Professional Assistant Blog

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

Whether you need help fixing up that company website, proofreading a report that your boss needs right away or even compiling reports that your boss gave you today and is asking for you to complete it yesterday. Hiring a freelancer can have great benefits. Truths of a Shy Writer can help you when you’re in a bind.

2008 100

2008 Google Docs Cubicle 2007 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

AUGUST 15, 2009

Sometimes I wish I had something to warn me when I am with someone with a cell phone so I can know that we are going to be interrupted. I find it frustrating when people either text while in a conversation or are constantly taking phone calls. Apparently not, when its by phone. A person I know does this all the time.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP Etiquette Phones 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

DECEMBER 19, 2009

When I receive an initial request for a meeting, I use a meeting form and write down the information I need: who is requesting the meeting, what is the purpose of the meeting, where it will be held and a phone number or an e-mail address and dates that are available. 411 Look Up 411.ca

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP International Meeting Minutes 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

JULY 16, 2010

Make sure that tasks directly associated with clients come first, consider the financial impact of a project and its completion date on the company, don’t let deadlines control the priority list (expense reports can wait when there are more important tasks), and consider cause and effect (do A to enable B, which accomplishes C).

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP 2010 International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

JULY 12, 2010

Holgate is the Executive Assistant to the President, she also reports to the Director of Human Resources and manages a staff of four. On the night of the awards Lynn reports she was sitting at a table with nine of her colleagues from HPTI including the Senior Vice-President. Her family and friends were also very excited for her.

2010 100

2010 Interviewing Time Zones IAAP 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

APRIL 17, 2010

Prioritize the tasks you need to do for the day/week/month and then do them one item at a time. But I did it by keeping a notepad by the phone and each time I started a task I would write it down. In a very short time I started to see what the problem was -- telephone calls. Having a to-do list can be a life saver.

Environment 100

Environment Time Zones IAAP International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

NOVEMBER 8, 2009

What dates and times does he or she have available (keeping in mind time zones for away meetings)? Secure the date and time in his or her calendar, taking into consideration travel time if outside the office. Enter it in calendar. 411 Look Up 411.ca

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP International Calendars 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

FEBRUARY 28, 2010

CountryCode.org is a comprehensive guide to make phone calls from anywhere to any country in the world. Hello Patricia, You have some great resources at [link] Given your interest in country codes, I wanted to make you aware of my site, [link] for possible inclusion as well. 411 Look Up 411.ca

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP 2010 International 100

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. Knowing assistants and having a working relationship with them is very important and can make the difference when you need to set up a meeting or if your boss needs to have a quick phone call with their boss. 411 Look Up 411.ca

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP 2010 International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

JANUARY 23, 2010

There was one particular group of orphan children that was brought to our attention by a Canadian news reporter. It is so sad, because you know children so young have no idea what is going on. All they want is to be taken care of and be loved by someone. But for the charity of an old woman who came to feed them, they had no one. (for

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP AT&T 2010 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

JANUARY 10, 2010

If you find some are outdated please let me know so I can remove them from this list. 411 Look Up 411.ca Than me That - when should you use it and when should you leave it out? vs. i.e.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP Meeting Minutes International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

FEBRUARY 7, 2010

They said it works with most phone services. I have never used this escape route, but was reminded about it at a webinar I participated in recently and will keep these instructions close at hand. I thought I would pass this tip along in the event you find yourself wishing you could take your words back. 411 Look Up 411.ca

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP 2010 Meeting Minutes 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

DECEMBER 28, 2009

If you find some are outdated please let me know so I can remove them from this list. 411 Look Up 411.ca Than me That - when should you use it and when should you leave it out? vs. i.e.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP Gifts Meeting Minutes 100

Professional Assistant Blog

FEBRUARY 29, 2008

This lessens the time you have to spend on the phone. Easily recording the time spent on each task. You can then print a summary report to Excel of all of your hours for any time period, for any task, or for any client. Checking task statuses, task assignments, due dates, and task notes at a glance.

2008 100

2008 Cubicle Google Docs 2007 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

NOVEMBER 16, 2008

My boss tells me I should be able to write a letter or a report on something even if I dont know the subject that well. I wrote the article The Art of Minute Taking and I had only taken minutes a few times about 25 years ago. Read their letters and reports and see how they craft their words. There is usually a pattern.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP International Meeting Minutes 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

JULY 9, 2010

Did I phone to get my electricity turned on? The meetings were stress free and I was able to depend on my checklists and templates. Now I am on holidays and preparing for a big move to a new home. You can be sure I have checklists for that as well. Yes, it is ticked off on the checklist and the lights did turn on when I pressed the switch.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP Holidays International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

JANUARY 15, 2010

I use this all the time on my calendar and my boss's calendar, and it helps us both to know which events are phone calls which he can take in the office or on the road (yellow) or which events will require travel (blue). I put travel in red and action reminders in yellow, but that is our own system and it works for us.

Calendars 100

Calendars IAAP Time Zones 2010 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

MAY 10, 2009

Of course before I recommend anything I try it out so I picked up the phone and it asked me what I was looking for and what city and province. I chose details and was given the street address and phone number and I still had the option of having my call put through to the store number. You can use google to get similar information.

Google 100

Google Time Zones IAAP International 100

Professional Assistant Blog

AUGUST 25, 2007

You want to tell your co-worker that you need to get a report from them within the hour. Yet you go on and on about how you want it to look, going into great detail of the type of report you want. Most people these days don’t have the time to read spam, nor do they enjoy receiving it.

2008 100

2008 Cubicle 2007 Google Docs 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

APRIL 5, 2010

If you find some are outdated please let me know so I can remove them from this list. 411 Look Up 411.ca Than me That - when should you use it and when should you leave it out? vs. i.e.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP 2010 International 100

Professional Assistant Blog

OCTOBER 17, 2008

By The Professional Assistant on Friday, October 17, 2008 Filed Under: Travel Y ou’re standing in the elevator and everyone is crammed like a can of sardines. Most of the time, they tend to stand in the middle of the elevator, for easier access to exit. No one wants you to report the weather.

Etiquette 100

Etiquette UPS 2008 Cubicle 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

MARCH 20, 2010

If you find some are outdated please let me know so I can remove them from this list. 411 Look Up 411.ca Than me That - when should you use it and when should you leave it out? vs. i.e.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP Meeting Minutes International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

FEBRUARY 27, 2010

If you find some are outdated please let me know so I can remove them from this list. 411 Look Up 411.ca Than me That - when should you use it and when should you leave it out? vs. i.e.

PowerPoint 100

PowerPoint Time Zones IAAP 2010 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

FEBRUARY 13, 2010

If you find some are outdated please let me know so I can remove them from this list. 411 Look Up 411.ca Than me That - when should you use it and when should you leave it out? vs. i.e.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP Meeting Minutes International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

MAY 31, 2009

If you find some are outdated please let me know so I can remove them from this list. 411 Look Up 411.ca Than me That - when should you use it and when should you leave it out? vs. i.e.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP Meeting Minutes International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

SEPTEMBER 18, 2009

I am now leaving Atlanta to travel to Birmingham and the impression I am left with is I have never been in a city that smiles so much. Click on that and you will find a wealth of templates from a resume, cover letter, minutes, agenda and many others. I believe someone mentioned there were almost 500 to choose from. 411 Look Up 411.ca

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP Meeting Minutes International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

APRIL 22, 2009

If you find some are outdated please let me know so I can remove them from this list. 411 Look Up 411.ca Than me That - when should you use it and when should you leave it out? vs. i.e.

Administrative Professionals 100

Administrative Professionals Time Zones IAAP Meeting Minutes 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

DECEMBER 5, 2009

I have a network of assistants that I call friends, although some are just phone colleagues, but we help each other. The assistant/boss relationship certainly is one of the closest working relationships with some comparing it to that of a work wife. GET TO KNOW YOUR CO-WORKERS. and find out early on who you can go to and trust.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP Interviewing Holidays 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

OCTOBER 31, 2009

If you find some are outdated please let me know so I can remove them from this list. 411 Look Up 411.ca Than me That - when should you use it and when should you leave it out? vs. i.e.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP Meeting Minutes International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

JULY 1, 2010

If you find some are outdated please let me know so I can remove them from this list. 411 Look Up 411.ca Than me That - when should you use it and when should you leave it out? vs. i.e.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP 2010 International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

FEBRUARY 27, 2009

If you find some are outdated please let me know so I can remove them from this list. 411 Look Up 411.ca Than me That - when should you use it and when should you leave it out? vs. i.e.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP Meeting Minutes Google 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

MARCH 1, 2009

Under My Favourites, I have added a Meeting section with some useful sites and combined many of my travel related links under one title simply called Travel. You will notice on the side bar I have put a lot of the reading sites (My blog list etc.) at the bottom and moved the My Favourites up so it would be convenient for your use.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP Meeting Minutes International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

FEBRUARY 14, 2009

Another time I wanted to try a career in the travel business. I have become familiar with time zones, airport codes and international holidays to avoid. I am sure I could have done well as I have learned nearly everything there is to know about getting someone from point A to point B. 411 Look Up 411.ca

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP Holidays International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

JANUARY 10, 2010

I travel far to try and find a full-serve station, but they are becoming extinct. The incentive was you saved.002 002 cents a litre. That was never enough to get me out of the car! Now, there doesnt seem to be a difference in price at all, it is just common practice that we have to do it ourselves. Recently, I bought a new laptop.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP 2010 International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

JUNE 4, 2010

If you find some are outdated please let me know so I can remove them from this list. 411 Look Up 411.ca Than me That - when should you use it and when should you leave it out? vs. i.e.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP 2010 International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

JANUARY 19, 2009

The switchboard can get so busy at times that its just not possible to introduce every call that comes through (except, of course, for those calling for the big bosses). The cure: always answer the phone professionally - this way youre never caught off-guard. January 19, 2009 Patricia Robb said. I am happy to hear from a receptionist.

Time Zones 100

Time Zones IAAP 2009 International 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

MAY 16, 2010

If you find some are outdated please let me know so I can remove them from this list. 411 Look Up 411.ca Than me That - when should you use it and when should you leave it out? vs. i.e.

Agenda 100

Agenda Time Zones International IAAP 100