usa job typing

I have been super busy at work.  On top of managing the work lives of two very busy executives, I've also been planning a large dinner, board meeting and another event along with my other regular jobs.  Here is how I've been surviving: Keep Organized If it wasn't for the fact that I am organized, I don't know what I would have done.  At least I have my systems and know where everything is and that is half the battle.  You need to be able to grab what you need quickly.  You wouldn't believe how much time is wasted just looking for things. Ask for help Thankfully we have a great admin team who are always willing to help out in a crunch and I have been taking advantage of that.  There is always a small job here or there that if given away will relieve your workload and will definitely relieve your mind.  You know how it is when you know you have to do something, but just don't have the time to do it -- it weigh...

I'm not even going to ask if you have ever made a mistake, because I already know the answer.  Everyone makes mistakes, but how you handle it makes all the difference. Acknowledge it Whether it is a big mistake or a small one, you probably should admit it to your boss.  I say "probably" because sometimes, depending on the mistake, you can "fix" it and nobody really needs to know about it and it wouldn't be good to tell your boss about every little thing you did wrong.  For instance if you are organizing a meeting and send the meeting request to the wrong person, you can easily fix it by apologizing to whoever you invited by mistake, cancel that invitation and then invite the correct person.  Other times you really do need to tell your boss because it might have repercussions and it is best to admit it up front.  You can determine whether you need to tell your boss or not, but you absolutely should admit it to yourself. Learn from ...

It's hard to believe it was 10 years ago today that this tragedy happened.  It was certainly an event that changed a lot of things in our world and I'm sure each of us can remember exactly where we were on that fateful day. I heard one of the wives speak whose husband was a pilot on the second plane that crashed into the World Trade Centre.  What an inspiration she was as she and her family dealt with the loss.  Sometimes our little complaints or problems are miniscule compared to what others are going through.  It is good to do a check now and again to see if what we are concerned about is really that bad. Since the World Trade Centres were office towers there were many office workers such as managers, lawyers, bankers, administrative and executive assistants and many, many others.  To all those who were affected directly and lost loved ones I send you my deepest sympathy. 

I've mentioned this before, but it is true -- proofreading is a lost art.  I think people are over confident with spell check and forget that it can only do so much.  Lists: I was working with someone and we were comparing a list to make sure we had all the right people with their names spelled right, correct title and address.  The first thing I did was count the number of people on the list I was working from and then I counted them on the list I was getting the information from, it was out by three so that was a quick way to know that there was an error.  I then had someone read it over with me so we could easily identify the missing people and add them to our list. Another time we were doing a large RSVP list.  The first thing I did was a spell check.  That identified about 10 errors.  Next I eyeballed it and compared the names to the email addresses.  If it was spelled one way in the name section and spelled another way in the email addr...

Whether you are an Executive Assistant or an Administrative Assistant, email management of your boss's account has become a big part of our jobs.  But with that job comes responsibility and accountability.   Depending on what your boss's title is, we are often privy to some very confidential information.  Our boss either has allowed us access because he or she is just overwhelmed with email and has no choice, but also because they trust that we will keep it to ourselves and not spread the information in the office.  My boss has asked that I not read anything that has CONFIDENTIAL in the Subject Line and believe me I am grateful.  I have my own emails to read and process so when I go into his account, I am thankful for the emails I can skip over. These are the questions I ask myself as I am going through my boss's account: Is this email for my information only? Sometimes my boss cc's me on an email or I read it in his account and as ...

I woke up this morning...ish... to discover that Hacker News had finally had enough of me being at Google, so they forced me into early retirement. On Monday I was honored to be able to deliver a keynote talk at OSCON Data . In the talk, I announce at the end that I am quitting a project that I had very publicly signed up for, one that I am not passionate about and don't personally think is very important to the human race. Though others clearly do, and that's a legitimate viewpoint too. But the power of suggestion can make you see and hear something entirely different. If, for instance, someone tells you that I gave the talk wearing a gorilla suit, then when you watch it, I will magically appear to be wearing a gorilla suit . It's actually a gray jacket over a black shirt, but you will perceive the jacket as the back-hair of a male silverback gorilla! And to be honest the talk could have benefited from the judicious application of a gorilla suit, so no harm there. S...

Join me for an effective minute-taking webinar on Thursday, July 28 at 1 p.m. EST  If you are interested, you can register here .