productivity – Fedra Meetings & Events

Tag: productivity

Exercise and improve your productivity!

Posted on 19 Luglio 201719 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

Exercising at work is supposed to make you more ‘productive’, although there is very little research to support this. A new study seeks to answer whether people perform better in their jobs on days they exercise.

The research led by the University of Bristol entitled, Exercising at work and self-reported work performance is published in the current issue of International Journal of Workplace Health Management.

The researchers examined if being active during the working day affects people’s mood and performance. Two hundred people took part in the study. They exercised on a fairly regular basis using worksite-provided facilities, such as the gym or exercise classes. Volunteers worked at one of three large, well-known companies in Bristol. They mainly held desk-based roles and rated themselves as good at their jobs.

The researchers found from the focus groups that people who built exercise into their workday experienced positive spin-offs. Exercise helped re-energise and improve concentration, made people feel calmer and particularly assisted with problem solving. Networking opportunities also seemed to thrive.

When you exercise, you are uncomfortable; but, you keep going. You walk to the end of the street, you do another rep or you run just one more minute. Being productive and getting work done at times is just really about pushing yourself to finish that sentence, make that phone call and be slightly uncomfortable. Exercise trains you on how you choose to work through discomfort.

Exercise is the secret sauce of highly effective, productive people.

Further information

The paper: Exercising at work and self-reported work performance; J. C. Coulson, J. McKenna, M. Field (pp. 176-197), International Journal of Workplace Health Management 2008; Volume 1 Issue 3.

How To Be More Productive at Work [Infographic]

Posted on 1 Novembre 201618 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

When it comes to how you can be productive at work, the design of your workspace can have a major impact on your productivity levels.

It has the potential to increase your work output or hinder it. From lighting to noise levels, there is a lot that can affect your work. By implementing small steps such as checking your posture and keeping your desk space clean, you can ensure that you have the optimal productivity levels at your place of employment.

For example, researchers at Cornell University found a higher level of adrenaline in employees who were exposed to low levels of noise, compared to employees exposed to no noise. This particular discovery led them to believe that employees who experienced higher levels of noise were more stressed.

To find out what is the key to a productive workspace, let’s check out this infographic from Davitt Corporate Partners.

What is your biggest distraction at work? Let us know in the comments below!

How to Make Your Event Paperwork Paperless

Posted on 7 Settembre 201618 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

If you’ve ever had to send event paperwork to attendees, you already know the pain that comes along with managing a ton of documents. Papers get lost or misfiled. Attendees forget to complete an important field or don’t write legibly.

Thankfully, modern event organizing technology offers plenty of ways to get event paperwork completed quickly and easily — and makes illegible handwriting a thing of the past.

Here are three simple ways to get your paperwork signed faster and more reliably:

1) No more chaos

There are a couple truths behind successful event organizing: people like to know what to expect, and they like things to be easy.

You can achieve both when you give attendees the early heads-up about event paperwork they’ll need to sign. This sets expectations and onboards attendees to future actions they’ll need to take.

Most importantly, introducing paperwork early on minimizes the day-of-event chaos for both event organizers and attendees. When registrants have the opportunity to receive and sign event paperwork before the event, it cuts down on day-of document chaos.

So when your big day comes, your staff will be able to focus on more pressing tasks, and your attendees can focus on having a great time at your event.

2) Time Saving

eSignatures – like traditional signatures – are a legally-binding way to sign documents online.

Compared to pen and paper signing, eSignatures come with a few extra perks. They’re trackable. They can generate reminders for documents that still need to be signed by attendees. And you usually have the option to automatically store signed copies of documents in one easily-accessible place.

Another bonus of planning an event with online paperwork? You can cut down on the redundancy of formatting paperwork. Online templates make it simple to prep once and then send as many documents as you need. This can be a huge time saver for any event organizer who’s juggling different forms for big events.

3) Make it easy

Instead of having to print, sign and fax forms, online paperwork allows attendees to sign online in a few clicks. To get the most out of online signing, though, it’s super helpful to think about mobile-friendly signing. After all, more people access the internet on mobile devices than desktops.

Luckily, most people already carry the capability to complete paperwork in their pocket.

Mobile-friendly documents make it easy for attendees to fill out, sign, and complete event paperwork from wherever they are. That way, they can use their phone or tablet to sign as soon as they’re ready—and you can get paperwork filed faster.

Don’t forget about other devices, too. Attendees and event organizers often use tablets for live, in-person signing at events.

The Perfect Agenda

Posted on 4 Luglio 201618 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

Agendas can greatly improve the efficiency and productivity of any decision process.

One good agenda can cut the number of meetings needed to complete a project in half and greatly reduce the tendency for meetings to branch off into discussions that are not useful to goal achievement.

The goal of an agenda is to facilitate the decision-making process among group members.

This may be for a technology upgrade or a budget discussion.

The agenda helps to keep meeting attendees focused on the final decision.

Agendas also make it easier to evaluate the success of the meeting by providing a checklist for follow-up and accountability.

The Role of an Agenda

The first line of the agenda should state the goal and purpose of the meeting.

Some agenda formats prefer to state the goal along with sub-goals after each agenda item. Both formats establish a framework for discussion. Agendas can vary from simple to complex.

They can include attachments and reading material or the agenda from the previous meeting.

The type of format used is generally established by the formality and length of the meeting.

A good rule of thumb is that the format should match the dress of the meeting participants; that is, a meeting full of sandals and shorts can get by with an informal agenda while a room full of suits may require a formal agenda.

Formats

The short or informal meeting can be subsumed into an email or a meeting reminder.

It might contain one line for the goal of the meeting and then three to five short discussion points.

The long agenda is usually a full page, which includes a title, meeting location, date and time, goals and topics or points of discussion. Long meetings should also include times for each discussion topic and the name of the presenter.

Both agenda formats should end with a section for “Next Steps” for follow-up. These “Next Steps” will become the basis for agenda topics at the next meeting.

Check the infographic below for some agenda format examples:

7 Tips for better sleep on the road

Posted on 29 Giugno 201619 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

If there’s one thing planners need, it’s a good night’s sleep. But it’s not always easy to do when there are hundreds of event details swirling through your brain at 2 a.m.

Head out on the road, add an unfamiliar bed, a few time zone changes and an over-stuffed schedule, and sleep can become even more elusive. So what’s the solution?

Plan to sleep, as in, put the pieces in place, prep your mind and body and set the stage for sleep success, no matter where in the world you lay your head. Here’s how:

1. Pick your room wisely

Ask for a room that’s a long way from typical hotel noise-makers like guest elevators, room service/housekeeping elevators, ice machines, vending machines or laundry areas. Also steer clear of guestrooms near function rooms, lobby bars or outdoor pools, particularly in ‘party towns’ like Miami, New Orleans, Vegas, etc., where events can be loud, long and impossible to sleep through. In bustling cities, rooms on higher floors will put a bit more distance between you and the din of nearby highways and early morning garbage truck pickups.

2. Embrace the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign – and the security latch

Whether you’re dealing with jet-lag or just need a 20-minute nap, you’ll sleep a lot better if you embrace the power of the Do Not Disturb sign – it’s your first line of defense against the well-intentioned but sleep-disruptive knocks from hotel staff. The second line of defense: flipping the door lock and security latch to prevent intrusions.

3. Wear your sunglasses…at night?

Though it may sound a bit strange, and look a bit odd to the room service guy, wearing ‘blue blockers’ or a pair of sunglasses with amber lenses at night can help you fall asleep more easily, particularly if you go to bed clutching a smartphone or tablet. Why? Because screens blast blue light into your eyes, which the brain interprets as daylight. All that light suppresses the release of our fall-asleep chemicals and triggers the release of daytime-alertness-chemicals, right at the time when we’re trying to drift off.

Don’t have amber shades? Then improvise with your usual sunglasses to reduce the ‘screen-shine’ and always remember to dim screen(s) to the max to prevent those middle of the night texts from lighting up your room and waking your brain.

4. Put the brakes on your brain

You’ll sleep better if you put the brakes on the brainwave activity that can keep you over-revved at night. Start by shutting down the laptop, TV and smartphone at least an hour before you plan to go to sleep. Next, strap on the headphones and tune into a sleep-inducing play list or guided meditation to help you drift off.

You can also try Brainwave Power Music which utilizes ‘binaural beats,’ a therapeutic collection of meditative sound patterns designed to help encourage deep, restful sleep.

5. Wind down your body

The simplest way to prep your body for sleep is with a hot bath. Some tub time will help open the blood vessels and relax muscles, making sleep come more easily. To boost the sleep-promoting effects, some lavender essential oil added to the bath or spritzed around the room can help cut anxiety and insomnia according to a recent British study from the University of Southampton.

6. Deprive your senses

When you’re sleepless in Seattle or wide-awake in Wellington, black-out curtains, earplugs and eyeshades are essential to getting a good night’s rest. Forget to pack the plugs and shades? Then improvise. Try sleeping with a hand towel or spare t-shirt across your eyes to block out light and put bed pillows over your ears to tamp down extraneous noise.

Also—never sleep with the TV on. The constantly flickering light, subtle as it may seem when your eyes are closed, will trick your brain into thinking it’s daytime, making falling asleep and staying asleep more difficult.

7. Ring them bells

When you have an early event to manage or a pre-dawn flight to catch, concerns about sleeping through the alarm can keep you awake and undermine the quality of your sleep once you do finally drift off. Instead of tossing and turning, my strategy is to make it virtually impossible to oversleep – thus the multiple alarm technique, no ‘snooze’ button necessary:
·      Start by setting the alarm on your iPhone and your iPad, placing both well out of arm’s reach.
·      Add to that a wake up call, plus a follow-up call.
·      Top it off with a scheduled-the-night-before room service breakfast delivery, and you’ll be ready for action.
·      Need a bit more backup? Then re-purpose your old, decommissioned Blackberry and use it as an alarm clock. It’s loud, can go for days without charging and never fails.