There are highs and lows to the startup life. After all, ‘disrupting’ an entire industry often requires a lot of energy with very little sleep or pay.
Everyone’s in search of the perfect work-life balance, but no matter how much we tap into apps like Captio during networking events or Mindfulness to stay zen, sometimes it’s necessary to find some simple hacks to stay on top of our lives.
Whether you work in a shiny office space or in an open workspace, here are some of our favorite tricks to make your day-to-day much more productive.
Declutter Your Inbox in Lightning Speed
Having a cluttered email inbox is like having a cluttered mind. Sure, at the time you thought you needed to keep up with that new product or subscribe to that service. And then there are those pesky PR lists you somehow get on to. Who has the time to sift through it all one by one? Simply type “unsubscribe” into your search bar to filter them out, and feel the weight off your shoulders as you start deleting. Or, sign up to a service like Unroll.me and see all of the email lists you’re on and unsubscribe instantly.
One Up Your Phone’s Privacy Settings
When you’re constantly in and out of meetings, it’s not always possible to keep track of your phone (aka your life) at the same time. If you’re nervous about your privacy leaving your phone on your desk, use an accented letter (eg. é or ü) as your passcode. No one will be able to guess it!
Water Down Coffee – With More Coffee
Which programmer doesn’t love a nice, tall glass of cold brew? In order to make sure your cold brew or iced coffee isn’t getting watered down, put some coffee in an ice tray, and use those ice cubes when grabbing your cup o’ joe.
Beat the Heat
Programming complex apps or writing up big deals makes it inevitable for your laptop to heat up . While working at a startup can sometimes feel like working at a sweatshop, it should never actually feel like one. For a cheap and easy fix, stick an empty egg crate underneath your laptop and beat the heat!
Make Use of Jet Speed Charging
We all know a phone’s battery life can’t keep up the average techie’s app usage, especially with all the emailing, texting, and busy social scheduling. Get rid of the clunky battery packs and smart sticks. Put your phone on to airplane mode to charge from time to time and watch your battery get charged twice as fast!
Cut the Power Tools and Take Command
Using at least two monitors has become a tech trend in productivity. Take it to the next level by adding a tablet or netbook to the mix. Mount any tablet on a flat surface by using Command self-adhesive hooks – and voila! A convenient third display, and you didn’t have to drill a single hole.
Think Inside the Box
They say if we could divert the same amount of time we collectively do untangling headphone wires, we could have cured cancer by now (don’t quote us on that). But seriously, we’ve all been tangled in those twists one too many times. Fold them up in a glasses case to keep them organized.
Practice Wire Etiquette at No Cost
Constantly travelling from A to B with your laptop, there’s nothing quite as frustrating as when your charger wire frays. As the saying goes, a stitch in time saves nine: put a spring form in an old pen near the plug of your wire to prevent the charger from bending in weird ways.
A Quick Fix For Your Keyboard
It’s easy to pound on your keyboard after writing lines and lines of code. If your keyboard’s feet break, simply use binder clips to prop it back up.
Avoid Losing Anything After Accidental Shutdowns
When rushing to beat a deadline, have you ever accidentally hit the shutdown button without saving? Save this file as a .bat on your desktop. Click it when you accidentally shut down to abort the shutdown. Crisis averted!
Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a techie, you’re always short on time. Follow these tips and tricks to manage your time and daily activities in the office in a more efficient way.