HELPFUL BUSINESS TIPS

A Guide to A Better, More Productive Work Environment

5 Easy Ways to Give Your Workspace a Makeover

Regardless of your career or industry, it can be a task to keep things fresh and interesting. In an effort to achieve this, many employers have invested both time and money in corporate seminars and trainings to boost motivation. Although this may seem like a logical solution, they fail to realize the importance of the day to day work environment. Grey monotonous cubicle walls and fluorescent lighting have become the norm for most offices, but who says it has to stay that way? Creating a clean, organized and creative work environment can put you at ease, and give you the inspiration you need to be more productive. Below are 5 ways to help:

• Organize: Go though all components of your workstation and discard files no longer needed. Create a naming convention and folder structure to organize digital files. Eliminate unwanted papers and create a personal touch...
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Tips and Tricks to Search the Web More Effectively

It may be overwhelming to shuffle through the giant World Wide Web for the exact information you are looking for. Search engines can be tricky by placing information on the top of the list when it may not be the best fit for your search results.

Before you get started, it is important to understand what a search engine is and what it can do for you. Search engines survey the web using automated software programs and build their databases with data that is collected from each web page they analyze.  If you were to search for the keyword "Apple" for instance, it will scan the database for websites with this keyword usually, if the author of the website determines "apple" as one of the keywords (usually done using meta tags).

Here are a few tips to search the web more effectively, quicker and easier:

• Quotation marks:  Using symbols such as: " ", +, or , and, are all effective for narrowing down your search, especially if you are searching for a specific phrase, number or word.  This will allow the search engine to locate those exactly words, phrases or numbers in the text of different websites.
  
• Don't limit your search: Don't limit your search to one search engine. Try more than one search engine and compare results. You may find that one search engine works better for you and you may want to use it for your future research.
  
• Look past the top 10 results: The top 5-10 search results may not be a better source than the very last. Many companies pay to have their sites on the top of the list, so be skeptical when searching through the results. The edit > find tool in your browser is a great tool for skimming through information quickly. Search for a keyword on the site and see if the information best suits what you are looking for.
  
• Pay attention to the ending of the web address: Not everything you find on the web is accurate. The ending of a web address can tell you a lot about the information you are about to find. If a web address ends in .edu, .gov or .org it is educational, governmental or is run by a non-profit organization and will have more factual data than other sources. If a web address contains a person name, it is either a bloggers site or a site based on opinion. If you are doing research, you want to avoid these kinds of websites.
  
• Safety first: Before you give away any personal information be sure the website is secure and will protect your privacy. Look for seals of identity protection and privacy protection at the bottom of a site. That will indicate if a site can be trusted, but always be cautious.