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Organizing Your Space for Efficiency

Maximize efficiency by decluttering, organizing, and designing an effective home office.

  1. You’re probably definitely not surprised to hear that we, as humans, are incredibly distractible. The average American picks up their phone 144 times each day. If you take away eight hours for sleeping, that’s approximately one pickup every seven minutes. Email, too, is out to distract us. We can’t forget the average 120 emails that The post 10 tips to maximize your time blocking efforts appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  2. It’s time we uncovered how much productivity is lost to constant communication. Have you ever wondered where all your productive hours went, only to realize you spent most of your day jumping between emails, meetings, and chat apps? You’re not alone. In today’s hyper-connected world, employees spend nearly 4 hours per day on communication—time that could The post Always online, always behind: the true cost of constant communication appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  3. In 2023, the American Psychological Association completed a survey that included questions on a controversial topic in the workplace: employee monitoring. While a few respondents shared their appreciation for employee monitoring, many participants shared the same concerns. Some of the written comments included: “Stop invading my privacy.” “I do not need monitoring.” “Respect my work The post Balancing productivity and privacy: Ethical considerations for employee time tracking appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  4. With the U.S. elections just a handful of days away, it’s too easy to get caught up in all things political. You might opt for a quick check on your favorite news site and then realize you spent an hour looking through the most recent poll results or watching town hall meetings. For some people, The post Balancing Work and Civic Duty: How to Stay Productive During Voting Season appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  5. When it comes to workplace tech, few tools spark as much debate as time tracking software. For some, they’re the ultimate productivity booster—a way to identify inefficiencies and make smarter business decisions. For others, they’re a fast track to micromanagement and a Big Brother-style work environment. Why such strong reactions? The reason is that time tracking […] The post Big Brother or best friend? Addressing common concerns about time tracking appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  6. Remote work offers flexibility and freedom, but it comes with a unique set of challenges. How do you build trust when you can’t see your team? How do you provide accountability without creating an atmosphere of surveillance? How do you keep everyone in sync without communication constantly disrupting the workday? The lack of in-person interactions The post Building trust in remote teams: The role of transparent productivity tools appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  7. Have you ever heard someone joke that they added an already-completed task to their to-do list just so they can check it off? Almost all of us can relate, because we’ve been conditioned to maintain a busy mindset. The more we accomplish, the better. Except, it’s not better. Busy does not equal productive, and productive The post Busy vs. productive: A mindset shift for the new year appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  8. If you’ve spent any time consuming productivity content in the last few years, you’ve likely been exposed to “digital minimalism” rhetoric. It’s all these proclamations that claim to be the be-all-and-end-all of healthy ways to navigate a world increasingly uncomfortably surrounded by screens. Monitoring screen time like a hawk. Keeping your phone in your pocket The post Digital minimalism, again, for real appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  9. Here’s a little not-so-secret secret: we all miss the mark sometimes. Sure, we’re all trying our best. We all have things we want to accomplish with our lives. We have a goal we’re chasing, and we’re determined to achieve it. We think about how great it would be if we could just get it done. The post Get your act together with SMART goals appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  10. A kind remark from your colleague. Dazzling fall colors everywhere you look outside. Starting your day with a caffeine boost. When you start looking for them, you can find good things in your life almost anywhere. The approach of Thanksgiving is often a catalyst for grateful reflections. And while there’s never a bad time to The post Gratitude at work: Can a positive mindset improve your productivity? appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  11. Let’s be honest, most customer-centered mission statements are generic, vague lines like“We strive to provide excellent customer service.” or “Our customers are our top priority.” Of course you do, and of course they are—your customers are what keep you afloat. But here’s the question no one seems to ask: Where does excellent customer service actually […] The post Happy teams, happy customers: why empowered employees create your biggest fans appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  12. Remember when “team building” meant awkward icebreakers and trust falls? Well, the hybrid work revolution has tossed that playbook (and the mandatory nametags) out the window. With hybrid job postings skyrocketing from 9% in Q1 2023 to nearly 23% by the end of 2024, it’s clear that the workplace landscape is evolving faster than you […] The post Has anyone seen Jeff? How hybrid work shakes up team dynamics appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  13. At a point when businesses are so technology-driven, manual timesheet methods sound like a thing of the past. It brings to mind your first job at a grocery store 20 years ago when you had to punch in and out on one of these bad boys. But believe it or not, 38% of U.S. employees The post Hidden costs of manual timesheet methods: A closer look at productivity drain appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  14. World Mental Health Day was last week, and this year’s theme probably resonates with most of us. It is time to prioritize mental health in the workplace. According to the World Health Organization, almost 1 in 5 adults experience a mental health condition each year. If you feel like your mental health has taken a The post Honoring World Mental Health Day: 6 Ways Time Management Supports Your Mental Health appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  15. Freelancers are taking over the workforce—and we are here for it. In 2023, 38% of the US workforce completed freelance work. By 2028, over half of the US workforce is projected to take on freelance work. These days, freelancing isn’t a fringe career path but a mainstream professional choice. What initially sounds like a recipe The post Join the freelance revolution: Mastering time management as an independent worker appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  16. Those of you reading this blog, those interested in the pursuit of productivity and work-life balance, and all those nice things, probably have a lot of dreams. It’s something that binds us. We want to be better in more than one area of our lives. There’s our health, our social lives, our personal work—and the The post Mastering prioritization could change your life appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  17. Here’s a thought exercise: imagine you finally manage to beat the procrastination motivation monster for once. (For many of us, that would already be a fantasy.) But say you sit down to work, full of beautiful productive motivation, ready to take on the day. Then what? Surely you’re going to try to get some work The post Multiply your productivity with a few small changes appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  18. Let’s be honest—at RescueTime, we can’t say enough good things about time tracking. That’s not because we just think it’s a great habit, but because we’ve seen its benefits play out for more than 2 million users. At this point, you know that time tracking comes with a variety of advantages, but maybe you’ve hit The post Navigating time tracking challenges: Empowering yourself for success appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  19. All I want is to be left alone in my average home But why do I always feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone, and I always feel like somebody’s watching me And I have no privacy Are these the lyrics to the 1984 hit Somebody’s Watching Me or complaints from a remote worker who’s The post Overcoming time tracking resistance: The power of a mindset shift appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  20. Election Day has come and gone, and I think it’s safe to say we’re all in need of regaining our balance. This period, marked by following the campaigns and debates and advocating for change, often leaves us feeling like we’re being pulled in a thousand directions. As we step back from this whirlwind, it’s essential The post Reflecting on Civic Duty: Regaining Balance After Election Day appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  21. tl;dr: RescueTime has been helping people focus and get meaningful work done for 17 years. Now, as remote work faces new challenges, so does RescueTime. We’ve launched Timesheets to help teams work smarter without the burden of surveillance, but we need your help to spread the word. Please share and support us as we push The post Remote Work Is Under Attack — But We’re Standing Our Ground appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  22. At RescueTime, our small but mighty team represents more than a handful of US states. Georgia. New York. Illinois. Kentucky. Texas. Washington. North Carolina. Tennessee. We work across 3 different time zones and a spread of nearly 3,000 miles. At this point, an expanded team is the norm, not the exception. More than 80% of The post Screen sharing that matters: 9 ways shared team dashboards enhance team collaboration appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  23. The secret to high-performing teams High-performing teams aren’t the product of happenstance. They’re built on a foundation of trust, motivation, and employee empowerment. Rather than being shackled by constant oversight, these teams thrive when their achievements, both big and small, are celebrated. In an era where we’re seeing more and more micro-management, empowering employees to […] The post Stop watching and start trusting: employee empowerment for the win! appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  24. Time is our most valuable resource, but it’s also often the most mismanaged. When you’re juggling the efforts of multiple people working on the same project, the struggle of time management becomes amplified. You don’t necessarily want to monitor an employee’s every move, but you do need to know where they are in their work The post Streamlining team workflows: The power of shared time tracking for project success appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

  25. I have a confession: I hate productivity. I don’t want to grind, and I’m not here to squeeze more out of every single minute. But wandering aimlessly between work, my constantly buzzing phone, and a house full of half-finished art projects wasn’t doing me any favors either. But this post isn’t about my dislike for The post The Pomodoro Method (Or how I learned to stop winging it and love productivity) appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article