Feng Shui For The Office

 

 Whether you are an employee or a business owner with his or her own office, you can use feng shui to make your office space more productive and harmonious.

Your first step is to stand at the doorway of your office or workspace and map out the areas according to the feng shui bagua. You can download a diagram of the bagua from our web site.

Your main focus will be your wealth and fame areas, although you should also pay attention to the other six areas and decorate them accordingly.

Here are some tips to keep the energy flowing in your office:

1. According to office feng shui guidelines, your desk should be placed at a diagonal to the doorway or directly facing it, rather than with your back to it.

2. If there's more than one desk, place two on a diagonal facing towards the door and any others on a diagonal facing into the center of the room. They should not be placed in rows in a traditional classroom layout or back to back.

3. If the doorways of offices that face each other across a hallway are not exactly aligned, place a mirror on the front of each door.

4. If you face a partial wall or partition when entering an office, place a mirror on the partition.

5. Soften jutting walls with plants. If you don't have a 'green thumb', artificial plants are just as effective as live ones.

6. Break up dull walls with mirrors or paintings.

The feng shui elements that are easiest to blend into an office decor are pictures and photographs. Look for pictures that represent the various aspects and display them in the appropriate areas of the room. Very obvious feng shui symbols may invite unwelcome questions from visitors or co-workers.

Feng Shui For A Home Office

Use office feng shui if you're working from home to maintain a professional approach to your business.

1. Use a separate entrance to your office if at all possible.

2. Otherwise, choose a room near the front or back door of the house or apartment.

3. Separate your office from living areas to keep your business and personal lives separate.

4. If your office space is part of another room, divide it from the rest of the room with a screen or large plants.

5. Take a short walk before entering your office to work each day and another one at the end of your working day. This separates the business and personal aspects of your life.

6. Place your desk on the corner diagonally opposite to the doorway.

7. Don't place your desk under a window, but let the light reflect on it from the side. Some people prefer to have their desks facing east.

8. Leave space between your furniture (bookshelves etc.) and the walls. Feng shui experts suggest leaving a 7-9 inch gap.

9. An important aspect of office feng shui is to keep your workspace tidy to allow a free flow of energy throughout the room.

10. Differentiate between clutter and storage. Stored items don't have to be catalogued and labeled but they should be stacked neatly in a cupboard or in binders so as not to impede energy flow.

Obviously theres a lot more to feng shui than what weve discussed in this article but you now have the basics for applying feng shui to your office space.

When youve made whatever changes you choose to incorporate, take a slow walk through your office and notice your spontaneous reaction. You should experience a sense of ease and flow, as opposed to feelings of claustrophobia, stress or overwhelm caused by too much clutter.
Marguerite Bonneville is a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) whose passion is publishing information online. Her web site, Hidden Keys To Wealth, offers a range of resources for people committed to achieving financial freedom. Visit
http://www.hidden-wealth-keys.com for NLP and wealth mindset tools, tips on choosing a wealth creation vehicle, and a step-by-step guide to starting a small business.


Want Your Savings to Earn a Higher Rate of Return? Try Internet Banking.Jon GalantyDoesn't it seem like the only impressive numbers we've seen this summer are the digits on the thermostat and the unaffordable prices of homes? Real estate has been excruciatingly hot for the past few years, but getting in the market now puts you in the high-risk category for a heat stroke if the market decides to cool off this year.

So if a real estate induced stroke doesn't appeal to you and the stock market's roller coaster ride gives you motion sickness, it's very likely that you as a health-conscious investor are sitting on a stash of cash collecting an anemic rate of interest.

Don't worry, you are in good company. Even investment legend Warren Buffet is having problems finding fruitful investments. Buffet admitted in Berkshire Hathaway's annual letter to shareholders to having ended 2004 with $43 billion in cash equivalents and couldn't promise much success in utilizing the money in 2005.

If Buffet doesn't know what to do with his billions, you are probably thinking that you have no chance of finding a great place to put your billions either. Ok, your trillions. I didn't mean to belittle your nest egg.

Where can you stick your cash while you wait for better investment times?

How about online? Yes, I know Internet stocks stole your money in 2000, but Internet banks are giving it back in 2005.

Unlike the Internet gold rush of the 1990's where web businesses were run by high school students, many of today's Internet banks are simply online divisions of safe and time tested brick-and-mortar banking institutions.

Take ING Direct for example. ING Direct is the online division of ING Group, a Dutch based financial institution which is among the top 15 largest in the world. ING Direct opened its Internet doors five years ago and currently has approximately $29 billion in deposits. That would make it the "YAHOO!" of online banks.

But another online bank may actually make you yodel, "yahooo" after you glance at their annual percentage yield. Internet bank Emigrant Direct offers 3.50% APY on its savings accounts. What does your big commercial bank give you? 0.50%? At that rate, you're not earning enough to beat inflation. Maybe it's time you joined the Internet age?

Emigrant Direct is the online division for New York's Emigrant Savings Bank. Although a relative newcomer to the online banking scene, when it seems like interest rates are leaden with lead, Emigrant Direct is usually the first to raise them. At this point, brick-and-mortar banks would need to raise their rates quite a bit just to catch up with Emigrant.

So if you find yourself not enjoying the lazy interest rates of summer, you may want to log on to the net and see how an Internet bank account may boost your return this year. The interest rate you get may just burn as hot as the heat wave hitting most of America.
Jon Galanty is a financial writer for eMoneyCentral.com Visit http://www.emoneycentral.com to find out more about online banking and to get other great money tips.


The time value of moneycollin brownIt is very important for one to understand the time value of money. Especially we should let our next generation know
about it. As the sea wave keeps on coming without any hesitation, life also flows on. It is important to make a child understand about the journey of time along with the
changing value of life.

Do you see people using the old coins nowadays? I am sure you do not. But you remember them as your grandmas must have kept a few. This paisa is to be kept in with you only as they are not in use. Similarly, today we can buy things with a 10-rupee
note, right? If I give you a ten-rupee note, you can immediately go to the next shop and buy a chocolate for you.
Do you think even after a couple of years you will get the same chocolate with 10 rupee? I do not think so and I am sure
you will agree with me, too.


Let us think about your latest toy, which your father bought you last week. The latest remote controlled car cost him 200$.
My dear, you wont believe that I bought this car just a year back for 120$ only!! Now, you might think that, as there are
the changes in the newest model, so the company has increased their price. Yes, you are right to some extent but there are
other reasons too. You know that the price of everything is increasing day by day. So to retreat the market value one has
to increase the price. The cost this company used to spend after the toy has been changed. Now, as the new technology has
come within a year, they also had to improve the quality of their toy. If they did not improve it, you would not ask me
for this toy, right? Tell me if it would not be as sophisticated as it is and better than your previous ones, then would you like to buy this? No dear, you would not, nobody does. It is the market where everyone wants something better and thus, the price is getting higher accordingly.


In your childhood when you used to collect donations for the poor kids, how much people used to contribute? I think people used to give you Rs. 5 minimum. Now, if you ask for that, you will not get less than Rs. 10 from a person. It is because earlier value of Rs. 5 is almost equal to value of Rs. 10 these days. You hardly get anything with Rs. 5 now, while you will get a chocolate, a packet of potato chips or may be a small toy at Rs. 10. Even you can get a pen at Rs. 10. So, are you with me? Do you understand the difference now?


One more example will be suitable for you to understand the matter. What is the price of the cricket bat you want to buy for yourself? Arent you saving your pocket money to buy that this year? Now, now, you are caught! I knew it, do not worry, everyone has his secret desires and I also had this once. Let me share a story with you. When I was a kid like you, one day I went to the market with my mother. There I
liked a talking doll and it was saying mummy mummy and pappa pappa. It was so adorable that I wanted to buy. However, my mother did not have that money to buy me then so she rather bought me something else. Well, I came back, but the dream of having the doll with me stayed. That year I did not buy anything in the Pujas and saved the money. Then again in the festive season I did not buy a new dress and saved the money instead. After that I told my mother to
buy me the doll with that saved money. Wow!! It was a lovely experience when I got to get that doll from my saved money. That was a superb feeling indeed. I have told you this small story because I know some of you must be saving your pocket money for your desired thing. If it is a Cricket bat then
I am sure you need not save as much as I had to. Now if you dont buy 1 dress in a Festival or just save 4/5 months
pocket money you will be able to buy it. this is because what I used to get as pocket money was lesser than you. The
reason is, the value has been changed. If I give you the same amount, which I used to get as a kid, it wont be
suitable for you. Thus, the change takes place in our lives too.


I think it is now clear to you how the value of money changes with time. Now, one most important thing. You should realize
the value of money as well. Do not ever waste money unnecessarily. It is a curse to you if you do so. The God will be angry with you and you will be in trouble. Save money as this plays a major role in your life. If you understand the value of saving and not spending it without necessity then you
will surely have a bright future.


However, the value of money changes with time yet the concept of money never changes. It never looses its importance in our life. Ask your grandma about their life. You will be amazed and astonished with the description. Sometime you might feel
that she is just telling stories!! Well, it is not so. After a long when you will become a grandma and your kids will ask you this, they will be equally shocked to know that you used to get a chocolate at Rs. 10!


As a growing kid, you should realize this. It is very important to understand the basics of life. One of the major things is this, to understand the time value of money. I am sure you have understood this well and do not have any doubts in mind. There
are certain things, which cannot be told, you have to realize them from your heart. Other things I have tried to tell you so
far.
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