Re-Energize at Work

 

Labor Day is fast approaching – and while this is an occasion to reflect on and celebrate our hard work at the office, those long desk hours can get really exhausting! Here are a few tried-and-true tips that the Out of Office team uses to rev up the workday and avoid those dreaded afternoon crashes.



  • Change Gears – sometimes breaking up your daily routine can be the perfect way to refocus. Get away from your computer and chat with a colleague about his or her weekend or schedule a quick team check-in to find out what everyone’s working on.

  • Corporate Cardio – working in an office can lead you to become “one” with your chair. To prevent this from happening, take a brisk walk around the office. This will get your blood flowing and help you tackle your projects with renewed energy.

Discounts & Deals:
Special Paper Savings at Your FedEx Office

 

Here’s a great Discount & Deals tip for all our Out of Office readers. FedEx Office has a great way to kick off the Back to School / Back to Business season – from now through September 5th, FedEx Office will be offering 500-sheet reams of Forest Stewardship Council-certified Domtar Earth Choice® Office Paper for only $2.99. That same ream normally sells for $4.99 in our centers, so stop by your local FedEx Office and stock up! 

Limit 5 cases/50 reams 8.5" x 11" DOMTAR Earth Choice® Recycled Paper (#1051) per customer. GPO/Alaska/Hawaii locations, #5584. No rain checks/substitutions.

Keeping Your Business Up to Date after a Move

 

Just like when you move homes, if you’ve decided to relocate your business lately, there can be a laundry list of things to remember during the process. From identifying a new location, packing and moving, to joining a local Chamber of Commerce and updating your current customers on where you’re moving to -- the “to do” list never seems to end! Eventually of course, you find yourself settled in and ready to open up shop again.

Now that your business is in its new place, it’s important to make sure your logo, address and phone number are updated in all the right places. This will make it easier for current customers to find you and to build awareness about your business with new customers who are visiting for the first time.

Signage – Make sure you update any exterior or window signage with your business name, address, phone number and hours of operation. Aside from your new address, this information may have changed since you moved to a new site. ...read more

Fire? Flood? No Worries, I Have Insurance

 

If it were only that simple. It seems every day on the news I see a report about people losing all their belongings in a freak accident or break-in. Anything from unattended candles or falling trees to cracked water pipes and faulty wiring can wreak havoc on a home. It really does to pay to have homeowner’s insurance. Or renter’s insurance for those renters out there, as the landlord’s policy most likely doesn’t cover your personal belongings in these scenarios.

Good documentation of what you own and its value can be an invaluable asset when submitting an insurance claim. Many insurance experts will tell you the more information you can provide your insurance company on the items in your home and their value, the quicker and easier it will be to get a payout – and get your life back to normal. ...read more

Keeping Kids Busy in the Car

 

Guest blogger Marelenise Roberts is an educator in Dallas, and the wife of one of our FedEx Office team members. She made some terrific car travel books this summer that we just had to share with our readers!

For this year’s family car trip, we upgraded from the traditional “I Spy” game.

This summer, our family drove from our home in North Texas to Disney World in Florida. It was almost a 20-hour drive with three kids in tow! Needless to say, I was worried about how we’d keep all three kids occupied in the car and avoid boredom. 

I captured their enthusiasm for the trip and for Disney by making them themed activity booklets for the car. I bought simple pocket folders with brads and filled them to the brim with all kinds of fun games. You could also have these coil-bound or secured like book. Then, I laminated the folders and decorated them with each child’s nickname.  ...read more

When School Bells Ring, Organization Reigns

 

I couldn’t believe it when I logged in to Facebook earlier this month to see pictures of some of my youngest cousins posing on the front porch early on a Monday morning, lunchboxes in hand and backpacks full of fresh crayons and notebooks. Back to school already? It was August 2nd! Summer just never seems to last long enough.

The ebbs and flows of life seem to take me by surprise every year. I can never get over how quickly time passes and seasons change. But alas, with the school year comes a more predictable routine, and with this new routine, a need to get – and stay – organized. Below are a couple of my favorite ideas for managing the daily grind.

Establish a routine. The sooner you can get on school schedule, the better. For most households, this probably means starting earlier bedtimes and wake-up times a week or two before school, but it sure makes the transition from lazy summer days to serious school days easier. ...read more

Measuring Success through Charity

 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, “The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service.”

I have always found charity to be an important part of my life whether I am donating my time, my money or helping organize others into charitable acts. Beyond my own charitable endeavors outside of work, our office participates in two major fundraising drives each year for the March of Dimes and United Way. My fellow team members are always interested in finding out how the campaigns are going – and while e-mail updates are nice, a visual representation really helps people see the goal and how far we need to go to meet it.

The thermometer goal like the one in the picture above is tried and true and does this job admirably. As I say, don’t mess with a classic! ...read more

Round-up: Where Home and Office Collide

 

How – and where – we work is changing. I’m sure many Out of Office readers know people who work from a “home office,” which I’ve learned can be anything from a clearing on the kitchen table to the local Wi-Fi hotspot. You might even be a home-office-based worker yourself!


I know professionals who work in their pajamas, take their dogs for walks during lunch hour and have no problems getting through rush hour traffic to pick up kids from soccer practice or daycare (like one of my best friends). With all of this flexibility, who wouldn’t want to work this way?! For some, it’s ideal. And for others like me, it can be hard to focus on work when there’s so many distractions around the house (e.g., my dog Oreo anxiously placing his toy ball at my feet for a game of catch).


Truthfully, there are a lot of things to weigh when considering the telecommuting work style. I’ve been doing my homework, weighing some of the pros and cons, and wanted to share some of the great resources out there for people who are already taking advantage of a home/mobile office or those who might be looking to start.


    College Campus Series:
    Living in Tight Spaces & Small Places.

     

    Guest blogger Jeffrey Hatch is a summer fellow with Ketchum, the public relations agency for FedEx Office. Jeffrey has traveled widely and lived in a LOT of small spaces. In fact, before heading to college he traveled throughout South America and Europe, working at an estancia in Argentina for a couple months. Many of the places he stayed during his travels had little to no closet space. Being “borderline O.C.D.” Jeffrey always had to keep his room clean. So we’re sharing some of his best tips and lessons learned for you here!

    Geometry doesn’t lie. Being one of the oldest and surest forms of mathematics, you can always be confident with the answer it gives you. From a young age its principles are engrained in us through games like the shape sorter. Square block, square hole. Round ball, round hole. ...read more

    College Campus Series:
    Lighten Your Load During Your Next Move

     

    Guest Blogger Eddie Moye is a summer fellow at Ketchum, the public relations agency for FedEx Office. He recently graduated from college and has lived in four different cities in the past four years – and knows the stress that comes with moving all too well. 

    During my four years at a college 600 miles away from my hometown, I amassed a gargantuan amount of stuff. I hoarded and piled everything I owned in my tiny dorm room, leaving only a small walkway from the door to my bed. Since I didn’t have a car at school, I had to fly home every summer – leaving me to fit everything I had accumulated into only the two duffel bags that airline baggage policies allow. Honestly, more of my stuff ended up in trash bags than in my luggage by the time I was done packing up my room.

    And it’s no different when you’re getting ready for the return trip every fall! ...read more