Dumb Little Man

JANUARY 7, 2019

We’ve all been there- staring at a blank screen, throwing endless drafts in the trash, pulling out hair, scrolling through Facebook photos, re-ordering music libraries and even wiping the computer clean. We do anything to pass the time and avoid admitting the painfully obvious – we’ve hit a block. We are the cultivators and sole fuel source of the blocks we experience. Blocks are usually an indication that we’ve taken our focus off of what we want and placed it firmly on what we don’t.

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2019 Environment Collaborate Holidays 213

Small Business Labs

JANUARY 28, 2019

Last week the Big 3 strategy consulting firm BCG released THE NEW FREELANCERS: TAPPING TALENT IN THE GIG ECONOMY , a study on "those who find temporary work through digital labor-sharing platforms." " As part of the study BCG surveyed 11,000 workers in 11 countries: the US, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, Japan, India, Indonesia, China, and Brazil. BCG took a different approach to their survey than others have.

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2019 Skills 188

Practically Perfect PA

JANUARY 3, 2019

Well, that is us in 2019 folks! Happy New Year. Firstly before I start this blog, I want to say a huge thank you to all of the Practically Perfect PA readers who are joining us for another year on the blog. We have been going now since 2011, and I can’t wait to see […]. Core Competencies Featured admin administrators assistants Career Competencies EA Executive Assistant Office manager PA Personal Assistant Virtual Assistant

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2019 2011 Management 186

Eat Your Career

JANUARY 14, 2019

As a proud former administrative professional , I’ve always enjoyed being a part of the admin community. In fact, from the moment I got involved in the field, I wanted to be an admin leader. I felt called to it from day 1. I loved the work and the people, and (even as a total novice) I thought I had something valuable to offer. So, back in 2006, I started a blog for admins called The Executive Assistant’s Toolbox, where I shared tips and tricks for success in the field.

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2019 Social Media Administrative Professionals IAAP 180

Office Dynamics

JANUARY 16, 2019

The word communicate is derived from the Latin word, communis , meaning commonness. When we are communicating, we are trying to establish commonness with others. We are trying to share information, encourage or inspire others, build rapport or persuade someone to make a change or see our point of view. In order to accomplish this, you will want to consider if the receiver has a preferred communication style so you can tap into it.

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2019 International Promotion Forms 188

On The Job

JANUARY 30, 2019

One day when I was on deadline frantically trying to complete a story, my instant messaging app popped up with something like: "Anita didn't check the database and now I'm having to recreate this work. sigh*" The IM was from my direct editor to another editor. I really didn't give it much thought, other than to instantly reply: "What? Is this message to me?" The editor didn't reply and I quickly went on with my work since I had only minutes to my deadline.

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2019 Phones Forms Training 186

Dumb Little Man

JANUARY 9, 2019

Managing people isn’t that easy. You have to know the right things to do if you want to bring out the best in them. The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson is a remarkable book about management. It is about a young man who is in search of an effective manager and is willing to work for one. In his search, he meets some ‘autocratic’ managers who are only concerned about the results. Their organizations gained while their people lost.

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2019 Learning Management Goals 211

Practically Perfect PA

JANUARY 7, 2019

I don’t think I’ve shared this before but I love podcasts, and I have for years. They are more popular than ever, and there are loads of podcasts that can help you with your personal and professional development. I listen to a lot of podcasts and so I thought today I’d share my top ten […]. Career Development admin administrators assistants Career career development EA Executive Assistant Office manager PA Personal Assistant podcasts Virtual Assistant

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2019 Management 176

Eat Your Career

JANUARY 28, 2019

Job seekers are notoriously eager to believe things. They’re not necessarily gullible or naïve, but they often want to think optimistically about every “opportunity” that crosses their path. Sometimes, they’re just so desperate to find a job, that they ignore critical job search red flags—clear indicators that a role isn’t what it appears to be. As a result, they can be easily tricked, scammed and taken advantage of.

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2019 Resume Cover Letter Interviewing 149

Office Dynamics

JANUARY 24, 2019

Welcome to another question for Ask an Admin. This is where the administrative assistant and executive assistant can submit any question they have and their peers will answer the question based on their previous experience. We believe that there are many different ways to approach problems, difficult tasks, and situations so we thought this would be a great way to provide you a place to share your input as well as receive input from others.

2019 186

2019 Administrative Professionals UPS Management 186

Tips From T. Marie

JANUARY 10, 2019

As the instructor of a best-selling online course teaching individuals how to work from home as a virtual assistant, I get plenty of questions. A recent one reminded me of one of the pitfalls to avoid when starting and running your own business. It’s entirely too easy to fall into the deep, dark pit of what I call employee mentality. Employee mentality is when an invisible, but very important line is crossed between business owner and employee.

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2019 Resume Holidays Stress 113

Dumb Little Man

JANUARY 30, 2019

Not everybody can be a globetrotting super-spy who saves the world every few years. In fact, almost nobody can. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t view James Bond as a role model. No, we’re not talking about the rampant murder and womanizing. We’re talking about the little things he does every day to keep himself alive and at peak performance. I mean, come on.

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2019 Learning Equipment Clothes 210

Small Business Labs

JANUARY 8, 2019

ProPublica's If You’re Over 50, Chances Are the Decision to Leave a Job Won’t be Yours covers a fascinating study looking at the job paths of workers aged 50 or older. The study used data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study. Since 1992, this study has followed a nationally representative sample of about 20,000 people from the time they turn 50 through the rest of their lives.

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2019 Retirement Health 172

Practically Perfect PA

JANUARY 8, 2019

There are now quite a few of us in the Assistant world running around shouting that you, lovely Assistant, are a leader within your organisation! You may not manage a team, but you do work in a management role. You manage your Executive, you work with and support the leadership team, and you should see […]. Core Skills Featured admin administrators assistants Career EA EA Skills Executive Assistant Leadership Office manager PA PA Skills Personal Assistant Virtual Assistant

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2019 Skills Management 175

On The Job

JANUARY 28, 2019

This seems to be the time of year when a lot of people are jumping ship for a new gig. People are seeking new challenges -- or feel unsettled by the current instability of their industry. As you search for new employment opportunities, it's important that you look not only at the qualifications you need for a certain position, but also the culture of the company that interests you.

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2019 Social Media Resume Collaborate 161

Office Dynamics

JANUARY 26, 2019

As administrative assistants and executive assistants, we all know there are a hundred moving parts in business. There is constant change, new projects and ideas, rework, barriers, coordinating multiple people and meetings, travel, and more. Keeping the information flowing and status updates are critical to everyone’s success. Today I am especially focusing on how important status updates are between executives and assistants.

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2019 Cubicle Travel Phones 180

Tips From T. Marie

JANUARY 2, 2019

Welcome to 2019. To be completely honest, I’ve never been much of a “New Year’ fan. All the hoopla about making resolutions that wind up broken before winter winds stop blowing. I grew tired of the marketing cry of an entire industry telling us we weren’t thin, fit, rich or organized enough and that we should focus on that by buying into what they were selling. They somehow took all the joy of a fresh start out of it, and made it yet another expectation we needed to meet.

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2019 2018 Goals Twitter 110

Dumb Little Man

JANUARY 16, 2019

Emotional abuse isn’t the easiest thing to deal with. Compared with physical abuse, it leaves pain that lasts for a longer time. It creates a lot of grief and unhappiness that tend to torture the victim every single day. Emotional abuse happens when the other party erodes your sense of self esteem and literally, has a hold over your mind. Your sense of self worth shrinks so much that you no longer dare to challenge what is being said about you. You believe in their stories.

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2019 Self Esteem Confidence Lifestyle 210

Small Business Labs

JANUARY 3, 2019

According to a recent Job Creators Network Foundation survey , "Sixteen-percent of Americans say they are likely to start a new business in 2019." "   This works out to about 32 million Americans. Most won't.    Over the past couple of years about 400,000 to 500,000 employer small businesses and about 2.5 million solopreneur businesses have been started each year. So it's much more likely that about 1.6%

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2019 2016 Networking UPS 165

Practically Perfect PA

JANUARY 24, 2019

Let’s face it, being an Assistant can be pretty challenging and not every day are you going to be walking around your office with your glass half full beaming from ear to ear. Some days you will be massively p*ssed off and want to hide under your desk until you can leave at 5 […]. Core Competencies Dealing with coworkers Featured admin administrators assistants core competencies EA Executive Assistant Office manager PA Personal Assistant Positivity

2019 169

2019 Management 169

Eat Your Career

JANUARY 31, 2019

Join us for this month’s free webinar on the topic of “How to Build a Powerful Professional Network.”. February is the month of love! While most people think love doesn’t have a lot to do with business, I disagree. In fact, business is all about people and relationships. Sure, love isn’t necessarily the goal. But all great relationships, whether personal or professional, have common elements: trust, respect and authentic connection, to name just a few.

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2019 Networking Goals Learning 109

Office Dynamics

JANUARY 4, 2019

Have you created your own career portfolio or read about how to create one? If you attended the 25 th Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence you had the opportunity to attend a career portfolio breakout session with Joan Burge and create a beginner’s copy of your own. Joan’s article, “ Demonstrating Yourself & Selling Your Worth ” details the entire process. I personally learned a lot from that breakout session.

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2019 Resume Skills Confidence 171

The Solopreneur Life

JANUARY 28, 2019

What Is Passive Income and How Do You Do It? Basically, it’s the opposite of trading dollars for hours. Most people have been raised on the concept of trading dollars for hours and so they try to find jobs that just increase the hourly rate. They go to college to get a higher paying job and never really grasp the concept of passive income. The only difference between the fast food worker and the doctor or lawyer is how much the get paid per hour.

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2019 Salary Salary Purchasing 145

Dumb Little Man

JANUARY 9, 2019

There are two scents that remind me of being a sick kid: brandy and Vicks VapoRub. Whenever I had a cold, those were my mom’s go-to remedies. She would make me a glass of hot water, honey, and brandy and then rub Vicks on my chest. I always felt instantly better (and slightly tipsy). Vicks is an age-old mentholated topical cream intended to relieve head, throat, and chest stuffiness.

2019 209

2019 Clothes Health Learning 209

Small Business Labs

JANUARY 24, 2019

According to a recent Intuit survey , about 60% of small businesses with fewer than 20 employees use outside accountants to help them with their taxes.    And as the study chart below shows, this saves the vast majority of them time, money and stress. This raises the question why don't the other 40% use outside accountants?    The study chart below shows the answers given by the survey respondents.

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2019 Stress 162

Practically Perfect PA

JANUARY 21, 2019

If you are looking for a new role this year, you will most likely have dusted off your CV and started to update it to reflect your current skills and experiences. This is an obvious first step in your job hunt but not where the journey ends for your CV! I think most of you […]. Career Development Featured Job Hunting admin administrators assistants Career career development CV EA Executive Assistant Job hunting Office manager PA Personal Assistant Virtual Assistant

2019 167

2019 Job Hunting Skills Management 167

Simple Productivity Blog

JANUARY 27, 2019

As part of my quest for productivity, I read a lot of articles and books on the various aspects. I get frustrated from time to time, because I think a lot of the authors miss the points. For example, I have been reading a lot about building a better task list. And I’ve discovered that most task advice is worthless. The post Why Most Task Advice is Worthless appeared first on Laura Earnest. Productivity

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2019 100

Office Dynamics

JANUARY 15, 2019

Life is too short to let things get to you, but sometimes it happens. Sometimes things are going so fast and so much is happening we all of a sudden think, “Whoa, what just happened?”. Then comes the stress and we quickly become one of the “office dragons” that we don’t like very much. There is no formula for completely taking the stress out of your life, no wax on or wax off, but there are some things you can do to de-stress or even prevent it from overwhelming you.

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2019 Stress Medical International 167

Eco-Office Gals

JANUARY 24, 2019

The side gig has become increasingly popular for people of all ages whether it is a recent grad riddled with debt or a new father trying to save a little each monthly. The emergence of the freelance economy as well as advances in technology has opened up a plethora of opportunities to start earning nearly immediately. By finding work online it is more possible to reduce costs for commuting as well as reducing gas usage.

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Carbon Footprint 2019 International Credit Card 100

Dumb Little Man

JANUARY 23, 2019

If you are a self respecting individual, chances are you want others to treat you with respect. And you know what, age isn’t a prerequisite nor is it a magic key to gaining respect. I’ve seen plenty of young people who are highly respected by their elders. I’ve also come across older people who I’d never respect because their actions are so out of line. It’s about how you conduct yourself, your attitudes towards others, and your actions.

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2019 Etiquette Gossip Twitter 205

Small Business Labs

JANUARY 29, 2019

One area of the gig economy that is finally starting to get attention is it expands the number of low friction, highly flexible work options.    By "low friction" we mean it's quick and easy to start earning money and it requires little or nothing in terms of an initial investment. With most of the online gig platforms you can sign up and be earning money in just a few days or less.

2019 155

2019 Skills Expenses Learning 155

Practically Perfect PA

JANUARY 15, 2019

It kinda goes without saying that organising your Executive’s schedule is a never-ending task. Their time is always in demand, be it from clients, suppliers, colleagues around the business and of course from members of their team. As an Assistant, it is your role to make sure your Executive sees the right people at the […].

2019 167

2019 Management Suppliers Skills 167

Eat Your Career

JANUARY 21, 2019

For most people, the new year tends to inspire a lot of reflection, both personally and professionally. As 2019 begins, perhaps you’ve come to the conclusion that it’s time for a change—a big one. Maybe you’ve decided you need a brand new career. You’ve got an exciting, and daunting, project ahead of you! January is the perfect time to start the process of career transition. However, there’s a lot to think about. It’s not something you can simply do overnight.

2019 100

2019 Learning UPS Training 100

Office Dynamics

JANUARY 29, 2019

Welcome to another question for Ask an Admin. This is where the executive assistant and administrative assistant can submit any question they have and their peers will answer the question based on their previous experience. We believe that there are many different ways to approach problems, difficult tasks, and situations so we thought this would be a great way to provide you a place to share your input as well as receive input from others.

2019 167

2019 Administrative Professionals Promotion Management 167

Simple Productivity Blog

JANUARY 20, 2019

If you are like most people, you have a lot of emails in your inbox, either unread or waiting for action. In fact, one study found that the average worker had 199 unread emails in their inbox. Another study found that workers receive 121 emails per day. That is a lot of email to be confronted with every time you open your inbox.

2019 100

2019 Email UPS 100

Dumb Little Man

JANUARY 9, 2019

Have you ever wondered why some people can’t seem to give a compliment? Or are you having a hard time giving one whenever you see an opportunity? We all know that it’s something that is generally appreciated. We like to hear good things about ourselves when we know it’s sincere. It reinforces positive self-esteem. So, why can complimenting people feel so difficult sometimes? Compliments trigger our own insecurities.

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2019 Self Esteem Confidence Forms 204

Small Business Labs

JANUARY 14, 2019

Pew Research recently did a study on the use of ride sharing services by Americans. Key quote on their findings: "The share of Americans who use ride-hailing services has increased dramatically. Today, 36% of U.S. adults say they have ever used a ride-hailing service such as Uber or Lyft, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in fall 2018. By comparison, just 15% of Americans said they had used these services in late 2015, and one-third had never heard of ride-hailing before."

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