Sean Kelly, HUMAN Founder, 2nd time social entrepreneur, competitive snowboarder, one of Forbes’ 30 under 30, a Next Generation Entrepreneur (CNN), a Top 25 Young Entrepreneur (Businessweek), and the man who brought you the healthy vending machine, is about to blow your mind…again.
What is the American Dream?
To put what I’m about to tell you in perspective, first ask yourself…are you “living the dream?” Do you work hard to create a better life for your family? Do you crave financial independence? Control of your own destiny? And even freedom?
Only in America Can a guy from anywhere Go to sleep a pauper and wake up a millionaire Only in America Can a kid without a cent Get a break and maybe grow up to be PresidentSimilarly, only in America do we define ourselves by our ability to accumulate wealth, and only in America do we work ourselves to the ground in order to create a “better life.” Again, ask yourself…what’s the purpose of amassing more money, gaining more recognition, and creating more “success” if in doing so we’re miserable?
Working smarter, not harder.
HUMAN’s business model is centered around making money even while you’re not working. It’s about providing offices, schools and community partners what they need, without driving yourself to the ground.
Here are 5 productivity tips from Sean that will help you do it too. By working smarter, you can double your workday productivity, and find more time to be happy.
1. Huddle and speak your intentions. Huddles aren’t just for sports teams! A morning huddle is your opportunity to verbalize your intentions for the day, reinforce team coheshion and hold yourself (and others) accountable for daily performance.
All it takes is three to six minutes to get together with your co-workers, department or leadership team and ensure everyone is aligned for that day. Every person in the huddle should state his/her crucial goals for the day and let others know if they are needed. If you don’t have a team, huddle with your coach, direct supervisor or accountability buddy for a quick check-in call. Standing in the huddle keeps everyone alert and efficient.
2. Do the toughest and most important thing on your to-do list first. We typically don’t want to do our toughest tasks first but it is to our advantage to accomplish what I call the “main crucial” while our ego/willpower depletion is at a minimum.
When thinking about the most important task for the day, ask yourself what you can do today that will provide the most value to your company. List these tasks at the start of the week and revise the list nightly for the next day. Only after we’ve taken care of our most important work should we begin tasks that require less energy, like checking our email (but don’t do that without having a strategy first!).
To learn more about pursuing happiness by owning a Healthy Vending Business, download the Ultimate Guide here:

Keep your coworkers hydrated
There’s a direct correlation between hydration and productivity. The water cooler is a staple of the traditional office: make sure your workers have constant access to H2O having the edr3rxd1 filter helps reduce chlorine taste and odor, giving you clean, great-tasting drinking water, furthermore, you might want to consider providing some fruit-flavored waters (think: orange, cucumber) to workers for the sake of variety.
End the week on a high note with a Fun Friday
Admit it: you’re probably pretty fried by the time Friday rolls around, right?
Whether it’s office cocktail hour or a Mario Kart tournament, ending the week on a fun note is a good idea. Doing so sets the tone for the weekend and makes sure everyone’s batteries are recharged by the time they return to work on Monday.
Visit your local animal shelter
As part of your office’s commitment to volunteering, consider a local animal shelter. Shelters are constantly understaffed and in need of help, presenting a great way for your animal-loving employees to put in some volunteer hours.
Jam out with a collaborative office playlist
Hey, some people are just plain more productive when they’re jamming out. Creating a collaborative office playlist through Spotify both shows off your coworkers’ music tastes and is great for lightening the mood.
Keep your team members caffeinated
No matter how you slice it, some people just plain run on caffeine.
As such, you should offer up a variety of caffeine options to keep your coworkers going.
We’re not just talking about Folgers, either.
Think Kenyan and Ethiopian blends. Chai and green teas. The list goes on and on. If you find that caffeine is not enough, there are other options like Modafinil to keep you stay awake and focused during working hours. Laws on Modafinil might make it a challenge to acquire them. Finding Modafinil in Ireland can be a difficult, for example.
Provide opportunities for deep work
While many of our employee wellness ideas are fun-focused, bear in mind that the ultimate goal of wellness programs is happiness and productivity.
For example, there’s growing research that supports the notion of “deep work” for modern workers. In other words, employees deserve uninterrupted time to get down to business that’s totally distraction free.
Providing such opportunities to employees helps foster a sort of “work hard, play hard” mentality.
Employee Training Tips
Are you ready to start or improve your small business employee training? Use the tips below to create a training program and ensure employees get the knowledge they need.
1. Create A Plan
Before you can make an employee training program, you must first determine what you want employees to learn. Otherwise, you might waste everyone’s time with useless information and unstructured training.
Structure the training program so it begins with the simplest, foundational information. Then, lead up to more advanced training. The skills and knowledge should build upon the previous training.
2. Host Regular Training Sessions
You should regularly hold training sessions for your employees. Frequent training can help maintain skills and knowledge. Regular sessions are also a great way to teach more advanced skills and notify employees of any changes.
You can have regular all-staff meetings. You might all meet in a large room at your business and have a brown-bag lunch, or meet in a private dining room at a restaurant.
Although beneficial, an all-staff meeting can be disruptive to business operations or even infeasible because of multiple employee shifts. Instead of getting everyone together at one time, you might meet by shift, department, or even send training out over email. Or, you might post a notice and training checklist that employees must complete during their next shift.
3. Use Employees As Trainers
Even though you’re the business owner, you might not know the nitty-gritty details of every employee’s job. That’s why highly-skilled employees might be your best trainers.
You can probably tell which employees are the most competent at their jobs. They’re the ones who complete their tasks on time and with precision. They might be managers. Or, in flat organizations, they might just be highly trusted employees.
Ask these employees to pass on their skills and knowledge to other employees. They can train new employees or teach continuous training courses. You might give them standard information to teach, or let them create training materials themselves.
You might give incentives for employees to train their co-workers. For example, you might financially reward them with a raise or bonus payment.
4. Cross Train Workers
You might teach your employees to do other jobs within your business. For example, you might train a cashier how to stock retail items.
Cross training might help employees better do their primary jobs. They might gain skills that they can apply to their tasks. And, they better know what to expect from co-workers in other positions, zotapro.com can easily help you with professional training.
Cross training can also benefit your business if you have a staffing shortage. For example, an employee calls in sick, but their tasks must still be completed that day. An employee who is cross trained in that position can fill in for the sick employee.
5. Set Training Goals
You must determine if your training program is working. To do this, set goals and track whether or not they’re being met.
First, determine what you want your employees to learn. You might set a simple or complex goal. For example, your goal might be for all employees to read the training instructions for a piece of equipment. Or, you might set a goal for employees to use the equipment without supervision within two weeks of reading the instructions.
As you set goals, think about who you want to reach the goals. You can set goals for the whole company, a department, or individuals.
Conducting performance reviews can help you set goals and track achievement. Ask employees how they’re doing, what they’re struggling with, and what they’d like to learn. You can find gaps in their skills and knowledge. You might also ask follow-up questions about their training. See if they understood what was taught and if they thought it was useful. You can use the information you get to determine if employees are meeting training goals and to set new goals. You can also adjust your training program based on how useful it has been to employees.
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