Laura Buckler, Author at FocusMe

Flowers and Plants That Boost Workplace Productivity

Laura Buckler — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 14:00:21 +0000

Disengaged employees are unproductive and this lack of productivity costs US companies up to 550 billion dollars per year. Luckily, there are simple ways to ensure engagement and to maximize productivity. Offering a welcoming and comfortable workplace is one of the essentials.

When it comes to boosting productivity, many guides focus on collaboration, feedback and teamwork. Did you know, however, that the addition of plants and flowers to the office can deliver equally great results?

Which types of flowers can lead to that highly coveted productivity boost? Let’s take a look at several great choices.

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Orchids

There are several reasons why the spectacularly beautiful orchid is an excellent choice for the office.

For a start, these flowers are very easy to take care of. Their blossoms come in all colors and sizes and they’ll add a splash of vibrancy to every corporate environment.

Adding an orchid to every single desk is a piece of cake. Just make sure these flowers are getting enough sunlight and moisture.

Neon Pothos

If you have a tiny office, neon pothos is the perfect choice for you.

This is another low maintenance choice that does not necessitate extensive horticulture knowledge and skills. What’s even more important, neon pothos is a hanging plant.

Hanging plants are the ultimate choice for small offices because they do not need desk or floor space. You will be utilizing the vertical space that will otherwise be left empty. Hanging plants can be positioned in various creative ways to create a little green oasis in the middle of the urban jungle.

Apart from being easy to care for, neon pothos is also recognized for its saturated green color. Green is a calming tone and if you’re interested in color psychology, you’ll also find out that it suggests security and money. These are obvious things you’d want to focus on when attempting to boost productivity.

Snake Plant

The plants and flowers mentioned so far are easy to care for but they do need abundant sunlight. Unfortunately, many offices don’t get the sunlight required to grow healthy and beautiful plants.

If your office is short on natural light, choose a green species like the snake plant.

When it comes to low maintenance plants and flowers, this one takes the medal. It doesn’t need a lot of light in order to thrive and you will not kill it if you forget to water the pot one or two times.

An office that is relatively low on daylight can feel really gloomy and demotivating. Painting in bright colors and adding plants can help for the transformation of that inner space. Just make sure that the flowers you want to add to the interior are suited to the specific conditions.

Peace Lilies

If flowering plants are your thing, peace lilies should be added to the office décor.

Out of all flowers, these are the ones you’ll have the hardest time destroying (even if you’re really negligent with watering and other types of plant care).

Peace lilies also differ in appearance from other typical flowers, which makes them a great addition to a fresh and contemporary office.

The flower itself will “communicate” its needs, so just pay attention to it. Whenever the peace lily wilts, it’s expressing its need for water. Once hydration is provided, the peace lily will go back to its spectacular self.

Rubber Tree Plant

Apart from being really cool to look at, the rubber tree plant produces another very important benefit. It is recognized for its air purification qualities. If you work in a highly urbanized area that’s dusty and known for poor air quality, a rubber tree plant would be the one to pursue.

The plant grows pretty tall and it necessitates just one weekly watering. Placing it close to a window is a good idea to ensure enough daylight exposure.

Rubber tree plants have broad, flat leaves that are saturated green in color. In addition, they produce saturated purple flowers that will add a splash of color to the corporate environment.

Tillandsia

Do you employ young, modern people? if so, you want to give them the coolest workspace there is. To make the office extra impressive, consider the addition of plants like tillandsia to the interior décor.

Why is tillandsia such a great choice? Because this type of plant does not need soil to thrive! That’s right, the tillandsia is known as an air plant that only needs to be sprayed with water occasionally. Tillandsias are often places in glass globes or domes, which increases the cool factor even further.

The plant is another great communicator that will let you know it needs water. If the leaves of the tillandsia curl up too much, you’ll need to give it a quick spray.

African Violets

An African violet is a great flowering plant for a small office. It can survive in a really tiny pot, which makes it ideal for placement on a desk.

While the African violet does require a bit more care than the other plants included in the list, it blossoms each year and produces really delicate, colorful flowers.

Keep in mind that African violets will need to be watered more frequently, especially if you want them to blossom every single year.

These are just a few great choices for the creation of a green office. Don’t hesitate to explore other plants that correspond to the particular indoor environment you work in. Busy people can enjoy some natural beauty because many incredible plants are resilient and in need of solely minimal care.

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Steps towards Building a Regular Writing Routine: Find Your Inspiration

Laura Buckler — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 20:04:47 +0000

Are you finding it difficult to commit to a regular writing routine? Do you find yourself hesitant to sit down in front of the computer in the morning? Lacking inspiration could be the reason behind your inability to get down to business habitually.

Whether you’re doing creative writing, online copywriting or the creation of factual texts, you have to feel inspired and engaged by the work that you do. Many years of experience could take that initial excitement away from you, contributing to a more challenging process.

Finding inspiration will sometimes require conscious efforts on your behalf. If you’re ready to explore these possibilities, chances are that a regular writing routine will become attainable and it will bring you a lot of pleasure.

Find Inspiration in the Work of Other Writers

To be a good writer, you will also have to be an avid reader.

Busy on projects and deadlines, you may forget that writing is a creative process. Reading on a regular basis will give you a clear reminder of what one could accomplish through the power of words.

There are certain classics that every writer should read. Start with these books and eventually, move on to a genre or an author that you prefer. Reading isn’t about crafting your style or having a specific takeaway. It will give you perspective, enrich your own process and even help you overcome writer’s block.

Reading some industry-relevant material is also a good idea.

If you’re a digital copywriter, get in the habit of following blogs and influencers in the field. That’s an excellent choice for keeping up with novelties in the industry and pinpointing the great techniques that can yield good results in your own process.

Listen, Observe and Learn

Writers can find inspiration in nearly everything. This is the main reason why you should carry a notebook everywhere you go.

The process has to be continuous and it can expand to moments during which you’re not actively engaged in writing.

Spending time with your family can give you some excellent ideas for a new blog post or an ebook that you’d eventually write. Even interactions with children and their incredible creativity can fuel your engine.

Listen to good music, watch movies, go out in nature or simply head out for a stroll in the central part of town. The dynamics of everyday life, the calmness of the park and the shiny store windows can all help you expand your writing horizons.

Deal with Distractions

Distractions can stand in the way of building a regular writing routine and fostering creativity.

Sitting down to write will be a challenging task if the phone’s ringing, your partner is constantly around you or the dog wants to go out for a walk.

Online distractions are even more difficult to overcome. Statistics suggest that we spend 40 minutes on YouTube, 36 minutes on Facebook and 25 minutes on Snapchat every single day. That’s a lot of time you could put to much better use.

Having a calm and peaceful workplace is the first step towards dealing with distractions. If you work at home, you need to have a home office. Let the people around you know when you’ll be doing some writing so that they refrain from interrupting.

Choosing a good productivity app is also going to be important. A tool like FocusMe can be used for scheduling purposes, to block websites and apps, to create specific rules pertaining to your online behavior and to do time tracking. Such a tool is going to prove invaluable in the very beginning and until you manage to establish a distraction-free writing routine.

Write for Pleasure

Inspiration will often go out the window when writing becomes a job. Deadlines, strict requirements and interactions with clients will sometimes make you forget just how fun and exciting the process can be.

To regain your inspiration, start writing for pleasure. Writing for the sake of expressing yourself and without having a specific goal in mind is going to feel tremendously liberating. Craft a poem, start a blog or write an ebook that you’ll distribute for free. Such personal projects will give you a chance to explore new avenues and make writing enjoyable.

Allow yourself to get into this process without heavy editing, restrictions or requirements. While this process may feel challenging at first, it will soon feel pretty natural and it will deliver a positive impact on every other type of writing you’re attempting to do.

Join a Community of Similar-Minded Individuals

In the past, people found it somewhat difficult to find and connect with similar-minded individuals. Internet has revolutionized communication, especially when it comes to niche groups.

Join a forum or a social media group dedicated to writing. You can share your frustrations, get encouragement from others and feel inspired by their stories.

It’s very important to know that you’re not alone in your struggle. All writers go through ups and downs. All of them have developed individual processes that rebuild creativity and strengthen writing skills. Communicate with other writers and you will take a lot away.

Getting in touch with other writing professionals is an effort-free process. You don’t have to go out of your home if you don’t feel like it. You don’t have to contribute to the communication on a regular basis. Even if you’re just reading and learning from others, you will still feel included.

The great idea is to take part in the big writing event NaNoWriMo in November this year. Join the community of fellow writers and take a challenge for yourself – write a novel in one month. This a great way finally to start writing without distractions, find inspiration and meet similar minded people.

To sum it up, if you feel that the inspiration is gone and your writing routine is disturbed, go after change. For some, taking a short break to enjoy life’s little pleasures will be sufficient. Others are refueled by the work of successful writers. You will simply have to take some time to pinpoint the approach that works for you.

Building a writing routine does not come with a universal formula. It’s ok to slow down, have a break and identify the technique that gets your creative engine going. Be gentle and make that adjustment. You will soon find yourself feeling inspired to produce quality work once again.

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Top Time Wasting Websites to Block Today

Laura Buckler — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:37:41 +0000

Have you ever wondered about the amount of time we spend online (while we could be doing something much better)? In 2017, the average user spent 5.9 hours per day on digital media. The average mobile phone use was 3.3 hours per day – an increase from just 0.3 hours per day back in 2008.

The average American spends approximately 24 hours per week online. This is a massive increase from just 9.4 hours per week in 2009.

While internet helps us do our jobs and acquire knowledge, there are dozens of websites that qualify as massive productivity killers. These could be fun to explore in your spare time but they’re certainly not the best choice while working or attempting to complete a project on time.

If you want to boost your productivity and make the most of your day, you should restrict the use of certain websites and block others altogether. Here are the top time wasters you need to deal with today.

Facebook

Did you have any doubts about the inclusion of Facebook in the list? As far as time wasting goes, the social network is a superstar.

Facebook is now planning to start showing you just how much you spend checking your newsfeed and observing the photos of people you haven’t seen in ages (or never!). Even if the tool doesn’t get implemented, it’s no secret that Facebook is a massive productivity killer that you shouldn’t succumb to at your workplace.

As per 2017 data, the average daily time people spend on Facebook is 36 minutes. As far as productivity goes, there’s only one social media that surpasses Facebook and it’s our next entry.

YouTube

People spend 40 minutes per day watching YouTube videos.

That’s a lot of time you could be dedicating to much more productive activities. YouTube videos are everywhere – they’ll be shared on your Facebook newsfeed, they’ll turn up in the results of your Google search and even in your email inbox.

The problem with YouTube stems from the recommendations and the additional suggestions you get. Even if you watch one video for a specific purpose, you’ll eventually end up exploring a lot more content than you originally anticipated to. Once you get started, it will be almost impossible to stop. Thus, the best strategy is to refrain from starting altogether.

Amazon

Spending time on Amazon isn’t just bad for productivity, it will end up costing you a lot of money. The massive shopping portal features dozens of temptations (and those sneaky product suggestions). You’ll eventually get lost in the maze and you’ll have no idea how the hours flew by.

People today are spending more time exploring Amazon products than visiting its top 10 competitors combined! In December 2017 alone, Americans spent 22.6 billion minutes going through Amazon pages. In comparison, the second biggest retailer eBay has seen solely 6.2 billion combined visitor minutes over the same amount of time.

Amazon is sneaky due to the fact that it can offer personalized recommendations. Once you start buying, your product feed will be influenced by the choices you made in the past. Thus, you’ll see more products that you’re likely to be interested in.

Instagram

Visual social media like Instagram are becoming more and more prominent. If you have an urgent task to complete, it’s best to keep the Instagram app blocked throughout the day.

The same curiosity that drives the usage of other social media is fueling the Instagram craze. The content is entirely visual, which makes it much easier to browse through. Once you’re done with the newest pictures shared by people you follow, it’s easy to move on to the Instagram suggestions. Once you get there, you can spend hours exploring photos of strangers without even noticing the passage of time.

While Instagram can be highly entertaining when the workday is over, you should definitely get in the habit of blocking the social network while you’re in the office.

BoredPanda

The art, design and photography community is yet another massive time waster due to the beautiful, funny and entertaining image galleries it makes readily available.

BoredPanda gets 22.23 million monthly visits and it has persevered regardless of several detrimental changes. It managed to survive the Facebook purge aimed at removing irrelevant content from one’s newsfeed. The goal has been accomplished via the publication of high quality, relevant and engaging content.

Don’t get started with BoredPanda at the office because you’ll find yourself incapable of stopping. Save it for your morning coffee or even better – save it for your after-work hours.

BuzzFeed

As controversial as it may be, BuzzFeed is here to stay and it definitely ranks as a massive time wasting website. The same applies to the BuzzFeed YouTube channel (especially if you get into the comment section of each video).

Known for its liberal and feminist publications, BuzzFeed inspires some and leads to ridicule from others. Regardless of the reason why you’re visiting this website, however, you can spend way too much time on it.

Today, BuzzFeed has an audience of over 650 million people and its content generates more than nine billion views per month. You should definitely limit or block this website because the publications are likely to provoke an emotional response, getting you to engage in a comment battle with others. Putting an end to it is almost impossible. What you could do though is to put it on your FocusMe blacklist.

Now, get back to work!

Very often, the temptation to visit your favorite websites is going to be strong, even if you know that you have a pressing deadline. In such instances, you should look for solutions that will help you maintain your resolve.

Relying on productivity tools like FocusMe is a great choice for handling distractions, especially the digital ones. This app acts as a website and app blocker but it can help you accomplish a whole lot more when it comes to getting organised and spending your time on productive activities. If you want to know more about limiting or blocking websites and apps check out our handy How-to-Guides.

To change your routine, start by identifying the most detrimental websites as far as productivity goes. Your personal time wasters may differ from those in the list, which is why you need a bit of self-reflection. Once you have a better idea about what’s standing in your way, it will be much easier to tackle these websites in one way or another.

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The Best Time Management Tips for Busy Students

Laura Buckler — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 14:09:24 +0000

Studies are increasingly putting emphasis on one single thing – students today are more distracted than any previous generation. Such distractions lead to the loss of time and a massive reduction in productivity.

Whether you’re in high school or attempting to master the university curriculum, chances are that your time management efforts aren’t as effective as you’d want them to be. In order to improve the situation, you will have to put some more emphasis on self-discipline and changing habits that are contributing to the waste of time.

While such changes may seem to be difficult, even impossible in the very beginning, you will soon notice the positive effect they’re going to have on your life.

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Get Rid of the Distractions

Stemming from the introduction, this one is a no-brainer. Distractions are keeping you from focusing your mental power and tackling the most challenging academic tasks. Even if you are an excellent student, your performance is still going to suffer if you fail focusing on the most important tasks at hand.

Most distractions that students succumb to stem from contemporary technology. It would be an excellent idea to get rid of your phone when you sit down to study. Otherwise, you will feel tempted to post an Instagram selfie or check out Snapchat. To prevent this from happening block Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook or WhatsApp on your computer or your Android phone, at least for 2 hours for uninterrupted study time. How? Well, you could try FocusMe for free.

Finding the right place to study is also going to be important. Whether you live at home or with roommates in a dorm, you have to get others to respect your personal time. A silent room where people will not be coming and going all the time is going to be needed. If you can’t find such a place at home, going to the library will still be your safest bet. You will see how much a difference the place makes the first time you decide to change the settings.

Prioritize Tasks

If you’re trying to write an essay, draft a presentation and complete lab work at the same time, chances are that you’ll fail miserably at all three of these tasks.

Time management is all about the smart utilization of the available hours.

You know that you can’t complete everything today. Thus, you should put priority on the most important tasks or the ones that are due in the shortest amount of time. Prioritization is a fine balancing act. You may have a very long assignment that isn’t due tomorrow and math homework that you’ll have to submit in a few hours. Which one should you prioritize? Should you opt for urgency or the importance of the task?

In most cases, you will need to focus on both. Create a calendar that will help you keep track of due assignments. You should also have a more or less accurate idea about the amount of time you’ll need to handle each task. Based on these two factors, you can decide how to make the most of the available time every single day.

Flexibility Will Be Needed

We all know that things don’t always go according to plan.

While having a schedule is a great idea, a sudden change may occur and wreak havoc on your plan. A bit of flexibility will be required to react in the most adequate way in such situations.

A good schedule is balanced and it always leaves a bit of time for emergencies. Knowing how to change your priorities on the go will also be important for handling all tasks without panicking and without pushing yourself into sleep deprivation territory.

Most full-time students have to dedicate approximately 35 hours per week to learning activities. If only a small portion of this time is dedicated to going to class, the rest should be allocated to independent studying. As you can see, there is sufficient room for flexibility, making it possible to schedule in a last minute assignment or a family occasion that has been announced all of the sudden.

A final thing to remember is that some tasks will take much more than the anticipated time. Even if you’re confident in your knowledge and skills, you should allocate a few additional hours to each task In the event of finishing on time, you will be left with a few pleasant hours you can dedicate to leisure time activities.

Allow for Personal Time

Taking care of your health and wellbeing is as important as handling homework in a time efficient manner.

Time management for students should envision for a bit of personal time. Getting enough sleep, exercising, meeting with friends and consuming healthy meals are all important. Such activities will keep your energy levels up and increase your ability to focus on academic tasks.

Even if you don’t feel like doing it, you should get in the habit of exercising a few times per week. Exercise doesn’t have to involve an hour in the gym every other day. You can have a pleasant walk in the park, you can go to yoga, a dance class or a swimming pool with friends. Keeping yourself active will strengthen your body and enhance your cognitive ability. This means that regular exercise makes you smarter and it can reduce the amount of time needed to do your homework or write a thesis paper.

Don’t underestimate the importance of socializing, going out and letting your mind relax. If you spend too much time on academic tasks, you will lose traction sooner or later. It’s a much better idea to go outside and take care of your health. Once you go back to your lessons, you’ll feel much more rejuvenated and capable of handling complex tasks.

A good schedule is all about finding the work-life balance. Good time management is based on personal awareness, familiarity with your tasks and your ability to handle those in a certain time period. Be realistic when examining your learning schedule. On occasions, you may have to sacrifice fun activities for the purpose of ensuring effective management of tasks. When you’re done with the respective project, however, you will be free to do the things that you enjoy the most. This is yet another stimulus for the effective allocation of time.

BIO

In her freelance contributions and articles, Laura Buckler is helping readers to gain a different perspective on life, one piece at a time. Follow her on Twitter to receive some of that inspiring motivation that has become her trademark style.

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