4 Steps to Boost Your Workplace Productivity

4 Steps to Boost Your Workplace Productivity Whether you’ve fallen out of love with your job or are so overwhelmed you’ve been falling behind, it’s never too late to pick up the pace and catch up. Check out these tips from Gerald Buck over at Careerealism! Take a BreakIt may seem counterintuitive, but leaving your desk and walking around the block, getting a drink, or stretching your legs in the hallway for five minutes can get your  blood and oxygen flowing and restore your energy levels. Come back to your desk ready to dive in and take care of business!Outline Your PrioritiesFirst thing in the morning, or even before you go home at the end of the day, make a list of the most important to-dos in the order you need to tackle them. Make sure you include a small task to get the ball rolling, and put the biggest item early on so the day doesn’t get away from you. You can update and rearrange as you go, but having a list to follow helps you stay focused and accountable.  Consider the Long TermIf your workplace doesn’t have an annual goal-setting process in place already, take the initiative to identify two big things you want to accomplish over the course of the next year. Post them somewhere you’ll see every day- on your monitor or inside your top desk drawer- and work towards them every day. Taking the long view helps to liberate you from the feeling of being trapped in the stress of day-to-day tasks. Don’t forget to mention these goals  in your next performance review!  Get to Work EarlyLeaving your  home half an hour earlier can make a huge difference in your  day when you’re  really struggling to stay motivated- you can usually either finish a small task or get a good start on a bigger one before the office fills up with chatter and distractions. Having that boost of early morning momentum can positively affect your  whole day. Plus, you can leave right on time without feeling like you didn’t give that day your best work!Donâ €™t try to implement these all at once- take it one day at a time, or even one hour at a time if you need to, and see if your shifting attitude increases your  productivity and happiness.

Subordinate Clauses and Commas

Subordinate Clauses and Commas Subordinate Clauses and Commas Subordinate Clauses and Commas By Jacquelyn Landis Writers like to sprinkle their work with subordinate clauses because they add variety to sentence structure. A reading diet too heavy with simple sentences or even compound sentences becomes wearisome quickly. Subordinate clauses- also known as dependent clauses- used skillfully can add complexity and artfulness to writing. A subordinate clause can either precede or follow its main clause. What writers tend to get confused about, however, is when and where to place commas in relation to subordinate clauses. The simple rule is this: If a subordinate clause precedes the main clause, separate the two with a comma: Unless you have a lot of money, steer clear of Rodeo Drive. If the subordinate clause follows the main clause, no comma is usually needed: Steer clear of Rodeo Drive unless you have a lot of money. Many writers wouldnt be able to resist the temptation to stick a comma between Drive and unless even though its not strictly necessary. Theres a natural pause that seems to call for a comma, but try to resist its call unless a pause is needed for special emphasis. One notable exception is when the subordinating conjunction because is used and the main clause expresses a negative concept: Don’t worry about your spelling errors because the editor will fix them. Omitting a comma in this sentence suggests the meaning that there’s another reason not to worry about the spelling errors: Don’t worry about your spelling errors because the editor will fix them; worry about them because you shouldn’t have made them to begin with. So if the real reason you shouldn’t worry about the spelling errors is, in fact, because the editor will fix them, we need a comma: Don’t worry about your spelling errors, because the editor will fix them. Watch out for because in your subordinate clauses. Scrutinize your sentences to make sure youre not clouding the issue and confusing your readers. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Types of RhymeBroadcast vs Broadcasted as Past FormWhen to use "an"