Laughing all the Way to Work

JULY 1, 2010

One person can be great at software programs and know all sorts of tricks to get things done quickly and another might be excellent at organizing and managing their email account. Quotations Marks Rules for numbers Saying thank you in an email Seasons greetings or Seasons greetings?

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Professional Assistant Blog

MARCH 20, 2008

Professional Organizer: Organization is a must if you are an assistant. One of our main duties is to keep our bosses organized. While being organized seems natural to us because of the nature of our jobs, some people are not organized and need help and are looking for skilled and organized people to do the job for them.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

MARCH 13, 2010

I like to be prepared and I find life just works better for me at home, work and even on the bus, when I am organized and ready for whatever is coming up. I organize my desk so everything is within easy reach and makes sense to the way I like to work. I too, love to be organized and it only makes sense to be prepared.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

MAY 16, 2010

The person sending out the request for the meeting and asking for dates would usually be considered the meeting organizer. If you are not the organizer, you still have a responsibility to provide available dates in a timely manner, set a reminder to make sure there is an agenda and if there isnt, email to ask for one.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

DECEMBER 17, 2008

Here are the top qualities that an assistant must have: Be organized. Can I say that again – BE ORGANIZED! An assistant’s job is to organize the boss and in order to do that we must be organized ourselves. Quotations Marks Rules for numbers Saying thank you in an email Seasons greetings or Seasons greetings?

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Laughing all the Way to Work

MAY 10, 2009

Would you take a job just to get your foot in the door of an organization you really wanted to work for, even if it was a position that you didnt want to make a career out of? You should stay in the position for long enough to make what youve learned stick to be fair to yourself and the organization who hired you.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

APRIL 17, 2010

© Copyright Patricia Robb 2010 17 April, 2010 Keeping focussed in a busy environment There are so many distractions in the office -- the telephone, your co-workers, email and your boss! Now that I knew what was taking the time, I could do something about it and make adjustments to organize my day better.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

DECEMBER 19, 2009

© Copyright Patricia Robb 2010 19 December, 2009 Meetings Plus: Taking them offline I organize a lot of meetings in a day, week, month; heck, even into next year. There are a lot of good organizing tricks out there and whenever I find one that works, I pounce on it and it becomes something I cant work without.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

DECEMBER 12, 2009

i.e. My boss will send an email with a cc to me and on the last line or buried in the message he will write something like “I have copied Patricia to set up a teleconference at a mutually convenient time.&# If you are sent an email with a request to do something either asap or later, did you do it or have you diarized it to do it later?

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Laughing all the Way to Work

OCTOBER 10, 2008

The argument could be said that the role of the assistant is to assist and keep your boss organized so we shouldnt complain when we have to do it. I have found the best way to cope is to keep yourself organized. Here are some things I would suggest to help: Have regular meetings with your boss.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

JULY 12, 2010

The Stevie® Awards is a prestigious award honouring the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and business people worldwide. The fact that they have a category for Support Staffer of the Year is recognition of the important role support staff play in any organization.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

SEPTEMBER 6, 2008

© Copyright Patricia Robb 2010 6 September, 2008 Going Checklist Crazy I am organizing a Board meeting and I have checklists and to-do lists coming out of my ears. Being organized helps de-clutter any task and makes it more manageable and doable. Using a Bring-Forward System to Help Organize Your. 23, 1 p.m. .

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Laughing all the Way to Work

SEPTEMBER 19, 2008

© Copyright Patricia Robb 2010 19 September, 2008 Using a Bring-Forward System to Help Organize Your Boss Of all the articles I have written, the one I wrote on the bring-forward system by far gets the most views. As an Executive Assistant to a busy CEO, I have to organize my boss and I needed a bring-forward system to meet his needs.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

FEBRUARY 14, 2009

I love the planning, organizing and running around that goes into bringing a conference from a thought to a successful event. You wonder how we do it all between our personal and professional lives, but we manage and I think it has to do with the fact that we are organized. You couldnt survive if you werent. 23, 1 p.m. (for

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Laughing all the Way to Work

APRIL 10, 2009

I find the best way for me to keep my Inbox organized is to immediately deal with the e-mail when it arrives. Quotations Marks Rules for numbers Saying thank you in an email Seasons greetings or Seasons greetings? I never have more than four or five e-mails in my Inbox for any length of time.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

NOVEMBER 8, 2009

State the purpose of the meeting in the calendar appointment as well as who will be at the meeting (i.e. Meeting with Mr. Brown and Ms. Follow up with the meeting organizer to request agenda and/or meeting materials, pre-reading, etc. Where is the meeting being held? Provide a contact number.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

JULY 16, 2010

Manage: Consider these points as you organize your workload. It reduces confusion by improving organization and leaves your work space clean. Put the least important one on the bottom and the most urgent on top. As you complete tasks, peel off the sticky notes to reveal the next priority. Check: Are you prioritizing tasks correctly?

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Laughing all the Way to Work

MAY 9, 2010

I breathe a sigh of relief when I get someones assistant on the phone or receive an email from them. If I hear from the assistant I know I am going to get answers and the process of setting up a meeting will go smoothly, but should I try to develop a working relationship with them? I also get good tips from other assistants.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

OCTOBER 4, 2008

The head of your organization can often set the tone for how the rest of the office functions. Everyone helping each other and working together to achieve the goals of the organization. Even though you may have someone in your office that is like this, that does not mean you have to become involved.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

JANUARY 23, 2010

Another office raised almost $1,000 in a fundraising effort they organized. Dates (Writing out dates) Diagnosis or Diagnoses Dictionaries Due to Electronic dictionaries Email Salutations Exclamation marks versus question marks Expressing Currencies Expressing Time Fewer vs. Less Further vs Farther Grammar or Style Hope: the Word??

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Laughing all the Way to Work

OCTOBER 11, 2009

There are some assistants however who enjoy the organizing and the business of being an administrative or executive assistant and they are good at their job and get great satisfaction in what they do. They dont want to change their career and that is all right too. (for

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Time Zones IAAP 2009 International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

DECEMBER 13, 2008

You also dont want to get too relaxed and drink too much because even though you are at a party outside the office, these are still the people you work with and if you have plans for your career then what you do at the office party counts. The office party can be a good time for some networking with the different people in your organization.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

JANUARY 13, 2009

In some organizations raises are tied to how well you do and it is also a record that is kept on your personnel file. Quotations Marks Rules for numbers Saying thank you in an email Seasons greetings or Seasons greetings? As painful an exercise as this may be, I wouldnt downplay the performance appraisal.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

OCTOBER 4, 2009

Once you have completed a task, send your boss a quick e-mail to let them know you have done it or cc them on your email. Show your boss that you want to contribute to their success and to the organization. I always have more confidence something will get done when I see it being written down. Its worth trying to work it out.

Management 100

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Laughing all the Way to Work

SEPTEMBER 7, 2009

Each organization we work for will have their own acronyms that we have to get familiar with fairly quickly if you want to know what they are talking about. Quotations Marks Rules for numbers Saying thank you in an email Seasons greetings or Seasons greetings?

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Laughing all the Way to Work

MARCH 15, 2009

© Copyright Patricia Robb 2010 15 March, 2009 When you need it later: The Bring-Forward System My boss likes me to keep him organized and the way I do that is to have a system to bring forward items, which I then bring to his attention when he needs to see it. Lets enjoy our day together.©

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Laughing all the Way to Work

AUGUST 8, 2009

Is everything organized and in the proper place so when you need it you can just grab it? Quotations Marks Rules for numbers Saying thank you in an email Seasons greetings or Seasons greetings? What about your work space? Is it neat and tidy? Sometimes the state of my office reflects how I feel and how I do my job.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

SEPTEMBER 29, 2008

Using a Bring-Forward System to Help Organize Your. Dates (Writing out dates) Diagnosis or Diagnoses Dictionaries Due to Electronic dictionaries Email Salutations Exclamation marks versus question marks Expressing Currencies Expressing Time Fewer vs. Less Further vs Farther Grammar or Style Hope: the Word?? Why I love my job?

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Laughing all the Way to Work

JULY 5, 2009

At first I am taken aback, wondering what the heck happened, and then I get angry and because I couldnt get it off my chest with this person, the next person I meet will probably feel my crankiness and then they will wonder what happened and pass the bad mood on to the next person. The worst time to write an email is when you are angry.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

SEPTEMBER 17, 2010

I also had a reception to organize and I am never sure how many appetizers to order for everyone and normally go by what the hotel staff tell me I need, but I noticed there is always so much food left over that I tried something different this time. There is value in getting to know people, even if it is just over email or the phone.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

MAY 24, 2009

Send a Meeting Request, without getting replies You know how it is when you send a meeting request to the whole organization and then get 40 replies in your Inbox. Click Apply and OK To set your email to view b.c.c. If it is not necessary to see the Replies then just turn off your Request Responses button.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

FEBRUARY 21, 2009

If a conference comes up and they are looking for someone to do the registration, we can step in and do that or we can organize it from start to finish. Quotations Marks Rules for numbers Saying thank you in an email Seasons greetings or Seasons greetings?

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Laughing all the Way to Work

AUGUST 29, 2009

Some emails are obviously junk. For instance I just received an email from a lawyer who said he has an inheritance of $4 million, but he needs me to send him some money and once he receives it, he will send me the money. Is this something that I can Delete to unclutter his Inbox? Very good article Patricia! THanks for sharing!

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Laughing all the Way to Work

JULY 11, 2009

Check out some of the sites and organizations and see which you would find to be most useful. Ask yourself if you have the time to go to a meeting once a month. Quotations Marks Rules for numbers Saying thank you in an email Seasons greetings or Seasons greetings? I understand!

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Laughing all the Way to Work

SEPTEMBER 13, 2008

Using a Bring-Forward System to Help Organize Your. Dates (Writing out dates) Diagnosis or Diagnoses Dictionaries Due to Electronic dictionaries Email Salutations Exclamation marks versus question marks Expressing Currencies Expressing Time Fewer vs. Less Further vs Farther Grammar or Style Hope: the Word?? Why I love my job?

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Laughing all the Way to Work

FEBRUARY 8, 2009

Imagine, if we had assistants at home to pay the bills, do the budget, organize dinners, answer our calls and follow up with reminders -- it is starting to sound pretty good. Quotations Marks Rules for numbers Saying thank you in an email Seasons greetings or Seasons greetings?

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Laughing all the Way to Work

DECEMBER 31, 2009

This of course prompted me to write the following thought of the day on my blog, "The location of your Office Suggestion Box can give you a good idea of how important it is to your organization. If it is located near the garbage can, dont expect your suggestions to be taken too seriously."

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