How to Throw a Summer Office Party

  Company summer parties give the employees an opportunity to relax and have fun with the other co-workers  and your boss has finally realized that a summer office party is a great way to boost morale and camaraderie and you have been chosen to organize it. Never organized an office party before? Don’t worry, unlike winter office parties, the summertime is full of activities and venues to choose from. We have some great tips on how to make it a party that will make summer last a litte bit longer.    Budget Confirm with your boss the budget, the scale of the ...

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Best Apps for Travel & They’re Free!

It would be impossible to list all of the great apps that are out that make travel better and easier, but here are some of the top ones:       TripIt easily turns flights, hotel, and car reservations into a simple itinerary. Additionally, the app allows you to get flight status, driving directions, and more.   SeatGuru gives you detailed airline seat analysis, comments about seats which have limited recline (yes!), less legroom, bad windows, etc.   GateGuru Stuck at the airport? GateGuru app has information and maps for gate locations, food vendors, stores, ATM’s, places to plug in, airline ...

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Business Travel Tips for Smart Women

Here are some practical tips to make business travel run more smoothly      Sleep smart. Dark circles under your eyes aren’t good for business. Many road warriors know that you can only use a certain amount of concealer to cover bags under your eyes to mask jetlag or poor sleep nights. Carry eye masks and earplugs.    Get elite status. Nothing beats having being an elite member of an airline insofar as travel goes as the perks are just great: Faster lines, free upgrades, first class upgrades, the ability to use their lounge in the airport, etc. how do you get that ...

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10 Questions To Ask Before Buying a Business

  There are no stupid questions. This is what you should consider when doing your research before buying a business. The more questions you ask, the less risk you will have.  But just in case you have no idea where to begin, here is a list of ten questions as a starting point of a thorough investigation.    1 – What are your biggest challenges right now?  You want to be aware of potential issues. For instance, if you’re buying a company that will need improvements, you need to know that before deciding to acquire the business.    2 – ...

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Summer Office Attire

Appropriate (and not so much) office attire. Most employee handbooks will give specific examples of what to wear and what is considered acceptable. With the spike of summer heat comes an opportunity to adjust your work wear for the rising temperature.   Rule of thumb for appropriate attire during the summer season is to avoid the “four Bs”: bar-wear, boudoir attire, barbell outfits and beachwear.  Women’s skirt lengths should not be too short nor should necklines be too revealing. Showing your bra straps are also a definite no-no. Flip flops are distracting. They make noise and expose your feet. The weather ...

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Top Health and Wellbeing Tips to Get You Refreshed for Summer

  To help you break the busy-ness cycle and work happier, we’ve rounded up a handful of counter-intuitive ways to tweak your habits and your mindset. They range from obvious-but-oft-ignored tips     Do more exercise.  Make sure you exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week. Exercise is one of those activities that improves almost everything, including productivity and focus.    Ask for help and share feelings. If you feel under pressure and feel your workload is spiralling out of control, take the opportunity to discuss your feelings with friends, family or your manager.    Sit less. Most of us spend ...

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Great Apps for Executives

There are lots of lists out there and they are all different because new apps show up everyday. Here are some top apps for executives that we have hand picked for you. Docs-To-Go This is essentially a mobile version of Word, Excel and Powerpoint. It will not be a replacement for the desktop version but it is great for a quick edit or to jot notes or review information in transit or before a meeting. Very stable app with a strong history   Scanner Pro Paper meets the iPhone in Scanner Pro, which turns the iPhone’s camera into a simple scanner for ...

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How to Boost Team Creativity

  Being creative is more than just coming up with new ideas for products, or cost reductions. It’s a tool that can be used in many ways and situations. Creative people are better problem solvers and tend to overcome obstacles to reaching goals better than plodders. Research shows that people are much more creative and productive when they feel happy says Daniel Gilbert, a psychology professor at Harvard University.     Having a hard time coming up with new ideas with your team? A few practical tips to build a more creative team.    Learn each team members’ distinctive talents  The areas ...

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How to organise an Event

Managing an event has become a specialised discipline and requires an abundance of skills. The following are 10 things to keep in mind while organising an event      Questions to consider before planning an event: What are the objectives (both primary and secondary) of the event? What is the benefit to the organization? Are there achievable budgets and results? Does the concept have the support of your Board or Head Office? Do you need to test by running a pilot event? What is the division of roles and responsibilities? How can the event be monitored? How will the evaluation ...

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Five Time Management Ideas for Executive Assistants

It is frustrating to constantly feel overloaded with work. Have you ever thought, “I’m sure there’s an easier way of doing this”? Chances are there are, and with the following tips you’ll be able to save time in most of your activities and be happier at work.      1 – Get organized Getting organized is the first thing you should do in the day so all the other activities don’t get jeopardized. Organisation leads to accomplishment while disruption leads to loss of focus, delay of work getting done and ultimately frustration.    2 – Create templates  In order to ...

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