20 Tips for Working from Home

20 Tips for Working from Home
If you’re like me—and millions of other small business owners—you’re working from home, at least part of the week. And there are times you love it—and times you hate it, like when your three dogs decide to interrupt you when you’re taping a podcast.

Studies show that most Americans appreciate working from home but are constantly searching for ways to improve their WFH experience. If that’s you, check out this article from PC Mag. It’s filled with good advice and practical solutions.

Read more about improving your WFH experience.

How to Be a Better Mentor

This is National Volunteer Month, and there are many ways you can give back as a small business owner. One way is to be a mentor and help other business owners. SCORE is always on the lookout for experienced business leaders to volunteer to help current and aspiring small business owners.

If you’re interested, check out this article from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. It’s filled with great advice about being a good mentor.

Read more about how to be a better mentor.

Write, Don’t Type

This Fast Company article is fascinating. A new study from the University of Tokyo reveals that you need to take physical notes with a pen and paper—not digital ones—if you want to remember something.

The study’s co-author—a neurologist at the University of Tokyo—says, “Our take-home message is to use paper notebooks for information you need to learn or memorize.” Plus, handwriting is surprisingly faster. In one test, those taking notes by hand took an average of 11 minutes, compared to those using a stylus on a tablet (14 minutes) and those typing on the touchscreen of a large smartphone (16 minutes).

If you have no choice and must write digitally, the article suggests you “add spatial cues like virtual sticky notes, colored handwriting, and other one-of-a-kind marks.”

Read more about why taking notes by hand is better than typing them.

Cookbooks for Dogs

Ok, I just can’t resist this one. I love my three dogs—even when they disrupt my workday. But do I want to spend my time cooking for them? After reading this article on Taste—maybe.

The first cookbook for dogs was published 58 human years or 300 dog years ago. According to an article on Taste, Doubleday published The Secret of Cooking for Dogs in 1964, followed by The Secret of Cooking for Cats a year later.

Since then, several cookbooks for dogs, or more accurately, cookbooks for people who are cooking for their dogs, have been published. Don’t laugh—several are top-sellers with tens of thousands of sales, and at least one has been written by a famous, best-selling author—Susan Orlean. A new cookbook will be released this December.

Read more about whipping up some delicious dishes for your dog.

Resource of the Week: Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership

The Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL), founded in 2002, is an independent, not‐for‐profit organization that supports economic development through entrepreneurship. They create and implement small business programs supporting inclusion, supplier diversity, and economic development objectives.

Learn more about IFEL.