Author: locobusiness

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All your Office Supplies under the one address

Open the doors, pull out the drawers, hold my breath Oh………….dear, it’s empty. Yes I got his memo

“This office requires no physical exercise but it does require a stocked Office Supplies cupboard”

 

Stressed out I head back to my desk to make my Office Supplies list stapler, hole punch, paper, pens…… oh how exciting my job is.

Let me tell you when I walked out of college with my degree clutched in my hand, big smile on my face, camera flashes going all around me this is not what I imagined I would be doing, I was going to be the girl writing the post it “Please replenish the office supplies cupboard as it looks a little bear” yes while towering in my 3 foot heels I would ensure the efficient running of my office.

Bugger that recession.

Time to stop dreaming back to my Office Supply list post its, high lighters, tippex……..

Finally with fingers crossed and toes crossed I place my order with www.loco.ie

I click those keys on my keyboard at a speed never been seen before and yeah my order is complete there’s my lovely order confirmation:

“Everything will be with me tomorrow, no delivery charge”

 Oh how I love these guys.

 

Another happy Customer!

We love your office

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Keep your sanity when you are working from home

Working from home is far from the anomaly that it used to be, as we are well-placed to appreciate here at Loco (http://www.loco.ie). More and more often, we find ourselves delivering our business supplies to home addresses. Many industries involve people working from home, as it’s simply not necessary to have a central office, but that doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily easy to keep disciplined when you’re a home worker.

Many people who are used to working in a conventional office, nattering with their fellow employees, may feel somewhat lonely and distracted when they work from home for the first time. You could easily find yourself wearing the same underwear for day after day, forgetting to shower or shave. Put simply, working from home can be a recipe for insanity! There are, though, certain ways home workers can stay fit, happy and functional for the duration of their day.

One problem with home working is that there often aren’t definite boundaries in terms of when the working day begins and ends. It’s that fluidity that can be so dangerous if you are a home worker, as you can find yourself sleeping in while failing to make up any time loss later in the day. You could even end up sending important emails to clients while you’re supposed to be having dinner with your family. That’s why you need to set definite boundaries on your work time, perhaps not opening emails after 6pm or only working for two Saturdays each month. Different schedules are suitable for different customers of our office supplies in Ireland, so don’t be afraid to experiment a bit.

Another unfortunate side-effect of the aforementioned lack of boundaries for many people is a tendency to stay indoors constantly, chained to their computer desks. It’s a good idea to head outside every now and then, taking in fresh air which should leave you freshly re-energised for when you return to your office chair. Regular breaks are important if you are not to have problems concentrating, and they don’t have to be so long that you miss your deadlines.

As mentioned above, insufficient social interaction can also frustrate home workers… so why not agree with your fellow employees, family or friends to meet with you at lunch time from time to time? You might even choose to spread out your work each day so that you stop work at the same time as non-home workers, even taking breaks between assignments to read a book. As counter-intuitive as it might seem, it could also make you happier and more productive.

Naturally, we also can’t possibly avoid mentioning the many office supplies that we stock, that help to make the most hospitable environment. Choose Loco (http://www.loco.ie) for your office storage, tables and chairs.

 

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Are you, like Yahoo, getting tired of remote working?

Anyone who spends at least some of their life working at home is sure to have taken an interest in the latest news about Yahoo actually attempting to drag its employees back into the traditional office. It’s a development that has attracted stern disapproval from the likes of Virgin’s Richard Branson, a keen remote worker himself… and it may have made you wonder whether it’ll take more than just some of Loco’s (http://www.loco.ie) well-priced office supplies Ireland to keep you happy with your own home office.

The good news for you home workers out there is that despite Yahoo’s curious contradiction of the zeitgeist, flexible and remote working practices are hardly likely to go anywhere, any time soon. Indeed, it seems that the current global economic uncertainty has only further accelerated this trend. For every company like Yahoo that remains cynical about remote working, it seems that there are hundreds more that are operating out of somebody’s garage or attic, with bosses perhaps hiring office, conference or meeting space on a much more ‘ad hoc’ basis than in the past.

After all, just look at the Olympic Games in London. Faced with the widespread traffic disruption that you tend to get when something as logistically monumental as the Olympic Games rolls into town, many employees preferred to stay at home, where they probably already had computer desks ready and waiting for them to ensure absolutely no shortfall in productivity. Even when you aren’t formally ‘in work’, it’s much more customary these days for that to effectively be the case, as many clients expect a swift response to their query at seemingly any hour of the day. Internet-enabled smartphones and tablets are certainly proving anything but redundant toys.

Even if you are struggling to fall in love with home working, our advice is to stick at it… and consider the many ways in which people just like you are boosting their home productivity. Why not clear your working space of a lot of that distracting clutter, for example? Or maybe you could do with a wall or notice board on which to jot down those last minute assignments that can be so easily forgotten? We take pride in being a truly complete source of office supplies here at Loco, whether you could do with mere laser toners or dry markers or even a whole new file cabinet.

Here at Loco (http://www.loco.ie), we stock everything that you could possibly require to make your home office feel like a real office, to the point that you’ll barely remember what the traditional ‘9 to 5’ felt like. From envelopes and pens to office storage and machines, there’s nothing that isn’t covered – and if you do think of something that isn’t, let’s just say that we’re all ears!

 

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There are many more types of office tables than you realise!

Spare a thought, just for a moment, for the humble office desk. Chances are that you are sat at one right now, and it’s amazing to think just how impossible – or at least, awkward – some tasks would be if this humble piece of office furniture did not exist. Office tables are hardly ever consciously noticed by workers or even clients, unless there’s something conspicuously wrong with them. It is to ensure that there is nothing wrong with yours that you turn to Loco (http://www.loco.ie).

Not all desks are the same, however – far from it. Some are minimalist and sleek in style, featuring nothing more than a solid table top and some sturdy legs, while others incorporate storage or are shaped perfectly for certain applications or corners of the office. It’s certainly instructive to take a look at the whole range of office tables at Loco, consisting of the likes of computer desks, rectangular desks, reception desks, canteen desks, executive desking, folding tables, educational tables and more. You’ll soon realise that the right desks, in the right places, are instrumental in keeping your office smart and well-organised, which will also impress prospective clients.

Many desks are specifically designed to have a PC placed upon them, for example, while we also stock stylish, portable and lightweight folding tables, which are popular not only in offices, but also schools, canteens, banquets, hospitals and other temporary working environments. With their attractive woodgrain finishes, robust and easy to store tubular frames and available shapes ranging from rectangular and square to semicircular and even trapezoidal, these are seriously versatile tables. Speaking of different shapes, we also offer wave desks, which are perfect for flat screen monitors, with pedestals able to be fixed to the narrow end of the wave. That doesn’t even touch on our selection of left hand and right hand radial desks.

So many of our office tables are all about providing that vital versatility while still making a good impression, with our canteen tables, for example, being perfect for any awkward areas of the office that could do with a bit more desk space. At the same time, our tables help to make the right impression on anyone who visits your company premises. Our reception desks, for example, are very professional and presentable, being welcoming while also hiding all of the necessary reception stationery and equipment. Also in stock are boardroom tables and meeting tables that perfectly combine elegance, quality and practicality.

Whether you are looking for executive desks, folding tables, desk pedestals or aren’t even sure exactly what you need yet, you can be sure of one thing: Loco (http://www.loco.ie) is the only online store that you will ever need to visit for office tables that are durable, inexpensive and really look the part.

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You don’t have to be an executive to enjoy a nice leather chair from Loco

At Loco we know how important a good quality office chair can be to accommodating a happy and productive work environment as we spend more than half the day sitting on them.

Comfort and practability of being of foremost importance when choosing an Office chair to suit your environment and at Loco we stock a wide range of office leather chairs which will not only provide both these requirements but will also give your office a sense of style.

Leather chairs have always been the first love of the standard office layout as their unmatched style, durability and comfort, makes them stand apart from the crowd, but there are many other features associated with the executive leather chair such as the high quality of leather used in making the chairs which prevents it cracking or peeling even after years of use not to mention the durability of being able to wipe down a spill on leather rather than replacing an upholstered office chair.

At Loco we have a wide and varied range of office leather chairs available in a variety of colours such as black, white and brown and you could easily match them with the interiors of your office or home office, but before you rush to make a purchase some factors to consider when choosing your executive leather chair, is its adjustable, features like swivel and tilt options which are going to provide not only comfort but also necessary lumber support. Remember your in this chair for up to 8 hours or more a day.

A good executive leather chair can often cost hundreds or even thousands of euros depending on the materials used but at loco, www.loco.ie we take pride in stocking an in-depth range of leather office chairs all at an affordable price and of high quality, this accompanied by our fast delivery service and a highly responsive customer service team make Loco your leather chair genie.

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Envelopes – Long Distance Communication Legends!

From inkjet labels to office furniture, we stock all the latest kit. But some business supplies feel like they’ve been with us forever. Take the humble envelope – such a household and office staple seldom gets given a second thought. Well here at Loco (http://www.loco.ie) we like to give a little thought to the origins and history of all of our stationery supplies, and we often uncover surprising facts and a better understanding of our products.

Next time you send something half way round the world from your office chair with a click of a button, spare a thought for the humble beginnings of long distance communication. Dating back to 3500BC, the first envelope-type creation was made from clay and was shaped around important items for safe sending; it must have been a time consuming business getting your pottery wheel out every time you send a letter! Nowadays technology over tradition appears to be leading the way but thankfully it looks like the envelope is here to stay, as although it was predicted that demand would fall with the invention of email in the 1990s we are still using the trusty envelope as much as ever. The most commonly sent envelopes being the classic C and DL ranges.

Paper Envelopes as we would recognise them now began life as a luxury item of the rich no less, a novel way to encase invitations in the 19th century. You would have to cut your own from a sheet to show off your affluence, who would have thought the envelope was once a sought after mark of the rich and style conscious? Well, here at Loco we may not be able to make you look rich but we can offer an extensive range of envelopes for all your sending needs, ranging from sage compatible payslip wage envelopes to padded Jiffy bags of all sizes.

The office classic window envelope was first created by Americus F Callahan in 1901 who patented the film covering the window, though due to material shortages early on in the 20th century some envelopes would have no film covering the hole. A more economic way was invented where hot oil would be poured onto the window area which would turn translucent and reveal the address underneath. Luckily nowadays there’s none of this fuss and you can order your readymade window envelopes direct from our range of business supplies.

This overlooked convenience has shaped the way we communicate for thousands of years and is still here to help businesses the world over. At Loco (http://www.loco.ie) we are proud to help keep this tradition alive.

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Reduce paper waste with dry markers

However many times we remind ourselves to ‘think green’, most of us office workers will leave a full waste paper bin at the end of the day. At Loco (http://www.loco.ie/) we know how important it is to recycle, but also that it’s vital to reduce the paper we use in the first place wherever possible. One way to reduce paper waste is the use of white boards and dry markers.

In offices and schools around the country the large and cumbersome flipchart has been replaced by sleek white boards (as have chalk and blackboards). In doing so, paper isn’t wasted and the dry pens themselves have a similar lifespan to those of wet pens. Whilst writing on a notepad, jotting on a sticky note or leaving a memo on someone’s desk may best be done with a biro or roller tip and signing an important contract may need the professional touch of a fountain pen, in a group situation where ideas are being discussed and displayed to the meeting, a whiteboard and dry marker perhaps offers a more eco-friendly, and dynamic solution.

Dry markers are easy to use and easily wiped off. Head on over to Loco.ie now to snap up some great bargains!

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Technology in the Workplace

Technology. It’s everywhere. In your pocket, in your ear, on your wrist, in your car. It really dominates our lives – because we need it.

Wherever you happen to work, you’re probably surrounded by technology. Even those lucky enough to work in the great outdoors or the most remote corners of the planet rely heavily on all sorts of technical devices, from the humble compass to GPS devices with satellite connections.

Medical practitioners, emergency services, schoolteachers, factory workers, truck drivers – you name it – it’s hard to think of any job of work, trade or profession that could continue to function without a plethora of devices and machines that make it all possible.

Businesses are particularly dependent on technology. Most modern offices just couldn’t function without an arsenal of technology that improve efficiency and enable us to get the job done. Some people love it, others are not so keen, but there’s no getting away from it.

We depend on it to get through the day. If, by some extraordinary event, all our technology was taken away, it’s hard to imagine how we could survive, and, in fact, many couldn’t. Farmers could not produce the food we eat, distributors could not move product around and retailers just would not be able to stock their shelves. Imagine the chaos! Food and fuel shortages, collapsing infrastructure and security – every man and woman for him or herself. I suppose one positive aspect in all this would be that our capacity to kill each other and destroy the environment would also be greatly reduced, but I for one don’t think that would be worth it. My son tells me that human capacity for fulfillment as a species peaked about 25,000 years ago, around the time we first started to develop tools for farming, and it’s been a downhill slide of competitiveness and increasing stress ever since. But in the strictest sense, we’ve always had technology. From when the first man (or woman) sharpened a stick in order to more easily dispatch a prey, or an enemy, the advantage of technology has inspired us to create, invent, and improve throughout history.

This has produced some truly spectacular results, such as the recent Mars landing, medical devices that keep us alive and stunning advances in understanding and our ability to share information.

For many, and the point of this article, technology in the workplace is about the office environment, where we tend to take so much for granted – from air conditioning to modern computers with high speed internet connections, not to mention the simple things, like the stapler, or even the humble pencil.

With all this going on around us all the time, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Most people adjust, adapt and benefit from technology. There are the Luddites who scorn all change, there are those who develop phobias, and there are enthusiasts who can sometimes go overboard and become consumed by gadgets and gizmos. The point is that technology is supposed to make life easier: with so much choice, and the ever accelerating pace of change that we live with today, stress levels have never been higher, and can become particularly acute when the time comes to buy some new equipment for the office – Will it work? Am I getting value for money? What happens if something goes wrong? Is this the right product for my business? What are my competitors using? Etc. etc.

All of these factors have been taken into consideration in the design, development and management of our business at Loco. We can’t – and wouldn’t want to – recommend a return to stone age simplicity, not least because we embrace technology , but we can and do make it a lot easier for you to make the right buying decisions by offering best value from the broadest range of items and sound advice on your office requisites. Our on-line store is easy to use and will assist you in finding the Office products that are right for you.

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Are you as productive as you could be?

It’s a persistent problem these days, for so many of the people who purchase business supplies from firms like Loco (http://www.loco.ie): how can you keep truly productive, from the start of the day until the end? Do you even adopt the same ‘start’ and ‘end’ time from one day to the next? What about all of the distractions of social media? Whereas everything about office work once seemed so certain, today’s ever-flexible working patterns and hours put so many workers in a quandary.

Certainly, there’s no denying that sites like Facebook and Twitter are proving a fundamental part of our lives these days – but it can also be a drain on the working day. Do you really need to know what your friend thought of that latest Hollywood blockbuster, or is it really that essential for you to watch that funny cat video your colleague has just emailed you, rather than knuckling down and concentrating on getting that knotty assignment done by that tight deadline? Indeed, many bosses are going as far as to ban social media in the workplace.

There are so many other ways in which you can be more productive in the office in 2015. It helps to keep to a definite schedule, missing any meetings that are not essential so that there are hopefully no delays that have a knock-on effect on the rest of your day. Nor should the effectiveness of organising your day in advance be underestimated. This will boost your efficiency across the day, lessen the amount of stress that you experience and ultimately result in better quality work.

Great leaders often say that it is the ability to say no, rather than yes, that is really important – and certainly, fostering that ability in yourself can significantly enhance your productivity. Even once you have done all of your work for today, putting together a ‘to do’ list for the following day allows you to keep the momentum going throughout the week. Technology is a potential distraction, of course, but it can also be another productivity booster. While ensuring that you only check your emails once an hour and for a certain limited amount of time, you might want to investigate the many tools for such tasks as document editing, calendar planning and video conferencing to save further time.

And of course, our own office supplies in Ireland, right here at Loco (http://www.loco.ie), can make a difference. Whether it’s a file cabinet that keeps all of those less-than-vital documents out of sight and out of mind while you’re trying to focus on an imperative assignment, or perhaps a drywipe board, double sided tape, some ink and toner supplies or something different altogether, there will almost certainly be something in our online store that will take away a lot of your anxiety about those harsh deadlines. 

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Dealing with back pain in the workplace

Do you work in an office? Spend most of your day sitting in one of those standard office chairs? Does it have arm support?  Lumbar support? Head rest?

Well, if you have all of the above, then you’re probably well up the food chain, in terms of the career ladder. Your seating is soft leather and you have a whole office all to yourself. With a nice view and loads of natural daylight. And if you have issues with your back, they’re more likely related to your activities on the golf course than to your work environment. Nonetheless, please read on, ‘cause this appeal is for you, The Boss, although it is of greater immediate concern to those workers you may control…

Any office worker is familiar with the bog-standard ”typists” chair. A primitive structure, without arm support, a seat that feels like it’ll break at any moment , and back support that already did. The idea being that a typist is female and petite and will sit upright and rigid for the eight hour shift. Not moving left, not moving right, other than the occasional swivel to change the dictaphone tape.

Typists are probably few and far between nowadays, and the basic office chair has evolved some over the years, but back pain, as they say, hasn’t gone away, you know. And those old style chairs can today still be found in many of the less frequently visited corners of the office, like server rooms, storage areas, canteens and basements.

If you’re a sufferer, there are a great many sources of information on the web about prevention and cure, just search for “Back pain in the workplace”. Everything from your seated posture, taking breaks, exercise, and who to call when your spine locks up. But take it seriously and if you feel your seating is inappropriate – if you got stuck with a chair with a dodgy wheel or broken lumbar pad – ask the Boss to get it sorted. Or share this column with him or her.

And if you’re the Boss, then please have a look around and put a little thought into whether even the least of your workers is getting this fundamental tool for the job. And either repair or get rid of any old and broken seating – if only to show you care!

Check out our posture seating today and love your staff as well as your office!