Author Archives: kate

Sep24

Easy PC Organizing

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Easy PC Organizing

Ah, Microsoft updates…don’t you just love them? They take up a chunk of time and you don’t always like what they have changed – this time around. But, it is prudent to always update your OS, not to mention your antivirus. Keeping your devices running smoothly takes a lot of work. You’d have to defrag, run updates, keep your files organized, have a competent Antivirus, etc. These things will ensure that your machine will keep working long after you shelled out a crazy amount of money to get that powerful workhorse. If you’re lazy about taking care of your devices, an OS update and anti-virus update is the very least amount of maintenance you can do for keeping your data and your machines safe.

But what about organization? If you’re too lazy to do software maintenance, you’re most likely too lazy (or inexperienced) to keep your files organized.

Tell me…does your downloads folder look like it is in need of its own dewey decimal system? Is it filled with old files that you have downloaded since 2015? Is your desktop stacked with icons and app shortcuts and folders for saving off temporary files? Can you even see your wallpaper? Does your start menu fill up the bottom bar of your screen? Is there even space to add more? Does your photo library have old photos? Bad photos? 10 photos of the same thing? (Yes, I’m talking about those selfies where you have the same shirt on but just different poses)

I’m sure you get my point. Our rooms, our houses, our lives need a little bit of spring cleaning from time to time – so do your work machines – PCs, laptops, and phones.

If you can’t be bothered or don’t know how to – here are three organizers that can automate the job for you:

Adobe Lightroom – this powerful tool can organize your photos for you. If you work in the creative industry or dabble in some photography – you’re going to need a tool to organize your growing photo collection. Here’s how to use it to organize your photos.

DigiKam – digiKam is an advanced open-source digital photo management application that runs on Linux, Windows, and MacOS. The application provides a comprehensive set of tools for importing, managing, editing, and sharing photos and raw files. As you’ve read, it is a free and open source tool – but if you love their work, you can give them a donation to support their projects.

Aerosnap – this nifty tool lets you send your active window to any part your screen You can minimize, open shrink to fill a quarter or half of your display, and bounce off your primary display entirely (if you have a multi-monitor setup). Just hit the Window key + one of the arrow keys to start snapping. This feature has been made available since Win7. Here are instructions on how to turn the feature on and off on Win10.

Do you know of other organizing tools that can automate file organization for you? We’d be happy to learn about them, share them with us in the comments! Stay humble, hustle hard.

 

Written by Jaie O. The Help

Sep17

A Story of Remote Work

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A Story of Remote Work

A survey done by Gallup in 2015, reports that 37% of the US labor force is working remotely…and that number is rising. The option to do remote work is one of the perks that is being made available to employees today. It certainly is one of the perks that millennials look for when job hunting. Offices are now equipped to provide a remote work option to their employees. And there are many tools to enable this: powerful laptops, video conferencing software, collaboration tools, instant messaging, and cloud syncing to enable employees to work from anywhere. These are just a few of the tools. But many myths and misconceptions surround this way of working.

Why aren’t we all still adopting this way of working when technology has enabled an easier way to do remote work. This is probably due to the stigma surrounding remote work – with remote work meaning you can work from anywhere outside the office setting (co-working spaces, coffee shops, work from home, etc.).

One prevailing myth is that productivity decreases when you work from home. This is because of the three temptations: the fridge, the bed, and the TV. But one study from Harvard Business Review notes that a worker’s productivity increases by 13.5% if he/she is permitted to do remote work. This could be due having fewer distractions like office chatter, white noise, pointless meetings, and the infamous breakroom effect where you get pulled away to socialize, have coffee, or eat cake with co-workers.

Some office traditionalists wonder if remote workers are as committed to their work as workers in an office setting. One question is if they even get out of their pajamas for work. The underlying fear is that if they don’t even bother to get dressed, they can’t care that much. But many remote workers do get dressed – they go through the morning routines of taking a shower, preparing breakfast, and seeing the kids off to school before hunkering down to work. The only difference is that they avoid the long commute/drive through horrible traffic. That is a major win for everyone if you ask me. More remote workers mean fewer vehicles on the street.

And then there’s the myth about poor communication – that somehow remote workers are harder to get a hold of than office workers. This belief can easily be addressed by communication software. Meetings via teleconferencing through Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom, or other tech is just as or dare I say, even more, effective than face to face office meetings. It eliminates delays because there’s no need for running around to find a meeting room, invitees can join in at any time, and participants can join in from anywhere in the world and at any time zone.

A remote workers workload doesn’t change, they still have to finish the task that they have to attend to even if they’re outside of the office setting. This means they tend to overcompensate by having more structure in place since they more time and more autonomy over their schedules.

Are you a remote worker? How is it working for you so far? Share your experiences with us in the comments. Stay humble, hustle hard.

 

Written by Jaie O. The Help

Sep10

5 Ways to Show Your Computer Some Love

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5 Ways to Show Your Computer Some Love

Aside from the bed, in front of a computer is where we spend most of lives. Well, that’s very true today. CNN reports that the average American spends more than 10 hrs a day staring at a screen – with computer screens taking up an average of 7 hours of that time. That number is still growing.

While we have no control over the amount of time we spend in front of a work computer – we can mitigate the unhealthy effect by doing some stretches and getting some activity into our daily routine. I’ve written about light stretches here.

Now back to the computer screen. If you are a normal office worker, you spend a lot of time in front of this device and for most people, work done in front of a PC is their bread and butter. You would want to take very good care of it to keep it in tiptop shape for many years to come and to maximize this very important investment.

Most PC’s have an average lifespan of 5 years – longer if you take care of it well. Here’s how to keep your PC in tiptop shape and make it last longer.

1. Keep it clean!
Nothing shows wear and tear like having a dirty screen and keyboard. Dust, dirt, and grime can cause PCs to malfunction and keyboard keys to stick. Fans clogged with dirt can cause your machine to overheat. A dirty screen can and will affect the display So wipe down your machine, use a keyboard vacuum or canned air to remove dirt from your keyboard and PC fan. Those food crumbs aren’t helping either, so brush or vacuum them out. Clean your screen with a microfiber cloth and a screen cleaner (never use a glass or window cleaner – that can dull out your display). And please, for the love of god, never place an uncovered coffee mug near your keyboard or laptop.

2. Cooling effect.
When the room temperature is high, your PC or laptop fan works overtime to cool down the device. So, help it along by NOT placing the PC or laptop in a hot place and keep it out of the sun. The glare won’t help your eyes either. Keep the device well ventilated to ensure that the fan can dissipate the heat from your device properly.

3. Update.
Always update your OS – it keep things running smoothly. Don’t forget to update your antivirus as well. Doing that will not only save your device but save your sanity.

4. Get a surge protector.
An electrical surge can fry your hard drive. If you are in an area prone to storms or electrical surges due to fluctuating power supplies, get a surge protector. Invest in a good one, otherwise, you might find yourself buying another machine.

5. Be careful.
Treat your machine with care. Don’t try to move PCs around – pick a spot and hunker down. Moving it around might dislodge parts in the machine. Carry your laptop like a fragile vase. Sure, they’re built to be mobile but don’t be willy-nilly and go about holding it on one hand with coffee on the other (disastrous results, trust me). Buy a nice padded case for it.

Got any other tips for computer care? Share them with us! Stay humble, hustle hard!

 

Written by Jaie O. The Help

Sep4

Do the (side) Hustle!

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Do the (side) Hustle!

It’s September and as the weather starts to get cold, we start to heat up with excitement for the holidays. In the next few months, a plethora of holiday celebrations are about to arise – and expenses are expected to rise along with them. We’re looking at clothing and costumes, candy, decorations, trips, gifts, and food. And just about now, we’re gearing up for these expenses.

Even if we’re working a full-time job, everyone would welcome earning a little more money on the side. Some people are looking to augment their income, some people want to monetize and earn from their hobbies, and others are looking to build a business while working a full-time job. Whatever your reason is, there are a lot of professional careers and hobbies that can be a fun and lucrative way to earn more.

For the enterprising employee who needs ideas for side hustles that he/she can do while working a day job, this list is for you!

Tutoring:
Got a musical skill? Are you good at playing a musical instrument? There are a lot of parents who would like their child to learn a musical instrument – and with good reason. Learning a musical instrument at a young age builds character and has a lot of benefits. Teach a child to play the piano or the guitar. Or you can even give them voice lessons if you’ve got amazing vocal chops!

Are you good at math and science? You can probably work with older kids or teens on their maths. I know I needed help with algebra and geometry when I was younger. You can probably even help young adults who are at Uni with their calculus and statistics dilemma. Teach them your tips and tricks so that they can learn how to solve problems differently from textbook instruction.

Are you good at English or know another language? Why not be a remote language instructor? If you have ESL certification, you can teach to an older and more professional demographics. In countries like Japan, Korea, Hongkong, and UAE, people pay around $25 an hour for English lessons. Foreign languages (French, Spanish, Japanese, German, etc.) fetch a very good price, too. It’s a great way to make a solid income and “meet” friends from around the world.

Home Business:
Do you like cooking for other people? If you’ve got awesome baking skills, why not put that to good use? Even if you’re just a weekend warrior. You can sell your baked goodies for parties, weddings, and events. Most of them happen on a weekend anyway.

Got a hobby? If you’re good with needle and thread, you can accept alterations or create your own “clothing line” If you can only sew in a straight line, pajamas, pillowcases, and shopping bags are a great starting point.

Professional Online jobs:
If you have the skills and/or certifications for one of these, you can freelance your way into money making projects:
● Graphic Design
● Web development
● Accounting
● Virtual Assistance
● Writing
● Transcribing
● Consultancy (Design, Travel, Wellness, Career, etc.)

Hopefully, these ideas can help you side hustle your way into more moolah for the holidays. Got any more ideas? Share them with us in the comments. Stay humble, hustle hard!

 

Written by Jaie O. The Help

Aug27

PC clean up

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PC clean up

The average shelf life of a desktop PC is 5 years. After that, bugs and kinks start to show up, and they show up earlier if you’re a heavy (and quite careless) user. If you want your desktop or laptop to run smoothly and prolong its life, you should set time aside to do annual checks. After all, we do it for our cars, our teeth, our cholesterol – why not do an annual “health check’ for the thing where you spend most of your work and social media life?

Digital clutter tends to accumulate when unchecked and create all kinds of havoc on our electronic devices: smartphones, tablets, PCs, and laptops. First, they slow down your devices, and then they turn it into an expensive paperweight.

So what can a non-techie person do? Fear not, you don’t have to be a computer expert to be able to clean up your gadgets. Here are some easy ways to control digital clutter. Be sure to do these every few months to make sure your electronic devices run smoothly

The easiest place to begin is the system desktop. The desktop (of your PC or laptop) is not a repository for documents or screenshots or downloads that you have not yet organized into its own folder. You should not just save things there because they don’t have a home. Either delete them or find a home for them.

Speaking of deleting items from your system desktop…empty out your recycle bin or trash. These files still take up space on your device, so clear them out. It’s the easiest way to free up some space on your device.

Photos also take up so much space and create clutter. Seriously, we take so many photos of the same thing at different angles hoping to chance upon the perfect picture. It’s amazing how much thought we put into getting the perfect shot. You’re not really thinking about posting all 10 selfies so might as well remove all selfies that do not do you justice. Choose your favorite pose (1 max!…ok, 2 then) and delete the rest where you’re just posing differently in the same place, wearing the same outfit.

Take a page from the minimalist book and meticulously delete or remove any app on your device that is neither useful nor brings you joy… Remove that game you’ve already beaten, that editing software you never use, the fifth iteration of a task tracking app (you need just one anyway). If you haven’t used it in a 6-month time frame, chances are you’re never gonna use it.

If you’re noticing a slow down in your startup time or if your device is getting buggy or glitchy – it’s time to take it to the experts for a tune-up. Yes, a device tune-up is a real thing. Unless you’re extremely tech-savvy, leave it to the experts to clean up your devices. Otherwise, you might risk getting some or all of your files deleted.

Always make sure your antivirus is updated. Every click leaves a digital footprint and those footprints can be muddy or can track bugs and other undesirables into your device. So make sure you have an antivirus installed to help protect you from attacks and keep your system running at its optimum performance.

What is your digital device clean up rituals? Share them with us! Stay humble, hustle hard!

 

Written by Jaie O. The Help