Tag Archives: productivity

Staying Productive During the Dog Days of Summer

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Business Planning, ON: Sunday, August 16th, 2015

The dog days of summer are here. It can be hard to stay productive during this season while co-workers and employees go on vacation, summer hours go into effect or maybe even your business slows down a bit. In this post we will look at ways to stay productive during the dog days of summer.

What are the dog days of summer, anyway?

What thoughts come to mind when you hear the phrase “the dog days of summer”? Warm weather, sunny beaches, pool side barbecues or family road trips? Or maybe you think of it in more of a literal sense like dogs lying around in the heat or playing around like this fun video from America’s Funniest Home Videos (AVF).

Sidney Hall [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Sidney Hall [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

While the term may mean many of those things to us today, I think you would be surprised to learn about its origin. It comes from the Greek belief about the star Sirius also known as the dog star in the Canis Major and Lepus constellation. Take a look at the image above. The Greeks believed that Canis Major was like a dog chasing a hare named Lepus. The dog star Sirius is at the tip of the dog’s nose. The dog days of summer occur when Sirius lines up with the Sun. These days are believed to be the hottest days of the year. However, we know now that this couldn’t be true. While the months of July and August are usually the hottest the hottest days can vary from year to year depending on where you live. We also know that a star could never warm up the Earth as much as our Sun already does. However the term “dog days of summer” has stuck and taken on a whole new meaning. Continue reading →

How Taking a Break Can Help You Be More Productive

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Promotional Products, ON: Tuesday, September 17th, 2013

Lunch Break - How to Be Productive

Do you find yourself doing everything but eating at lunchtime? Do you even take a lunch break? Are you one of those people that thinks working through lunch makes you more productive? Do you eat at all during your break? Be more productive by taking a break!

The whole point of a lunch break is to do just that, break. Although we may not always think of our break time as a part of our productivity in business, it is. There are many reasons why employers are required to give a lunch break. Too many lunch breaks are taken at ones desk with a sandwich in one hand while typing with the other. It seems as though our society doesn’t believe in breaks anymore. We have become work obsessed and many of us have forgotten the benefits that come with downtime. Our brains are always working. Just as important as refilling your car with gas to get to work we must refuel our brains to continue to work effectively.

Lately, I have found that I haven’t left my desk much. I’ve been so busy that sometimes I skip lunch. I know many of you are just like me even if you work from home. So I took some time to do some internet reasearch and here are some ideas that I have come up with. These are ideas that I’ve found that I will apply to my day to make it less stressful and more productive. Continue reading →