Do Business Well

Christmas is the pinnacle of all holiday decorating, but thanks to Martha Stewart and other home-decorating mavens’ tutoring, Americans have expanded the number of holidays for which they go “all out” and decorate their homes. Over 60 percent of American households (61 percent) purchased Christmas decorations or other seasonal decorations in 2003, up from 55 percent purchase incidence in 2001. While no statistics are available about the exact number of homes that decorate for each major holiday, the holidays that are key for home decorating are Valentine’s Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and, of course, Christmas. This is the third most widely purchased home product category. Continue Reading »

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A recent survey by the psychology department at Swansea University found that the major difficulty experienced by people who had just started working from home was the inability to separate their work and home life. That was not just because they themselves found it hard, but because family and friends found it equally hard to accept that the person who was previously ‘mum’ or ‘dad’ at home was now also a worker. ‘They found it very difficult to accept the change in roles,’ says Professor Osborne. ‘It was hard for partners and kids to comprehend that the person who had previously been available when at home, no longer was, and that they had a new role inside the home.’ Continue Reading »

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While jobs vary in work tasks and objectives, there are some general and basic procedures which can be implemented to enhance worker productivity.

• Work to a daily plan.
• Look for ways in which you can productively use previously unused time.
• Start a follow-up file to periodically contact people who are important to your work. Be certain to record background information, special events and possibly even important birthdays on your file cards.
• Practise placing yourself in the shoes of the people you deal with and see yourself from their perspective. Can you approach them more positively? Can you make them feel more positive in their relationship with you?
• Talk with experienced people in your field of work and try the strategies they used to increase their productivity.
• Update your job skills.

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