6 Helpful Tips When You are Stuck with Tasks You Hate

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The topic of productivity is often discussed, especially in the context of business. One of the paramount issues that stand in the face of being effective in our tasks is whether we love doing them or not. Usually, in a company, certain jobs are absolutely crucial but not inspiring at all. So, how do you ensure that the tasks you hate are done?

Well, it is a problem that can be conquered with a bit of pre-planning and a deliberate change in mindset. In this article, we discuss 6 effective ways that can help you tackle this problem efficiently.

1. Start with a Schedule

There is a reason why people swear by scheduling and goal setting. Having a plan of action in place and knowing that there is something to look forward to once the unpleasant tasks are taken care of, is a sure-shot way to trick your brain out of procrastination. Set goals every day and evaluate yourself against them to keep up. Soon, this will become a habit and the prospect of carrying out boring or unpleasant jobs will not be so daunting anymore.

2. Move Between Tasks You Love and Hate Doing

While this may sound too simple when you alternate between tasks that you love and hate doing, you can find the necessary motivation to tide over your entire schedule. The idea is to balance the good and bad in such a way that you do not get bored while tackling the not-so-favorable jobs.

3. Keep the Bigger Picture in Mind

In the world of business, it is important to never lose sight of the bigger picture. Hence, whenever you feel unenthusiastic about certain tasks, focus on the final outcomes and the reason why these jobs need to be done. There can be several factors like rewards and recognition, bonuses, productivity gains, and business bottom line.

4. Break Down Tasks

Often we bite more than we can chew and that becomes the root of many troubles. Thus, when it comes to doing a large chunk of an uninspiring task, breaking it into smaller steps and handling them individually helps. Another effective strategy to implement when feeling overwhelmed by unfinished jobs is to take a step back and regroup. Sometimes a change of approach is necessary to finish the task successfully.

5. Take Breaks

Even the best of us cannot function constantly and always be productive. Taking time for breaks is essential. It not only helps our brains to recoup but also relaxes us enough to tackle a new problem with renewed vigor and energy. This is why break times are intentionally scheduled in many workplaces, especially on shop floors and factories. 

6. Pat Yourself on the Back

Never forget to give yourself credit where it is due. Waiting for others to recognize your efforts for a job well done is not always the best thing to do. Sometimes, it is necessary to reward yourself when you know that you have achieved something worthwhile at work. Think of treats that you will enjoy like a night out or a movie or even a new book and indulge in the same without guilt.

Many a time we forget that there are tasks that we cannot complete alone. It is absolutely essential to understand when to ask for help from colleagues and team members. Another viable option is to hire the help of professionals to take care of otherwise energy-draining jobs. This not only saves you from mind-numbing tasks but also increases overall productivity. Your time and resources can be freed up to solve more important problems while professionals do the job for you.

Top Cloud Security Threats Include Misconfiguration

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The shared, on-demand nature of cloud computing can only lead to more concerns about data security on the one hand and often forgotten areas like misconfiguration on the other.

Best Practices Begin with a Solid Cloud Adoption Strategy

The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) pegs misconfiguration as a very real component to security threats. The Alliance is a leading global organization that not only sets “standards, certifications as well as best practices,” but annually lists top threats to cloud security. The biggest risks to today’s cloud strategy are related to an overall, poor cloud adoption strategy. 

Invariably, overlooking these areas can torpedo a company’s risk-management game plan. Generally, these sectors include data breaches, of course, but also:

  • Misconfiguration and improper change control
  • Overlooking the importance of cloud security architecture/strategy
  • Faulty permissions strategy and credentials
  • Threats from inside the company
  • Accounts ‘stolen’ by a hacker
  • Vulnerable APIs and interfaces
  • Vulnerable routing protocols (control plane)

Secure Your Single and Multiple Cloud Networks

According to CSA, these ‘call-to-actions’ should be a high priority for SMB decision-makers in order to secure their single, or multi, cloud strategies. 

“The complexity of the cloud can be the perfect place for attackers to hide, offering concealment as a launchpad for further harm. Unawareness of the threats, risks, and vulnerabilities makes it more challenging to protect organizations from data loss. The security issues outlined….are a call to action for developing and enhancing cloud security awareness, configuration, and identity management,” said John Yeoh, Global Vice President/Research for CSA.

Contact us to discover how you can partner with a proven, managed service provider (MSP) to achieve your security goals. Our expertise can not only help you deploy your programs and apps to the cloud but provide all the necessary security backups in a timely manner—and with minimal disruption to your network.

Forbes: Does Your MSP Have Your Back?

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While small businesses, like their larger counterparts, need end-to-end services to keep them running smoothly—file sharing, software, and security as a service to cloud backups—a less-experienced MSP may simply be riding the cloud surge to keep their doors open.

As the Forbes Technology Council notes:

“…so many MSPs are newbies and/or are opportunistically hanging out where the action appears to be. It appears that the accent today is more on “provider” and less on “service.” A fair number of MSPs have taken to selling the cloud — a “best of times” development at first blush.” 

Sizing up your MSP…

Aside from basic services, does your MSP stand ready to do the real heavy lifting in times of Disaster Recovery, or handle hybrid installs with your latest SaaS applications?

SMB owners often place their networks ‘at risk’ on many fronts when timely security updates are shuffled to the bottom of their to-do lists. What’s more, just attempting to keep ahead of the latest IT developments can translate quickly to poor productivity in light of ever-changing market conditions.

Vetting your MSP…

Make sure you’ve made a list of questions to ask your potential candidate. including:

  • Do they offer more than off-the-shelf, basic services—can they tailor services to your specific needs?
  • How many years in the business?
  • Staffing: Level of engineering experience?
  • Is the service level agreement fit your needs? Penalties for not meeting requirements

Ask the tough questions….

A ‘biggie’ is making sure the MSP is SSAE (Standards for Attestation Engagements) compliant, offering 14-day retention, for example, with its managed backups, as well as “application-level protection, advanced monitoring, and multilevel intrusion prevention, SSL capability, hardware firewall, and IP-restricted FTP.”

BluWater Technology can offer your company levels of expertise tailored to your growing needs. Contact us to learn how our services can help your business run more efficiently: we improve bottom lines by bringing ‘fixed costs’ to your operation’s IT expenditures.

Mobile Security Threatens Company Data

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According to CIO magazine, a Gartner analyst two years ago pointed to the “growing shortage of cybersecurity resources” and how those impending threats to company data continue to grow:

“Companies are worse off by 100% (with cybersecurity) compared to 10 years ago because the world is more complicated now…Companies have definitely raised the cybersecurity bar, but criminals can keep going higher than the bar.”

BYOD brings security risks to company data

Unfortunately, employees unwittingly connect to Wi-Fi hotspots that are traditionally not safe, from coffee shops and restaurants to airports and hotels. Instead, device users should connect through a virtual private network (VPN), one of the many services an experienced MSP can offer. 

Gartner’s prediction provides that clarion calls for businesses with remote, cloud operations to address these ‘new’ security risks, particularly with the incorporation of mobile devices (BYOD) in the workplace.

“When employees connect to public WiFi without using a VPN app, they put their company’s data at risk,” notes the head of Avast Software’s mobile division.

Global survey: More than half of SMBs use in-office/remote employees

 A global survey of IT pros found that “fifty-eight percent of SMBs now have a mix of in-office and remote employees.” What’s more, those employees are working 2 to 3 days a week from home.

Even more reason for SMBs to consider using a managed service provider ( MSP) for mobile-device management. MSPs utilize a set of protocols and platforms to mitigate risks associated with the proliferation of BYODs.

In addition, a seasoned pro, like BluWater, can manage a company’s firewall, antivirus, and application upgrades/updates—and even conduct a vulnerability assessment of a company’s, on-premise networks.  

Contact us today. We can help you implement a  BYOD strategy that fits your needs. Companies rely on us to provide them with the security and scalability to make them successful now and in the future. 

Outsourcing IT Functions Reduces Costs and Increases Productivity

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The  ‘Forbes Technology Council’  reminds business owners to ask the right questions before making their next IT purchase: Is that hardware, program, or application “vital, a luxury, or redundant?”

Forbes: Under-capitalized SMB faces IT challenges

In general, larger companies have the financial where-with-all to maintain an in-house IT department, leaving the under-capitalized SMB owner in a “struggle to stay afloat” during a downturn. 

“Lack of expertise” behind many outsourcing IT expenditures

Keeping up with the changes in technology can impact IT expenditures. The worst-case scenario is not knowing just how the purchase will ultimately help their business succeed. 

Consequently, decision-makers can be “overwhelmed with choices,” and an overall  “lack of expertise.”  

Budgets consume business-critical systems

In fact, according to a recent Deloitte ‘Tech Trends’ report, it is not unusual for IT expenditures to consume “as much as 70%” of the budget just to keep “business-critical systems” up and running. 

“Cheaper storage, cloud, and outsourcing have lowered…budgetary outlay(s) by 20 percent or more. Yet in an era of perpetually tight IT budgets, finding ways to redirect financial and human assets from operations to innovation remains a top…goal.“

Forbes favors outsourcing IT

Forbes recommends ‘outsourcing’ IT functions to help remedy cash-flow problems, or issues stemming from a business downturn. By offloading some, or all, of their IT operations to an experienced, MSP business owners benefit from having more time to run their business. 

Ultimately, using a  managed service provider (MSP) like BluWater Technology can not only reduce IT costs but can also add that next level of expertise to your operations. Ultimately, this leads to a “win-win scenario of saving time and money” while “improving team productivity.”

To find out how your business can operate more efficiently by using our MSP services, contact us.  We help improve bottom lines by assigning fixed costs to some—or all—of a company’s IT expenditures.