August 09, 2011 by Ben Parr

The era of the 9-to-5 job is over. Even just a few years ago, you were expected to commute to work, put in your hours and drive back home. Once you left work, it was done until you came back into the office the next way.

Thanks to laptops, smartphones, tablets and Wi-Fi, that has all changed. As long as you have an Internet connection, you can file reports, hold meetings, edit proposals and complete practically all of your work tasks remotely. As a result, telecommuting is on the rise, and more and more work is completed via our mobile devices.

Social contact manager Gist, acquired by RIM earlier this year, has analyzed some of the data about the rise of the mobile workforce, detailing where they prefer to work and the devices they use to do it. The infographic below provides a nice overview of this very important business trend.

Check out Gist’s infographic, and let us know how much of a mobile worker you are in the comments below.

May 26, 2011 by Nellie Akalp

Nellie Akalp is CEO of CorpNet.com, her second incorporation filing service based on her strong passion to assist small business owners and entrepreneurs in starting and protecting their business. She has formed more than 100,000 corporations and LLCs across the U.S. To learn more about Nellie and see how she can help your business get off the ground quickly and affordably, please visit here.

Whether telecommuting or freelancing, more and more professionals are trading in the cubicle for the home office. We hear all about the perks of the work from home lifestyle — no long commutes, more time with family, conference calls in pajamas, etc. But what about the challenges? It’s not always easy to stay productive in the face of countless distractions.

If you’re working from home, chances are you’re a freelancer, consultant, or small business owner. This means your ability to get paid is directly tied to how productive you are. As a freelancer, wasting time equals wasting money.

Here are some tips on how to stay focused as you move through the workday, while still enjoying all the unique benefits of working at home.

1. Respect Your Own Time

When you work at an office, family and friends seem to naturally respect your schedule. But when you’re working from home, you’ll inevitably get calls at 11:00 a.m. or be expected to handle the daily errands. I’m not saying you shouldn’t wait for the cable appointment or chat on the phone, but be mindful of how easy it is to have time ripped from your workday.

It’s important to set boundaries, if needed. People will respect your schedule, only if you respect it first.

2. Impose Time Limits on Specific Tasks

It’s easy to become distracted, particularly when dealing with a task that’s challenging or a bit dull. If you find yourself losing focus, tell yourself to dedicate just 15 more minutes to the task on hand. Knowing there’s an end in sight might inject new energy into the project. And if not, move on to something else and return to it when you’re in a better mindset.

3. Set Strict Deadlines

Ever wonder why you’re ultra productive when facing a tight deadline, while a simple task can take hours to complete? You might chalk this up to working well under pressure, but it could also be Parkinsons Law, which basically states that a task will expand to fill the time you can give it. Combat this phenomenon by imposing your own deadlines for specific tasks. These can be as complicated as finishing a proposal or as simple as responding to a client email.

4. Log Off for “Power Productivity” Hours

Digital distractions aren’t just limited to Facebook and YouTube. For most, the daily barrage of emails and IMs from friends and colleagues ends up being the day’s biggest time sink. If you’re stuck in your inbox, dedicate chunks of the day when you unplug from your phone and email to get work done. You can log back on afterward and power through the necessary responses.

5. Delineate Your Workspace

Ideally you can have an area dedicated as your office (and preferably with a door so you can shut out unwanted distractions). Creating boundaries not only helps you be more productive “at work,” but also helps you decompress during your personal time.

6. Slowing Down? Change Your Environment

If you find yourself stuck (and you’ve already tried the “just 15 more minutes” tactic), change your environment. Go work at the café for an hour, or brainstorm at the park. A change in scenery can spark new ideas and give you newfound focus.

7. Conduct a Time Audit

Ever finish up the day and wonder where your time went? If you’re self-employed, it’s important to understand exactly how you’re using your time. Every so often, conduct a detailed audit of your day and keep track of what you did and how long it took. These audits can reveal great insights into your daily workflow and can help you make adjustments where needed — whether it’s getting help for your bookkeeping, dropping an overly demanding client, or condensing multiple trips to the grocery store.

8. Create Task Lists

I tend to have multiple lists running at any given time. One list keeps track of longer term goals (for example, the projects I need to complete by the end of the week or month). Then each morning I also create a focused outline for the day’s tasks. Try to keep your daily list as realistic and uncluttered as possible. Nothing can sap your motivation like staring at an overly ambitious list full of items you can’t possibly complete.

9. Make Your Breaks Count

Whether you’re working at home or in the office, it’s not possible to stay focused for hours on end. Breaks are an integral part of the workday, but make sure your free time counts. Have you ever denied yourself a trip to the gym or lunch with a friend “because you’re too busy?”

Chances are that on that very same day, you spent well over an hour browsing eBay, watching TV, looking at Facebook, checking your online bank account, or organizing your medicine cabinet. Busy work doesn’t accomplish anything and won’t recharge your batteries. So take your dog for a hike, take an actual lunch, or do whatever you enjoy. You’ll not only end up being happier, but more productive as well.

What are some of the ways that you cut out distractions and stay productive while working from home? Share your best practices in the comments.

Do you have trouble staying focused while working at home? Developing a work environment at home can help increase productivity. Here are a couple tips that may add a bit of structure to your free and flexible lifestyle. -Lucas Lautman

September 17, 2011 by Erica Swallow

Working from home is more prevalent and more widely accepted than ever. With 26.2 million teleworkers in the U.S. in 2010, the virtual workforce is expected to grow in coming years.

For starters, 56% of senior leaders and hiring managers at Fortune 500 companies believe that the workforce will steadily or greatly increase at their companies, according to a recent survey by WorkSimple.

The study findings outline the changing virtual workforce with a number of compelling stats and findings, as seen in the infographic below.

Have you noticed an increase in the number of employees at your workplace that work remotely? Let us know your story in the comments below.

This is the work from home revolution. In the 1800s we had the industrial revolution, where people went from working in their homes to working at factories. Now it has come full circle and people are looking to leave the office and begin working from home once again. Thanks to rapid technological advancement in communications working from home has become a major trend among the fortune 500. There are an estimated 26.2 Million people working remotely in the US and that number seems to be growing rapidly.  -Lucas Lautman

 

 

October 17, 2011 by Lauren Drell

Are you a techie looking for work? We recently offered some tips on landing jobs at Google, Apple and Facebook, but there are more companies in the Valley than those three. And you might be wondering what the culture is like at each of these companies, as well as at LinkedIn, Twitter, Eventbrite, Gaia and Tagged.

Back in August, we brought you word of awesome perks at various startups; now, we bring you perks at a number of Silicon Valley’s largest and finest. From yoga to catered lunches, 401(k)s to dry cleaning, sports teams to vacation days, these tech companies seem to understand that quality of life affects productivity — and that having to run fewer errands after work means you’re more likely to stay at the office.

Check out the infographic below from ResumeBear for a breakdown of who offers what perks. Do you work at any of these companies and take advantage of any of these perks? Let us know in the comments below.

 

The best companies around the world have started to make work fun again by offering entertainment and certain perks that allow employees to work harder and longer. They have started this trend and I can see how local Co-working could develop similar models for solitary workers. Look at the list of perks these companies offer and you might be able to imagine a co-working space offering the same things in the near future. -Lucas Lautman

Planning on hiring a hotshot kid straight out of college? Here’s a checklist for you: Make sure she can tweet or update Facebook while on the clock. Let her get work email on whatever device she wants. Allow her to work from home on her own schedule, even though she’s unlikely to really think it makes her more productive. And by the way, an increasing number of your employees don’t think they need to be in the office either.

These are all the results of a Cisco survey of 2,800 college students and young professionals worldwide. The survey had a number of questions that make good cocktail party trivia (one-third of students think the Internet is as important as food, air and water) and are rather less impressive the more you consider them (the vast majority, after all, don’t believe that for a moment).

Where the study really gets interesting is when it comes to students’ workplace expectations — or rather, the expectation that they won’t be in the workplace. More than 60% say they have a right — not just a desire, but a right — to work from home on a flexible schedule. Some 70% say coming into the office regularly is unnecessary. That’s despite the fact that only a quarter of students are willing to say working from home makes them more productive.

They have some backup, at least — 69% of all workers say the office is unnecessary, a figure that has grown from 60% last year.

So is the workplace doomed, or will a weak economy force young adults to learn to love the cube? Let us know in the comments what you think.

 

Cisco’s survey shows us that young professional’s needs are much different from previous generations. Incoming workers think they have the right to work remotely with a flexible schedule and they want to be able to access corporate information from home. They also think that they should be able to use Facebook while at work. Some may feel like the new generation feels entitled to things like Facebook and other social media, but these demands may have to be met if companies want to compete for the best and brightest.  - Lucas Lautman

 

 

Staff Business Accounting

Phone:(505) 890-1178

Products or Services:

Medical Claims Billing Service, Cs Billing Services, Media Services Payroll, Online Payroll Services and Physical Therapy Billing Services

About Staff Business Accounting -Staff Business Accounting in Albuquerque, NM is a private company categorized under Accounting and Bookkeeping Services. Our records show it was established in 2000 and incorporated in New Mexico. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of less than $500,000 and employs a staff of approximately 1 to 4.