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Living The Dream

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Living the Dream

Dreaming Big

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. But there’s often a seemingly massive, insurmountable gap between the reality you are living now and the realisation of your ultimate dream. The truth is, the gap between where you are now and the dream is going to require work – hard work. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed and unsure of where to start, don’t worry. Here are some basic steps you can take to get you started…

 

Do You Know Exactly Where you Want to Go?

You’ve admitted it – you want that future dream to be a reality. But what does that reality actually consist of? Vision is key and to make it clearyou may have to ask yourself some serious questions – what needs to be added to / subtracted from your life to create a happy lifestyle for yourself? What new activities do you need to include in your daily routine? How will you act and will you see yourself in a different, more positive light? Go deep and be specific.

 

Where Are You Now?

No one ever embarks on a journey without knowing how much fuel they have in their car and living the dream won’t happen without you knowing how much work lies between who you are now and the absolutely-amazing you. It might be a difficult thing to do but you have to ask, ‘Why am I not living my dream now?’ Do you feel you are in a good, well balanced place emotionally? Does your family play a significant enough role in your life? What community are you surrounded by? Maybe the bottom line is you feel you could do better with your career – but the question is, have you actually stepped outside your comfort zone and proactively done something about it? Defining what is not your dream will help you determine what needs to change to achieve your vision.

 

Get Connected

It is true that the onus is on you to make your dreams a reality – but you won’t get very far trying to go it alone altogether. There is an old African proverb that says, ”If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.’ If you’re naturally introverted or just extremely busy, it’s easy to become isolated and forget to reach out to others. This can really stunt your efforts as, regardless of how experienced you are, how can you get to were you want to be if no one knows you, recommends you or introduces you to a new opportunity? As we said earlier, clarify your vision – but then reach out to others – it’s good for accountability and potential collaborations.

 

So get ready….2017 is YOUR year to make your dreams come true!

 

At Gray Office Park, we are dedicated to helping you achieve your business goals and dreams with the services we offer at our Galway City Centre premises. To find out how we can help you, contact us on (091) 511 400 or email us at reception-gop@grayofficepark.com.

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Making Specs for 2017

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Making Space for 2017

As many of us gladly wave goodbye to the trying and often shocking year that was 2016, we look with fervent hope into 2017 believing that it will be better. As is the usual trend, we are eager to make a fresh start, make significant changes and see a difference in our lives for this New Year. And whilst big changes may be the desired outcome, those big changes are often facilitated by several smaller, incremental changes – like the ones we can make to our workspaces that can help us think more clearly and subsequently work more efficiently. And yes, we are talking about simple ways to declutter your work space and add some life to it so you can be re-energised for the New Year. Let’s start by…

1. Adding some clarity

Spring cleaning can be hugely satisfying but why wait until spring to get it done? Why not start now? The beginning of a new year is a perfect time to declutter your space for new exciting things at work. A Princeton University study showed that, ‘physical clutter int your surroundings competes for your attention resulting in decreased performance and increased stress.’ Basically, clutter is not good for your body, mind or career. So let’s get decluttering, shall we!

2. Bring in some colour

Colours have an overall effect on our mood and productivity in both positive and negative ways. Green and blue are known to induce greater productivity and efficiency in the workplace while yellow is said to trigger innovation and is best used in work environments where creative professionals such as  artists, designers and writers work. For an energy boost or to heighten your attention to detail, consider adding some red to your work surroundings. More subdued colours like grey and white tend to have a more negative effect on people psychologically and should be avoided or used sparingly.

3. Put some life into it!

Looking at a drab, lifeless desk day in, day out is not good for anyone. Fresh flowers and small green potted plants (remember the colour green increases productivity and efficiency) will give your desk a bit of life. Even better is the fact that green plants reduce sickness, clean the air and reduce stress.

4. Be inspired

It might be a bit of a cliche but adding some inspirational elements to your workspace that encourage and motivate you to ‘reach for the stars’ so to speak can be a very positive thing. Having a few inspirational quotes around you can make a huge difference when the going gets tough or you’re just having one of those days…

5. Get personal

It’s estimated that you’ll spend about one third of your life working so making your workspace feel a little more homely can’t be any harm. Arranging and decorating your cubicle or office to your liking can make for a happier, less stressful work environment for yourself. Add some pictures of family and friends and maybe even hang some artwork if there is room for it. You could even add office supplies that are more appealing to your desk. Considering you will spend so much time at work, adding your personal style to your cubicle or office can help you feel more connected to your space and actually make you WANT to be at your desk day after day throughout the year.

We hope our post has been helpful and inspires you to turn your workspace into a more ‘you’ space so to speak.

At Gray Office Park we love making our clients feel at home whether they are renting one of our office spaces or hiring one of our high end boardrooms. Why not give us a call to find out more about our office space available to rent  or our boardroom facilities.

You can also stay up to date with all our latest news and offers by following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Google+. See you soon with our next blog post!

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Gray Office Park Business Meeting Tips!

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Gray Office Park Business Tips : Structuring Meetings that Increase Efficiency

Meetings. The mention of the word can conjure up thoughts of wasted time, money and energy. But that needn’t be the case. Depending on how you structure your meetings, they can not only be faster and more efficient, they can also be extremely helpful in building and maintaining momentum in your company. Putting a meeting schedule into effect on a company and department wide level focuses attention where it is needed the mos

t. This in turn helps to prioritise the ‘musts’ and ‘nice-to-haves.’

Here are 3 proven meeting formats that have been proven to work:

  • Monthly problem solving meetings

Your monthly meeting should be about 90 mins long and aimed at reviewing key performance as well as solving important issues that have arisen. Ideally, it would involve company leaders with each leader reporting on the company priorities they are responsible for and the status of those priorities. This is the time to deal with any issues that have arisen since the previous monthly meeting. It is the optimum time to establish, discuss and solve issues that have arisen since the previous monthly meeting. It is the optimum time to establish, discuss and solve issues whilst enabling your department heads to manage and liaise with their own teams on the details. Assigning regular, dedicated times to deal with issues improves efficiency and ‘firefighting’ scenarios are reduced.

 

  • The Quarterly Alignment Meeting

Naturally, this would be a lengthier meeting where you would review results from the previous 90 days. Any goals that had been set in the previous quarterly meeting would be revisited and their status reviewed. This would assist in determining what the next quarter’s priorities need to be. It’s also the best time to identify, discuss and solve and problems that are hindering the company’s progress.

 

  • The Big One

The Annual Planning Meeting. In an ideal world, this would involve the entire company. In reality, it’s unlikely that you’ll get the entire company together. In which case, you should at least get the entire leadership team together to go over the previous year’s priorities and results with a view to establishing long term goals for the upcoming year. Once you have set our goals and targets for the year, select 3-5 priorities to focus on for the first quarter and determine accountability and success measurements for each priority. This meeting should also incorporate and budgetary allocations for important marketing tools and activities. Setting aside a budget that facilitates the achievement of your marketing goals means you will avoid having to make tough decisions about what stays and what goes later in the year.

 

Having a meeting agenda that is structured means your team will know what to expect throughout the year and keep discussions aimed at your top priorities. A decided focus on solving issues instead of discussing them will turn your team into the efficient, problem solving machine you need them to be.

 

Thanks for reading our latest blog post. At Gray Office Park, we proudly offer 2 boardrooms for hire that are furnished and equipped to the highest standards. To find out more about The Meeting Rooms @ Gray Office Park, click here or call (091) 511 400 to schedule a viewing of our boardroom facilities.