Building a greener office is an incredible way to simultaneously save money and help the environment. Some small businesses think that going green takes too much effort, but that’s hardly the case. Here are a few quick and simple ways to make your office greener.

1.    Use double-sided printing whenever possible

Set your printer or copier’s default mode to double-sided printing to automatically cut down on paper use. This is a simple step and if anyone requires single-sided printing they can easily change the settings.

2.    Use a water delivery service

Bottled water is incredibly wasteful, and unfortunately is prevalent in most offices. Using a water delivery service gives your employees the chance to drink clean water without wasting all that plastic and suffering from the possible health effects of bottled water.

3.    Turn lights and machines off when they’re not being used

This might seem obvious, but many people do not turn off lights and machines when they’re not in the office. Failing to do so can result in a lot of wasted energy and can cost your company funds. Encourage employees to turn off lights, computers and printers to automatically cut back on energy use.

4.    Use recycled and recyclable products when you can

Virtually any paper product is available in recycled versions at major office supply retailers. While they’re much better for the environment, they are generally comparable in price to non-recycled versions.

Using recyclable and compostable products is also important. These items are generally easy to find and can make a huge impact if they’re actually recycled after use. If you don’t implement an easy-to-follow recycling plan, you may find that employees aren’t actually recycling anything.

5.    Cut down on commuting

If you have a company filled with commuters, it can be very helpful to implement some sort of carpool matching service that connects employees who live near one another. Offering parking incentives or other bonuses to people who carpool is an excellent way to generate interest in the program.

These are all simple and inexpensive ways to make your office greener and to ensure that your business has less of an impact on the environment. If you’re interested in finding more ways to green your business, take a look at this article.

Face-to-face meetings may be the longtime standard, but they’re not always practical. Virtual meetings are quickly becoming more popular, and they’re fairly easy to conduct. There are certain tips to keep in mind, however, when you’re conducting a virtual meeting.

Etiquette is the key to most meetings, and it’s no different with those of the virtual variety. This may seem somewhat obvious, but many people think they can be more casual during virtual meetings – and that isn’t always the case.

Here are a few more tips that can help your virtual meetings to be more effective and professional.

1. Be prepared

Preparedness is significant for any meeting, virtual or not. When you’re conducting a virtual meeting, it can be easy to forget who your audience is. You want to make sure that the information you’re presenting is appropriate for each participant.

Also, make sure that everybody invited to the meeting has the appropriate login information. If the invitees can’t actually access the meeting, the entire function is lost.

2. Engage participants

Virtual meetings can quickly become very stiff if you don’t have a relationship with the person on the other end of the meeting. Rather than just jumping right into the task at hand, try going around and allowing all of the meeting’s participants to introduce themselves.

Although it might feel like freshman orientation all over again, having everybody go around and share the highlight of his or her weekend or some other little tidbit, can serve as a huge icebreaker.

3. No side conversations

Side conversations can be incredibly distracting to all participants, even if you’re not on screen at the moment. Not only can side conversations grab the concentration of the presenter, it can distract other attendees and deter from the point of the meeting.

Virtual meetings are great assets and there are many ways to ensure that you are conducting them in a professional and interesting manner. If you’d like to take a look at more suggestions for conducting virtual meetings, check out this Inc. article.

Inspiring employees can sometimes be hard to do when you’re running a small business. Funds are usually limited and there is not a lot of time to spare. Keeping your employees motivated, however, is imperative to the success of your business.

There are a number of ways to motivate employees that don’t include big bonuses or expensive benefits. A hand-written thank you letter can go a long way when it comes to showing employee appreciation. Here are a few other ideas:

1. Ask for input

It means a great deal to most employees to know that their thoughts and opinions are taken into consideration. By asking for input and implementing the best suggestions, you are showing them that you value their opinions and that they play a substantial role in the company.

2. Change it up

Sometimes repetition can lead to a reduction in motivation. When this happens, it’s essential to remember the cause for the waning motivation and mix things up a little. If you know an employee is eager to exercise a certain skill, try giving him or her a project that allows for that.

3. Focus on a great company culture

Some of the best companies to work at are those that employees feel are unique. Developing a great company culture can actually be quite simple and may help you to find and retain strong employees. A game room where employees can take a break and decompress when they’re feeling burned out can do wonders.

4. Recognize people for a job well done

Working hard on something often feels like it was all for nothing if you are not acknowledged for doing it well. That’s why it is so critical to show some sort of recognition for your employees to keep them working just as hard.

Something as simple as bringing up their achievements at a company-wide meeting or sending around an email recognizing their triumphs can make them feel appreciated. Although they may shy away from attention, they will likely be pleased to know that they’re being recognized.

All of these techniques are easy, affordable and can do wonders when it comes to motivating employees. Explore one or two of these ideas to see how they may affect employee morale and motivation.

For more examples of inexpensive employee motivators, check out this article.

As you may have heard already, Google has just unveiled its new feature, aptly titled Gmail Motion. In an attempt to keep up with the ever-changing technology of the Internet, Google has built a series of motions that is translated into actions and commands in Gmail.

Common actions such as reply all, search and archive can now be completed with simple gestures, instead of a keyboard and mouse. This advancement will probably make users feel more in sync with their computers and enjoy their email experiences even more.

How does it work?

The technology works with your computer’s webcam – most of which are built in to your computer these days. Google’s patented spatial tracking technology detects your movements and translates them into Gmail-specific commands.

How to use Gmail Motion safely

Safety precautions are very critical when it comes to operating Gmail Motion. Just like any other physical activity, injuries are possible and the proper steps must be taken in order to avoid them. Making sure the area around you is clear is the first step. The technology may overwhelm you at times and cause you to make fast, jerky movements, which can result in injury.

It is also recommended that you take regular breaks, just as you would if you were doing any other sort of work on the computer. Intermittent stretching is ideal as well. It will prevent your muscles from cramping and feeling overworked.

If this technology intrigues you, try taking a look at the Gmail Motion website, which profiles how-to videos and a printable Motion Guide that contains all of the possible gestures. If you are a business user who is wondering when you will be able to take advantage of this technology, have no fear – you will soon be seeing Google Docs Motion.

This is a huge technological advancement that could change the way all of us interact with our computers and complete daily tasks. Google’s latest announcement may seem goofy and kind of crazy to some of you, and it is – it’s just another one of Google’s yearly April Fools’ Day pranks.

Happy April Fools’ Day!

Email is both an incredible convenience and a huge stressor for many of us. Our inboxes overwhelm us with messages, yet most of them are vital. Fortunately, there are many techniques out there that can help make your inbox easier to handle. Here are a few of them:

1. Set up folders

   Setting up folders or labels in your email client is an easy way to organize your inbox. Often, you can set filters to sort out your emails automatically so that emails from certain addresses will go into a separate folder.

   With this feature, trivial emails are filtered out and don’t take up essential space in your inbox. It’s pretty easy to set this up and since this feature is available in most email clients and services, it is probably available to you.

2. Enable conversation view

   Enabling conversation (or “threaded”) view in your email client minimizes the number of visible emails in your inbox. Emails that are related to one conversation will all be found under one “email” instead of taking up several spots in your inbox.

   Also, when you utilize this feature, you will address all emails in a conversation when you address one. There is no longer a need to go through and archive each individual email – delete one, and you’re done.

3. If it will take less than 5 minutes to address, deal with it right away 

   Any time an email will take five minutes or less to address, it’s counterproductive to put it off. If it must be done, it will have to either be done now or later, so why not do it now? As you continue this habit, these simple emails will start taking even less time and it will become like second nature to address emails as they arrive.

These tips are only three of many that can help streamline your email inbox. They’re easy ways to manage your email and help make it less stressful, so why not try them out?

For additional tips on email management check out this article from Business Insider.