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Showing posts from June, 2009

A funny thing happened on the way to the office...

I have been asked to speak in December and I am supposed to be funny. How do you plan to be funny in December? With me it is a hit and miss sort of thing and sometimes I am funny, sometimes I am melancholy. How do comedians do it? I went to a writing workshop and the woman who was presenting said that comedians are only as funny as their writers. If you have very funny writers around you, your material will be great. If not, then be prepared to be booed off the stage... Yikes! So how am I going to be funny in December? Perhaps you can help. Do you have any funny office stories that you want to share? Let me know at pattyannrobb@rogers.com The only one I can think of is something a friend of mine told me about a woman at her office. This woman was speaking to the CEO and her skirt slipped down to her ankles. My friend said it didn't seem to faze her and she quickly pulled up her skirt and kept talking like nothing happened. Hmmm! I wonder what that CEO was talking about that night w

Colour Coding Works ...

I have never been a fan of colour coding, until recently. I was in back-to-back Committee meetings and I decided to use two different colours of folders, a blue one for the Committee members, with an attendance sheet stapled to the inside cover for my purposes, along with their meeting packages, and a red one for the Chair with everything the Chair was going to need. Because the meetings were right after the other and I had lots of packages with me, it was easy to distinguish what went to whom just by looking at the colour. I also put them in order of the meetings so it made it even easier. Without the colour coding, I would have been in a panic trying to find the packages, but as it was, it went very smoothly. Too much colour however can be confusing. Keep it simple and easy to remember. When you are busy, busy and don't have time to think, having two or three colours to choose from will help make things easier. Try it, you may like it.

Meeting preparation...

I have an upcoming Board meeting and want to be prepared for everything that is needed to make it run smoothly. To-do lists I have to-do lists for the Board and Committee meetings and a to-do list for the Board Reception and Dinner. You can never go wrong if you are making a list and checking it twice. My favourite to-do list is a calendar timeline so I can see at a glance where I am at and what I need to do to get there. It is simply using an on-line calendar with space on each day to enter what needs to be done. I fill it out from start to finish and each day check what needs to be done and where I am at. I feel confident as I check off each item that things will be done on time. No surprises! To generate a calendar in Word 2007, click on the Office Button (in the top left-hand corner). Choose New . Under Office Microsoft Online, click on Calendars . You will be given a choice of many styles and types of calendars. My favourite is the basic design, with large squares to fill in my t