I remember the moment my former executive was fired. I had been his executive assistant for 6 years and had been at the organization (that he founded) for 12 years. I went from thinking I was going to be at that organization for 12 more years, to all of the sudden wondering where I would be in 12 days. I was a bit shaken [...]
I love the internet. I've met so many people online I would have never met otherwise, including today's guest, Annie Croner. This episode was fun because I had already been interviewed by Annie for her website, so it was nice to return the favor and be the one asking the questions this time around. Annie founded Whole Assistant to empower and encourage assistants and [...]
There are dozens of blogs and resources for assistants today, but not many have been around as long as Practically Perfect PA, and even fewer publish content on a consistent basis. In this episode, you get the honor of hearing from Nicky Christmas – the woman behind the Practically Perfect PA movement. We talk about side hustles, productivity for assistants, the nuances between a [...]
In my decade plus of experience as an executive assistant, I’ve come up with several tricks to a good system for setting up meetings that help me be efficient, helpful to others, and ultimately take control of my executive's calendar. In this episode, I take a break from interviews (don't worry, the next few episodes are some great interviews with great people!) to share [...]
I'm excited to officially announce (drumroll please)... The first 3 episodes of my new podcast – The Leader Assistant Podcast – are now live on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and wherever you listen to podcasts! In this podcast, I share practical lessons on productivity, leadership development, and everything in between. I'll also interview amazing guests (executives, assistants, thought leaders, and more) and I can't wait to share our conversations [...]
Should we be scared our jobs are going to be replaced by AI? Yes, and no. If we don't have a healthy fear (i.e. - reverence and respect) of AI and other technology as more and more tasks are handled by machine learning algorithms and automated software, we may not survive the wave. We're a long way from being fully replaced by robots, in [...]
This weekend my wife and boys were out of town so I had all the time in the world to do whatever I wanted. So what did I do? I spent the entire weekend building resources for assistants. Well, not the entire weekend. I did go on a bike ride to the donut shop down the street. Anyway, I'm happy to announce my new [...]
Each day we wake up to face tens, hundreds, or even thousands of them. No matter where we are, they find us and try to drain the life out of us. Some of us feel sick just thinking about them. No, I’m not talking about zombies. I’m talking about emails. Ah, your inbox… the never-ending stream of digital text, images, attachments, sales pitches, and [...]
Have you ever thought about how you and your assistant set up meetings, or do you just wing it? I’ve talked to several executives, pastors, and business owners who don’t have a system. They just pick a random time that works and put it on the calendar – assuming they keep a calendar. Source: Gratisography Some of you may like that system [...]
If you've ever wasted a ton of time scrolling through your Facebook news feed, or have ever wished you could take back an email you sent, seconds after sending, today's post is for you. I'm always hesitant when someone says, "Check out this new tool I use to stay stay focused and increase productivity!" Why? Because generally not having a tool isn’t what keeps [...]