Working from home takes a ton of discipline. It's very easy to get distracted and to wander off task. I came across this article recently that gives some tips on productivity. I'm re-posting it with permission of Office Interiors.
Every office and workplace has ways to make their business operations run more smoothly. Whether you need to better manage your time or simply de-clutter your workspace, there are numerous tips to help individuals, as well as a team of co-workers, function in a well managed office. Some tips may improve the physical organization of your office, and others are more individualized tips keep on employees on top of tasks. Together, this broad list of ideas is certain to bring more organization and efficiency to the workplace.
• Clear your desk top of all personal mementos. Hang them on the walls, place them on shelves, but give yourself space to work at your desk, without distractions. Keeping an organized, de-cluttered workspace helps you work more efficiently.
• Invest in some of your own inexpensive work supplies and keep them stocked inside your desk in an organizing tray. This way, you can avoid constantly searching for pens and paper clips, or overusing the company-wide supply.
• Consider new ways to organize the supply closet used by employees. Create a list of who takes how much of what and when. Designate a particular person to keep track of the list, specifically the person who takes inventory and orders more supplies. This will insure no one is using too much.
• Conduct quarterly or biannual organization of filing cabinets, discarding, or consolidate and re-file away unnecessary documents and paperwork. Put a shred/recycle program into place.
• Once you’ve completed a phone call, write down the next action you need to take relating to the call. Do you need to follow-up, provide feedback, make another call, fax or get something in the mail? If you can't complete the next action immediately, write it down.
• Simplify a big project by writing down everything, and group steps and tasks together. Then, put the tasks in order and set up a time line with deadlines and goals.
• Regularly schedule meetings to assess the progress the group is making and identify and expand upon what goals people are meeting. A group huddle, as such, should involve everyone in the office or department.
• Schedule appointments and meetings with both start and end times. People are more concise and to-the-point when they are creeping up on a deadline.
• Set deadlines for when tasks must be completed. This may seem silly, but when one person slips on meeting a deadline, it negatively affects someone else, decreasing more people’s efficiency in the workplace.
• Make your work day more productive by leaving the office in the afternoon for lunch. Energize yourself for the remainder of the day by getting some fresh air or just relaxing somewhere outside of the workplace.
• Reduce interruptions at work by moving your desk so you can't see the door. Passersby will not be able to catch your eye as they walk by, thus avoiding unnecessary conversation.
Source: Office Interiors Improving Office Efficiency
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The History of Cold Storage and Refrigeration Systems
[Reprinted with permission of Richmond Cold Storage]
Even before mechanical refrigeration systems were introduced, people needed a means of keeping their food at safe temperatures. Most ancient cultures used ice and snow to keep food cool. Harvesting ice and snow during the coldest months was an important task for people, and what was more crucial was rationing the supply in warmer weather when it was scarce. Many cultures dug holes into the ground and lined these dugouts with wood or straw, and packed the area with snow and ice. Today, one would never imagine the hardship of preserving food, but this was the sole means of refrigeration back in prehistoric times.
The first ever record of synthetic refrigeration was introduced by William Cullen in 1750’s. An expert in the field of natural sciences, most notably, chemistry, Cullen, utilized a pump to create a makeshift vacuum, which made it possible to boil and absorb heat from surrounding air. Cullen’s seemingly small experiment produced a small amount of ice, but at the time his experiment was just that, an experiment.
Several years later, Ben Franklin and a fellow associate further researched and experimented with evaporation. Little did they know it would become a key process in the development of refrigeration, since all heat must be removed, or evaporated, from an area in order to keep cool. Together they learned that highly unpredictable liquids like alcohol and ether could bring the temperature of an object down low enough to freeze. After this notable discovery, many scientists began experimenting with refrigeration and ice-making techniques.
Refrigerators for household use were introduced to the market in 1915. However, it wasn’t until the 1930’s that they gained wider use and acceptance. During this time, the price tag of such a commodity started to decrease due to the implementation of Freon and other non-toxic refrigerants.
With the convenience of today’s refrigerator, most people do not realize how important the appliance is to their daily routine. Refrigerators are used to store any type of food that without such storage risks spoilage from bacterial growth. The household appliance maintains a temperature just a few degrees above the freezing point of water, similar to a freezer, which maintains a temperature below the freezing point of water. It is not until this essential household convenience breaks down that we recognize what it is like to live without.
The most significant impact of the refrigeration on today’s families is that we are much more able and apt to eat fresh produce and have more healthy selections of food than we would without access to such storage. In addition, people are able to buy food in bulk, or prepare homemade foods in larger quantities and store it in a freezer for a longer period of time. Regardless of what we store in our refrigerators, it is an important element in our daily functions, from morning to night. In this day in age, where we have modern conveniences to make just about any daily task easier, it is difficult to imagine how people once kept perishable foods safe to consume without the use of such an important device.
[Source of original article]
Even before mechanical refrigeration systems were introduced, people needed a means of keeping their food at safe temperatures. Most ancient cultures used ice and snow to keep food cool. Harvesting ice and snow during the coldest months was an important task for people, and what was more crucial was rationing the supply in warmer weather when it was scarce. Many cultures dug holes into the ground and lined these dugouts with wood or straw, and packed the area with snow and ice. Today, one would never imagine the hardship of preserving food, but this was the sole means of refrigeration back in prehistoric times.
The first ever record of synthetic refrigeration was introduced by William Cullen in 1750’s. An expert in the field of natural sciences, most notably, chemistry, Cullen, utilized a pump to create a makeshift vacuum, which made it possible to boil and absorb heat from surrounding air. Cullen’s seemingly small experiment produced a small amount of ice, but at the time his experiment was just that, an experiment.
Several years later, Ben Franklin and a fellow associate further researched and experimented with evaporation. Little did they know it would become a key process in the development of refrigeration, since all heat must be removed, or evaporated, from an area in order to keep cool. Together they learned that highly unpredictable liquids like alcohol and ether could bring the temperature of an object down low enough to freeze. After this notable discovery, many scientists began experimenting with refrigeration and ice-making techniques.
Refrigerators for household use were introduced to the market in 1915. However, it wasn’t until the 1930’s that they gained wider use and acceptance. During this time, the price tag of such a commodity started to decrease due to the implementation of Freon and other non-toxic refrigerants.
With the convenience of today’s refrigerator, most people do not realize how important the appliance is to their daily routine. Refrigerators are used to store any type of food that without such storage risks spoilage from bacterial growth. The household appliance maintains a temperature just a few degrees above the freezing point of water, similar to a freezer, which maintains a temperature below the freezing point of water. It is not until this essential household convenience breaks down that we recognize what it is like to live without.
The most significant impact of the refrigeration on today’s families is that we are much more able and apt to eat fresh produce and have more healthy selections of food than we would without access to such storage. In addition, people are able to buy food in bulk, or prepare homemade foods in larger quantities and store it in a freezer for a longer period of time. Regardless of what we store in our refrigerators, it is an important element in our daily functions, from morning to night. In this day in age, where we have modern conveniences to make just about any daily task easier, it is difficult to imagine how people once kept perishable foods safe to consume without the use of such an important device.
[Source of original article]
Monday, August 24, 2009
Patio Paver Guide
I'll admit it, I'm the kind of guy who enjoys watching This Old House and even HGTV occasionally. For as long as I've wanted a nice house, I've wanted good landscaping to go along with it. I love the outdoors, so when I can't experience it away from home, I like to be able to enjoy it on my own property. Whether I'm entertaining guests or sitting out on the porch with the wife and dog (separate entities ;)), I like something functional and nice to look at.
Considering the current state of the economy, I decided to tackle the install of the pavers myself (the wife insisted I was crazy to do so and we even made bets as to whether or not it would work out). Of all the guides I found online, one of the most helpful was this article on patio pavers design tips.
While I won't claim it came out THIS well, I will say I won the bet :)
Considering the current state of the economy, I decided to tackle the install of the pavers myself (the wife insisted I was crazy to do so and we even made bets as to whether or not it would work out). Of all the guides I found online, one of the most helpful was this article on patio pavers design tips.
While I won't claim it came out THIS well, I will say I won the bet :)
Friday, August 21, 2009
Richmond Personal Injury Attorneys
I'm not going to lie, one of my biggest fears is being seriously injured to the extent I lose the ability to function and operate like a "normal" human being. For example: becoming paralyzed, losing a limb, severe burns, brain injury, etc. I'm such an active human being that any one of these would partially or totally prevent me from ever doing them again. In the event that this ever does happen and if I'm not the one to blame, you can rest assured I would hire the best personal attorney lawyer in Richmond I could find. While I wouldn't expect money to solve my problems, I think it's important for those responsible to take ownership over what happened while bringing exposure to whatever caused my situation.
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