195 5 free tools to help with your productivity
Practically Perfect PA
JUNE 6, 2019
Before we dive into our list of productivity tools, I want to spend a few minutes talking to you about the importance of keeping up with the latest technology.
Practically Perfect PA
Handling colleagues who think you are their Assistant (when you are not!)
Practically Perfect PA
MAY 27, 2019
We’ve all been there, picture the scene.
20 tools to help manage your Exec’s travel plans
Practically Perfect PA
JUNE 4, 2019
Just think how much time you spend organising travel for your Executive or your team? It’s a lot, right? Maybe 20% of your week? Maybe more? That time will be taken up by meticulously planning trips with the hope that nothing will go wrong while their Executive is away from the office.
What meetings should make it into your Executive’s schedule?
Practically Perfect PA
MAY 21, 2019
Last week I wrote a blog post about the meetings you should have with your Executive, where I detailed the meetings you should set up in your Executive’s diary that focuses on the work that the two of you need to move the business forward.f
5 tools to help create organisational charts
Practically Perfect PA
MAY 17, 2019
Having worked through a few company restructures in my career I have often been given the horrible task of creating new organisational charts.
5 tips on how to feel confident when you really don’t
Practically Perfect PA
MAY 9, 2019
Just recently I was chairing a panel session at the Conference and Hospitality Show in Leeds. Before going on the stage myself and the other panellists were talking about how we conquer our nerves so that we can get up on stage and speak to the audience. As I think we all know, speaking in […].
Setting boundaries as an Assistant
Practically Perfect PA
JUNE 10, 2019
As the saying goes, you can’t be all things to all people. As a people pleaser, this is something that I have had to come to terms with in my career. While working as an Assistant, I wanted to help people as much as possible and got pulled in all directions. It soon became apparent […].
What meetings should you have with your Executive?
Practically Perfect PA
MAY 14, 2019
We all know that communication with your Executive is key to a successful working relationship and I’ve found over the years, the more access an Assistant has to their Executive the more they are seen as a critical asset within the organisation.
Day in the life: Hayley Lawrence, PA to Regional General Manager and Admin Assistant to Founders Office – The British Virgin Islands
Practically Perfect PA
MAY 6, 2019
Enjoy today’s Day in the life: Hayley Lawrence, PA Regional General Manager and Administration Assistant to Founders Office – Necker & Moskito Islands, in The British Virgin Islands. I love this interview because it shows how exciting, different, challenging and incredible our profession is!
Resources to increase your business acumen
Practically Perfect PA
JUNE 13, 2019
It goes without saying that for an Assistant to be successful in the role, they need to have strong business acumen. I’ve written about this skill a lot over the years, and I have presented on the topic at various events.
These are the tasks you should be doing instead of your Executive
Practically Perfect PA
APRIL 23, 2019
The most important aspect of the Assistant role is saving our Executive time. It is their most valuable resource, and everything that we do should be geared up to protecting and nurturing their time.
How to think more analytically
Practically Perfect PA
MARCH 21, 2019
I’ve just finished reading Think Better Analytically, and I want to share my learning with you! I decided to read the book because I don’t think of myself as someone who thinks logically or analytically.
Power Searching the Internet
Practically Perfect PA
JUNE 14, 2019
We are really excited to announce that we will be sharing an article each month from Executive Secretary Magazine. We are starting with this fantastic article from Marie Herman. Following these tips really will save you a massive amount of time searching the internet!
Working with a ‘paper person’
Practically Perfect PA
JUNE 11, 2019
A few years ago, I worked with a Director who did everything on paper. He rarely turned his computer on let alone sent an email or scheduled an appointment in his diary. He took his planner with him everywhere and expected it to be up to date with meetings, he wrote all of his notes […].
Template for capturing messages
Practically Perfect PA
MARCH 12, 2019
You know what it is like, you are having a hectic day, emails to answer, meetings to attend, people talking to you, asking questions and looking to you for answers. The phone rings, you have no idea who it is or what they want. They want to speak to your Executive or someone random in […].
5 tech tools to help gather employee feedback
Practically Perfect PA
MAY 31, 2019
Assistants are getting more and more involved in shaping the culture of the organisations they work for and getting feedback from their colleagues and co-workers.
Top 5 planners for organised Assistants
Practically Perfect PA
MAY 7, 2019
Sometimes it’s hard to take a step back from all the work that you have to get through and look at how best to plan your time. But investing time in planning will save you lots of energy in the long run and make you more productive. It feels so good to check off that […].
Day in the life: Kara Tanenbaum, EA at Lakeside Project Solutions
Practically Perfect PA
APRIL 1, 2019
Enjoy today’s Day in the life: Kara Tanenbaum, EA at Lakeside Project Solutions which is full of Executive Assistant Tips and Tricks. What are the main aspects of your role?
5 top technologies for tracking time and billing
Practically Perfect PA
MAY 24, 2019
If you work in a large organisation, then most likely you will have systems in place that allow for time billing, this is indeed the case if you work for a law firm or accountancy practice.
Day in the life: Keesha Williams, EA at Lift & Co
Practically Perfect PA
MARCH 4, 2019
Enjoy today’s Day in the life: Keesha Williams, EA at Lift & Co, which is full of Executive Assistant Tips and Tricks. What are the main aspects of your role?
How to help your Executive allocate resources on projects
Practically Perfect PA
APRIL 2, 2019
Like most senior level Executives, your boss will be involved in lots of different projects, making the decisions and driving these initiatives forward.
What are interpersonal skills?
Practically Perfect PA
FEBRUARY 28, 2019
‘Must have good interpersonal skills’ is a phrase that you will often see on job descriptions for Assistants, but what does that mean? What are interpersonal skills and why are they so crucial for Assistants? Interpersonal skills, or soft skills or people skills are the same thing.
Nine time busting tips for Microsoft Office
Practically Perfect PA
MARCH 22, 2019
I am thrilled to be presenting a session for Practically Perfect PA at their Virtual Summit on April 5th and so happy to write this blog post in anticipation of the event. I will be presenting my top time busting tips for Microsoft Office. Make sure you have a notebook and pen – you will […].
Five tips on team management
Practically Perfect PA
MAY 16, 2019
Managing a team isn’t easy. In fact management, in general, is pretty tough – that is why so many people are bad at it! It can be hard for Assistants to juggle managing a team of other Assistants or Administrators (which is often the case) and support their Executive.
The EA competencies you will need in 2019
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 […].
Ten podcasts every PA should listen to
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.
How to keep a positive attitude at work
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 […].
Preparing for an Assistant video interview
Practically Perfect PA
MAY 13, 2019
The vast majority of recruitment agencies and employers now use video as part of their interview process, because it saves time and money on the early stages of the interview process.
If time management is so obvious why don’t you have enough time?
Practically Perfect PA
MARCH 28, 2019
If time management is so obvious why don’t you have enough time? Time Management is so obvious, and it’s unlikely you will read anything new in this blog post. So why should you keep reading? Simple, if you already ‘know what do to’…WHY aren’t you doing it?
How to adjust your CV depending on the role
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 […].
3 easy ways to raise your visibility on LinkedIn
Practically Perfect PA
APRIL 3, 2019
Did you know that LinkedIn is currently the number 1 space to grow your personal brand faster than anywhere else online? With 610+ million professionals now on the platform, this is a fantastic opportunity not to be sniffed at. Most individual LinkedIn profiles appear in search results.
5 ways to improve your leadership skills
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.
Technology of the week: Sortd
Practically Perfect PA
MAY 10, 2019
This week’s Technology of the Week: Sortd What is Sortd? Sorted is an add-on feature and chrome extension for Gmail. It allows the user to drag and drop emails into customised columns so that you can prioritise and sort your emails. What does Sortd do?
Attending an Assistant industry event? Best to be prepared!
Practically Perfect PA
JUNE 3, 2019
If you are going to attend an Assistant industry conference, you will get much more value if you spend a little bit of time preparing correctly for the event. We all know this, and yet all too often an event pops up on our calendar for the next day, and we think, is this tomorrow […].
Working with an incompetent Executive
Practically Perfect PA
MARCH 19, 2019
Everyone moans about their boss. There are occasions when your Executive takes ages to get back to you on something, they are always in a meeting or out travelling. They never have enough time. They don’t manage your needs or expectations.
Network like a CEO
Practically Perfect PA
SEPTEMBER 10, 2018
It goes without saying that networking is essential for your career development. For a whole load of reasons, that I’m not going to write about in this blog, because we have lots of other blogs that talk about the benefit. So what am I going to write about today?
Day in the life: Amy Franklyn, EA at Bird & Bird
Practically Perfect PA
FEBRUARY 4, 2019
Enjoy today’s Day in the life: Amy Franklyn, EA at Bird & Bird which is full of Executive Assistant Tips and Tricks. What are the main aspects of your role? I manage a team of PAs and Administrative Assistants and I support the firm’s Head of Corporate and General Counsel.
How to be a creative genius at work
Practically Perfect PA
APRIL 18, 2019
Creativity is such an essential competency for Assistants to have and here is why. We are faced with unusual requests and challenges every day.
Managing a travel crisis
Practically Perfect PA
JANUARY 22, 2019
If your Executive travels regularly you will both be used to travel delays and disruptions, sometimes those delays are easy to manage and sometimes they are much bigger than expected and can cause chaos around the world.
How to set boundaries between your personal and professional life
Practically Perfect PA
JANUARY 14, 2019
At the recent World Administrators Summit in Frankfurt, the delegates talked a lot about the challenges we face in the role, which were, of course, shared by all of the representatives from different parts of the world.
20 Google Search Hacks for Personal Assistants
Practically Perfect PA
SEPTEMBER 14, 2018
I can’t think of a single day in the last decade that I haven’t at some point used Google for something. It could be to check my emails, write a document, put a meeting in my diary or, in most cases, search for something or settle an argument. It is, like most of us, my […].
Streamline your business travel management in 5 steps
Practically Perfect PA
MAY 30, 2019
Let’s be honest… Business travel can be a nightmare. Dozens of emails a week with travel requests, questions about itineraries, last minute changes, and scheduling complications. But there is good news! Better travel management can minimise emails and streamline the entire process.
10 books to read to improve your public speaking
Practically Perfect PA
APRIL 25, 2019
I write a lot on Practically Perfect PA about how Assistants should speak-up, have confidence and represent themselves and their Executives in meetings. This is often easier said than done, because, as we all know, speaking in public (whether that is in a session or a larger public setting) is hard.
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