I’ve often joked that the only way I will start exercising in is if we start a P.E. class at work. Since that’s probably not going to happen any time soon there are a few other simple things we can do. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
1. Sit up straight. Having good posture not only makes you appear more confident, but it also has physical benefits, too. It keeps your spine properly aligned, reducing back pain and improves your breathing because your muscles sit where they should—as a bonus, eased breathing keeps you alert and attentive.
2. Sit on an exercise ball. Using an exercise ball helps reinforce good posture while also working your core muscles that go unused in a traditional chair. If you maximize the use of your ball by stretching under your desk and doing mini-workouts, you can burn up to 350 calories per day. But even if you just use it instead of your standard desk chair, you’ll be better off.
3. Avoid doughnuts in the break room. Offering healthier snack alternatives in your office makes clear that you value health as part of your office culture. Cutting back on things like doughnuts—even though they’re delicious—trims caloric intake significantly. Replace doughnuts and other sugary breakfast foods with granola bars and fruit for an equally sweet but markedly more nutritious breakfast.
4. Get up and talk to someone instead of e-mailing. Even if your office is a small one, getting out of your chair and making your way to a colleague’s desk is an easy way to get on your feet and add a little bit of movement to your day. When you sit for too long, your muscle activity stalls and your metabolism slows almost to a halt. Getting up and moving around boosts your calorie-burning rate to three times the sluggish rate when you’re simply sitting at your desk.
5. Don’t forget why the water cooler’s really there. Water is vital to life and health, and chances are, it’s available to you in virtually unlimited proportions right in your office. The water cooler aptly serves as a meeting spot and gossip mill, but remember why it’s really there. Choosing water instead of soda can cut your caloric intake pretty significantly. Plus, drinking those eight glasses of water a day helps keep your body hydrated and healthy.
6. Actually take a lunch break. Sure, you’re busy. It’s sometimes easier to work through lunch (with some help from the vending machine), or forget to eat one altogether. But research suggests going without lunch can leave you frustrated, drained and far less productive.
(via OPEN Forum)
There are dozens of ideas to help you make your marketing tools work together. Unfortunately lots of them require more effort than time or budget may allow. Here are a few simple options that will help you add some punch to your next campaign.
1. Send a teaser email before a postal mailing: If you’re planning a big direct mail campaign, you can create excitement for it by emailing your list ahead of time and telling them to look for something special in the mail. This can be a good technique if you’re sending a new catalogue or unique gift.
2. Follow up your postal mailings with email: If you send an enticing direct mail piece, your customers should take notice. But nothing guarantees you that they will take action. That’s why it is worth following up your postal mailing with several emails, in which you remind them about that direct mail piece, provide them with more information or offer them another discount. Doing this can reinforce your brand and get more customers to take action.
3. Use QR codes: Another way to boost your response is to include a QR code in your emails and postal mailers. This will allow customers to put your message directly on their mobile devices. If you offer them a discount with the QR code, they can use it the next time they visit your store or website.
(via Pitney Bowes)
Good luck with that, there aren’t any.
If you hesitate when leaping from rope to another, you’re not going to last very long.
And this is at the heart of what makes innovation work in organizations, why industries die, and how painful it is to try to maintain the status quo while also participating in a revolution.
Gather up as much speed as you can, find a path and let go. You can’t get to the next rope if you’re still holding on to this one.
(via Seth’s Blog)
Press release from the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service:
The U.S. mailing industry today expressed grave concern with the news that the U.S. Postal Service lost $3.3 billion in the 1st quarter of Fiscal Year 2012. The Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, a coalition of businesses and industries tied to the mailing industry, is pushing Congress to take urgent action on reforming the Postal Service.
“We have a Postal Service that essentially is living from paycheck to paycheck, which is a very risky proposition for the American economy and the 8 million private sector workers whose jobs rely on the mail,” said Art Sackler, Coordinator of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service. “A great financial quarter isn’t going to save the Postal Service, but a terrible financial quarter could sink it. That’s why Congress needs to pass postal reform legislation now.”
The coalition is urging the U.S. Senate to pass a bipartisan postal reform bill authored by Senators Joe Lieberman, Tom Carper, Susan Collins and Scott Brown. That bill would return overpayments that USPS has made into the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) in order to help the Postal Service encourage early retirements, and help lay the groundwork for streamlining the postal system to more accurately reflect the decreased volume of mail. The coalition has also urged the U.S. House to take up legislation authored by Representatives Darrell Issa and Dennis Ross that would make sweeping reforms of the U.S. Postal Service.
“Each day Congress fails to enact postal reform, this problem grows more difficult and perhaps more expensive to resolve,” said Sackler.
Good news for direct mail marketers looking to add a little punch to their mailing. Whether you choose to add an insert or just use a heavier paper stock this can help do so at a reduced cost. Here are some details:
Businesses now can mail First-Class Mail automation and presort letters weighing up to two ounces at the one-ounce postage rate using the new “2nd Ounce Free” pricing.
The new 2nd Ounce Free option is not a limited time promotion, but a new price for First-Class Mail automation and presort letters. The new pricing does not apply to single-piece letters.
Mailers can use 2nd Ounce Free to inform, educate and strengthen customer loyalty by providing additional information, such as advertising material, announcements, coupons, disclosures and notifications. The extra free ounce also can be used to
conduct consumer research with surveys and reply cards.
(via USPS)
