Category: Productivity

Hand Trucks: How they are Useful in the Workplace?

Posted on by Denise Caron-Quinn

Moving equipment and stocks, rearranging the office space, or making deliveries to and fro can be a daunting task without any use of leverage. Warehouse offices and other industries perform moving of loads up and down or in different locations on a daily grind. These can all be an exhausting and chaotic scenario without using hand trucks that are versatile tools for moving heavy objects without overexertion and that which gets you the results you want at the fastest possible rate. Hand trucks can be used virtually anywhere you need an extra hand with lifting or transferring equipment from one place to another – at home or in the workplace.

There are different hand trucks for varied uses in the workplace. When choosing the right hand truck for your needs, you should consider primarily the load type and quantity, terrain, vehicle for transport, and the stair type to determine which hand truck would be tailor-fit to your loading requirements in the workplace. Prices also vary depending on the brand or complexity of features and specifications. You can easily browse and order hand trucks on HandTrucks2Go.

Stair climbing hand trucks can carry awkward or heavy equipment on vehicle tailgates, up and down the stairs, athwart flat surfaces, or on and off docks without causing any injury and keeping the entire load balanced. This is easily operated with a simple push button as well as an electric or hand controller used to efficiently lift heavy loads without breaking a sweat. This type of hand truck is most often used in deliveries of sacks, vending machines, office equipment, boxes, and appliances; to name a few. This also comes in a wide variety of models and optional accessories.

Platform hand trucks on the other hand; have either adjustable or fixed types of platforms. These can be adjusted electrically to your preferences – whether you want the platform higher or lower. This enables fast and precise loading of equipment with very minimal effort.

Occupational health and safety measures are indeed implemented in work areas specifically in labor-intensive industrial sectors wherein workers are into deliveries and tremendous movements and lifting of heavy materials which increases the risks of mishaps or potential injury. The topmost priority of any company is to safeguard its manpower which is the highest formidable asset of any institution. The company bears responsibility to make sure that employees are in a safe and healthy working environment; which makes them accountable for any accidents that may be incurred while workers are on duty.

Hand trucks are definitely must-have tools in your home or in the workplace. It is essentially cost-effective and rakes in even more advantages in the long haul when it comes to overall level of performance and safety with handling tasks. More so, this saves you time which you can further allocate on other important tasks on your to-do list. Injuries or even casualties can be eradicated if not avoided with the proper implementation of safety measures in the workplace. Proper training should also be given to those who will be using hand trucks to make sure that they can safely and easily maneuver such heavy loads without hazards of strain or dislocation.

Author Bio:

Kris Luna is the Sales Executive at HandTrucks2Go. HandTrucks2Go is the leader in selling online highest quality moving equipment like hand trucks, platform trucks, dollies, folding carts, material lifts and stackers and they also provide material handling products like Wesco, Harper, and Magliner at the most affordable prices. They are the biggest distributors of electric hand trucks and powered stair climbers.

Ten Strategies For Taming Your Email Inbox

Posted on by Denise Caron-Quinn

If you are like most people, your email inbox is always overflowing. Sorting through your email can be a time-consuming and frustrating task. But you can remedy this by following these ten strategies for taming your email inbox.

1. Spam filters

Every email program has spam filters. It is up to you to make them work for you. Check your email settings and play around with the spam filters until you get it set to the level of privacy you desire. Less spam will mean fewer emails you have to wade through.

2. Unsubscribe

Unsubscribe to those newsletters that you no longer need. Get rid of the ones that just don’t provide useful information. There should be an unsubscribe button or link at the bottom of the email or newsletter.

3. Organize

You organize your paper files at home so why not organize your email? You can create files for your emails such as work mail, personal mail, receipts, etc. Place the appropriate emails in the appropriate files. A lot of email programs will even allow you to label emails from specific addresses according to their purpose. For example, emails coming from your work address will be labeled as work in your inbox. You can even color code your emails for higher efficiency.

4. Dedicated Email Time

Set aside a specific time each day in which you will check your email. It could be the first thing in the morning, or it may be the last thing you do in the evening. If you want to remain productive you have got to stop checking your email periodically throughout the day.

5. Short Responses

When you answer your emails, keep your replies short and to the point. This saves time for you and the person receiving your emails.

6. Spring Cleaning

Once a month or even once a week, set aside time for a little email spring cleaning.  Go through all your saved emails and purge what you don’t need. You want to try to get your email inbox down to 0. This may not be possible every day, but you can significantly reduce the number of items in your inbox and your outbox.

7. Establish Alternate Email Addresses

To cut down on the email clutter it is a good idea to set up several email addresses. You can use one for emails between family members, another for personal emails between friends and yet another address for business-related emails.

8. Learn More About Your System

Did you know that most individuals use less than 20% of the programs found on their system? Take some time to learn more about your system and what it can do. You may be missing out on some program features that could save you a lot of time.

9. Determine Your Next Action

Every time you open an email, make a decision on what your next action will be. Are you going to file it, answer it, or delete it? Make a decision and commit to it. This will reduce the amount of emails found in your email folder.

10. Don’t Forget Sent Mail

It is true email can really clog up your inbox, but you should not neglect your sent mail. Organize your sent messages in folders for each client or job. This makes it easy for you to find the email again if you should need it for reference.

Stressed Out? Organize Your Life

Posted on by Denise Caron-Quinn

Everywhere you look it seems there is bad news. The downturn in the economy is causing financial and emotional hardships for individuals from all walks of life. More and more people are suffering from extreme stress and anxiety.  You can’t do anything about the suffering economy or the falling stock market. However, you can take control of your personal environment.

When you feel stressed out, look around you. Is your home a cluttered mess? Does your desk at work look as if vandals struck overnight and scattered your papers everywhere? Do you have five different remotes to operate the TV, vcr, dvd player, home theater, etc.? Do you really know where your car keys are right now? Having too much clutter and too many unnecessary items can increase your anxiety levels and contribute to your daily stress. A disorganized environment can drain your energy and keep you from thinking clearly.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to de-clutter and simply your home and work environments. You should pick one room of the home. Then pick one corner of the room to start in. Resolve to reduce the amount of things in this space by at least 50%.  Have three boxes available. One box is for trash, one box is for donations, and the other box is for repurposing items.

Throw away things that you no longer want and are not good enough to donate. Donate items that you think will be of benefit to other families. Take a look at some of your unused items to determine if they could be re-purposed into something else. For example, old jelly jars can become attractive candleholders. Old shoeboxes can become letter and photo holders. Use your imagination to see how many things you can repurpose. This will not only help you de-clutter it will also save you money.

When your office desk is in disarray, it can affect your performance on the job. When job performance suffers your anxiety level increases as you worry about losing your job. A tidy desk has two purposes. One, it will help you be more productive and two, it will show your boss you are dependable and organized.

Downsize and organize your desk for maximum productivity. Get rid of all the cute knick-knacks. Organize your papers and documents into file folders. Make it a point to clear your desk every afternoon before leaving. Starting each day with a clean desk will do wonders for your morale.

Just because the world is in turmoil, it doesn’t mean your life has to be also. When you gain control of the clutter, you will find your stress level has reduced significantly.