Work SmartrWe work hard so you can work smart.

For people who need to make countless reports, paper usage is bound to be a problem if you are not that keen on making frequent revision to your work. While the company can spend a lot on bond paper or letterhead printed documents, if you are haven’t fully edited your memo or circular, print it out on a used paper which you are sure to have a lot of.

People will always tell you to read it multiple times before you print the final draft. That is why computers have screens which supposedly make it easier to edit. But for some, there is always some mistakes once the final copy is printed. This cannot be avoided and while many try as hard, reading the hard copy of the paper shows out the errors to many people’s surprise.

As far as scratch or recycled paper is concerned, offices are sure to have a lot of them. One error in printing normally becomes paper that can still be used for recycling. Actually this is a practice that is encouraged in most offices before making the final draft. You will be surprised at the savings a company can have should this practice be used, especially if people prefer to read the hard printed copy up close.

But as much as possible, try to go through your composition before printing it. That will always be the best option considering you should also consider the toner and ink cartridge you are using. One click can waste a lot of paper and ink and surely that is not a good way to conserve your office materials.

For some offices it is understandable that errors will suffice. One’s view may not necessarily be the same as the other and that is why most people would rather have another person read it. If that is the case, then use scratch paper before giving the document to your boss. It can save a lot to avoid paper waste.

When we are at the office, cleanliness and keeping our workstations are perhaps a good thing to do. For one thing, they say a messy workplace characterizes the type of work and output an employee can do. In a sense it is true. Just imagine not being able to fix up your stuff in an orderly fashion. It shows someone who is not focused and relies heavily on cramming and can be tagged as always looking for reports and files only when the boss needs them.

It doesn’t take much to maintain an organized working place. Add to the fact that a clean working station lessens the distractions of papers and folders scattered here and there. While some claim that leaving them like that makes it easier for them to find relevant data once asked for, it still remains that anyone can improve on them if and when they want to.

It is not likewise true that such a setup can make it easier for them to find the things needed once asked. People only say that because they are used to it. Observe people who do it and time it. Thought they will find the files and folders, it takes them quite some time to do so. In short, they are pretty much disorganized.

Nothing beats being organized and knowing how to properly file your documents for easy location. People feel that with an organized setup, they will have trouble in finding stuff. But if they get used to the idea of working in a more organized workstation, productivity may go up a notch since outside that of projecting a systematic and organized image, being aware of what to pull out and where they are is certainly something that can be an advantage to the people who are aiming high in their profession.

If you want good advice, look at the people in higher positions. Rarely would you see their stuff in disarray and they make sure that all papers, documents and office paraphernalia are in place. The neater you go, the more organized and motivated you can be in the office.

In this era of email and instant messaging, phone calls are still an integral part of business, especially for those whose work or business involve coordinating with counterparts in other companies thru the phone. Lifespy has some tips in effective business phone communication.

Basically, Alex advises us that:

Business phone calls should be according to a set schedule. If you feel like you just want to pick up your phone and dial your business partner’s number without looking at your watch or your calendar, think again.

Being in Asia myself, my phone has sometimes rung in the middle of the night, and the phone calls were from prospective clients, advertisers, and sometimes even colleagues who weren’t aware I was at the other side of the globe. But in most cases, my correspondents and I would agree on a good time to call or chat, be it on the phone, thru instant messaging, or even on Skype or some other VoIP client.

In short: be prepared, and be polite.

Time is something that is not always on the side of any employee or worker. While it depends on the nature of your job, chances are you will be having problems with deadlines once paper work starts piling up. And once you fail to meet these deadlines which are pertinent for departmental efficiency, chances are you will be bear the brunt of the blame for its incompetence.

But while this may be an issue that many would blame on being overworked, there are some people who always believe in “you can always continue tomorrow” or perhaps “the deadline is far off”. Rarely would you see people today finishing ahead of time when it comes to deadlines. They believe they have all the time in the world to kill.

Normally you would be given a week or two to compile and finish a report on something like sales reports or revenues for a certain period. Sounds easy to do but it is really getting the data that will bear the brunt of the job as well as formatting it in a way that will make your superior understand the current performance of your company for evaluation. Even the seasoned employees who are used to making reports should not take this task lightly. This is because they also have to review and make sure that everything reported is accurate since one wrong figure will be critical for the entire report.

Hence deadlines are given for workers to adjust. The last day is not the only thing important. It is how you manage your time. Do not be afraid to finish the report early since you need to review it before presenting it.

That is the whole essence of measuring efficiency. It is not about how fast you accomplish your work. It is about accuracy and making sure that you produce what the boss is asking from you.

Lifespy has a short, sensible guide on how you can get back on track after a long break or holiday from your career. Usually when you get burned out, you just want to get out of the rat race. I’ve experienced this myself. I’ve had a radical career shift–several actually. Sometimes it’s hard to get back in shape. But if you know what you’re doing, you’ll be all right.

Prepare a to-do list for you working self even though you’re still looking for a job. Being prepared can help you gain confidence in you plans during the job-hunting stage. And when you do finally land a job, you already have you to-do list at hand.

Be updated. Read about profiles of the industry you want to get into and how they changed over the years. You’re going to need the information during interviews and it’s going to show the management how serious you are about getting the job.

Find a well-matched job. Bear in mind that you already have those years of not working on your career. You want to make your first job to be relevant to the career path you’re taking on. So your first comeback job should be well suited to you, a job that needs your qualifications and skills. Don’t just accept a spot just because it’s the first one that offered and accepted you. This would give you better ease at adjusting to work scene.