I hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather and getting outside, I know we all have been. We’ve been working on providing the option to let clients work with just one team member and are planning on releasing the option in the near future. If you have any feedback on this or would like to be notified when it’s released, let me know.
Sam Ryan … and the rest of Team Flocksy!
Featured Team Member Design of the Month:
Here is a flyer design mockup created for a client by Flocksy team member James.
All custom illustrations/brand designs/marketing materials on Flocksy are created completely from scratch by one of our extremely talented graphic design creatives.
Start a graphic design project today and see results in just hours!
There are certain best practices to follow when using social media, however, as engagement and interaction don’t just happen; your brand must be careful to provide a space where these components are possible and foster an environment of appreciation and responsiveness. Here are five ways to better interact and provide care for your customers on Instagram. continue
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Instagram is a great place for businesses to post content and make their audience aware of new products and services. It’s also a great place to interact and engage with their audience but starting engagement and improving it are two different things entirely. continue
The Coronavirus pandemic pushed employees out of the office and into their own homes for work. While not everyone embraced the challenge, most of us eventually began to enjoy telecommuting. Gone were the hurried mornings, rushing through breakfast and rushing off to work through rush hour traffic. Mornings during the Covid era came with breakfast at the table and setting up your workspace in the comfort of your own home.
You settled into a routine, found yourself more productive, and have proven to the powers that be that you are responsible enough to work remotely. Now you wonder how you’ll ever return to the rat race. You’re not alone.
Here are a few things you can do to state your case to convince your employer to allow you to keep working remotely in in a post-COVID-19 world.
Assemble Your Facts & Talking Points
Before you schedule a time to speak with your manager to discuss telecommuting on a permanent basis, let’s get your ducks in a row. You’ll need to be able to show how productive you have been, the benefits to the company, and how this would work after everything has returned to normal.
As soon as you know that you want to continue working remotely, start jotting down your talking points. Also, check online to find out all the benefits of working from home. Look for resources that specifically address your industry. Some of those positive outcomes of telecommuting include improved employee engagement, improved work-life balance, financial savings for the company and employees, and happier employees overall.
Apply These Points Above To Your Experience
Tailor those facts and talking points to your specific situation. Focus on your time during this past year when you were working remotely. Make note of your work accomplishments, positive feedback from your employer and co-workers, and examples of your ability to effectively collaborate with your team and clients.
Establish A Plan For Working Remotely
Figure out ahead of time what telecommuting would look like for you. This way you will be able to address any concerns and questions before they arise. Think about these things the work schedule you plan to propose, digital tools you’ll use for collaboration and security, and even a trial period to give remote work a try.
Ensuring Productivity And Security When Working From Home
You must be able to demonstrate how you have been able to be productive from home. Put together a list of your achievements during this past year from home. If you have closed more deals or taken more calls, for example, this needs to be documented to present them with the statistics.
Think about projects you submitted on time or early, new clients you have brought on board, how you have controlled the budget or saved the company money and have any positive feedback that you received in writing to show. You should also be able to show that you can work securely. One suggestion is that you utilize a VPN to keep client and company data safe.
Show How Responsive You Are And How It Benefits The Company
Make sure that you have been online, responsive to emails, and present for meetings. Not just present but involved and contributing to the team regularly. Give the organization ways that telecommuting benefits them, include time that can be directed towards projects instead of commuting.
Meet With Your Manager
Once you have amassed all that you will need to make a convincing argument, it’s time to set up an in-person or virtual meeting. Have your supporting documents ready and start with, “I’ve been telecommuting for 6 months and in that time, I’ve been able to…” and list your accomplishments. Discuss how your team has worked well together virtually with specific examples.
Go over all your talking points and then present your request, “I would like to continue to telecommute once everything has opened up again.” If you see that there is some hesitation, offer to address any concerns. Once the conversation is over follow-up with your request and talking points in writing.
There is a chance that you can make this temporary remote work situation a permanent one. But remember that even if you have put forth the most convincing of arguments, your employer may decide that everyone must come back into the office. We wish you the best of luck in getting the perfect situation worked out for you!
Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world choose remote work each year. Whether you’re a blogger, a freelancer, or you run your own startup, the underlining motivation behind why we all choose remote work is the same, freedom!
Some of you want to travel the world. Some of you just don’t like being told what to do. Either way, whether you’re considering a remote job or are already a remote worker looking for better opportunities, this guide is for you.
Ready to take remote jobs more seriously? To get you started, here’s a curated list of tools and resources that we think are worth a look:
Prioritize Incentives: The Digital Nomad Lifestyle
Simply put, digital nomads have figured out how to leverage technology to change where they live and work so they can travel indefinitely. The world is their office and country borders are essentially meaningless to them through the ability to work remotely anywhere in the world.
Digital nomads travel for a variety of reasons. Some do it because they need to and others do it for the love of the lifestyle. Some are traveling for work and others are on permanent vacation.
On the positive side, many companies are now willing to support the lifestyle choice of employees who travel. The thought behind it is great: let your employees go while still being able to trust them and retain your key talent.
The negative side, however, is that remote freelancers need particular skillsets to manage themselves efficiently. This is especially true when the work entails constant supervision of incoming opportunities.
In the end, the successful remote worker is a hard worker, generally very dedicated and proficient in self-management. But like anything else, remote workers have to be prepared for the level of discipline their work entails.
How To Find Remote Jobs
Once you’ve put in the work and crafted a resume that showcases your skills and experience, the best way to land remote jobs is to network. Find connections in the community or professional circles that relate to your work and aim to set up casual conversations, whether that’s in person, over the phone, or on social media.
While networking is definitely key, a number of remote job sites and channels also exist to connect people who have the skills you’re looking to fill, such as UpWork and Remote.co.
One of the most important components to building a career and being happy is also making sure you are happy with where you are. This might mean moving to a different country for a work opportunity. This might mean switching from a role you hate to one you love. This might mean going back to school.
Build Your Online Network
When you quit your job to become a remote worker, one of the things that you might want to consider is building up your online network.
Having a strong online network is beneficial when you’re looking for your next job. But it’s also a great tool for staying in touch with your friends and family — it gives them something to keep in touch with when you’re gone for a few weeks.
Landing The Job
Once you’ve found your dream remote job, you still need to figure out how to convince your boss to give you the opportunity.
First, look for remote opportunities that offer a reasonable salary—and one that’s not too far removed from what you’re making at your “traditional” job.
When you’re talking about your first remote gig, don’t expect your initial income to reflect the entirety of the pay grade. Especially if you’re new to the workforce and moving from school or are an entry-level worker. Opportunities will arise for bringing added value to your work. You can count on these opportunities to flow in and, in staying vigilant, make the most of them.
Next, make sure that the remote role you’re applying for is one that you feel you would be good at. This can make it a lot easier for employers to offer you the opportunity. Show them that you’re willing to give it 100% of your time, even if it means staying up until 3 am doing an assignment.
You have to make it known that you’re going to be 100% committed to the role—and that you’re not just doing it because you don’t want to come into the office.
And finally, figure out what makes you stand out as a candidate when you’re trying to land a remote role. Do this by adding relevant skills or experience to your resume and introducing yourself in a way that makes you difficult to forget.
It may mean posting in communities, or it may mean making an effort to speak up at networking events. Take that extra step and make sure you show up and show your worth.
And when all else fails? Know how to make a good impression. When you’re presenting yourself and your message, [it should be], ‘You will be hard-pressed not to hire me because I will rock your socks off and you will want to keep me forever.’
But don’t go overboard. Just make it clear that you will offer something unique that they can’t find anywhere else.
Things To Consider Before You Quit Your Job
Before you quit your job to become a full-time remote worker, make sure that you think through some things. Here are three tips that will help you when thinking through your career options.
Consider your lifestyle. Are you willing to give up that security, or are you willing to give up some things in order to give yourself more freedom? If you’re working on something that you’re passionate about, you might be willing to make sacrifices to get there, but don’t think about what’s going to happen to your social life.
See if you can fit your current lifestyle into your new job. Will you be able to maintain your current daily routine? If not, maybe that’s a risk you shouldn’t take. Do you need to save up for that vacation? Can you stretch your savings out in advance? Start planning now. How much time do you want to be away from your job?
Will you be able to work full-time? Are you willing to sacrifice some of your time? Plan for those times. Don’t burn your bridges — it will be hard to get those skills back when you’re ready to return to a traditional job.
The Takeaway
Whether you’re looking for your first remote job, or you’re hoping to make the jump into a full-time remote job, it can be a daunting and uncomfortable task.
While not every option is going to appeal to you, the possibilities are endless.
Think about the type of work you do for a living, and what part of the job is the most enjoyable. Then, look at what remote opportunities are out there.
And remember that even if it takes a little while to find a remote job, your diligence will be worth it in the end.
Everyone struggles with creative blocks, not just writers and artists. Regardless of your industry, or whether you’re a professional or a hobbyist, sometimes those creative juices need squeezing before they start to flow.
Maybe your inspiration from the day before has run dry, or the deadline you thought was miles away is right around the corner, and the stress is preventing anything else from entering your brain.
Whatever the reason, there are plenty of evidence-backed methods to get to the other side of your creative block. Take a look at the tips below and get to creating.
Go Outside And Stretch Your Legs
Since whatever you’re working on most likely requires you to sit still indoors, a surefire way to free up some mental space is to take a stroll outside. Whatever your surroundings, a busy city or lush woods, try to let them guide you away from distracting work thoughts.
Don’t look at your phone or put on a podcast, just let your mind clear as you put one foot in front of the other. Some light exercise while breathing in fresh air can do wonders for your creativity, and leave you feeling refreshed when you sit back down to work.
Write Down All Your “Bad” Ideas
Have you ever gotten a song stuck in your head that just won’t come out until you listen to it? The same applies to all of the different ideas swirling around your brain when you’re thinking of how to approach a new project. You might think an idea doesn’t work and discount it before you’ve given yourself the opportunity to explore it.
Writing down those “bad” ideas can be an eye-opening experience. Maybe you will decide to scrap the idea after all, but you could also end up seeing it in a different light and following through to success.
Do Something (Else) Creative
Creativity begets creativity, which means that any type of creating can bring you back into the zone for your current endeavor. If you’re stuck on a particularly tricky paragraph, put on some music or strum a few chords on the guitar. If you’re looking for a new angle to a presentation, doodle the first 5 images that come to mind in your notebook.
You’ll be surprised what can come from seemingly unrelated practices of creativity. An extra tip – if you don’t have it in you to create something yourself, looking at the work of other artists can work just as well in a pinch.
Pretend To Be Someone Else
Are you used to being a certain type of thinker? Teams working collaboratively on a project often consist of all kinds of personalities: dreamers, realists, creatives, sticklers, and so on. Sometimes falling into a familiar role can limit your creativity, so a good exercise can be approaching your task from someone else’s perspective.
Ask yourself, what wouldn’t I do? Think of what your first step would ordinarily be and then do the opposite. For instance, if you’re the organized type who needs to list out all of your options ahead of time, try going with your gut and the first thing that comes to mind. Don’t worry, with brainstorming there are no wrong answers!
Quiet Your Mind
When you’re feeling blocked creatively, it can be tempting to start clicking and fall into a hole of internet research, opening tabs leading from one thing to another. But often, overloading your mind is the opposite of what you need to unblock your inspiration.
Try instead to close the laptop, turn off the phone, and sit quietly with your thoughts. Just ten minutes of meditation makes a lasting impact and might just be the key to unlocking some hidden creativity. Even if it doesn’t solve your creative block, it’s proven to boost your mood and reduce stress.
Sleep On It
Sometimes no matter what you do, you’re going to stay stuck. That’s when the best thing to do is walk away and rest. Give yourself a break, leave the mental strain behind and start fresh the next day. Everyone can benefit from getting a better night’s sleep; it’s shown to increase mental health, strengthen your immunity, and generally improve your mood.
In terms of a creative block, focusing on something intently and then stepping away allows your subconscious to take over and do some work on your behalf. When you wake up, the answer may just have found you.
If there’s no such thing as perfection, then there’s surely no such thing as a complete disaster. Every business problem has a solution. To find the best remedy it’s usually a matter of keeping your head, assessing the situation, then proceeding with your remedy confidently. No matter what steps you take you’ll need your co-workers and team members involved.
They probably have as much stake in finding a solution as you do. They also probably have their own ideas, so listen to what they have to say. Below are ten reliable steps to completely solving any problem in business. Use the process and enlist the help of your colleagues. Once you think it through and have the best plan, implement your solution and get your business back on track.
Step 1 Recognize You Have A Problem.
Be it financial issues, a love-life, health concerns or political situations, no problem can be solved unless you first acknowledge you have one. A great line in Martin Scorsese’s film The Departed, finds Martin Sheen saying to Leonardo DiCaprio, “We deal in deception here. What we do not deal in is self deception.” The same holds true for your business.
You can spin whatever tale you must (hopefully no more than a little advertising braggadocio), but you must be clear headed about your own business and how well it’s working. If you have a problem you have to face it head on, with no illusion about its depth or reach.
Step 2 Find The Root Cause.
At the heart of every problem lies a reason for its existence. Maybe the reason comes from outside; maybe it’s internal. It could be something systemic that you thought was working but is now getting in the way. If it’s a person, or persons, who are they? Do you need to be diplomatic, or can you move quickly to solve the issue? Dig deeply until you know what’s really going on. Don’t accept surface answers, and don’t be afraid to make hard choices if they’re necessary.
Step 3 Be Confident About Solving Your Problem.
You have to feel deep down that you can solve whatever problem is bothering you. If you don’t feel that way at the beginning, then get enough information or help until you do. Don’t shy away from the problem, because you feel you’re not up to it. Maybe you’re right, and you don’t have the resources to handle what’s happening.
If the problem is happening within your work environment, however, that means the same energy fueling your problem is available to you. People are going to look to you to fix whatever’s wrong. Show them you intend to meet the problem squarely, and they’ll be with you through to the end.
Step 4 Get Help From Your Colleagues.
You’re going to need help to solve any serious problem. Get your team members involved early. Tell them about your assessments and what you think must be done. If they agree, you now have allies. If they disagree, listen to their objections. They may provide contrast to help you judge your own approach.
Step 5 Consider The Problem Quietly Before Proceeding.
Sometimes it’s wise to keep your own council. You shouldn’t say everything that comes to mind, even if it seems like the best idea. Think about your problem deeply before going public with your plan of action. Get away by yourself, and let a little quiet time give you perspective. Further reflection will give your thoughts better foundation. Moreover, people respect your ideas more if they think you’ve thought it through.
Step 6 List Your Options.
It’s always good to state your options formally. Once you’ve put them in writing or said them out loud, thoughts and ideas take on a life of their own. An opinion carries more weight once it’s been presented. Sometimes it even changes the dynamic. How many times have you heard a sentence that started with the phrases, “Now that I say it out loud….” or “Now that I read if for myself…”? When you see your options listed or hear them spoken, it gives them focus. That clarity allows you and everyone else to decide which course of action is actually the best.
Step 7 Brainstorm For Ideas With Colleagues.
Your co-workers are your best sounding board. They’re with you everyday, so they know the nature of the problem. Work with them to get on the same page. That involves listening to their opinions and throwing every card on the table. It doesn’t matter if they agree with you one hundred percent or not. What’s important is to have ideas honestly discussed. Once you’re moving in the same direction, your plans and your actions will both be stronger.
Step 8 Keep Other People’s Solutions In Mind.
If you listen to people but don’t really consider what they say, you’ve wasted their time and yours. When you brainstorm, your group will have many excellent ideas, many of which may not be your own. Use those suggestions, and take the best ones to heart. The good thing about a great idea is anyone can use it to their advantage.
Step 9 Assert Your Position.
Once you’ve decided where you come down on a problem, stand your ground and move comfortably from there. Remember that your process considered every angle. Be confident that you came to a reasonable conclusion after weighing the facts and finding the best solution.
Step 10 Accept The Solution And The Results.
Stand by your decision and live with the consequences. Unless it’s an intellectual exercise, never second guess yourself. Hard problems require hard choices. Even if you made the wrong choice, you’ll still need to remain clear to deal with the aftermath. Most problems in business don’t go away after being addressed only once.
Your goal is to move the needle and turn things around until the full situation improves. People who see a good work environment often fail to realize the finely crafted landscape took time and effort to construct. Hopefully these ten steps help you take that approach to your business and get you the results you need.
We’ve all had the experience of sitting in a work meeting, trying to keep our eyes open and thinking about all the things we still have to do. The fact is, meetings are so often unproductive. They take time out of the work day, distract workers, and can break up your work day in a bad way.
But they don’t have to be that way. There are many ways to turn your meetings from unproductive time-wasters to important places of growth and development.
Try these tricks next time you have to schedule a meeting and you’ll see the difference.
Be Strict About The Time
Being strict about the timing of your meeting, from starting on time to sticking to a time limit, is the first way to shift your meetings so they’re productive. It’s completely appropriate to not allow people to participate if they are more than 15 minutes late. At that point, they could simply distract from the flow of the meeting, rather than contribute to it.
You should also aim to keep your meeting on a strict time limit. 30 minutes is a good rule of thumb for most meetings. Keeping it short will keep it from wasting valuable time that your employees could use to complete their assignments.
Send Materials In Advance
At least 48 hours before your meeting, you should send out your agenda and any materials your employees will need to participate in the meeting. That gives them plenty of time to come up with some pertinent thoughts and ideas to contribute to the meeting. It’ll also help you skip any time used to catch people up and will lead to a more meaningful discussion.
Decide Who Comes
Have you ever had the experience of sitting in a meeting, asking yourself, “Why am I here?” Many times, we overpopulate our meetings with people who don’t actually need to be there. By adding more and more people to the meeting, you have more of a chance to lose control of the room and distract from work that could be getting done.
Instead, keep your meeting to about seven to nine people. Of course, this recommendation depends on the size of your team. If you have a team of 15 people who all need the information you’re relaying, you should obviously invite all of them. But whenever possible, cut down the attendee list for a better result.
Prepare Your Agenda Ahead Of Time
One of the easiest ways for a meeting to become unproductive is to lack an agenda. Without an agenda, your meeting will be like hiking in the wilderness without a map: aimless, wandering, and directionless.
What you should get in the habit of doing is developing your meeting agenda well in advance of the meeting. This is some of the crucial information you should send out in advance. It will help your employees know what to expect and keep your meeting on track.
Focus On After The Meeting
Your preparation for the meeting doesn’t end with the meeting. After the meeting, you still have things to do. Once your employees leave the meeting, if they forget everything that was discussed and decided, then the meeting was pointless. That’s why you need to put some of your attention to the time after the meeting.
During the meeting, decide on the things that need to be done. Be clear about the expectations, who will complete the tasks, and when there will be follow up. Not only will this help engage your employees, it will give the meeting purpose. It’s also a way to prepare for your next meeting where you will follow up on those action items.
Following the meeting, send a follow-up and details or a summary of the meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, let your employees know that you’ll be doing this so they don’t feel like they have to take notes, as that can distract them from what’s being discussed. Shortly after the meeting has ended, like later that same day, send the follow-up and summary of the meeting, highlighting any action items that were discussed. This will give your employees a way to reference the topics discussed and something to refer back to if they have questions.
Give Them A Way Out
Have you ever been invited to a meeting that was mandatory but that conflicted with another obligation or that was taking place on one of your busiest days? Those are the meetings where you’d be so distracted thinking about your other tasks that you might as well not be there. A good practice to get into is giving your employees a way out of attending the meeting if needed.
Because you’ll be sending out a meeting summary, your employee may not need to attend the meeting if there’s a better use of their time. Be flexible and cognizant of the weight of your employees’ other tasks. If those projects are more important than the 30 minutes you’ll spend in the meeting, let them bow out. It will pay off in the long-run as they accomplish their projects well and on time.
With being a business owner, there are a lot of hats that you may have to wear. The constant struggle of trying to thrive within entrepreneurship can be taxing. You don’t have to do this alone, though.
To have a successful company means that you need your entire team on-board for the ride. However, many employees, if not encouraged properly, end up afraid to truly tap into their creative side. This is where the test of your leadership abilities comes through.
As a leader, you must take steps to motivate people to think outside the box and find ways for you and your team to make an impact with your business.
Below are just a few tips that you can do to foster creativity and innovation within your business for your team, and yourself.
Believe In Your Business
The first step to creating innovation in your business is by believing in it, yourself. Whether you have a team of 1 person or 1,000 people, this is the most important step.
Set the tone for your company. Try new things, even if they fail, you’ll never know if you don’t try and make that leap.
Stand behind your values, creativity and your company’s product. When the person at the top truly believes in their organization’s deliverables and communicates their vision clearly, then it is easier for this mindset to travel down to the employees.
A hallmark of a great leader is the ability to be humble and seek varying perspectives outside of your own to solve and utilize helpful techniques, such as constructive brainstorming, to prompt more diverse ideas. Make sure you are holding meetings where employees can feel free to brainstorm ideas and have their input heard within the company.
Encourage Your Employees To Speak Up
When people know that they have a voice at their job, it makes them more comfortable to vocalize any concerns or changes that they’d like to see. Encourage your teams to develop a habit of being vocal about any new innovations that they’d like to see within the business. Now, asking your team to consistently tap into their creative juices may take time, commitment and most of all trust (from all of you). Consider doing trust building exercises with your team at least once a week. If you keep at it, the return on investment is sure to be incredibly long term.
Have patience and trust in your team to get there.
Enable Workers to Try New Things
This ties into the above point of encouraging your employees to have more of a say regarding new innovations in the company. As a leader, you must take steps to motivate people to think outside the box. For one, it’s hard for someone to think outside of the norm when they do the same things, see the same people and are stuck in the same environments every day all day.
For example, let your people spend time in various parts of the business and in numerous job roles so that they get a better overall idea of what their fellow coworkers do on a daily basis. Not to mention, this gives teams a glimpse into how the company works as a whole.
Also, combining multiple teams together for a few days gives varying influence, strengths and viewpoints toward a project. They may come up with even better innovative ideas when they have diverse, new perspectives to pull from.
You can take it a step further and bring in outside help whenever you think it will be beneficial. Hire motivational speakers and consultants who are experts in niche areas or even in creativity itself to aid in your team’s creativity process.
Provide Resources
The appropriate technology can mean the world when it comes to bringing innovative ideas to a business. Software tools like Adobe Acrobat, Illustrator and Photoshop can be helpful to your teams to create quality products to quip your customer’s interest and thus lead to sales.
Furthermore, web design programs, digital animation, and video editing software will add quirky marketing devices for your products and often guarantees more exposure. The more resources you provide, the more you set your company up for success.
Reward Innovation
Positive reinforcement toward your employees when they give you their creative ideas is a must. After all, what do they receive once they’ve worked hard to come up with a really great creative or marketing innovation for you and the company?
Reward people with gifts or special perks when developing and sharing cool ideas or innovative solutions. Keep in mind, rewards often come in the form of bonuses, money or even gift cards, but it doesn’t necessarily always have to be financial.
For example, stock up on helpful USBs, personalized water bottles, cool notebooks and specialty bottles of fine wine. You can even do monthly rewards for the person who comes up with the cleverest, most innovative ideas each month, such as an extra day off work, tickets to sporting or local events or free lunches for a week.
Setting up an awards system that acknowledges your employees work within the company sets a light, collaborative tone and reminds people to see how valued creative thinking is.
The Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius once said, “You have the power to strip away many superfluous troubles.” While he was talking about self-reflection and development, his sentiment holds true when it comes to the work day grind. We spend most of our lives working. The rest of it we spend on leisure and sleep. Unless we’re careful, work can cast a terrible shadow over us.
One of the best ways to keep work in its place, and make it more productive, is to keep things simple. No matter how complicated the task or how difficult the job, there’s always a way to do it more precisely. Limiting a job to its bare essentials lets you focus on what’s important.
Simplicity won’t necessarily make a job easier, but it does make it manageable. Getting your mind wrapped around your work puts it in perspective.
There’s no better feeling than knowing you’re equal to the task, and simplicity lets you focus on what you need to do, so here are Eight Surefire Ways To Simplify Your Work Life:
Clean And Organize Your Area
The trite saying, ‘messy area, messy mind’ might be a cliché, but it’s also true. You don’t have to be a neat freak or germophobe, but you can start simplifying your work life by clearing your desk of anything unnecessary to your immediate work. Bring items to your desktop only when you need them. After you’re done, put them away, preferably to a designated spot. You must also clear the area immediately surrounding your desk. If you share an office with others, make it plain you intend to keep your area clutter free. If you have an enclosed office, organize it all. This may take a few hours, or even a few days. Just make sure you do it properly and completely.
Have A Set, Reasonable Number Of Work Hours
Being a workaholic isn’t a virtue. Overtime is okay, but it’s the exception, not the rule. Devote yourself to your time at work, but when it’s over, leave it behind. Believe it or not, successful entrepreneurs know how to be as involved with their playtime as they do with their work. Whether you’re a captain of industry or one of its foot soldiers, set your work hours to a time frame you can manage.
Organize Your Work Flow Order
There is a time for everything. Important jobs should be structured, and even your busy work should be planned. If you have a good work flow, you’ll spend less time developing schedules on the fly. With a logical order, you’ll bring proper resources to the job. You’ll be able to gauge your progress and evaluate your outcomes.
Do Important Tasks First
When you’re organizing your work, start with the most important jobs first. The beginning of your work period is when you have the most energy, creativity and time. Your mind will rest easy knowing you’ve accomplished something of value early. Whether you’re your own boss or have a manager, you’ll feel better during the day knowing the heavy lifting is already done.
Eliminate Nonessential Or Busy Work
We talked earlier about organizing your busy work, but to tell the truth, you should eliminate it. Most mundane tasks can be automated. Let machines and third party services take away that mind sapping tedium. Identify tasks that are repetitive and redundant. Remove anything that doesn’t help your work or lay a foundation for jobs in the future. The time you spend on unnecessary tasks erodes your passion and robs your desire for your job.
Take Real Breaks
This is one of the hardest things to follow when you simplify your work. Other than bathroom and food breaks we’re taught that interrupting our work is laziness. This simply isn’t true. Despite analogies to the contrary, the human mind isn’t a machine. People don’t only need to rest. They also need to recharge. You must get away from your work when it’s time to do so. Only then will you come back fresher and eager for more.
Concentrate On Your Own Job
It’s great to be a team player, but everyone has a job to do. If you’re doing someone else’s job, you’re probably not doing yours very well. Mission creep happens with any work, but don’t let it make your job impossible. Even people who work in isolation fall prey to the trap of overwork. It’s debilitating to do someone else’s job, whether they’re on the other end of a phone or across from you in a cubicle. Learn to focus on your own work, and you’ll find the day goes smoother.
Communicate Quickly and Succinctly
Many people spend too much time over thinking work communication. Meetings don’t have to drag on, and if it takes ten emails to relay an idea, you’ve obviously belabored the point. Don’t let anyone, including yourself, fall in love with the sound of their own voice. Be clear and concise. The simplified work life rewards language that’s strong and plain.
I hope everyone is doing well! We’re excited to announce that we made some exciting changes to the Flocksy dashboard. It now has a cleaner layout, easy navigation and more. Go check it out and let us know what you think!
Sam Ryan … and the rest of Team Flocksy!
Featured team member design of the month:
Here is a custom illustration by our creative Sunardi, for a client. We think it’s pretty cool! All custom illustrations on Flocksy are drawn completely from scratch by one of our extremely talented illustrators. Start an illustration project today and see results in just hours!
by Flocksy writer Gerry Ellen Avery Digital marketing has become such a savior for many startups, as these practices allow startups to reach audiences at a much lower cost than traditional marketing. Although many startups have adopted digital marketing, developing your own strategy is key if you want to achieve the best results. continue
by Flocksy writer Scarlette Olivier One of the biggest struggles that businesses face today is finding the perfect balance between quality and cost. Outsourcing is emerging as an effective tool to help companies cut costs while still keeping the quality that today’s consumers have come to expect. continue
by Flocksy writer Kasey Van Dyke In the digital age, a relationship with the media is crucial to getting your business out in the public eye. The process of building this relationship is the core of media relations. Not only does this build a valuable connection with people who can improve your reputation in the community, it’s a way to get some free marketing. continue
by Flocksy writer Allison Denny Since your Timeline is a major aspect of your Facebook experience, it’s important to focus on this platform. Your Timeline should be a high-quality representation of your brand, fitting neatly into your company’s vision, mission, and goals. Learn these five easy tips to help you curate the best Facebook timeline continue
We see logos everywhere; our clothing, cars, streets, and nearly everywhere else that we look. A logo is basically an image, text, or shape (or combination of all three) that shows the purpose of a brand. A logo is a brand’s trademark and shows what the brand does, its history, and its purpose. Good logos will define a brand and leave their mark on customers and will be easily recognizable to them.
What Does A Logo Do?
A logo serves many purposes and more than just the ones that we mentioned above. If you run a company then you’ll quickly learn that your logo does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to your business. In fact, your logo does just about everything when it comes to your company. Branding, impressions, and your company’s brand identity all have a great deal to do with your logo.
Your logo helps you stand out from the competition, helps build loyalty with customers, and leaves a lasting first impression on your audience. Your logo is a signature part of your company. Think about some of the greatest brands; Apple, Google, or Nike. When you think of them, you probably instantly of their logos. That’s how you know a company has a good logo.
What Makes A Good Logo?
Good logos don’t come easily, they require talent and money. To be able to have a truly amazing logo for your brand, you’ll want to keep a few elements in mind that all great logos have. The first thing to remember is that all great logos are simple. It’s easy to want to over complicate your logo and think that more is better, but this isn’t the case with logos.
The less that you include in your logo the more appealing it can be. You want to keep in mind that your logo won’t always appear in the color version that you see it in initially. It’ll have to appear in black and white, in different sizes and on different material. The simpler your logo is the more versatile it’ll be and the easier it’ll be to use on products and packaging.
The second aspect to keep in mind for your logo is that you want your logo to be eye appealing. Your audience has to like your brand and that starts with liking how it looks. Since your logo is basically the visual representation of your brand, you want to make sure that it’s only represented the best it can be. Use colors and typography that will catch your audience’s eyes and make it stand out.
Why A Logo Tagline Matters
A tagline is a phrase or saying that goes beneath your logo and that customers associate with your customers. Logos don’t typically need to be combined with taglines, but it can add a lot to a logo if a tagline is included. Think about Nike’s iconic ‘Just Do It’; you’ll meet very few people who don’t know the iconic tagline by memory. Many companies choose to add a tagline to their logo if they think that a logo by itself won’t communicate what their company does or doesn’t seem to be enough.
If you’re starting out with a logo without a tagline, and then, later on, think that a tagline would add to it, then you can always add it. It’s important that if you decide to include a tagline to your logo, you put time and effort into choosing one that will do your company justice. Your logo should represent your company just as much as your logo does and add purpose to your brand.
What Makes A Logo Stand Out?
Since there’s a sea of logos out in the business world, it can feel next to impossible to have your logo stand out from competitors. Standing out amongst your competitors will depend on your company and industry, but there are a few basic things that you can do to make your logo different.
The first tip is to make sure that your logo is easy to read. This is especially true for wordmark logos, but it’s something that you’ll want to keep in mind regardless of your logotype. If your audience has to look too long at the logo to decipher its meaning then it’s probably time to get a new logo.
The second tip which many businesses forget is to cater to your audience. You can have what you think is the best logo, but it’s useless if it’s not appealing to your audience. It’s important to know your audience and know what type of logo will grab their attention. Remember that your logo is for your audience and your audience only.
How Does Color Affect Your Logo?
Color plays a big part in any area of branding, but especially when it comes to your logo. Great logos will either work great in color or in black and white. When we think about color theory and examine what emotions colors make us feel, it can make a huge difference in what colors we choose for our logo. You’ll want to keep your branding consistent across all your marketing material, so your logo colors should be aligned with the rest of your branding. Think about your audience and how the colors that you choose for your logo will affect them. Remember that colors play an important role in your logo, so you want to put thought into what colors you choose.
