Sunshine Coast and Brisbane Accountants - Clarke McEwan Accountants and Business Advisorrs
Sunshine Coast and Brisbane Accountants - Clarke McEwan Accountants and Business Advisorrs

Beat the energy slump. How Tech Tools can boost Office Productivity

Clarke McEwan Accountants

Are you feeling an energy slump at work? Try these clever office tech tools designed to help you create a productive work environment.

1. Have more productive meetings

According to a 2012 survey by Salary.com , 47 per cent of employees surveyed think work meetings are a huge time sink. While it is utopian to expect fewer meetings in our modern work culture, we can make them shorter and more productive.

To keep your meetings to the point, Less Meetings could be just the ticket. It lets you set a specific duration for each agenda item, share meeting notes and manage to-dos all in one place.

Save time and typos in meeting notes with the coolest note-taking tool – Otter. It uses voice-recognition technology to take notes in real time so you can concentrate on the talk.

2. Make emails less distracting

On average, office workers check their email 36 times in an hour, a survey by Atlassian has revealed. That's a lot of time spent switching between tasks and being unproductive.
For workers who feel bombarded by emails throughout the day, or who compulsively hit refresh every 10 minutes, email notification tools can be very helpful.

 

Spark's Smart Notifications app, for example, flags the most important emails you need to read and respond to immediately – or later on. The app, which is compatible with Apple Watch, allows you to reply to the email from the notification.

 

3. Increase focus at work

Phone calls. Office chatter. Printer sounds. In today's distraction-filled workplaces, concentration is hard to maintain. This leads to stress, fatigue and decreased productivity, according to researchers at Cornell University. A simple solution is investing in a pair of noise-cancelling headphones.

 

Taking you a step closer to workplace zen, Bose QuietComfort 25's noise-rejecting, dual-mic system cuts out all background noise – including distractions within offices. It also allows you to adjust the level of noise cancellation between three levels to fit your requirements.

 

4. Portable monitors

Now more than ever, workplaces promote multi-tasking on spaceship-like workstations that are equipped with two or three monitors. However, when it comes to business trips, a common pain point is straining your eyes on spreadsheets or presenting on small laptops. If you are looking for a multiple-screen experience on the go, a portable monitor is a great option. Packed Pixels' lightweight, wingmirror-style monitors can be fixed to the left and right sides of your laptop's screen to give you two extra displays. You could also opt for a desktop experience with the Asus MB169C+ that has a 15.6-inch display for efficient multi-tasking.

5. For better team collaboration

Are you spending too much time collaborating via emails, texts, group chats and team meetings? If so, a team collaboration tool is what you need.

Slack is a simple yet effective tool that enables teams to work together using real-time messaging, video calling, file sharing and message search. It also integrates with other tools including Google Drive , Trello and Giphy (for all your victory dance gifs). An alternative is Flock. It lets you engage in one-on-one or in-group conversations, share screens, invite guests, share news and bookmark messages – all within one platform.

6. Schedule in mindfulness

Adding more hours into your workday doesn't always mean you are being more productive. Research shows that taking time out for mindfulness at work reduces stress and improves productivity. So, schedule time in your busy day to relax your mind and body. A simple smartphone app, Calm offers 10-minute guided video lessons on mindful movements and gentle stretching to release tension in your body and recharge the mind. Headspace is another excellent app for guided meditations.

7. Use voice-assisted tech to simplify tasks

Google Home and Alexa have already become our new housemates, and now they are gradually making their way into workplaces.

The second wave of voice assistants – Google Assistant Smart Display and Amazon's Echo Show – come with a smart speaker connected to a tablet-sized screen. Think effortless presentations, video conferencing, text and voice messaging from a single device.

8. Goodbye to office temperature wars

Air conditioners blow the same on everybody, however, according to a 2018 survey by CareerBuilder , it's either too hot or too cold in the office depending on your gender, age and body mass index. This constant pre-occupation with monitoring body temperature can have an adverse effect on workplace productivity.

One way to overcome this problem is to get a personal thermostat such as Embr Wave , a bracelet scientifically designed to regulate the wearer's temperature. You can set your exact temperature preference; it'll automatically release comforting waves to make you feel comfortable and productive at work.

#techsavy #techtools #appsforbusiness #clarkemcewan #clarkemcewanbusiness #clarkemcewansbe #simplifytasks #appsforproductivity #betterteams #productivemeetings
#officetemperaturewars #voiceassistedapps

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