Daylight savings time can throw you off your rhythm if you let it. You don’t have to be a victim, though. If you want to fight back – keep reading. Today, we’re going to share some concrete tips that’ll help you stay productive when daylight savings time starts, even if you’ve struggled in the past.

Let’s begin!

Prepare for Daylight Savings Time

If you want to avoid being thrown off your rhythm, think about preparing ahead of schedule. While this can sound a little bit silly, it is one of the best tactics you can put into action if you don’t want to be affected too heavily.

One way to prepare is by waking up one hour earlier than your currently do. This will get you ready for when the clocks do go forward and you ‘lose’ that hour of sleep in the morning.

If you’re going to be waking up one hour earlier, it can be a good idea to go to be one hour earlier too. This will help you maintain a consistent level of sleep.

Stay Hydrated

When daylight savings time does hit, you’re going to find yourself struggling with fatigue throughout the day. One thing you can do to aid productivity and help improve your fatigue is to stay hydrated.

Many people find that drinking water throughout the day helps reduce their levels of fatigue. To make sure you don’t forget, set alarms on your phone that let remind you to drink water every hour or so.

Avoid Sugar

A lot of people find that they have sugar cravings when they feel tired. If you experience this, make sure you don’t give in.

Sugar can often have the effect of giving you a short burst of energy, followed by a massive slump. If you find that you’re craving sugar, opt for a protein bar, as these can sometimes help satiate sugar cravings.

Go Easy on the Coffee

It’s tempting to use coffee as a crutch when you’re feeling tired.

However, if you’re really tired, coffee will probably make things worse. That’s because you might experience the ‘tired but wired’ feeling. This is where you feel jittery, anxious and tired at the same time – which can a worse feeling than just feeling tired.

If you feel like you need a small ‘pick me up,’ consider drinking some green tea to help you maintain focus. Green tea is generally easier on the body, and you won’t find yourself experiencing a caffeine crash when drinking it.

Time For a Nap?

Daylight savings time is one of those things that you have to deal with on a yearly basis. But, that doesn’t mean you don’t suffer each time it comes around.

Using the tips provided in this post, you should now know how to be full of energy when the time comes. All these strategies can work well, and they can help you conquer the day so that you don’t let fatigue beat you down.

Of course, if things get really bad – you can always take a short nap!

While you might think that higher wages will keep your staff happy – it won’t.

Research shows there are many other (cheaper) ways to keep happy employees. It’s about using your dollars to improve the time people spend at work: build a better work culture and make staff feel appreciated.

How to do it? Below we give some tips that are sure to surprise you!

1. Improve the physical environment

Spoil your staff with quality office furniture. Well-designed workstations, sit-to-stand desks, office chairs that encourage good posture and open-office workstations achieve an enormous return on investment. Your staff will have better posture, have a lower risk of repetitive strain injuries (your insurance guy will like that), and be better placed to put their best into your business.

Well-designed office spaces can also encourage productivity and better work culture through encouraging collaboration and teamwork. Best of all, quality furniture tells your staff you value them, and gives a better image of your business to visiting guests.

2. Let them eat cake!

Actually, better yet, provide a big fruit bowl and good quality tea and coffee. This tells them you care, costs you very little, and promotes good health. What’s not to like? You’ll be surprised at the opportunities for cross-pollination of work ideas as people cluster around the coffee machine work-shopping issues.

Before you know it Jim from IT has created a custom solution for Halima in HR so she can get her tax receipts into the system the right way. In return, she found him an intern to assist with his office-wide software updates. Problems (and possible solutions) they would never have known about if they weren’t making their morning macchiato at the same time.

3. Creative Rewards for Hard Work and Happy Employees

It costs very little to demonstrate your appreciation, to thank staff for a big job done well. Some workplaces have implemented a ‘lucky-dip’ of rewards, where staff chose a card from a pot and written on the card is their reward. The cards can have any number of ideas, from massage vouchers and sports event or cinema tickets to a free dinner-for-two.

You can offer car-washes, gym memberships, or even a pass for a day off work on the cards in your office ‘lucky-dip’. The sky is the limit!

4. Fuse-Ball, Ping-Pong or Board Games

Big companies in Palo Alto competing for technology and employees have known this for a while – creative workplace experiences attract and motivate staff. Putting in a Ping-Pong table, Fuse Ball or supplying Board Games in a common area gives staff a place to relax.

Psychologists tell us that when you distract yourself from a problem, you free up your subconscious to busily work away at it. Don’t believe it? Think about how often have you had your ‘aha moment’ in the shower, at 3 am, or while out on a jog?

Like all the tips here, this gives your happy employees as well as better productivity. Think about where you can free up some space and build creativity and fun into your workplace.

Happy Staff, Happy Work Environment

So there you have it – some research-backed fun and creative tips for happy employees that won’t break the bank.

What are you waiting for? Time to prep the office announcement!

Have you been considering asking out that cute or handsome coworker of yours?

Are you concerned how dating might affect your professional relationship and standing in the company?

It’s important to assess the situation before making decisions on dating a coworker. This article will outline the pros and cons of sparking up a romance at work.

Pro: Common Ground

The best relationships are built on common experiences or interests.

The sheer fact that the two of you are working together indicates that you have common experiences. You share new experiences every day, always giving you something to talk about.

The mere fact that you sit near each other in the same office is bound to build up attraction. People tend to be more attracted to people who are in close proximity to them more often.

You will also know the same people and likely have the same work social circle. This again gives you more things to talk about and can keep conversations lively.

Con: Office Gossip

If you’re just starting out at a company or trying to work your way up, it might be best to keep romance out of work.

When you date a coworker, the two of you automatically become the latest source for office gossip.

People will inevitably be talking about the status of your relationship, if it’s going well, and even when it’s going to end.

Having this buzz happening around you at work could distract you from the real reason you’re there- to advance your career.

Pro: Similar Schedules

One advantage of dating someone you work with is that you likely have similar schedules.

This can make planning after work dates super easy. Often times in adult life you meet someone really great but they work different hours from you or have other commitments and you hardly get to see them.

When you work in the same place you pretty much know where your romantic partner is 40 hours a week, and you can therefore easily plan romantic outings.

Con: Breaking Up Is Rough

One of the main disadvantages of a romance at work is the break-up.

Consider the fact that you will be trapped in a confined space with this person all week long even after you break up.

If things end badly, you’ll have to constantly see them by the water cooler, or bump into them in the break room. The awkwardness that is sure to ensue when you break up is enough to keep many people running away from an office romance.

Consider These Pros and Cons Before Sparking a Romance at Work

Keep this list of pros and cons in mind before you start an office romance.

Office romances can be incredible and turn into lifelong partners, but they can also end terribly and making working together uncomfortable.

Be sure to assess where you’re at in your career and with your company before taking the risk on an office romance.

Like this article? Want to read more about life in the office? Check out our article on deciding between an open office and a closed one.

Are you a business owner looking to make your office more millennial-friendly? Do you want to attract young talent to work for your company? If so, it’s important to consider what millennials want out of a workplace.

Millennials have surpassed baby boomers as the largest generation in the workforce. Meaning this generations preferences could keep your business thriving. Millennials are turning away from boxed off cubicles and offices in favor of a shared workspace, but why?

This article will break down why millennial professionals love collaborative workspaces.

1) Millennials are the Founders of the Sharing Economy

Young professionals are moving away from traditional office jobs and into the sharing economy. The “sharing economy” is the phenomenon where people share their transportation, housing, and, in this case, workspaces.

Millennials are now working together in a shared workspace called a “coworking business.” Coworking businesses are places where people with different backgrounds rent a desk out of one shared office.

53% of Americans do some sort of freelance work and a large portion of these Americans want an office to go into to complete their work. With coworking spaces, freelance writers, graphic designers, and other work at home professionals can have an office environment to keep them motivated and meeting people.

2) Millennials are Always Networking

One reason why millennials enjoy a shared workspace is that millennials are always networking – social networking that is. Facebook, Twitter, and blogs encourage people to share every detail about their lives. Because millennials are used to sharing on social media, sharing at work seems natural.

Millennials are social creatures who want to engage with others in real life, even if it’s just to share Instagram worthy moments. Sitting at home on their computer doesn’t give millennials much to talk about. But going into a physical office allows millennials to expand their networks both online and offline and meet new people to share experiences with.

Shared workspaces encourage openness and the exchanging of ideas far more than the traditional closed off cubicles.

3) Shared Workspaces Save Money for Amenities

Millennials love having fun amenities at work, and one way to achieve this is by saving money using shared workspaces. Instead of allotting every employee their own desk, cubicle, and computer, offices are starting to have general workspaces.

The money that was once used on formal workstations is now put into collaborative fun stations. Game rooms, craft beer on tap, and in-house yoga are some of the amenities that frequent millennial driven businesses.

These amenities are not fruitless. Incorporating fun into the office can improve profits and workplace morale.

If You Want to Attract Millennials Consider a Shared Workspace Environment

The trend of the sharing economy is not going away. Millennials want open and collaborative workspaces so they feel like they’re part of the community and can connect with their co-workers.

If you have any questions about this article or any of our products or services please contact us! Looking for ways to save money on buying trendy office furniture that millennials will love? Check out our guide here.