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Advice for Executive and Personal Assistants
Self-discipline for Assistants
As I’ve developed as a business owner, I’ve come to realise how vital self-discipline is for success. I work from home, and I set my hours, which, as you can imagine, can lead to a lot of procrastination and a lot of time wasting. I also can spend way too much time working, when I […]
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Get started on your festive party now
I know it is mid-July and we are a world away from the festive season, but it is time to start planning out the end of year party. You may think I am crazy, but actually, this is the best time of year to start thinking about your office do. Planning your festive celebration should […]
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Working collectively and sharing best practice in your EA network
Networking is such an essential part of the Assistant role. We can work in such silos that without a network to support our endeavours, the position can be very lonely. I genuinely believe that every organisation which employs a group of Assistants should have a network in place for those Assistants because we can benefit […]
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Packed full of useful tips for Assistants
Growth plans for Assistants
Earlier this year I read a fantastic blog from Hallie Warner, chief of staff at Adam Hergenrother Companies on the who, what, when and how of growth plans. The blog details Hallie’s objectives for 2019 and how she goes about putting together her growth plan for the year. I loved the blog post so I […]
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What if I look stupid?
During the Virtual Summit 2017, we had the brilliant Lisa N. Alexander present her session on how Assistants can feel more empowered in the workplace. On the outside you smile, you nod in agreement, but inside you’re frustrated. You’re angry at yourself for not speaking up. You don’t ask for what you want because: You […]
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How to create an internal Assistant network
During the Virtual Summit October 2017, we had the amazing Simone White, Executive Assistant and Global Chair of GAIN – Administrative Professionals Network at BlackRock train our group of attendees on starting their own internal network for Assistants. Today we are really pleased that we can share the video with you. It is full of useful […]
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Everything you need to know about minute-taking
The 5 questions you need to ask before you minute a meeting
Love it or hate it minute taking is part and parcel of the day to day role of the PA/EA for the most part. Personally, I have always found them slightly painful, but through experience and training I have made my peace with them and gotten my technique down to a fine art! Having worked […]
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Is shorthand still a relevant skill for a minute taker?
There are many methods a minute taker can use to take minutes e.g. Recording devices, laptop, iPad, and just plain writing. Those people who write the minutes probably use their own version of shorthand (tips on how to do this are covered in this post), text language or EasyScript. But what about ‘real’ shorthand – Pitmans 2000 or […]
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Skills required to be a good minute taker
Nobody readily puts up the hand to take minutes and those of us who do sometimes fear the job because of the expectation that is put on us to produce discussions accurately. Not everyone can be a good minute taker – it’s a definite skill and quite often an art, hence the name of my course, […]
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Blog posts from Practically Perfect PA Sponsors
Streamline your business travel management in 5 steps
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. And it can be done in 5 easy steps… Read on! 1. Outline […]
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Learn from the experts in TravelPerk’s webinar for Assistants and Admins
Being an Administrator or Assistant is a tough job—managing all your tasks (as well as your team’s), while you’re expected to do, fix, and know everything, AND be available at all times when needed! How does anyone do it? You might wonder. Well, unless you’re going to turn into a fully-fledged octopus, you’re going to […]
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We need better meetings!
Recent research shows that two-thirds of all meetings are pointless! Don’t let your boss and her/his teams waste time like this. Preparation is the golden path to productive meetings. Doodle provides a suite of calendar tools that save a lot of time for anyone who has to set up a lot of meetings. Doodle State […]
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