Tag: Business Tips

Life is chaotic. You’re constantly on-the-go, running from one scheduled event to the next. You don’t always have the leisure of being at your desktop computer when you need to schedule an appointment. This is what makes mobile calendar apps so critical in today’s world. By opening your calendar app of choice, you can schedule a haircut, doctor’s appointment, or reschedule a work meeting with ease.

The main drawback to any mobile calendar is that the screen is much smaller than the view on your desktop or laptop computer. Viewing the calendar on your phone takes a bit of getting used to as you have to navigate a much tinier screen.

Looking at your smartphone calendar while you’re commuting by train or bus can be tricky if you don’t have the correct settings in place. If you’re looking to optimize how your mobile calendar is displayed, keep reading. Below, are four ways to avoid or minimize any frustrations that come up with on-the-go scheduling.

1. Voice Commands

There are numerous benefits to using voice commands throughout your day. At home, you may tell your Alexa speaker to add an item to your grocery list or put it on your favorite playlist. You may send and receive voice messages when your hands are tied up with the kids, and you aren’t able to text a response to your partner.

Fortunately, many calendar apps also have voice command integration so you can dictate your scheduling needs.

Google Calendar users can tap into Google Assistant to help you add, edit, or remove events from your calendar seamlessly. With a quick “Hey Google,” you can say precisely what you want to do on the calendar aloud. Google Assistant works for Android and iPhone users. Set up your voice recognition for Google Assistant under your Android Settings or on your Google Assistant app.

For iPhone users, Siri also can interact with Apple Calendar. Like Google Assistant, you must say, “Hey, Siri,” and ask for a calendar addition or change. She can also read your calendar if you ask, “Hey, Siri. What does my schedule look like today?” Try this out on your next commute so you can mentally prepare for your day ahead.

2. Collaborative Planning

Just because you coordinated the meeting shouldn’t mean you have to be in charge of said meeting. Let’s say you are in charge of finding the time for your team to meet with a potential client’s team.

You’ve added all of your team members to the invite as well as the client’s main point person. But they may have other teammates they want to invite as well. Instead of sending them their names and email addresses, you can make them in charge of the calendar event.

In the Google Calendar app, click on Options and then Change Owner. The new owner of the event will receive an email with a link. They will need to accept ownership of the event in order to have edit privileges. From there, they can add their teammates to the meeting invite to ensure everyone is aware of the upcoming call.

This collaborative planning option isn’t available for Outlook Calendar or Apple Calendar users. If you utilize either of these calendar apps, you’ll need to cancel a meeting completely and have another individual set up the event. This is a drawback to both Outlook and Apple Calendar.

3. Viewing Options

The smaller screen size is the most significant setback to using any smartphone calendar app. One way to overcome this obstacle is to add your calendar as a widget to your phone. This way, you can see your schedule at a glance from your phone’s home screen.

Outlook and Google Calendar widgets are available for Android and iPhone users. Android users can add it by tapping Widgets from the home screen and then finding the Outlook or Google group. Select Outlook Agenda or Google Calendar widget from there and drag it to your desired location on your home screen.

iPhone users should go to their notification center by swiping down from the main screen. Swipe right to view your Widgets, then tap Edit before selecting Outlook or Google Calendar and tapping Done.

While you’re at it, go ahead and change your calendar’s view to your preference in your main smartphone app. Google Calendar allows you to view an entire month on your Android or iPhone, or you can select a specific day to view that day’s particular schedule.

The same functionality applies to Outlook Calendar users, who can swipe down to view the entire month’s calendar. Alternatively, users can pick a specific day. Apple Calendar defaults to a monthly view so users can tap on a specific day; a full list of upcoming events for the week/month will be viewable.

4. Color Coding

If you’re using one master calendar, all your events and appointments appear within one view screen. A vet appointment for Fido shows up next to a meeting with your boss. It can be hard to differentiate between what is personal and what is for work when looking at a small phone screen. You can assign each of your calendars a different color with color coding. This system lets you quickly get a sense of what you must do each day.

Google Calendar users must assign a color for each event on their desktop. However, once colors are assigned — yellow for kid’s appointments and blue for work meetings — you can designate the event color in the app. On your smartphone, either tap to create a new event or select an existing event. Click Edit, then select the current calendar color to swap to a new color.

The process is a bit tricker for Apple Calendar users who wish to change the color on their iPhones. Rather than click on an event, select Calendars at the bottom of the app and then Add Calendar. From there, you can designate a new Calendar and assign a color (i.e., blue for work meetings). Select your current event from the main calendar view screen or add a new one. From there, you can assign the appropriate color to the event.

While it may take a bit of legwork upfront, assigning colors to your calendars and respective events can simplify your life. Rather than looking at an endless, jumbled screen of multiple events, color coding lets you break out your day.

Some events may be FYIs or reminders, like your child’s field trip day, that doesn’t require an action item from you. Others will require your attention at specific times, like a team meeting or client lunch.

Takeaways

Whether you’re using Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Microsoft Outlook, chances are you can improve your use. Functionalities differ slightly by these leading calendar platforms, as does the experience for iPhone and Android users. However, it’s well worth the upfront time and effort to utilize your calendars while on the go efficiently. Doing so may improve your life, leaving your frustrations at bay.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Brett Jordan; Pexels; Thank you!

The post 4 Mobile Calendar Productivity Hacks for Optimizing Your Scheduling on the Go appeared first on Calendar.

Trust is the cornerstone of success, whether it’s a personal or professional relationship. After all, for collaboration, innovation, and productivity to be successful, trust at work is essential. And, the more trust employees have in their leaders and each other, the more engaged, productive, and willing they are to go the extra mile they are.

According to research from the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4CP), organizations with higher trust between their workers and leaders are more productive.

Companies classified as high-performance were 11 times more likely to have senior managers and leaders who trusted their employees. On the other hand, “just 2% of respondents from low-performance organizations strongly agreed that their senior leaders trust employees,” the report states.

The Benefits of a Culture of Trust

The benefits of creating a culture of trust at work are numerous. Among the most important benefits are:

• Increased employee engagement. It is easier for employees to be engaged at work when they trust their leaders and each other. As a result, they will be more likely to feel like part of a team and that their contributions are valued.
• Improved decision-making. Employees who trust their leaders are more likely to be open to new ideas.
• Enhanced productivity. In a trusting environment, employees are more likely to be productive. They are more likely to take on new challenges and go the extra mile.
• Increased innovation. Taking risks and sharing ideas is easier when people feel trusted. The result can be new products, services, and processes.
• Reduced stress. Feeling trusted reduces employee stress. In turn, this can boost productivity by improving health and well-being.
• Improved morale. A happy and engaged workforce is a result of employees feeling trusted. Positive work environments can result from this.
• Disputes are reduced. Employees are more likely to resolve conflicts constructively when they trust each other. As a result, the work environment can become more harmonious and productive.
• Increased customer satisfaction. Customer service will likely improve when employees trust their leaders and colleagues. The result can be an increase in customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Reduced turnover. Trust between leaders and employees reduces the likelihood of leaving a company. By doing this, the company can save time and money in recruiting and training new employees.
• Stronger bottom line. Creating a culture of trust can increase profits, reduce costs, and increase shareholder value for a company.

How to Build a Culture of Trust

Building a culture of trust in the workplace can be achieved in many ways. Among the most important things are:

Start at the top.

To create a culture of trust, leaders must set the tone. In dealing with employees, they need to be open, honest, and fair.

Hire for trust.

If you’re hiring new employees, choose those with a history of being trustworthy. A person who is honest, reliable, and fair fits this description.

Create a code of conduct.

You can define your workplace’s values and expectations with a code of conduct. In addition, it can be used as a tool for holding employees accountable.

Provide training on trust.

Employees can learn how to build trust through this training.

Communicate openly and honestly.

Leaders and colleagues should feel that employees can be open and honest with them without fear of retribution. In order to achieve this, decisions need to be transparent, information should be shared freely, and feedback should be listened to.

Don’t be unfair.

Employees need to be treated fairly regardless of their position or background. Everyone must follow the same rules, and there should be no favoritism.

Maintain consistency.

Leadership must be consistent in its words and actions so employees can trust them. To do this, one must follow through on their promises and be dependable.

Support your colleagues.

Employees need to know that their leaders are looking out for them. Being there for them when they need help and providing them with the resources will help them succeed.

Take responsibility for your actions.

A leader must take responsibility for the actions he or she takes. In other words, they must admit their mistakes and correct them when necessary.

Demonstrate integrity.

Leaders should demonstrate integrity in their actions and words to set an example for others. To do this, one must be honest, keep promises, and act in the organization’s best interest.

Create a blame-free environment.

A company should encourage its employees to take risks without fear of punishment. Additionally, this type of environment discourages people from making excuses. Furthermore, it views the process as incorrect, rather than the people who made mistakes.

Open yourself up to feedback.

Leaders should feel comfortable receiving feedback from their employees. Ultimately, this means being open to hearing their opinions, regardless of whether they are positive or negative.

Resolve conflict quickly and fairly.

Respond promptly and fairly to conflict when it arises. Doing so demonstrates to your employees that you are committed to resolving conflicts constructively.

Create a positive work environment.

Employees must have a sense of comfort and safety in the workplace. The goal is to create a culture of respect where each individual feels valued and respected.

Celebrate successes and learn from failures.

Make sure to recognize and celebrate your employees’ contributions when things are going well. Whenever things don’t go according to plan, learn from them and improve your methods.

Model trustworthiness.

Ensure that you demonstrate the behaviors that you expect from others when it comes to trustworthiness.

Conclusion

It takes time and effort to build a culture of trust. It is more likely that employees will be engaged, productive, and willing to go the extra mile when they trust their leaders and each other. As a result, a company can become more profitable and successful.

Leaders can create a workplace where trust is the norm by following these tips. In turn, this will increase the company’s profitability and success.

FAQs

What is a culture of trust?

When you have a culture of trust, employees are confident that their colleagues, managers, and leaders are looking out for their best interests.

In other words, employees trust that they will be treated fairly and their contributions will be valued. In addition, they need to know that others can rely on them to do their part.

Why is a culture of trust important?

In the workplace, trust has many benefits. Among the benefits of trust are:

• Increased employee engagement and productivity
• A better ability to make decisions
• The number of conflicts and turnovers has been reduced
• A more positive and collaborative work environment

What are some of the challenges to building a culture of trust?

You may face a few challenges when building a trust-based culture. Among them are:

• Past experiences. Rebuilding trust after a negative experience may be difficult for employees.
• Culture. It may be difficult for your organization to build trust because of its culture. Employees may not feel like they can trust their managers if your organization is highly hierarchical.
• Leadership. In order to build trust, your organization’s leadership is crucial. Developing confidence and trust throughout an organization will be difficult if leaders are untrustworthy.

How can you overcome these challenges?

There are a few things that you can do to overcome the challenges of building a culture of trust. These include:

• Address past experiences. It is important to address negative trust experiences in the workplace if employees have had them. A confidential reporting system could be created for employees to share concerns or to offer apologies for past mistakes. Training could also be provided on trust.
• Change the culture. Trust may be harder to build if your organization’s culture makes it difficult. For example, you might train your employees to develop trust and resolve conflicts, or create a more open, collaborative environment.
• Lead by example. The role of leaders in building trust is crucial. It will be more likely to succeed if leaders are trustworthy.

How can I assess my organization’s culture of trust?

You can assess your organization’s trust culture in a few different ways. An employee survey is one way to do this. As part of the survey, employees can be asked how they feel about trust in the organization and what they think can be done to improve trust.

In addition to looking at the data, you can also assess the culture of trust within your organization. For instance, employee turnover rates, customer satisfaction scores, and productivity levels could be included in this data.

What are some resources for building a culture of trust?

In order to cultivate a culture of trust, organizations can utilize a variety of resources. Online courses, books, and articles are some of these resources.

My recommendations include the following:

Image Credit: Kindel Media; Pexels; Thank you!

The post Building a Culture of Trust appeared first on Calendar.

In today’s remote and hybrid working environment, communication and collaboration are key. Your team can’t work in individual silos and expect to produce high-quality work. This is why digital calendars are essential to your team’s overall success.

Of course, there are quite a few digital calendars that you can utilize, each of which has pros and cons. Some may already be downloaded onto your company’s computer systems, while others may require learning a new app. Keeping simplicity and integration in mind, here are four user-friendly calendars for teams to try out.

1. Google Calendar

Starting with one of the most popular options, Google Calendar is a tried-and-true digital calendar with multiple features and functionalities. It’s a free option for anyone with a Gmail account. And because Gmail is one of the most used email servers, many individuals may already be used to using Google Calendar. This is an advantage as there won’t be as much training or learning acquired for your team to get started.

Another benefit to Google Calendar is that you can easily layer multiple calendars into one single view. This is great for executives managing several teams or wanting a better balance between work and home life. The search functionality is also highly advanced, allowing users to find prior or upcoming meetings and events. You can start a search by clicking on the magnifying glass on the top right side of the screen.

Google Calendar integrates with various software applications — from Asana and Airtable to Slack and Salesforce. This helps streamline processes and transferring of information from one system to another in multiple ways. For example, Slack integration allows for better communication across channels, eliminating the likelihood of scheduling errors. A Salesforce integration helps sales teams track their calls and client conversations.

Lastly, Google Calendar also excels in scheduling meetings and appointments and sending invites to teammates. Appointment slots are a unique Google Calendar feature. These slots are essentially time blocks that you’re open for meetings. A member of your team can see the available slot on your calendar and schedule accordingly. This solution eliminates a lot of the back-and-forth between teammates trying to find the best time for meetings.

2. Apple Calendar

If your company is already set up with Apple laptops, then, using Apple Calendar may be the easiest choice. Apple Calendar is a straightforward platform with a sleek viewing design. It’s exceptionally easy-to-use, so even those with little or no Apple experience will have a swift learning process.

Similar to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar also enables multiple calendars. You can have a separate calendar for work, family, school, and other needs. These calendars can easily be shared amongst teammates to avoid scheduling conflicts. In Apple Calendar, you can search for events by title, location, notes, or invitees. Just like Google Calendar, look for the magnifying glass on the app to begin a search.

There are limited options for software integration. Apple Calendar doesn’t integrate well with Zoom, for example.  You’ll likely need to sync another calendar like Google or Outlook Calendar. Apple Calendar syncs well with both platforms, and many users decide to use Apple Calendar for the notification settings. There are workarounds for integrating other software platforms like Slack; just be sure to do some research if this is important to you and your team before settling on using strictly Apple Calendar.

Another drawback of Apple Calendar is its compatibility. It’s compatible with Apple devices, including all iPhone models, making on-the-go scheduling a breeze. However, it cannot be used on Android devices. Moreover, it can also be problematic when a user wants to invite or share something via Calendar with an Android user.

3. Microsoft Outlook Calendar

Microsoft Outlook is part of Microsoft 365 along with Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Unlike the other calendars mentioned in this article, Outlook Calendar is combined with Microsoft’s email platform. Users just have to toggle between email and the calendar system to access it. This is a benefit as it eliminates having another app on either your smartphone or laptop.

Setting up an appointment or a meeting is as easy as double-clicking on the calendar and adding others to the meeting. If your team is working across multiple time zones, Outlook Calendar considers this. You can set multiple locations within the Time Zone setting so you don’t accidentally schedule a call with a co-worker who is already logged off for the day. If you want some of your appointments to remain private, you can conceal the meeting’s information so others see ‘busy’ on your calendar.

Numerous other software systems integrate with Outlook Calendar—these range from LinkedIn to Zenefits, allowing users to seamlessly work across various programs. Microsoft Teams is already integrated into the Outlook Calendar, which helps schedule remote meetings. With this feature, you don’t have to copy and paste a video conferencing link from another browser into the meeting invite. And when the notification for the meeting happens, you can simply click on ‘join’ to open up Microsoft Teams.

When your team uses Microsoft Outlook, you can easily share group schedules. This makes it easier to plan events and coordinate around each other’s busy schedules. In addition, Microsoft Outlook has a ‘proposed meeting time’ option to find the soonest open time on everyone’s calendar. This feature is helpful for larger meetings when multiple people must attend. Not only does this save you time when scheduling, but it also lets you see what times of day people on your team are more available.

3. Asana Calendar

Asana, a software platform designed to help teams stay organized and on track, has a calendar feature that works well for teams. If you and your team are already set up and utilizing Asana, it makes sense to tap into the platform’s calendar as well. Many teams who are juggling multiple projects at once find Asana beneficial. Editorial teams, for example, can manage content production and flow while engineers can better track and fix bugs.

With Asana Calendar, you can choose how much you want to see. Different view options allow you to select only your personal tasks or team projects. Because of the team view, you know which members have the bandwidth for new assignments or projects. Asana’s Timeline feature connects with the platform’s Calendar but should be used for specific purposes. Use the Timeline when your project has a set process and a strict deadline; the Calendar should be reserved for your meetings, independent to-do items, and other scheduling needs.

Asana has over 200 integrations, from Microsoft Teams and Zoom to Google Drive and Slack Creative. Similar to Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook, these integrations provide a better overall experience for teams. Instead of switching from one app to another, users can access the information they need within Asana.

There are two main downsides with Asana. The first is the cost. While there is a free option for teams, you’ll only get the full experience with a Premium or Business plan. The exact pricing ranges depending on the team’s needs and size. The other downside to Asana is the learning curve. Some team members may have a longer onboarding process than others, depending on their prior experience with utilizing project management applications.

How to Choose

When it comes to selecting the best calendar for your team, think about what is most important. If your team needs project management help, you may want to choose something like Asana. But if you are looking for a system already integrated into your company’s framework, then either Google or Apple Calendar may be a better fit. No matter what calendar you decide, ensure you and your team are tapping into all its features for maximum efficiency and productivity.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by William Fortunato; Pexels; Thank you!

The post 4 User-Friendly Calendars Teams Can Try appeared first on Calendar.

The power of influence cannot be underestimated. After all, regardless of where you work or your professional goals, gaining more influence in the workplace is essential for success.

For instance, when you gain influence on a team, you can work together more efficiently. You can earn respect and appreciation if you’re in a supervisory position. Or, by gaining influence in a meeting, you are more likely to have your voice heard.

Influence can be highly beneficial. As with any skill, though, gaining it requires time and dedication. The good news is that you can cultivate this characteristic in various ways. And, when you grow your influence, you’ll also become a better leader.

1. Let your passion shine through.

Passion is contagious. No matter how hard you try, you can never fake passion. There must be an element of truth and authenticity in it.

Also, in their book The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner write, “If a leader displays no passion for a cause, why should anyone else care?” What’s more, according to research, forward-looking leaders are admired most. In addition to having a vision, a leader must be capable of communicating it and getting others excited about and supportive of it as well.

Overall, leaders who share their enthusiasm and excitement influence others.

2. Create opportunities for success.

Whenever possible, give your employees situations leading to a series of small wins. Why? It’s through these wins, their potential can be maximized. After all, a leader who understands challenges and turns opportunities into wins is admired by those who have helped their people stretch.

It is important to remember that true leaders inspire others to perform at their best.

3. Start listening.

This is non-negotiable. Learning how to communicate and influence others requires listening. Regardless of your stance on a discussion topic, listen carefully to what the other person has to say.

Further, you can bond with your coworker better if you hear their thoughts before arguing. You may find that your mind changes as a result. Also, you will create a feeling of belonging for others by listening to and acknowledging them.

4. Adapt your message to your audience.

“To persuade and influence people, you need to win both hearts and minds,” write Luis Velasquez and Jenny Fernandez in HBR. To achieve both, though, you must communicate effectively with your team. However, each of us has a preferred way of communicating that is specific to our style and tends to favor either the mind (like telling a story in order to make your point) or the heart (like providing plenty of evidence to support your point), they add.

To make sure you reach your audience, you need to tailor your message to address their needs specifically.

“All too often, we’ve seen people focusing on the content they are sharing rather than on how they are delivering it,” the authors state. “The reality is not everyone is motivated by feel-good messages or data alone.”

According to Velasquez and Fernandez, when getting to know your new boss, management team, or direct reports, ask them the following questions:

• “What is most important to you?”
• “What does good look like to you?”

Identify their communication style, behavior, and values by asking:

• How do you stay motivated?
• Who or what inspires you?
• What is your most outstanding achievement?

Your influence will increase substantially once you understand their motivations and customize your message accordingly.

5. Practice humility.

Being humble allows you to see your worth as well as others, to see your mistakes, and to see the needs of others as equally important. When managers acknowledge that everyone is equal, team members respond positively.

Additionally, humility aids one in expressing compassion and empathy for others. Being humble can also help you develop a more profound and evolving view of the world. Furthermore, humility contributes to self-awareness and self-growth, allowing one to rationally acknowledge ways to improve oneself.

6. Be an advocate.

Leaders, without a doubt, are advocates for those who follow them. After all, leadership is all about empowering others to achieve a common goal for a promising future.

Furthermore, Dani Johnson writes in MIT SMR that advocacy has been shown to boost employee retention and productivity through research and conversations with leaders across various companies. In addition, it enhances relationships both inside and outside the organization, which helps the organization grow.

7. Help enhance others.

The more you mentor and coach your team members, the more influence you have. After all, advancement may be difficult for some people because they do not know how to go about it.

Additionally, when you assist others in discovering and developing their strengths, you can help them enhance their skills and knowledge.

8. Opportunities abound, but few see them.

Leadership is about seeing beyond the obvious and opening your eyes to new possibilities. Having a circular vision is a leadership requirement, and when complacent, we only notice what is obvious rather than what lies beneath, around, and beyond. This results in a stagnant mindset because your perspectives aren’t stretched enough to see beyond your own viewpoint.

If this happens to you, you should reshuffle the deck and determine what internal and external factors affect your thought process. Begin by identifying areas where you can improve – such as relationships, workshop culture, networking, and how you invest in yourself (or don’t).

True success is not a result of experience, but instead of opportunity. As such, manage the option more mindfully before it manages you.

9. Be a servant.

Serving others is the core component of servant leadership. Rather than doing everything everyone tells you to do, do what people need you to do to make the job easier and more efficient for them.

A servant leader listens to his or her team members’ needs. By listening carefully to what they have to say, you can address their concerns. By actively listening to your employees, you demonstrate your commitment to supporting their work and valuing their opinions.

As a servant leader, you must also work for your team. By doing everything in your power to ensure that they have the tools, resources, and support they need to succeed, you are putting their needs first.

Servant leaders empower their team members to take responsibility for their work and make their own decisions. Your employees will feel respected and trusted when you trust them and believe in their abilities when you give them the freedom to choose for themselves.

10. Make a real connection with others.

To increase their influence, leaders need to connect with their people and relate to them effectively. Developing relationships is the basis of influence, and connecting with people is the beginning of that process.

You can reach out to your team by holding a morning coffee meeting or a five-minute standup, for example. Colleagues can also reserve time on your shared calendar for longer check-ins.

11. Be yourself.

Communicate honestly, transparently, and openly with your colleagues.

People admire the ability to be vulnerable and authentic. Furthermore, it makes you more relatable and easier to create meaningful relationships.

Additionally, employees are adept at sniffing out untruths and empty words in today’s workplace. Lying, coddling, or telling half-truths to your employees will damage your company’s brand and your reputation as a leader.

12. Display competence.

You’re more likely to get your employees to follow your lead if you demonstrate your knowledge. As you gain expertise in your field, share it with your team members so they can excel as well. During a meeting, you could share the highlights of continuing education courses you attended in your field.

13. Maintain consistency.

Make sure others can count on you. The key to achieving that is consistency.

In cases where you miss deadlines or disrespect others’ time, people won’t trust you in other vital areas. You will be irreplaceable to the company’s success by being trustworthy and reliable.

14. Make effective use of nonverbal cues.

A leader must consider both what he or she says and how he or she says it. If you want to ensure that your message is conveyed effectively to your team, consider the following:

• Keep your body language in mind. Nonverbal messages such as slouching, crossing your arms, and tapping your foot can negatively affect others. Maintain a relaxed body, open arms, and head up.
• Maintain eye contact. To exert influence, looking other people in the eye when you talk to them is essential. Keeping eye contact with others can help them focus on what you’re saying.
• Tell stories. Incorporating examples into a story format helps keep the listener’s interest. As a result, employees are more likely to remember what you say.

15. Lead by example.

An inspiring leader has clear, strong goals and can achieve them. If you set the right example, you may be able to influence your team’s behavior. Your team will recognize your honesty and ethics when you follow the rules you set.

In other words, be the type of person you want others to be. For a team to succeed, you must also have high expectations for yourself.

FAQs

How do you define leadership?

In order to be a successful leader, you must know how to guide a company, organization, or group. Goal-setting, motivational strategies, and assessment are ways leaders help their organizations achieve their overall goals. Leaders can work independently or in teams.

Strong leadership motivates people by empowering them and improving their work environment. This is done by empowering them, improving their work satisfaction, and accommodating their needs.

Why is leadership a must?

Leadership improves organizational performance by inspiring and motivating individual employees and teams. To achieve their objectives, successful leaders consider the needs of their organization, employees, and members.

Leadership can, for example, contribute to increased profits, enhanced retention, and comprehensive recruiting efforts by motivating employees and making their workplace enjoyable and rewarding.

What is influence at work, and why is it important?

Team members have a certain level of influence in any workplace. However, the most influential people tend to be those with higher titles. It is especially applicable to corporate cultures, which can influence the behavior of employees.

Let’s say, for example, that a leader leaves the office on time to pick up their children. Their employees will likely follow this. The result may be a happier home and work life for them.

In addition to leaders and how much time they spend at work, being an influencer at work has many other advantages. Influence in the workplace has the following benefits:

• Your chances of getting noticed, promoted, and promoted are higher. A person with influence stands out in a crowd. As a result, your work is more likely to be mentioned by managers and peers. Consequently, promotions and raises can be obtained more quickly.
• Teamwork improves. Influential people can create a sense of belonging in a group. Working together will be easier and happier when everyone feels included in the team.
• Coworkers and managers will become closer to you. People who are influential at work are respected. As a result, relationships can be formed more easily and maintained more effectively.

How can leaders use influence to their advantage?

In an organization, a leader can motivate people and achieve objectives using these three influence types. For instance, keeping order in the workplace requires employees to follow their supervisor’s rules. Similar to imitation and following, identification occurs when individuals imitate and follow people they respect and admire, such as a more experienced coworker. A leader’s vision and values become internalized when employees embrace them and commit to achieving them.

The purpose of this type of influence is to motivate followers to accomplish tasks and achieve goals by encouraging their actions and behaviors. Each type of influence has a different effect on individuals. The perception of others may motivate some workers to identify the cues that guide their behavior. People who want to internalize values may want to believe sincerely in what they do. There are many sources of influence in organizations and in most aspects of life. Therefore, how others communicate with us and how we see them can influence our behavior.

Image Credit: Rebrand Cities; Pexels; Thank you!

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Life is busy. Whether you are a working professional, freelancer, contractor, or stay-at-home parent, you have obligations and appointments. Many of you may be in multiple roles or buckets as a full-time employee and a parent. Different points of your life may require you to lean into specific areas of work and life. Parents of toddlers, for instance, have different responsibilities than parents of college-aged children.

Regardless of your obligations or how you spend your time, your calendar provides structure to your day. You set appointments, schedule celebrations, and plan vacations based on your calendar. While your obligations may have once lived on a paper wall calendar, you likely use at least one digital calendar today. Most people manage multiple digital calendars, such as work, personal, family, and school calendars. Staying on top of these calendars can be chaotic, which is why merging them can be beneficial.

There are various reasons as to why you should merge your work and personal calendars. Not only will it keep you more organized, but it will also save you precious time. Referring to various digital calendars can be stressful. When you want to schedule a haircut for yourself or your child, you don’t need to flip between your work’s Outlook Calendar and your own personal Google Calendar. A merged calendar system, therefore, is a more convenient solution.

By merging your calendars, you may also share them with others. For instance, combining your personal and work calendars means your colleagues can see your home life. Or, if you share your calendar with your extended family, they can get a glimpse of what you’re doing each hour. This creates an issue of privacy as there are likely times when you want to keep your daily schedule private to yourself. Fortunately, there are ways to create a sense of separation between your lives.

Tip #1: Enable Free/Busy Settings

One of the primary purposes of sharing your calendar is so others can see when you are free and when you are not. You don’t necessarily want — or need — your work colleague to know you are dropping your kids off at 9:00 a.m.; they need to know that you’re busy then and to book a meeting with you at a different time. Enabling free/busy settings creates a sense of privacy in your calendar. You can still see your appointments and meetings, but others cannot.

In addition to knowing what you’re doing, sharing calendars may also mean others can see where you will be. For many of your appointments, you may have specific locations like the address of your child’s dance recital or your work happy hour offsite. Enabling your settings to show only “busy’ means others won’t see where you’ll be. The Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet link also won’t be disclosed for virtual meetings.

Today’s most popular digital calendar platforms have this free/busy permission setting. You can enable this setting in Microsoft Outlook under the Calendar Options tab in Preferences. For Google Calendar users, the default is to show events as busy but go ahead and double-check your settings. To update or change on your iPhone or Android phone, go to Visibility under the Edit section. Apple iCloud Calendar users can adjust their free/busy settings under General Calendar Settings.

Tip #2: Be Selective About Calendar Sharing

Sharing your calendar with others has its benefits. You can share the burden or remember events by sharing your calendar with your significant other. Friends that share calendars can plan happy hours, group dinners, and even getaways more easily. And, of course, sharing your calendar with your colleagues makes it easier to find time for scheduling regular meetings.

With all these advantages, it’s easy to overlook the significant drawbacks. First, calendar sharing essentially opens up your private diary of how you spend your time. When you hit “share,’ others can glimpse how you spend your time. They’ll know everything from your next haircut to when you’re leaving work early for a long weekend.

Secondly, sharing a work calendar may mean your manager will try to micromanage your time. If you don’t have time blocked off for lunch, they may assume you’re free and book a weekly meeting during that time. You may then find that you need to prove your productivity and may start working longer hours.

For these reasons, be selective about who or whom you share your calendar with. Sharing it with your spouse is one thing, but sharing it with your mother-in-law may not be the best idea. She may assume you’re free for a phone call since you don’t have a meeting at 7:00 a.m. If you need to share with someone that isn’t ideal, block off your time appropriately. Manage your privacy under Settings so others don’t have permission to respond, edit invites, or even reshare your calendar with someone else.

Tip #3: Create Sub-Calendars

If the mere thought of opening up your calendar and seeing a packed day gives you anxiety, read on. Sub-calendars, sometimes called secondary or additional calendars, are essentially mini calendars for you to manage. You can have a sub-calendar for your child’s soccer games and another for routine appointments. If you’re going through a house renovation, you can create a separate calendar for home repairs.

Sub-calendars’ beauty is that they can be viewed on your primary calendar, but you decide when you want to view them. You don’t necessarily need to see that the plumber is coming on Saturday while your boss is trying to book a weekday meeting with you. Another benefit of sub-calendars is that you can decide who can access them. You also decide which sub-calendars you want to merge and share with others. Your colleagues don’t need to know you’re doing a house renovation unless you tell them.

Microsoft Outlook users can create additional calendars under the Folder tab, and Google Calendar users can add a sub-calendar under Settings. For iPhone users, you can create multiple calendars for work, family, and personal use under Add Calendar on the app. When a project is complete or your child’s soccer season ends, you can delete the calendar to free up some space.

Takeaways

Merging your calendars and sharing with others can help streamline your life. Referencing one calendar rather than flipping to several will help avoid rescheduling meetings and appointments. You may better understand where most of your time is currently being spent and find ways to be more productive.

All that said, merging your work and personal calendars brings up a level of privacy concerns. You may love your teammates, but you don’t necessarily want them to know everything about your life. Fortunately, the leading digital calendar platforms today allow you to set parameters on how your calendar looks to others. While you may feel guilty at first about not sharing your calendar outright with everyone at work, remember it’s not an issue of transparency. You control your calendar and have every right to establish the most comfortable parameters for you.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Stefan Coders; Pexels; Thank you!

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Keeping up with Google’s algorithm updates is tough. The algorithm updates tell you the SEO tactics that worked a few years ago may no longer be effective.

In short, the SEO industry can be dynamic and rapidly changing.

Maintaining each algorithm update’s details will be very frustrating and time-consuming. This is crucial if you want to keep your visibility and avoid getting penalized.

With that said, let’s look at how SEO has evolved over the years. Why? As long as Google search stays guided by a few guiding principles, its direction will stay the same.

A Brief History of SEO

When webmasters began experimenting with ways to improve their websites’ rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs) in the early days of the internet, SEO began to take shape. Initially, SEO was relatively straightforward, as search engines relied only on a few factors to determine rankings. The more sophisticated search engines got, however, the more complex SEO got.

In the late 1990s, Google’s PageRank algorithm revolutionized SEO.PageRank refers to the number and quality of links that point to a website to decide how important it is. Because of this, SEOs were forced to create high-quality content and build links from other reputable websites to manipulate search engine results.

The early 2000s saw SEO becoming a hotbed of activity, with businesses and individuals racing to improve their websites’ search engine rankings. Consequently, unethical practices such as keyword stuffing and link building developed. Search engines such as Google and Bing began cracking down on these practices, making search engine manipulation more difficult for SEOs.

In recent years, SEO has focused more on long-term, sustainable results. This means focusing on creating high-quality content, building relationships with other websites, and improving the user experience of a website. By focusing on these factors, businesses can improve their SEO and boost their website’s visibility in search results for the long term.

The following key events shape SEO’s history:

• 1991: The first website, dedicated to information on the World Wide Web project, goes live.
• 1993: The launch of Excite changes the way information is categorized.
• 1994: Search engines Alta Vista, Yahoo, and others enter the market.
• 1996: Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page begin the creation of Google.
• 1997: SEO is first used in marketing materials by the Webstep Marketing Agency.
• 1998: Search Engine Watch founder Danny Sullivan popularizes the term and assists clients in optimizing their content to rank well in search engines.
• 1998: PageRank is introduced by Google.
• 2000s: Businesses and individuals compete to improve their websites’ search engine rankings as SEO becomes a hot topic.
• 2003: The Penguin update of Google penalizes websites that use unethical SEO techniques.
• 2012: Low-quality content is penalized by the Google Panda update.
• 2015: Google’s Hummingbird update focuses on natural language processing and semantic searches.
• 2016: Search results for mobile-friendly websites are prioritized by Google’s Mobile-Friendly update.
• 2018: The Google Core Algorithm update changes the way search results rank websites.
• 2020: As Google’s algorithm continues to evolve, manipulated searches become more difficult for SEOs.

While SEO’s history is long and complex, it is one of innovation and progress. Search engine optimization will continue to evolve in response to more sophisticated search engines. In the future, businesses can maximize the success of their websites by staying on top of the latest trends.

How SEO is Being Used Today

As a refresher, you can use SEO or search engine optimization to improve your website’s ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). In the long run, SEO can lead to increased traffic and leads for a website by improving its exposure to a variety of keywords and phrases.

Ranking in SERPs is influenced by several factors, such as:

• Content quality: For SEO, content quality is crucial. It is easier for Google and other search engines to rank a website with high-quality, informative content higher than one with low-quality content.
• Keyword research: Search engine optimization involves identifying which keywords and phrases people use online to locate information. You can use these keywords in your website’s title, meta description, and throughout your content once you have identified the right keywords.
• Quality backlinks: The term “backlink” refers to a link from another website to yours. A backlink signals to Google that your website is trustworthy and authoritative. Further, a page that has more backlinks gets more organic Google traffic.
• Technical SEO. A website’s technical SEO refers to the factors that affect its SERP placement. A website’s speed, mobile friendliness, and security are all factors to consider.

In the field of SEO, things are constantly changing and becoming more complex. However, it is essential to the success of any online marketing campaign. By following the best practices for SEO, you can improve your website’s ranking in SERPs and attract more traffic and leads.

Today, SEO is used in the following ways:

• Local SEO. Optimizing a website for local search results is called local SEO. Create a Google My Business listing for your business and include the address, phone number, and hours of operation in the footer of your website. It is worth noting that 87% of consumers used Google in 2022 to evaluate local businesses.
• Ecommerce SEO. In eCommerce SEO, websites are optimized for search engines. Creating and managing product reviews can help you improve your product pages for relevant keywords and phrases. Search engine queries are the starting point for 44% of online shoppers.
• Content marketing SEO. Optimizing content for search results is known as content marketing SEO. The best way to accomplish this is to create high-quality and relevant content and promote it on social media and other platforms. Semrush reports that content marketing will be more lucrative than ever in 2023. As a matter of fact, 69% of businesses plan to increase their content marketing budgets in 2023.

The use of SEO can help improve a website’s ranking in search results and attract more website visitors. A successful SEO strategy can be developed and implemented by an experienced SEO professional if you are trying to improve your website’s SEO.

Where is SEO Heading?

Search engines and search habits are constantly evolving, which means SEO has to evolve as well constantly. Among the key trends shaping SEO’s future are the following:

Increasing use of artificial intelligence.

The use of artificial intelligence in SEO is growing, and this trend will only continue. The following are some ways that AI is being utilized in SEO:

• Keyword research: Search engine optimization professionals can use AI-powered tools to identify the most relevant keywords for their websites. Aside from helping SEO professionals identify the difficulty of ranking those keywords, these tools can also help them focus on the most valuable keywords.
• Content optimization: Using AI-powered tools can help SEO professionals optimize their content for search engines. In addition to suggesting relevant keywords and phrases, these tools can help to create informative and well-written content.
• Link building: SEO professionals can build backlinks to their websites using AI-powered tools. Tools like these can tell companies which websites are likely to link to their websites, and they can also help them create content that is highly likely to be shared and linked.

While AI is still a relatively new technology, it has already impacted SEO significantly. In the future, AI will likely have a more significant impact on the field as it develops. As a result, this can lead to benefits like improved accuracy, increased efficiency, and reduced costs.

To summarize, if you wish to improve your website’s SEO, consider using AI-powered tools. With these tools, you can improve your website’s ranking in search results, resulting in more traffic and leads.

User experience is crucial.

It has been proven over the years that the user comes first with search engines. To improve user experience, search engines constantly refine their algorithms to provide the best possible results. Marketers and business owners, therefore, have the task of creating a website that delights and engages visitors and attracts them.

The user should be at the forefront of every aspect of your website’s design and content, from its layout and navigation to its quality and relevance. In order to make it easy for visitors to find information, products, or services, we strive to make it as intuitive as possible.

If you want to enhance the user experience, then make sure that your page load quickly, is easy to navigate, and is optimized for mobile.

Voice search is growing in popularity.

Search engine optimization is being impacted by voice search, which is growing in popularity. As such, voice-optimized websites will rank higher on search engines.

How does this affect you? Essentially, voice search optimization is becoming increasingly important. A voice query tends to be longer, more conversational, and more focused on natural language than its text-based counterpart.

Overall, in this era of voice-activated search, marketers need to adapt their strategies to remain visible and relevant.

Keywords with long tails are important.

Search engine optimization is becoming increasingly dependent on long-tail keywords. To those unfamiliar, long-tail keywords are phrases that are more specific than short-tail keywords. Generally, they are longer, more descriptive, and fewer people search for them.

The good news is that long-tail keywords are often easier to rank for, and they also tend to bring in more qualified traffic. Long-tail keywords are beneficial for SEO for the following reasons:

• Less competition: Long-tail keywords are less competitive, so ranking for them is easier.
• More qualified traffic: People using long-tail keywords tend to be closer to the point of purchase, which means they’re more likely to purchase.
• Better conversion rates: Keywords with long tails often cause better conversion rates since the people searching for them are more likely to be interested in your products.

A new era of local SEO is upon us.

With more and more people searching for local businesses on their smartphones, local SEO is becoming increasingly important. In local search results, local SEO can help businesses improve their visibility.

The result is that local search optimization is no longer a luxury – it’s a must for businesses of all sizes. You can build brand awareness, drive foot traffic, and build customer relationships by focusing on geolocation and local SEO.

The first step is updating your Google My Business listing with your business name, address, phone number, and website link. As well as earning positive reviews, incorporate keywords specific to your location into your website’s content, metadata, and URLs. In addition, write blog posts about local events, neighborhood guides, or case studies featuring local clients that speak directly to your local audience.

Don’t overlook the importance of social media.

Thanks to social media, you can reach a larger and more diverse audience and engage with your others in real-timeThe. Creating and sharing high-quality, engaging content on social media can help you gain online visibility, retain and attract customers, and build relationships.

In addition, social media shares, likes, and comments can influence search engine rankings. You need engaging, high-quality content optimized for social sharing to improve your search engine ranking.

The importance of social media in SEO continues to grow, and businesses are creating and promoting high-quality, engaging content on social media to reach and engage their target audience. Creating and promoting engaging, high-quality, social media-friendly content is the key to reaching your target audience online.

As a result of social media’s growing importance in SEO strategies, social media has become an essential component.

Final Words of Advice

The following trends are shaping the future of search engine optimization. Staying up-to-date with these trends will help businesses optimize their websites for future success.

In addition, here are some tips for improving SEO in the future:

• Create high-quality content: Most of all, search engine optimization depends on this factor. It is vital to create informative, relevant, and well-written content.
• Optimize your content for search engines: Include relevant keywords and phrases throughout your content, and make sure your titles and meta descriptions accurately describe your content.
• Build backlinks to your website: Google uses backlinks to determine the credibility and trustworthiness of your website.
• Keep your website up-to-date: Fresh content is highly valued by Google. Keep your website updated with new content regularly.
• Monitor your progress: Keep track of your progress with SEO tools.

Follow these tips to enhance your website’s SEO and boost its visibility in search results.

FAQs

What is SEO?

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of getting a website to rank higher on search engines. By using SEO, you can increase the visibility of your website for a variety of keywords and phrases, which can lead to increased traffic and sales.

What are the benefits of SEO?

The following are some of the benefits of SEO:

• SEO can improve a website’s ranking in search results, which can increase traffic.
• SEO can boost lead generation.
• SEO can boost your website’s sales.
• Enhanced brand awareness: SEO can improve the brand awareness of a website.
• SEO can make your website more credible.
• SEO can help reduce the marketing costs of a website.

How does SEO work?

In search engine results pages (SERPs), SEO improves the ranking of a website. There are a lot of factors that can affect SERPs, like:

• One of the most critical factors for SEO is the quality of a website’s content. A high-quality, informative website will rank higher on search engines than a low-quality website.
• Researching keywords and phrases will help you identify what people are typing into search engines when looking for information online. You can use the keywords you have identified in your titles, meta descriptions, and throughout your content.
• Basically, a backlink is a link from another website to your own. The more backlinks you have, the higher your website will rank in search engine results pages (SERPs).
• A website’s technical SEO directly impacts its ranking in the search engine results pages (SERPs). In addition to page speed, mobile friendliness, and website security, this includes other factors.

How has SEO evolved?

There has been a shift in SEO toward localization, and searches have become much more contextual. For ranking, SEO considers not only the on-page factors but also the website’s authenticity, quality, and user experience.

Does SEO have a future?

SEO is still relevant today and will continue to have a future.

Using advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques, SEO will be more localized, personalized, and tailored to people’s needs.

Image Credit: Oleksandr Pidvalnyi; Pexels; Thank you!

The post The Ongoing Evolution of the SEO Industry appeared first on Calendar.

Even the most disorganized person can get a hold of their day with the help of a well-maintained calendar. Calendars do more than tell you what day of the year it is. Digital calendars today are a personal assistant, nudging you when your next task is due or when you need to hop onto a remote meeting. They create a structure for your day, organizing work commitments, family obligations, and personal appointments.

The beauty of a digital calendar is that you can access it 24/7. You can schedule a work meeting or a hair appointment from anywhere without worrying about a potential overlap. Finding the next time your friend group can meet up for dinner is easy to do with calendar apps. You can pick a date for your next group outing before the check arrives at your dinner table.

If you’re a parent, your calendar also includes activities for your little ones, such as Bobby’s soccer schedule and Lucy’s piano lessons. Throw in regular dental cleanings, checkups, eye exams, and a family vacation; you’re looking at a pretty packed schedule. A cohesive calendar ensures everyone in the family is where they need to be — and hopefully on time too!

To truly maximize your calendar, stick with one master calendar. You’re only setting yourself up for a headache if you use Google Calendar for personal appointments, but your work uses Microsoft Outlook Calendar, and your partner prefers Apple Calendar. A master calendar allows you to see what each day, week, and month looks like holistically. It’s a more effective and efficient system, allowing you to feel more prepared. Not to mention, it’s also easier for you to see when you’re overbooking yourself.

No matter what calendar you use, there are always ways to better use it to boost your productivity and streamline your day. Curious to learn more. Keep reading for three ways to maximize how you use your digital calendar.

1. Automate as Much as Possible

Automation is the name of the game when it comes to your calendar. If you are booking regular meetings, a platform like Calendly or Sprintful makes scheduling easier as clients, prospects, or recruits book a time that works for them. Think of these systems like Resy or OpenTable for restaurant reservations.

A prospective diner logs onto these sites and looks for a day and time that works best for them. This is essentially how automated meeting platforms operate. It saves you time from emailing back and forth with clients on when to make an appointment.

Other apps work with your current calendar to automatically find times to schedule a meeting. One example is Boomerang, which works with Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, and iOS; this app is a way to share free and booked times with others quickly.

With a “suggest times” feature, Boomerang allows others to see what time may work best for both of you. And when an email mentions a date — like “How about dinner at 7 p.m. on Tuesday” — the app will turn the email into an event. Gone are the days of going back and forth with others to find a time that works best.

Another aspect of automation is adding a video conference link. Setting up a remote meeting without a Zoom or Microsoft Teams link wastes precious meeting time. Fortunately, automatically adding your preferred video conference platform is easy regardless of your calendar. For Google Calendar, you can automatically add Google Meet video conferences to all your events via “Event Settings.” In the Microsoft Outlook app, you can check the ‘add online meetings to all events’ under Preferences.

2. Share Your Calendar

Yes, your calendar is personal, but sharing it can benefit your life in multiple ways. A shared calendar allows others to get a glimpse of how your day looks. For instance, your office assistant wants to book an important lunch meeting. By sharing your calendar, they can find a time that won’t have you scrambling to return to the office for another in-person meeting. You may not get this information if they just see when you’re free.

With a shared team calendar, you ensure everyone knows when an impending deadline is coming up. Managing various deadlines, tasks, and employee workloads is much easier in a shared calendar. You can assign or reassign tasks based on bandwidth or a teammate’s vacation schedule. If you’re a sales team manager, you can also use a shared team calendar to see which clients your employees met with throughout the week. It’s a way for them to stay accountable and for you to see where you may be able to best assist.

Calendar sharing is beneficial for busy parents juggling their children’s extracurricular activities. Try color-coordinating different activities or assign each of your children a different color. Setting up your family calendar this way will enable you to quickly see everything from basketball practices and games to friends’ birthday parties to school trips. From there, you can assign who will be responsible for drop-off and pick-up for these activities.

Each major calendar platform allows you to share your personal calendar with different groups. In Outlook, you can create a New Calendar Group under the Manage Calendars section of the Home tab. In Google Calendar, you can add up to five people to your family group, allowing each member to see the entire family’s schedule on their own devices. For work purposes, you can share your Google Calendar with specific people by entering in their email addresses.

3. Create Tasks and To-Do Items

For those with particularly packed schedules or those prone to forgetting essential to-do items, consider creating tasks within your calendar platform. Creating tasks is a way to stay on track while at work. Studies show it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back on track after being distracted or interrupted at work. With this calendar feature, you can set yourself up to be as productive as possible throughout your day.

Think of a task as a digital sticky note. It won’t provide you with all the detailed information to get it done; rather, it will nudge you to get started on it. For example, the task of ‘write the weekly blog post’ won’t tell you what you need to write about, but it will prompt you to get started on it. Tasks include the title itself, a short description, a category, and an assigned date and time to ping you.

Tasks can be added to either Google Calendar or Outlook. You can set up recurring tasks, like paying monthly bills or Venmoing your babysitter for weekly childcare. You can also use Google Calendar Tasks to make lists for grocery shopping. You can share these lists and your Google Tasks with others, just like you share your Google Calendar. The Task feature can also be viewed on the iOS or Android app, so your virtual sticky notes go where you go.

Conclusion

Calendars have come a long way from the monthly paper one you hung in your childhood bedroom as a kid. Digital calendars are constantly optimized to ensure your day is as efficient and effective as possible.

A systematic calendar system allows you to show up each day as your best self, both professionally and personally. Budgeting some time each week to manage your calendar will pay off immensely. Leverage new apps and software platforms that make sense for your needs and sync your calendar across your devices for the most optimal experience.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Marek Levak; Pexels; Thank you!

The post How to Maximize the Way You Use Your Calendar appeared first on Calendar.

Remote work continues to dominate the workplace culture, with high-paying companies now looking at international talent, hiring foreign employees to fill vacant positions that would’ve otherwise cost them double or triple for the same workers in their home country.

Across several regions, companies are hiring employees outside of their borders, as many of them benefit from remote-only working conditions and the stronger dollar compared to foreign currencies.

Skilled workers in Latin American countries, in particular, have benefited from the remote working trend, as these countries often share the same time zone and are within relatively close proximity to the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2023, the number of U.S. and North American countries hiring new workers in Central America and the Caribbean has swelled by more than 300 percent, according to industry research by Lightcast.

With companies becoming borderless, keeping track of payroll processing becomes an increasing effort for small and medium-sized enterprises. Facilitating efficient, safe, and reliable payroll management requires businesses to adhere to different tax laws, income payment processing, and submit accurate information to local tax authorities.

Simple steps to streamline payroll processing

Keeping track of employees across multiple offices and time zones and having to deal with a slew of different tax laws requires proper payroll facilitation. Luckily managing international payment and payment processing has become easier in recent years due to the advancement in financial technology systems.

However, failing to provide sufficient automation for payroll could lead to further challenges in the near and short term, often causing major backlogs in payment completion for international employees, and running into problems with local taxation authorities.

The following steps will give a clear, and perhaps a more concise review of how businesses can streamline their payroll procedures to avoid unhappy employees and delayed payments.

Formulate Payroll Policies and Guidelines

For any business to function correctly, it’s essential to have predetermined criteria to help minimize any possible friction. Often, companies have employee workplace policies to curb the possibility of toxic workplace environments, micromanagement, or perhaps bullying.

However, in this regard, the exact need to be established for payroll, especially when a company works with international employees. As a good starting point, organizations must ensure that the proper guidelines and policies are in place, outline how payroll procedures will take place, and whether or not employees will be required to set up international bank accounts.

Formulating remote working policies will ensure that all employees, regardless of their level of appointment, their location, or time zone are treated equally. This helps to further minimize any potential errors that could arise during the payroll procedure and helps to establish a mutual understanding between employees and employers.

Communicate Payment Dates

As part of payroll policies and guidelines, another facet that employers need to consider is the effective communication of payment dates. Typically, businesses run their payroll on a monthly cycle, with wages being distributed to employees either at the beginning, middle, or end of the month.

Companies must ensure that they adhere to and comply with local jurisdictions regarding their payment procedures. Depending on the type of compliance matters, companies can set up how they will distribute payment to all their employees.

This will need to be clearly communicated to employees. This is usually stipulated in employment agreements or contracts. Employees will then need to communicate with their employers whether these days or dates are sufficient, and if changes need to be brought on in case of any potential grievances.

Create Deadlines For Payments

According to a survey of 4,000 employees, nearly half – 44 percent – said they had been paid late by their employers. In the same survey, 48 percent of those paid late were also paid incorrectly.

The resulting factor of missing employee payments or paying late, even by a few days, could lead to employees feeling dissatisfied, unhappy, and lower levels of company loyalty.

The survey found that 44 percent of respondents said that if an employer paid them incorrectly, they would consider leaving their job.

Employers must understand the importance of setting deadlines for employee payments. This is especially important for international remote working employees, where payments can take several hours, often days to be cleared and approved by local financial authorities.

Having deadlines a week or several days before the payment due dates ensures employers and payroll officers are fully informed of when payment deadlines are coming up. This also translates into the ability to budget for different payments that may occur each month and allows employees to plan for scenarios where payments may be delayed properly.

Manage Appropriate Compliance

While it’s important to remain compliant with domestic authorities in classifying employees, distributing pay stubs, and adhering to tax codes, the same can be said about international and cross-border payments.

Depending on whether employees are paid through a company bank account or any other type of account, appropriate measures need to be established to ensure that payroll expenses are recorded and stored for future taxation purposes.

Elsewhere, it can be wise to review international requirements for companies to hire and pay their foreign workers and whether the headquartered country may have tax agreements with the countries where their employees work from.

These tax codes and compliance matters can be arduous and often require a trained professional’s assistance. For small companies and even larger medium-sized enterprises, it’s advised to consolidate with financial and tax experts to ensure the business adheres to different tax jurisdictions.

Utilize Effective Payroll Management Software

For any business to effectively operate a remote working business model, utilizing management software can be key to its success in the long term.

Incorporating digital-savvy remote management tools, from employee collaboration to payroll, is essential for any business looking to establish a global presence and effectively manage its international remote teams.

Several dozen different payroll management systems can help alleviate mundane payroll tasks for employers, especially in smaller, less equipped teams.

Employers and payroll managers must use the right software to meet business demands. Whether they may have five or fifteen employees worldwide, these systems can help automate a majority of payroll tasks, helping to free up time for financial officers and ensuring that accurate employee information and data are securely stored in one place.

Remember that using payroll software might require business owners to have a proper budget to acquire these systems. If they want the best service, they will need adequate financial resources to pay for these automated payroll services.

Outsource Remote Employee Payroll

In scenarios where businesses cannot acquire adequate payroll management services, outsourcing these tasks could help save time and money in the long term.

More than this, outsourcing these types of tasks ensures that businesses can effectively utilize payroll service providers’ advanced technology without ever needing to pay for it or having to acquire it themselves.

Another benefit of outsourcing international remote employee payments is that payroll service providers can inform businesses about any tax regulations, policies, and jurisdictions they must adhere to.

Even if a company has employees scattered across different regions and parts of the world, payroll service providers have the resources to facilitate successful payment procedures for businesses.

Furthermore, payroll service providers often work closely with local tax authorities, which could further help during tax submissions. This could minimize potential errors and misclassification of employees and help navigate different banking systems.

Final thoughts

Facilitating existing payroll services is perhaps already a challenge for some organizations and small business owners, not to mention managing international remote working employees’ payroll.

Nonetheless, taking into consideration the importance of efficient payroll services ensures that remote working employees are paid on time, all of the time.

Proper payroll facilitation further consolidates companies’ ability to care for their remote working employees but also adhere to and comply with international and local banking systems and tax regulations.

While it may seem easy from the onset to get these systems up and running, employers need to make careful considerations and effectively facilitate the proper management of their remote employees’ payroll to establish a sense of trust and loyalty.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko; Pexels; Thank you!

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As your baby turns into a toddler and then your toddler nears kindergarten, it can evoke a lot of emotion. Bottles and diapers are replaced by skinned knees and adventures. It seems like overnight, your sweet baby looks like a full-on kid. You researched and found the best ways to keep your baby happy, healthy, and growing. Now it’s time to prep your budding 5-year-old for kindergarten.

You can do many learning activities to help get your kids ready for kindergarten. Many of them take a few minutes a day, too, and are so crucial for their development. From a schedule to reading and learning kindness, these activities are easy for your 4-going-on-5-year-old to grasp. Keep reading to learn more ways of helping your child prep for school. There’s even a bonus tip for big emotions about the transition for you and your kiddo both.

1. Getting on a Schedule

When school starts, your child will have to get up at the same time and get ready Monday through Friday. Many fights and tears are shed in the morning trying to get out the door. Start the practice early and get on a schedule so it’s not a surprise when school starts. Set a consistent bedtime and a routine each night. For example, take a bath, brush your teeth, get in jammies, read, and go to bed at 8 p.m. each night.

2. Practicing Letters, Numbers, and Words

Working with your child on education activities sets them up for success in the classroom. It gives them a headstart in recognizing some key elements they will be exposed to in kindergarten. Practice counting and recognizing numbers. Practice letters and sight words. Use flashcards or a chalkboard and easel at home. You can even start by writing their name so they know that word first.

3. Reading Every Day

Since you’re already working on a daily schedule, add reading to the list. Reading every day is actually one of the most important things you can do by way of a learning activity. It helps foster a love of reading through connection because you’re modeling as something you do and enjoy. Hearing stories, looking at the words, and seeing the corresponding pictures strengthens your child’s language and literacy skills as well. Stories can also help kids learn appropriate behaviors for different situations through their favorite characters.

4. Identifying Colors

Part of your kid’s early childhood development is being able to identify colors. Start by casually identifying colors in normal conversation with your kid. It can be as simple as phrases like, ‘Do you want to wear your purple or yellow shoes today?’ As you hold them up, your child can point to them. They will start to associate the color with the object. You can do this with many things in their environment.

5. Working on Puzzles and Blocks

Turn off the tablet, limit screens, and get the kids working on tactile fun. Puzzles, building blocks, and even legos help your child build their logic skills. They learn through trial and error how the pieces go together. Shape sorter blocks, and puzzles help your child begin to learn shapes and also help with spatial awareness. Help them identify their names while you play too.

6. Learning Emotional Regulation

Help your littles learn emotional regulation. This is a skill that is largely modeled as well, so work on your own emotional regulation as well. Help them work on using healthy coping strategies for big feelings. You can teach them how to talk about their feelings and show them their feelings are valid. Work on empathy and how to treat others with kindness as well.

7. Gaining Independence

Part of going to kindergarten is becoming a big kid. They are doing more and more things on their own apart from you. Work with them on gaining independence. Empowering them to feed themselves at lunch and use the bathroom by themselves is a start. Trusting them with more chores will help bolster their confidence for school too.

8. Developing Self-Care Skills

As with gaining independence, working with your kids on developing self-care skills and healthy habits. Good hygiene is part of this. Two big things are washing your hands after going to the bathroom and not picking your nose. Covering your mouth when you cough is also important. As part of their routine, brushing their teeth and learning to take a bath by themselves are also good skills.

9. Taking Responsibility

Learning how to take responsibility is a huge life skill. In fact, it’s one that keeps building throughout life. If your child gets in trouble, teach them how to own up to their mistake. Responsibility extends beyond that too; teach them they are responsible for their actions and words. Being kind and doing what you say you will do are too big things littles can work on. They can also be responsible for their things and keep track of their own shoes and backpacks.

10. Knowing Your Phone Number

One way to set your child up for success is to make sure they know mommy and daddy’s real names. In case of emergency, knowing their own name and their parents can be helpful to those in charge. Work with them on memorizing one of your phone numbers as well. That way, they can tell a trusted adult should they need to contact you. You can also put your contact information and name inside the backpack as well for extra help. Let them know it’s there should a teacher or bus driver need it too.

11. Recognizing and Naming Body Parts

As a parent, you never want to think about harm coming to your children. A little bit of prevention can help in potentially nefarious situations, though. Teach your children the proper names for their body parts to help tell you when something hurts. This is important when they cry after falling off the swing. And it’s also important when establishing boundaries on body parts and appropriate touch.

12. Acknowledging Change

Change is hard for little people and big people alike. Don’t just whisk your child off to school and tell them it’s all fine. They might have big feelings about the change — excitement, fear, and sadness are all valid things to feel. Let them know you are also having big feelings about your baby getting bigger. Seeing mommy and daddy have multiple feelings at once and process the changes helps them know how to as well.

As your big kindergartner stands in front of you, flashes of them as a baby likely flood your brain. The old adage, the days are long, but the years are short, is so true. Take advantage of the time you have before school starts to set them up for success. Even if your kiddo is starting school in the fall, you can start working on the skills in this article. And if your child is a toddler, you can start now.

After all, there’s no such thing as too much learning. Make these activities a priority. Most of them take a few minutes a day and can make a huge shift in their development and maturity. Help your child start school on the right foot. The school wants your child to be happy and healthy and keep growing and learning just like you do.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Alexander Dummer; Pexels; Thank you!

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In the first half of 2023, Google began phasing out the Reminders feature of Google Calendar and Google Assistant. Google also incorporated some Reminders functionality into Google Tasks.

Users can now use Google Calendar and Google Assistant to create Tasks instead of Reminders. Tasks can be set up to include notifications (similar to Reminders) that will alert them to a specific event, deadline, etc.

The consolidation may address some of the ongoing complaints about issues with app interoperability and inefficiencies with Google Reminders. The change should hopefully provide a more streamlined and intuitive user experience for users of the Google App suite.

What are Google Reminders?

Reminders were alarms that notified users of upcoming events, appointments, or to-do list items. They included pop-ups and sounds, and were set to go off at a time specified by the user.

Reminders could also be set up to be triggered upon the user’s arrival at a specific location. For example, a user could set a Reminder like “Call mom when I get home.” Then, they’d get a notification as soon as they were within a certain radius of their house.

In the past, users could create and view reminders in Google Assistant, Google Calendar, Google Inbox, and Google Keep. In Google Calendar, users had the option to see all of their Reminders slotted into the correct dates and times.

Where Did Reminders Go?

If you didn’t convert your Reminders yourself, they should already have been converted to Tasks automatically, by Google. The one exception is reminders on Keep, which will stay on Keep, but won’t show up in your Google Calendar anymore.

In June 2023, Google began removing data from the Reminders platform — but again, all of your data should’ve been safely migrated to Tasks. The only exception here is if your organization didn’t have Tasks turned on. This might mean data was left behind in the migration. If you think this has happened to you, your organization needs to activate Google Takeout. Hopefully, you’ll be able to export at least some of your old Reminders before they are deleted.

Now, you’ll be able to access your Reminders — now just called Tasks — through the Tasks panel. You can open the panel from your Gmail Inbox, Calendar, Google Drive, Chat, or any file in Docs, Sheets, or Slides.

To open Tasks from these locations, you simply click the Tasks icon — a blue circle with a check mark in it. You can find this to the right of the screen in each of these workspaces.

You can also add new Tasks and Subtasks in the panel, and set a date and time for each one. Setting a time will trigger a notification that should appear on your Android phone or phone with Google apps. You can also create and update tasks by voice, through Google Assistant.

The Task app itself, when used from a browser, does not show any notifications or differences when a Task begins. For example, if you set Tasks to remind you of an event at 11 a.m., you’ll get a pop-up on your phone at 11 a.m. But regardless of the time, you won’t see anything change on your laptop screen or in the Tasks panel.

Pros of Converting Google Reminders to Google Tasks

Accessible Throughout the Google System: As mentioned before, the transition partially resolves a long-standing issue of Reminders not being synced throughout the Google ecosystem. Tasks are accessible through virtually any Google app and workspaces. And, like Reminders, they alert you when it’s time to be somewhere or get something done.

Drag and Drop Emails into Google Tasks: Without opening it, you can click on any email in your Gmail inbox and drag it to the Tasks panel. Tasks will use the information to automatically generate a new task. Unfortunately, it won’t necessarily populate the task with pertinent information from the email.

Helpful for Managing Small Projects and To-Dos: Tasks are also useful as a very simple project management system. The Lists feature enables you to create multiple lists of Tasks, so you can group your tasks however you want. You can also keep work and personal projects separate by using different lists. Subtasks help you organize larger work, household, or personal projects into different steps you can tick off as you go.

Simple, Clean, and Easy-to-Use: The Tasks interface is extremely minimal and intuitive so that it can be a lot less clunky than other project management systems. It’s also nice to open the list in multiple different tabs of a browser. You don’t have to toggle between tabs to see Tasks if you’re running a Doc, your Calendar, and Gmail simultaneously. Google Tasks also integrates with a lot of other third-party apps.

Cons of Converting Google Reminders to Google Tasks

Limited Functionality for Task Management: Though beautiful in its simplicity, Tasks isn’t a great alternative to other organizational or project management platforms. This is because its functionality is extremely limited. For instance, Tasks doesn’t give you the option to generate deeper levels of subtasks. In other words, you can break a Task into multiple pieces, but you can’t break those pieces into smaller pieces. There’s also no way to collapse subtasks to create a less cluttered view. And with Tasks, there’s no longer a way to set location-based reminders.

No Real Collaboration Functionality: Unlike Reminders, you can’t assign a Task to another person. And Tasks isn’t very useful for managing any kind of team or shared projects. It doesn’t let you share lists, notes, or images with other people — unlike Google Keep.

Confusing or Missing Notifications: It’s also frustrating Tasks doesn’t generate a notification in your browser when a Task with a designated start time begins. If you’re working on your laptop and your other devices aren’t in the room for you, you’re out of luck. Lack of notifications could lead to missed meetings or important appointments. If you add a task with a date and time to Tasks, it won’t be added automatically to Google Calendar. This is true even when you access the Tasks panel from an open Google Calendar tab.

Possible Loss of Data: Users who get their Google access through work may find their companies weren’t prepared for the transition. If your employer hasn’t turned on Tasks, your Reminders could’ve already been deleted in the migration. This could cause a lot of frustration and, in some cases, a lot of lost work.

Potential Learning Curve: Finally, one last con is that some users may have some trouble adjusting to the new system. Making the transition and understanding the differences between the two systems isn’t as intuitive as it could be.

So Is the Transition Good or Bad?

There are few real differences between Reminders and Tasks. It makes a lot of sense that Google would ultimately consolidate the two. Tasks has slightly more functionality than Reminders in that you can include more information for each item. But the two programs were doing almost exactly the same thing all along.

For users, the benefit of the transition will be knowing exactly where everything is. And with Tasks increased functionality — at least over Reminders — users can incorporate more detail in their notifications.

But the system still isn’t perfect. In an ideal world, you can choose exactly how you get notifications. Or they’d consistently show up on all your devices to ensure you never miss anything. Neither Tasks nor Reminders was ever quite good enough at consistently making good on its promise.

As for Tasks itself, its greatest strength is simultaneously its greatest weakness. It’s impossibly simple, which makes it incredibly easy to use and manage. But it just doesn’t have enough features to replace a complex task management system like Trello, ClickUp, or Asana.

It is possible to integrate Tasks with these and other project management apps. But it’s unclear what the advantage would be or why a user would want to spend the time.

Where Tasks does shine is as a simple virtual replacement for a notepad or a stack of post-its. It’s small and unobtrusive, at the side of your screen, and it’s extremely quick and simple to consult and update. It’s also available pretty much wherever you go with any of your devices.

You can’t be sure it will bleep and buzz to keep you on time for appointments. But you’ll never have to worry about forgetting your grocery list or crawl around looking for that scrap of notepaper.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by RDNE Stock project; Pexels; Thank you!

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Having a scheduling system, like a virtual calendar, can be great for productivity. You can be more organized and on-task with a functioning online calendar like Google’s. However, this software app has so many features that you might not know about some. Here are eight Google Calendar hacks you might not be aware of but are worth trying.

1. Create Multiple Schedules in One

Google’s system allows you to have more than one schedule within the same calendar. That means you can separate different kinds of tasks so they’re more easily distinguishable from another. For example, you could create two different schedules — one for work and one for personal appointments. When you put items in your calendar, you can choose which schedule it falls under.

In other words, you’ll be able to more easily see a task’s category with just a glance. This is thanks to the system’s ability to change the color of each schedule within your calendar. Plus, there are multiple colors to choose from, so you can use all your favorites. Simply hover over a schedule’s icon on the left-hand side of the screen, then click the three dots that appear. The color options will pop up, and you can click which one you want.

Additionally, you can make all these different schedules overlay on the calendar. This means you can see all of them at the same time. However, you also have the option to look at specific schedules separately. This can be helpful if you need to find a particular event or event on your calendar. To choose which schedules to see on the calendar, click the box to the left of the schedule’s name under “My Calendars.”

2. Use the Tasks Feature

Many people like to use Google Calendar to lay out their project deadline schedule in a calendar format. However, creating an event in your calendar might not allow for enough detail a deadline reminder requires. Additionally, some of these projects might have multiple steps that you want to spread out. This is where using Tasks can be particularly helpful.

Google Calendar’s Tasks feature is similar to creating an event on your calendar. However, it works differently because it has more options for adding details and organizing your virtual workspace. You can even check off the Task once it’s completed, and you’ll get a little congratulatory message from Google. Talk about an incentive to stay motivated!

To use Tasks, click on the blue checkmark icon on the right-hand side of the main calendar screen. Click “Add a task,” and you can type in your to-do list and all its information, including its deadline time. Organize your Tasks by creating Lists to file these Tasks away like virtual file folders. Click on the star next to individual Tasks to highlight its importance.

Additionally, take advantage of the Subtasks feature. One project might have multiple steps, but you want to keep it together as one item on your list. To do this, create a task like usual, then click the three dots to the right of it. Select “add a subtask,” and you can start typing in each project step. This will make individual subtasks that you can individually check off within one big task. This feature is for you if you find a sense of accomplishment in checking things off a list.

3. Use Shortcuts

If you use your Google Calendar for work, then you’ll probably want to find ways to make using it more efficient. Sometimes you need to access your schedule quickly and add new events. Luckily, Google has created many keyboard shortcuts that can lessen the time required to do specific tasks.

First of all, opening up the calendar itself requires clicking through multiple buttons, and it takes even longer to create a new event. However, if you’re in a rush, you can access your schedule faster. If you use Google Chrome as your browser, type “cal.new” into the browser search bar. After pressing the enter key, your Google Calendar will automatically pop into the “create event” window.

There are also many keyboard shortcuts to use once you’re already in your calendar. Here are just a few that can maximize productivity:

• Day view: d
• Week view: w
• Month view: m
• Create event: c
• Event details: e

These keyboard shortcuts exist so you can work smarter, not harder. Give them a try and see how they can quicken up the pace of your workday.

4. Share Your Calendar with Others

It’s important to let others have access to your schedule, especially coworkers or friends. This can make planning events or meetings much easier because they’ll be able to see when you’re available. No more playing phone tag to set up a meeting!

Luckily, sharing your calendar with others is simple to do. Go into Settings, then click on the calendar you want to share under the “Settings for My Calendars” tab on the left. This will open the settings for that specific calendar. Scroll down to the “Share with specific people or groups” heading, then type in the email addresses of everyone you want to share with. If you’d instead send people a link, click the “Shareable link” button just above.

You can add more people who can view your calendar whenever you want. Just make sure you click on the correct calendar before sharing it with others. Furthermore, you can stop sharing a calendar with people if needed by clicking the “x” by their email address.

5. Enable Desktop Notifications

Setting up reminders for events will help ensure you don’t forget about anything. These will pop up with notifications on your screen that tell you the event’s name, time, and location. However, these only work on your phone or if your Google Calendar is open on your computer.

The good news is there’s a hack to get around this — all you need to do is turn on desktop notifications. This way, you don’t need to have your calendar open on your screen to receive event reminders. To turn this feature on, go into Settings and click on the “Notification Settings” tab on the left. Click the dropdown bar under this tab and choose “Desktop Notifications.”

And there you have it! You’ve upgraded Google Calendar’s features with the click of a button. Additionally, you can use this same method to turn off notifications or undo desktop notifications.

6. Make Default Notifications

Speaking of notifications, here’s a second tip. Another way to speed up the process of creating new events in your calendar is by setting default notification settings. This will allow you to skip setting up a reminder time for each event you create.

To do this, go into Settings and click on the calendar you want to add this to under the “Settings for my calendars” tab. Scroll to “Event Notifications,” then click on “Add notification.” You’ll be able to set how many minutes or hours before an event your notification will go off. Additionally, you can choose whether this comes through email or pops up on your computer screen.

7. Use Advanced Searches

Do you have a packed schedule that makes it hard to find individual events? Perhaps you can’t remember what day a meeting is on, but you know where it’s at. Or maybe you remember there’s a work event coming up, but you can’t recall when. All of these scenarios can be solved with the advanced search feature.

At the top of the screen lies the search bar, but it only allows you to search by keywords. To the right of this bar is a little downward-facing arrow — click on this to open up the advanced search feature. This allows you to search by date, organizer, and location in addition to keywords. Looking for a specific event in your calendar has never been easier.

8. Download the App on Your Phone

Want to make sure you have 24/7 access to your Google Calendar, no matter where you are? Luckily, technology has really expanded to make your life easier. All you need to do is download its app onto your smartphone.

Go into your phone’s app store and search “Google Calendar.” Download the app, then log in to your account. From here, you’ll be able to view and edit your calendar all from your phone. You won’t have every feature available in the desktop version, like being able to share calendars with others. However, you can still use most Google Calendar features on the mobile version.

Play Around with Features

Perhaps you’re new to the Google Calendar scene. Or maybe you just aren’t aware of its many productivity features. The best way to discover the ins and outs of a scheduling system is to simply play around with it.

Start clicking on buttons and seeing what they do. This doesn’t mean going crazy, of course — you don’t want to change all your settings by accident. But if a feature has those three dots in the corner, it has more settings you might want to explore. If you’re unsure about something and don’t want to mess anything up, look in the handbook or perform a quick Google search. And have fun getting productive with your Google Calendar.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Ron Lach; Pexels; Thank you!

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July is here, and with it comes lots of sun for summer fun. For many Americans, July is peak summer, and people are looking for things to do. Thankfully the United States is full of exciting places, people, and events to enjoy. So whether you’re looking for a big party to crash or a quiet mountainside to roam, America has you covered. With this in mind, here are five fun and interesting activities to add to your calendar for July.

1. Celebrate Independence Day – July 4

It’s nearly impossible to list fun events and activities in July without including Independence Day. This most classic of American holidays marks the day the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Since then, it’s become a staple celebration for over two hundred years.

Many Americans celebrate their continued distance from the crown across the pond with barbecues and fireworks. You’ll find many public parks across the States full of sizzling grills, loud music, and drunken smiles. And at night, you can enjoy some of the best and brightest fireworks of the whole year. Love it or hate it, the Fourth of July is a deeply American holiday that many celebrate with fervor.

If you’re feeling particularly hungry, you could also enter a hotdog eating contest. On the Fourth, you’ll find them all across the country, especially in rural Americana towns. Put your gut and gullet to the test to see if you can eat the most hot dogs quickly. While these contests aren’t for the faint of heart, they can be fun to enjoy from the sidelines, even if just for the spectacle.

2. Dance at a Music Festival

If you didn’t get enough music during your lawn party on the Fourth, don’t worry. At the height of summer, July is jam-packed with many different festivals nationwide. It’s a great bucket-list style item to cross off if you’ve never been to a music festival. There’s nothing quite like joining thousands of other people in listening to great music for days.

Some of the most well-known festivals in July are Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and the Newport Folk Festival. At big fests like Lolla and Bonnaroo, you’ll find many different music genres across various stages. And if you don’t like what you’re hearing, you can easily wander over to another stage and see what’s jamming. Remember that you’ll likely need to purchase tickets ahead of time. Summer festivals are very popular and can sell out months in advance, so plan ahead of time!

Multi-day festivals can also be fun to attend and enjoy as a group. Many people rent campsites with their friends so everyone has a home base surrounded by familiar faces. It can be a nice reprieve to return to camp after a long day (or night) of dancing. There you can rest up and get ready to do it all again.

3. Hit the Beach

Even in the most northern reaches of America, from Washington to Maine, it’s no secret that summer can be hot. With winter and spring far in the rearview mirror, you’ll likely find yourself looking for ways to beat the heat. Thankfully the United States has no shortage of great beaches to enjoy. You’ll find many of them on great lakes, the Great Lakes, and the expansive oceans that line the coast.

Beaches like those in Miami, San Diego, and near Los Angeles are especially popular. You can enjoy many different activities on the beach, from sunbathing to swimming to reading your favorite book. And if you’re feeling more adventurous, you could go scuba diving, jet skiing, or surfing. Plenty of popular beaches have schools and rental shops where you can learn a new water sport.

And though it’s not quite a beach, you can also enjoy the many rivers that crisscross the country’s heartlands. States especially full of meandering rivers, like Montana and Idaho, make for excellent tubing destinations. You and some friends can set up a drop-off and pick-up car up and downriver, respectively. Then spend the afternoon floating lazily down the river with a few drinks and snacks to keep you happy.

4. Hit the Road, Jack

One of the unique opportunities afforded by a large country interconnected with highways is the ability to road trip almost anywhere. The great American cross-country road trip is another bucket-list activity you don’t want to miss out on. You’ll be able to see so many different places, and people, and enjoy different regional cuisine. Plus, it’s a great way to get to any other events you have planned.

Of all of the amazing routes you can take across this vast country, route 66 is probably the most famous. Stretching from Chicago to California, this route passes through classic Americana towns with fabulous natural scenery in between. Alternatively, you could crawl the country’s western coast as you drive along the steep oceanside cliffs of the Pacific Coast Highway. Or you could travel the historic post road from Boston to southern Florida.

One of the great things about America is that you can also just pick a spot on the map and go. Chances are there’s a road that will take you there. It’s an amazing country to explore by car, as it has been designed that way. So grab some friends, load up your favorite playlist, and hit the road. Just remember to pack everything you need before you leave!

5. Visit a National Park

While traveling up and down the country’s length, you’ll probably want a few places to stop along the way. Well, look no further than America’s abundance of National Parks. These parks host some of the most tremendous natural beauty in the world. There’s a good reason why people from all over the world travel to the States to see them.

Want to go on a fantastic hike? You can journey across the presidential mountain range of Vermont and New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Or you can wander through the vast sleeping giants of Redwood National Park. And Yellowstone is known for its unique thermal geological features. There are so many different places on offer in the continental United States.

If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you could even visit the parks in Hawaii or Alaska. Both offer rugged terrain just overflowing with raw beauty. Hawaii is a chain of volcanic islands covered in tropical vegetation and surrounded by crystal blue waters. On the other hand, Alaska in July is exploding with life, having been dormant through the nearly nine-month winter. No matter which park you choose to visit; it’s hard to go wrong.

Want It? Find It

Didn’t find an activity or event that interested you on this list? Well, you’re in luck! Just as America is bounteous in its diversity of physical locations, so too is it in its diversity of people. You can find people of different backgrounds, opinions, and interests scattered all throughout the country. And, chances are, you’ll be able to find people who like what you like too.

You can search for people hosting events and activities on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. Or you can join a site like Meetup to see what people are up to in your area (and beyond). You could even look at event calendars in different cities to see what they have in store for July. July is one of the busiest and most fun months to be in America, so start adding events to your calendar.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Sam Lion; Pexels; Thank you!

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