AdminSecret

You’re excited about your new job. The pay is good, the office setting is comfortable and the commute is easy. But as you start the actual work, you confront an unsettling truth: Your new boss is an organizational train wreck. He hasn’t mapped out a plan for your first few days or weeks. He doesn’t give you any guidance on the ...

If you’re like most people I know, you have trouble managing your email. Maybe you can’t keep up with the dozens or hundreds of messages (yes, some people get hundreds) you receive each day. Perhaps you’re fed up with all those silly forwards from your uncle or coworker, or frustrated by the series of 12 back-and-forth emails it takes to set ...

Let’s reframe the role of e-mail in your business. Consider e-mail to be a medium to get information from one place to another, not as an end in itself. It is a “pass-through,” in much the same way as the role of the telephone is to give and receive information. How many emails are in your inbox right now? Opened? Unopened? ...

I hear it all the time: I don't have enough time! The truth is everyone has the same amount of time that everyone else does . . . 24 little hours! Time is a limited commodity. Duh! I know that with our busy lifestyles, there never seems to be enough of it! If you want more of it, it's time to ...

See original blog post Project Paperwork Made Simple. [widget:aby_garvey_featured_auth_box] Got piles? If you're afraid to put all your papers away for fear you'll forget to do something, you're not alone. Welcome to the wonderful world of project management. Whether you realize it or not, each and every one of us is project managers. Whenever you work on a multi-step task, you're ...

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. The system I use is quite simple and has been around for a long time. They taught this system when I was in high school ...

I know you’ve all probably experienced this before. One day an appointment is on the calendar, and then it’s just gone. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve accused my boss of messing up his calendar, but I’ve found out it wasn’t actually his fault (sorry about that, Val!). The Problem with Delegates It turns out that the problem is ...

Microsoft Outlook is one of the most widely used software programs for email, but if you’re only using it for email, you’re missing out on a great productivity tool! Here are a few ways you can use the Outlook Tasks feature to keep track of your To-Do List. h4. Assign categories to your tasks. If you have a lot of items ...

First impressions count! Part of an administrative professional’s unwritten job title is to professionally project and promote the corporate brand and image to the public. As administrative professionals, we do that by how we greet our guests and maintain our desk and accompanying office areas where we work. Walk in the front door of your office and look around to see ...

How an organization defines and measures progress toward its goals Key Performance Indicators, also known as KPI or Key Success Indicators (KSI), help an organization define and measure progress toward organizational goals. Once an organization has analyzed its mission, identified all its stakeholders, and defined its goals, it needs a way to measure progress toward those goals. Key Performance Indicators are ...

Key Performance Indicators Must be Key To Organizational Success Many things are measurable. That does not make them key to the organization's success. In selecting Key Performance Indicators, it is critical to limit them to those factors that are essential to the organization reaching its goals. It is also important to keep the number of Key Performance Indicators small just to ...

Do you find yourself having to write each person's e-mail address over and over again for certain e-mails? Do you wish that you could make life simpler by just entering one item that would include a list of e-mail addresses? Here are 4 simple steps to creating an e-mail distribution list in Microsoft Outlook: 1. Make sure that you are in ...

The holidays are a clutter-full time of year! More items and activities come into our homes and lives during this season than any other season of the year. To make sure the clutter doesn’t inundate you this year, take simple actions now. You’ll be sure to enjoy a clutter-free holiday season! 1. De-clutter your kitchen. Before the season breezes in, lighten ...

I’ve been procrastinating a lot lately. I actually love procrastinating and have nothing against it. But for those of you who want to beat procrastination, here are 10 simple steps: 1. First make sure you really, really, really want to do it. Seriously - don’t skip this step. 2. Keep things simple - don’t mess with tools, formatting, anything, just start. ...

As you pilot your way through the business day, your workspace is your cockpit. If you can't see the gauges or reach the controls quickly and efficiently, you're in trouble. Luckily some simple organizing techniques can make your desk, cubicle, or office more conducive to higher levels of productivity. Clear the deck. Your elbows and your brain need room to do ...

"Time is the scarcest resource of the manager; if it is not managed, nothing else can be managed." - Peter F. Drucker One of the major causes of stress is work overload and not having enough time to accomplish your tasks. The easy way to get out of this predicament is to get organized and managing your time effectively. The goal ...

Feeling overwhelmed? Learn how to break down your goals into digestible, daily steps. Those of you familiar with Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People will recognize the term Quadrant II manager. This ideal manager recognizes that time spent on the important but non-urgent aspects of her business are the most vital for success. The Quadrant II manager spends ...

I have an upcoming Board meeting and want to be prepared for everything that is needed to make it run smoothly. To-do lists I have to-do lists for the Board and Committee meetings and a to-do list for the Board Reception and Dinner. You can never go wrong if you are making a list and checking it twice. My favorite to-do ...

On one of the last episodes of “Seinfeld,” the main characters are stuck in traffic on a Sunday night. Galpal Elaine, who desperately wants to get home, wails, “All I know is that it's Sunday night, and I have got to unwind! Now, who's with me?” If perpetually single Elaine felt that way, you can imagine how the rest of us ...

Getting organized is on many a busy admin’s to-do list. But once you’ve set up systems to tame the clutter, staying organized can be a continual challenge. “You are always going in 10 different directions,” says admin-turned-author Jamie Novak, who wrote 1,000 Best Quick and Easy Organizing Secrets. “You are interrupted often, plus you need to keep everything at your fingertips, ...