direct colleagues and managers are involved.
Forced ranking. Forced ranking is when a manager ranks their team from best to worst.

Work quantity metrics

“As quantity is often easier to measure than quality, there are multiple ways to measure this employee performance metric,” notes Erik van Vulpen.

The number of sales. Applicable if this is you or your employee’s responsibility. You may also want to look at the number of (potential) client contacts one has, the number of phone calls one makes—the number of company visits and the number of active leads.
The number of units produced. Besides traditional manufacturing, this metric can be used in areas like content creation. For example, you could use the number of keys someone can hit per minute on their keyboard.
Handling time, first-call resolution, contact quality, etc. Mainly, each of these metrics is relevant if involved in customer service. But, as you can see, most measurable usages in one area can be figured for application in another area of production.

Work efficiency metrics

Work efficiency is finding the balance between quantity and quality. To achieve the resulting number, “metric considers the resources (e.g., time and money: quantity) needed to produce a specific output (that’s quality).

Organizational performance metrics

Finally, Erik says that “Organizations can also use employee performance metrics to assess their own competitiveness,” such as:

Revenue per employee. Calculate the income per FTE (Full-time equivalent).
Profit per FTE. Similar to above, but focuses on profit instead.
Human Capital ROI. Here you would asses the value of human capital, such as knowledge and personal attributes.
Absenteeism Rate. Absenteeism is usually a self-explanatory metric. If you want to dig deeper — I’d suggest finding out the “why’s.” The why may have to do with the work or people at work. Check your environmental factors.
Overtime per Employee. “Employees who are willing to put in the extra effort are generally more motivated and produce more (in terms of work quantity),” writes Erik van Vulpen.

Can you use these metrics also to help you identify your efficiency? Sure. But, there are more natural ways to find your metrics.

Achieving goals.

Weren’t goals a part of management by objectives? Yes. But, as Choncé Maddox writes in another Calendar article, “Goals, in general, can be challenging as they often prompt you to change your life in a major or minor way.”

What’s more, it’s not always easy to tell if you’re even close to reaching your goal, let alone achieving them. And, to muddle things up, even more, goals are constantly changing depending on what your priorities are at the moment.

One way to get out of this predicament is to use a strategy like the SMART goal formula.

“SMART goal is an acronym to describe goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound,” explains Choncé. “For example, setting a vague goal such as ‘I want to lose weight this year’ probably won’t give you the best results.”

What if you said that you wanted to “lose 40 pounds in 10 months by getting on a low-carb diet and exercising four days per week?” According to Choncé, “That’s a much better goal that follows the SMART formula. You’re specific by saying how much weight you want to lose, giving yourself a deadline, so you know when to expect results, and specifying how you’ll reach your goal and measure your results over time.”

Work quality.

Yes. Work quality was another performance metric you can use to measure your team’s efficiency. But, I think when it comes to yourself, we can simplify this.

Are you meeting deadlines? Did you also meet the requirements of the task or project?. For example, were you able to crank out an 1200 work article or cover all of the meeting agenda points in the time allotted? If so, then I’d say that you’re pretty darn efficient

Punctuality.

What does this have to do with efficiency? In my opinion, quite a bit. It shows that you’re able to manage your time correctly. For instance, if you’re running late to a meeting, maybe it’s because you underestimated how long the previous task took to complete. Or, perhaps you’re so disorganized that it totally slipped your mind until the last minute.

Behavioral traits.

Efficient people avoid bad habits. I’m talking about failing to plan ahead, not having a routine, multitasking, procrastinating, or being easily distracted. They also try to everything on their own when there should be tasks they’re delegating so that more of their time and energy on what’s important.

Feedback from others.

Now we’re circling back to feedback. And, there’s a good reason for that. We have a tendency to be biassed towards our own self-assessments and performance. You may think that you’re killing at work until someone brings it to your attention that you actually haven’t been delivering your best work as of late.

Hearing feedback from others can also be challenging. But, instead of avoiding peer or management feedback, solicit it from people you trust. Try asking a peer, business partner, or family member.

To become more efficient, expect more of yourself.

Hopefully, you know how to measure your efficiency. But, there’s one last step you should take. Raise your expectations.

Let’s say that met you have a met or requirement, instead of being complacent. Push yourself to go above and beyond. It’s great that you can write a 1200 word article in under three hours. But, can you produce the same number of words in under two? How about upping the word count?

You don’t know what your true limits are — because you can always up-your-count on almost anything. Try it. Pushing your limits, keeps you engaged, and forces you to embrace better habits so that you can become more effective and efficient.

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1. Your office favorites

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