Category: 1-Minute Strategy

In our off-hours, we lay out a great deal of money to buy the things that make us comfortable, cheerful and content. Yet we tend to forget how much of our lives are spent at the office and simply accept its relative lack of amenities. Set aside some money from your budget every year to […]

There’s plenty of empty space on the front and sides of that big machine to affix cheat sheets and quick tips on changing toner and clearing easy jams, plus the number to call for help when you’re not around.

Or if that’s a bit extravagant, at least write them on a permanent, immobile structure to make sure they’re always exactly where you expect them to be—not hiding on rogue slips of paper, or in an online folder you might delete or whose location you could forget. Write them on a secret part of a […]

Try designating exactly one of your desk drawers as your happy place, and fill it only with the snacks you like most, the photos you love, your best music CDs, etc.—no tools of productivity allowed! It’s nice to have a tiny perfect retreat, a magical spot always guaranteeing a little workday happiness.

Remember that when you’re not at work, people really care about only one thing: when they’re going to hear back from you about something they need. In addition to telling emailers you’re gone, reassure them in your out-of-office message with a general estimate of when you’ll respond to what they just sent.

When you think of it, the office staff can be divided into two types of people: those who make eye contact, smile and say hello when they pass you in the hallway, and those who don’t. Think to yourself how much more pleasant it is to encounter someone from the former group, and how much […]

Faced with an unpleasant task at work tomorrow? Try this: Show up at the office just early enough to knock it out before the workday officially begins, when all is quiet and pressure is at its lowest. Getting past an onerous duty by the time you’re even officially responsible for starting your shift is a […]

Ensure that everyone is serious about getting on the same page by asking your team this one question: “Are we all now committed to doing this?” Those words change a group decision into a pact.

To make your smartphone easier to recover if it gets lost, try this: Take a photo of a piece of paper that shows your address or a different contact number, and apply this photo as your screensaver. It’s not pretty, but it immediately tells someone who finds the phone where or how it can be […]