Have you ever stopped to think about how much of your working hours you spend doing things that are of no use to your obligations?  

When you get to the end of the day and realize that a task has been left behind, know that you could have made better use of your time, and that extra hour you are working on could be better spent with your family or friends.

The villains that take up your time are everywhere, and learning how to avoid them will be the key to your day being much more productive and your productivity increasing considerably.

If you are determined to face these villains, follow these tips to the end, and be willing to put them into practice as soon as possible. 

Be careful with the use of your cell phone

On the one hand the cell phone is an important part of your work, and not answering it can cause you future problems. On the other hand, notifications often direct you to personal matters that can be solved later, or even to some superfluous distraction.

This is when you need to use your first weapon: resist the digital temptations. The best thing to do is to deactivate notifications from groups of friends and from social networks that are not related to your work.

Another important thing is to explain your schedule to people close to you who are in the habit of calling or texting you more frequently.

And of course, don’t be the person who will pull random stuff with your friends, family, or post on your social networks during your working hours, this will end up putting you on a dead-end track. 

Avoid disorganization

Not setting a monthly, weekly, and even daily schedule can slow down your work a lot.

Having a plan of what you have to produce and how much time you have to do it prevents you from getting lost.

You need to set deadlines for each issue; if you take too much time to accomplish one task you will end up with no time at all to accomplish the others.

So your next weapon is: knowing how to organize your tasks, this way you set rules for yourself and avoid wasting your time.

To do this, have a physical agenda or use digital resources such as apps and Google’s agenda. It is also worth other methods such as making lists and even spreading post-its around your desk.

Avoid procrastinating

It is very common that when we are faced with a more boring or laborious task we put it as the last thing to do.

This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make, leaving a painful job for the end of the day or the end of the week is to increase the chances of not doing it and pushing this obligation to the future.

The problem is that in the future it will continue to be a boring task, so why not solve it at once?

Your third weapon is: Prioritize the most difficult obligations, so that you can get rid of them faster and be free to do your other tasks throughout the day or week.

Use the right tools

Some software can make your work much easier and, mainly, more agile. 

Not knowing or mastering these tools is something that can hinder your performance and make you lose hours on something that could be solved in seconds.

To solve this problem and save your wasted hours you need weapon number four: study technological solutions that can be your best friends on a daily basis.

If you know these tools exist, but have no practice in using them, invest in a course or ask someone to teach you; you will see that the time you gain with this will be worth the investment.

The quality of your services also counts as a tool in your favor, having a good internet connection can save you from a lot of unnecessary delays.

Learn to turn your brain off

Knowing how to turn off requires a lot of discipline to get around. After all, turning off the mind from external issues and focusing on work is not easy.

Many factors around us can generate a distraction, whether it’s a television on, colleagues chatting, or a worry hammering in our heads.

To get rid of this you need a fifth weapon: to have a calm and organized environment to work in, free from temptations and elements that take your attention away.

If you work at home, avoid places where other people may circulate and be sure that you won’t be interrupted.

If you are in the office, choose moments to interact, arrange a time to have a coffee with your colleagues and thus relax, this way you can catch up on things, but without interrupting each other.

Taking the necessary steps to make your day go much further may seem complicated, but it really depends solely on you and your discipline. 

Finding the best ways can take some time, but if you follow all these tips, you will surely get results faster.

Each day that passes, the concern for professional development increases within corporations. 

Having better performance, moving up the hierarchy, and adding even more to the company is the desire of most employees. 

However, there are those who say that professional growth depends only on you, but there are also those on the team achievement team. 

In this article, we will talk about each one and portray the difference between these two terms. Follow along!

What is professional growth?

Professional growth is based on the evolution and development of an employee within the company in which he or she works. Many entrepreneurs seek to make their employees grow, after all, the corporation evolves from the improvement of individual results.

Promoting personal development goes beyond encouraging growth in the operational sphere or promotion in positions, it needs to focus on training and investment in the employee’s career. 

Difference between individual and team growth

There are two ways to achieve and promote professional growth: individually or as a team. 

Individual professional growth focuses mainly on a single employee. We could talk here about an employee who seeks to have even more performance and begin to stand out among the others. 

In many companies, this type of development starts to take shape after a mentoring given by a manager or an employee who has been with the company for a longer period of time, with tips and directions on what to do to be even more successful in his or her career. 

However, professional growth as a team can be more profitable for both parties, and even faster. This is because the evolution together makes the purposes and goals aligned, and consequently, everyone works to achieve them. 

Why encourage team growth?

As mentioned before, the development of the team as a whole is more advantageous for the business owners and managers, as well as for the employees. 

Besides the reasons we mentioned above, we cannot forget that the central point of a corporation is people, not tools. 

Another piece of information that cannot be neglected is that the market is increasingly volatile. Therefore, it is important to invest in employees both for your company to stand out in the market, and for employees not to feel undeserved within their activities and start looking for positions in competitors. 

How to encourage the team’s development? 

Now that we have talked about all the advantages of professional growth and the difference between individual growth and team growth, it is time to learn how to apply this in your company. 

The personnel department is one of the areas responsible for strategically taking care of employees and pointing out which are the possible incentives and investments to stimulate the employees’ development. 

There are several ways to stimulate this mutual growth, such as guidance, technological support, workshops on the theme, and a follow-up based on the employee and not only on the deliveries. 

But it is not enough for the personnel department to create ways to develop the employees, the leaders and managers also have a key role in ensuring that the team grows professionally. This is because they are the bridge between the company and the employee. 

Through feedback and other approaches, it is possible to polish the talents and point out which are the positive points and which need improvement. 

In this way, the team will have a much greater self-knowledge and will be able to work on the necessary points together. 

Final considerations

Team growth may be more advantageous than individual growth, however, when encouraging the development of the team as a whole, each employee must be seen as unique.

By putting this development into practice, in a short time the results will emerge and the company will be able to achieve increased productivity and employee satisfaction, attract new employees, and a consolidated learning culture.

I have often brought here articles about the importance of leadership in a company, but today I would like to address the reality of other types of entrepreneurs: those who are not leaders and do not have a leader.

In these cases, the entrepreneur works alone and faces a daily need that imposes many challenges: self-management.

Staying productive at work is never easy, and entrepreneurs know this very well: not working in an office certainly has its advantages, but one must be able to manage oneself.

Otherwise, problems can arise that compromise the proper performance of each task and even risk neglecting one’s private life.

Therefore, let’s see how a solo entrepreneur can be more productive and efficient and take advantage of all that this type of work has to offer.

Demand x Productivity

When working alone, one of the first things to learn is the importance of balancing the scales by putting demands on one side and productivity on the other.

The fact that you have to manage yourself and accomplish each task in the time it requires can be liberating on the one hand, but on the other hand it can mean a real risk that you will not achieve your goals.

To keep that balance, here are some tips:

Make a plan

As a solopreneur you have to plan your activities in advance, taking into account the amount of work and the deadlines you have to meet by fitting them into your personal agenda every day.

Don’t rely on your memory or papers lying around the room, set a real schedule (daily, weekly, or monthly) to be respected so that you are productive and can sleep soundly. 

Use technology to your advantage

If you have multiple projects to manage during the day, plan at the beginning of the day the right amount of time for each and set timelines within which to complete the various small tasks. 

Use technology to your advantage by using apps that help you create lists, time your tasks, and don’t let any appointments or insights get missed.

Everything in its own time

You need to learn to set a time to accomplish each task, otherwise you will accumulate too many worries and not take action to solve anything.

In order for your tasks not to be seen as an insurmountable mountain, it is necessary to set goals that help you to be more conscious of the work accomplished.

Cut out distractions

When we are in an office, working in a team, we wouldn’t dream of interrupting our work, would we?

Working alone, on the other hand, allows us to be more flexible, of course, but we should never exaggerate this freedom as an opportunity to leave all tasks to the last minute. 

Now, what to do when the conversations that distract us are often those of our customers? This is another challenge that the solo entrepreneur must go through.

To control this impasse, set a time in your day just to answer clients and avoid being “available” at any time.

Don’t forget your health

Make sure to set strict times for snacks, lunch, and especially for ending the workday. 

Even if you do a job that is very satisfying for you, it is still a job and your body needs a break, even if your mind doesn’t realize it. 

If you have to be your own boss, always try to be the boss we all want to be: a boss who understands the needs of his employees and cares about their health and well-being while respecting the right amount of rest time.

Having financial control of your business is essential for the company’s health, so this is a sector that deserves special attention from managers.

The loss of financial control is one of the main causes of company mortality in Brazil, and the numbers do not show that the financial health of businesses in the country is going well.

According to data from Serasa, there are more than 5.4 million defaulting companies and 4.2 million declare that their financial situation is not comfortable.

To avoid this happening to your business, prevention is the best way, so check out some tips below to avoid losing financial control of your company.

Separate business and personal finances

Financial control starts by separating your business finances from your personal finances.

Losing control of what are personal expenses and what are company expenses is very easy, and when this separation is not done well, it can cost you the good performance of your business or even its survival.

To make this division it is essential to subtract an amount from your company’s profit and “pay your own salary” for this, determine how much will be paid to yourself for personal use, and above all, keep separate bank accounts.

Make a financial safety 

When it comes to money, we cannot underestimate the unforeseen, because they do happen and not being financially prepared for them can be your worst mistake.

To prevent unforeseen events from destroying your business, having a financial reserve that covers the costs of at least 2 months of operation is essential.

Paying off debts

Having open debts is a way to increase losses with expenses such as fines and interest.

Besides making your company’s costs higher and profits lower, debts can lead to the negativation of your CNPJ, making the financial health of your business even more difficult.

Manage well what makes the money go round

Having total control of what is being spent on stock or labor is essential not to lose the financial control of your company.

To do this, always be aware of the accumulation of goods in stock that may be in storage and even expired before being sold.

Moreover, know how to value and invest in products or labor that have more output and that bring you more capital.

Invest in innovation and technology

Agility, practicality, and efficiency are achieved by investing in innovation and technology.

Automating processes and using technological resources to optimize management processes is the best way to grow your business and ensure its financial health.

Conclusion

There are many factors that can take your company by surprise and make you go through a great financial difficulty, but some of them can be foreseen and well managed.

Do what is in your hands not to lose financial control of your company and make sure that what is under your control is properly done.

The process of virtualization of business organizations has become a widespread reality, and with this comes a new challenge for companies: remote work groups and their complexities. 

However, we cannot forget the undeniable advantages of remote work as a lever to make organizations more agile and successful.

Next, let’s understand the challenges of remote teams.

Is remote work new to everyone?

For some time now, geographical distances and time zones have not limited work teams; in fact, some companies have been adopting remote work for some time.

With the pandemic, these issues have definitely ceased to be obstacles and have become a reality.

And it has changed the reality for companies that had not yet thought about this possibility, either because of the limited size or because of the traditional leadership approach in which people can only be managed if they are around.

Why create remote work teams

Globalization and the information revolution have broken down organizational barriers and allowed companies to work with teams without limitation of space and time.

However, companies that practice it do not necessarily know what remote working entails and how virtual teams should be created to bring effectiveness and advantage. 

Sometimes remote teams are adopted in organizations out of obligation, (as with the Covid-19 pandemic) while the attitude should instead focus on creating virtual teams as a strategic resource to increase overall organizational performance.

The organization of remote teams should be a strategic choice, that is, the search for a new dimension of the organization.

How a remote team is organized

A remote work team is composed of members who are geographically and organizationally distributed.

Often they may even be in the same city, but not near each other.

Remote work teams come together thanks to communication systems and computer infrastructures to carry out an organizational activity.

An essential element is the ability to cooperate quickly, flexibly, and effectively despite geographical, logistical, and organizational barriers, often even temporal, with time zone changes.

Advantages of remote teams

More fluid work, as groups are constantly learning how to organize and reorganize tasks;

Technology as an aid to make work more collaborative and effective;

Exchange of ideas and proposals between people in an open and continuously accessible technological environment.

Disadvantages of remote teams

Communication through technology can limit nuances of a face-to-face relationship.

Mutual trust may emerge more slowly than in real groups.

Language barriers and culture clashes may arise between team members.

Conclusion

The great challenge of remote teams lies in transforming virtual groups, with their complexities, into an element that makes the organization more agile and successful.

Therefore, this reality will probably be part of more and more companies and the movement of creating remote work teams, if it is not yet part of your life, get ready, you will soon be able to do it.

If it seems impossible to reconcile the demands of your business and personal life, follow these tips and learn how to manage your work routine!

Understand that the secret to handling all your tasks is in the planning; those who know how to manage their work routine are much more productive and have more free time. 

Taking a moment to set your goals will make sure that each of your tasks has an established time, preventing something from being forgotten or left aside.

With these measures, your company’s productivity will improve significantly; after all, those who make better use of their time achieve better results.

Below you will find tips on how to manage your routine and make it yield, but be prepared, to put them into practice you will need organization and discipline.

Schedule your journey

The first thing you need to do when you start your work on Monday is to plan every hour of your week, so you can better visualize all your tasks and commitments.

Organize your schedules in blocks, this way you set a time to start and to finish each of your tasks, avoiding spending too much time doing something.

Group similar tasks together, for example, if you know you need to go to the pharmacy and the bank during the week, plan to do both on the same day and time, this way you avoid having to leave the office several times.

Putting your schedule on paper or on an organizational chart helps you not to forget and to make a commitment to yourself, so don’t forget to write down your schedule.

Schedule your appointments

Get in touch with everyone you have an appointment with during the week, this way you can work out your schedule without running the risk of a last minute program.

If you need to do more than one, schedule all the meetings for the same day, this way you avoid having too many breaks in your workflow and that of your team during the week.

Stay organized 

Starting the day a little earlier will make all the difference in your organization, this way you don’t waste time that should be performing tasks with your planning.

Taking advantage of this time to tidy up the objects and papers on your desk will be a wise decision, this way you avoid wasting time in the future analyzing materials that are no longer useful.

Another important thing to do in this period is to organize your e-mail box, so make folders for each subject and delete unnecessary messages for your work.

Set priorities

Knowing what your priorities are can help you organize your schedule, always do the most important tasks first, this way, if you end up being late for some reason, you won’t leave something important for later.

Understand which tasks you need to do personally and which you can delegate, this way you don’t waste time doing something that can be outsourced.

Set schedules

You can’t think of each workday as eight straight hours of errands. You need to establish break times, either for lunch, for coffee, or for a few minutes of rest.

This way you ensure that your mind is calm enough to focus on your work and prevent fatigue from impairing your performance.

Expect possible unforeseen events 

When organizing your work week keep in mind that not everything can be predicted, some tasks will arise during the week and you need to be prepared for this extra demand.

Planning a longer time than necessary to accomplish each task, or even leaving a block of time free, can ensure that when something unexpected comes up you don’t have to work overtime to accomplish it.

Make time for your personal life

Meeting friends or having quality time with your family is very important for your performance. 

Choose a few moments to take care of your personal relationships, so you have fun and the next day at work will be more fruitful.

Spending the whole week just working can overload your mind and hinder your performance.

Optimizing your time starts with organization and why not count on technology to help you? For this reason, we have prepared a list of 5 mobile apps to organize your day to day.

Todoist – Save your tasks

Organize your tasks into lists, add geolocation to your scheduled tasks, and access all of this from your smartphone or computer from a single easy-to-use interface. 

You can easily keep track of your tasks through a complete overview provided by the software. Recurring due dates help you create habits and remember deadlines.

Organizze – Take control of your finances 

Managing your finances becomes a simple and efficient task with this app. 

Convert currencies, create categories for each type of expense, and generate graphs to control your personal and professional financial life.

Doodle – Take notes of your appointments

Meet Doodle, an application different from the others, which is mainly used to manage appointments.

Doodle allows you to plan a series of appointments in a shared way, whether it’s a meeting with friends or a work meeting, with the application you can forget diaries and messages, integrating your calendar into a single digital resource.

Evernote – Save your files

This app is practical and simple to use and can be easily accessed from your cell phone to save files, images and texts. 

The app is a very useful tool for those who find it difficult to mentally disconnect from work and still have ideas flowing after work. 

Evernote works as a sketchbook to save messages, ideas, and lists that cannot be forgotten. 

Google Keep – Never miss an idea 

Never lose an insight again. With this app from Google you record your ideas and can illustrate them with photos, recordings, lists and notes, whatever is most effective for you.

If you don’t already use apps to organize your work routine, take advantage that you have in your hands powerful tools to optimize your time, organize your routine and have more time to dedicate to what matters.

Extra tips to organize your time

Now that you already know 5 apps to organize time and improve productivity, we want to give you three extra tips to optimize your performance and achieve your goals.

Set Goals

Always setting end points and defining a maximum amount of time for each task will help you plan your day and give you full control over your time.

Set priorities

Once you have planned your tasks, set priorities and try to distinguish between those that need to be done now and those that can be done slowly, eliminated or delegated.

Eliminate sources of distraction

Start paying attention to the number of times someone interrupts you when you are in the middle of an important task.

Eliminate interruptions related to social media and using your smartphone and dedicate 100% to the task at hand so you can get it done.

 

Human relationships are changing every day, and technology is one of the main drivers of these changes. So regardless of what your career is, building your image on social media is key.

When you are self-employed this need is even greater, after all, before hiring you for a job, the client will certainly look for references and previous work.

A profile on social networks in which people can interact with you and follow your day to day enables your future clients to build trust, respect, and admiration for you and your work.

If you want to build an image in the digital world, here are some tips that can help you in this mission.

Tell your story

Showing your followers who you are goes beyond writing your profile, it is something constant that you can build every day.

Even if you don’t want to expose your whole routine, showing the challenges of your career, how you overcome them and, especially, the results you achieve is an excellent way to tell your story.

Use strongs images

How many times have you heard the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words”? Certainly many, isn’t it? That’s because it’s true, images fill people’s eyes and grab their attention in a matter of seconds.

Write interesting captions

As important as images are, the way you talk about your work is also crucial.

Whenever you produce content to post, create eye-catching text so that your post is more than just visual, but really tells a story.

Also, search for the most used terms in your niche and use hashtags, to get your photos found in searches.

Encourage interaction

One of the most important points for your social network to grow is that there is interaction between you and the people who follow you.

This interaction is essential for the algorithm to recognize that your followers are interested in your content and spread it to more and more people.

And to make this interaction happen, you can and should encourage people to interact with your content through comments, shares, and saves.

Conclusion

Don’t ignore the trends, no matter how much you have offline channels to promote your work, building an image on social networks is essential and will certainly make a difference for your career and your business.

Distance learning was already a part of many people’s lives, but with the arrival of the pandemic this modality has become a reality for millions of education professionals and students in all fields all over the world.

It is true that there are many differences between face-to-face and virtual classes, but these differences should not prevent education from continuing to be of quality. 

Both teachers and students must do their part to create a classroom system that is effective and allows excellent learning for students. 

The institutions that have had to adapt to the new virtual modality are working every day to improve the structure and form of teaching, trying to innovate every day and listening to the opinion of students who have already had virtual experiences. 

If this study mode is part of your life, these simple tips can help you make the most of your study time in online classes.

Be committed to learning

Teachers and institutions must understand that we are all going through a difficult time. 

However, it is also necessary for students to do their part to make the situation a little more bearable. 

To deal with the difficulties of this period there is an excellent way out: be committed to learning.

Remember that a virtual class is no less important than a face-to-face class, so make an effort to get the most out of it.

Pay attention to the study location

Everyone, including the teacher, should prepare a study place prepared for the time of the home class. 

Maintaining a comfortable place where you can take your online classes is extremely important. 

It is common that people who study or work at home and have a specific place to perform their tasks have a higher percentage of efficiency and productivity than those who do not have a specific work place. 

Focus on concentration during classes

In a virtual class, it can be very tempting to get distracted by other websites and applications on your computer or cell phone.

By losing focus in class, you will miss a lot of important and necessary material, as well as disrespect the professor’s time. 

For your own sake, and the sake of everyone in class, try your best to stay focused and interactive in class.

Be independent and responsible

Having the responsibility and independence to list topics that you will need to review on your own and do assignments that must be turned in on time is key.

Create a schedule of assignments and times for your courses, this will help you get a more complete picture of everything you need to do. 

Put these tasks in your calendar and set a time for completion. 

The fact that the classes are online doesn’t mean that you can do the assignments to be turned in whenever you want, you always have to respect the deadlines.

Be persistent and don’t give up

There are reports of many students who, after starting the virtual classes, completely lost the will to study. 

It is important to remember that many people in the world with limited resources have simply been left without the opportunity to continue their studies, so value your opportunity.

If you have the opportunity to study virtually, take advantage of it and don’t give up regardless of the adversities that arise in the process. 

 

You know the importance of building a strong Networking to strengthen your professional life and your business, right? But have you ever stopped to think about how to renew and strengthen your network in 2021?

Year after year the business universe changes and believing that your networking will be the same forever can be harmful.

That’s why it is essential to think of ways to create new links and connect with more professionals in your field and related industries.

Here are some ways to renew your Networking in 2021.

Why Networking?

When we think about the advantages of Networking for individuals or companies, we find an effective and low-cost marketing method that results in business contacts and partnerships. 

Networking is a practice that can be a sure path to success. The professional who knows how to use this method in his personal life or for business is the one who learns how to create a network and build solid professional contacts.

How to create a Networking

Establishing connections, whether in person or in the virtual world, can be easy, however the correct practice of networking consists in finding contacts that can favor you personally and professionally.

Networking is not only about finding contacts that can help you, but also about being interesting to your new contact, whether it is a potential supplier, future partner, or employee.

Finding your network

When it comes to networking, quantity is not more important than quality, so keep an eye out for opportunities that come your way that can help you find the contacts you need to grow.

Get involved in events in your field

By getting involved in events in your area such as fairs, lectures, courses, and conferences, the chances of finding partnerships are huge.

This contact can be facilitated within companies, universities, and workplaces where different types of entrepreneurs meet.

Join online groups

Internet connection is on the rise and can make a difference in building your network of contacts. 

Participating in groups, forums, and especially general content to communicate with other professionals on networks like Linkedin can be your biggest advantage.

How to get closer

When faced with a situation that may favor building a network, show interest in other people’s business and also know how to value yourself without seeming arrogant or desperate.

Establishing constructive conversations can be the best way to approach your future contacts and build opportunities for links that will be converted into growth.

Maintaining communication

It’s not enough just to establish a contact, keeping in regular communication is essential for building mutual trust and increases your chances in an eventual proposal for a partnership or appointment for a position or business.

Connect with other areas

Establishing contacts with people in your area is obviously very important, however, you can’t give up meeting people from different areas who, in the future, may be needed for you, or you for them.

Build trust

By cultivating a network of connections the possibility of increasing it is greater as other people come to trust you and your work, so make sure you take care of your professional and personal relationships.

Another important thing to worry about when it comes to networking is to make sure that you are offering your contacts as many benefits as you seek to find in them. So establish an exchange relationship.

Offering relevant and interesting content, as already mentioned, is very important to strengthen your relationships, so share content, publish information, and keep an active conversation with subjects of interest to your network.

Conclusion

Don’t just expect to receive from others, but always have what to offer. This will keep you as an interesting contact to other entrepreneurs and will increase your chances of closing deals, establishing partnerships or finding efficient employees.

By cultivating these small contacts and maintaining attitudes within ethical and professional principles, you will ensure a network of contacts that you can always count on.

Looking to improve your business and increase your networking? Working in a collaborative space can be the key to your success. 

Besides offering several advantages for you and your business, the Easy Work Space can also provide you with an ideal environment for networking and growing your business.