Rants, Raves, and General Observations

There seem to be months I don't post

I guess keeping the website updated feels like the blog  in  itself and when the time comes to post on the blog, my mind is full of what is going on.  To get back in the swing of things, I will be posting what is new to DeskDemon and when the urge strikes will submit comments and opinions.

Tips for Administrative Professional’s Day® (Where would you be without them!)

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Administrative Professionals Day® was created to recognize the outstanding contributions of administrative professionals and to encourage the professional growth for the profession.   Many think this is as a “Hallmark Holiday” when in reality it is not. It is the administrative professional that keeps your office running seamlessly. Think about this, what would you do if one day you were working and there were no pens or if you had to take the time to schedule your meetings, or God forbid, unjam the photo copier! Today’s administrative professional perform the small jobs to the project management, event planning and much more complex and involved tasks. The administrative professional of today is far from the secretary of 10 years ago.  Administrative Professional’s Day is one day set aside for organizations to step back and acknowledge the vital role the administrative professional plays in the everyday success of an organization.

Here are some tips for Administrative Professionals Day:

If you are a manager:

1) Of course you know your personal assistant the best, but be considerate of all the support staff you are in contact with try not to praise one, and leave others without a thank you.

2) Take or treat your assistant to lunch.

3) Consider internal networking events, sponsor a networking lunch and brining in a trainer and include all the support staff.

4) Let your assistant choose a training program to enhance their skill set, and offer to pay for it.

5) If you buy a personal gift, make sure it is well thought out. Buying the box of chocolates when your assistant is trying to lose weight is an administrative professional day faux pas!

6) Pay for a trade publications, such as one of the magazines.

7) Show your support and your appreciation, but don’t make it into a job appraisal review day.

8) Remember to recognize the contributions your administrative professional provides to the organization every day of the year as well as the rest of your staff.

If you are a co-worker or peer:

1. Take the time to say thank you and acknowledge the hard work.

2. If the admin has helped you in the past, send an e-card.

If you ARE an administrative professional:

1. Remember every day should be Administrative Professional’s Day! Be proud of your work year round.

2. Remember to tell a peer, the great job they are doing as well.

3. Administrative Professionals Week is a great week to approach the boss for some extra training, there are great conferences giving during the year, IAAP's, APC Conference, Annual Forum by Office Dynamics, AEAP has a conference, not to forget the many great seminars offered all year by the AMA. Ask to go to one!

4. Treat yourself to a trade "admin" publication, the IAAP has one, I am proud of DeskDemon's AdminAdvantage (free).

5. Treat yourself to a networking meeting.  Once you get there and start talking you should find it very rewarding.

Hopefully your office will recognize all the work you do and show their appreciation this week, but if they don't.

-Susan, Managing Editor DeskDemon.com

DeskDemon offers you a single web site encompassing all aspects of office management with the best articles on developing your skills, time saving tools designed and resources, competitions and prizes and a fabulous message board for online networking.  Along with its free digital magazine, AdminAdvantage,  DeskDemon is best spot for the administrative professional to on the internet learn, network and have a bit of fun in your work day.

Eye Strain

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Today is one of those days. We all have them. I have a few projects that I have just jumped into and the day has flown by so fast.  I have barely had time to even take a break. It is no surprise I have a headache. Ok, why blog about a headache?  I am not complaining and this is not a “rant,” but rather a realization that this is an eye strain headache. So as I sit at my desk (still working by the way) I noticed we have a piece on DeskDemon’s UK site about ergonomics and taking care of your eyes.  I thought this would be a good piece to share with you today. Most of it can be considered common sense, but a reminder of the “how to’s” never hurt. Tomorrow I am going to take this article and put it into practice.

 

How to Take Care of Your Eyes

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Blink
Blinking is the fastest reflex in the body; we usually blink at a rate of about 12–15 times a minute in normal situations. This rate increases if we’re excited, stimulated, anxious, talking or doing general physical activity, and decreases when we’re quiet, reading, thinking or concentrating.

Blinking allows our eyes to rest for a short time. It also cleans and re-wets the eye’s surface to maintain clear vision. Because blinking is so automatic, it might take some concentration at first to make sure we maintain a normal blink rate while working at a terminal. Just being aware of this concern will allow us to blink more normally.

Breathe
Our entire body is governed by the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide from the breathing process. When our activities are stressful, we tend to hold our breath and forget to breathe easily. Correct and steady breathing can relax our whole body and the eye muscles as well.

Take Breaks

• Micro-break:      This is a short break of about ten seconds, taken ideally once every ten      minutes or so. Look far away from your terminal (at least 20 feet) and      breathe and blink easily. Keep your eyes moving while looking at objects      at different distances. This should not interfere with your work or your      concentration.
• Mini-break:      Take a mini-break every hour for about five minutes. Stand up and stretch      and also exercise your eyes.
• Maxi-break:      This could be a coffee break or lunch but, essentially, it's a time to get      up and move around. This will encourage the flow of blood around your body      and this kind of break should be taken every few hours.

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Chocolate Kisses are BAD for business!

Ok,  Chocolate Kisses may not be bad for business, but they can be bad for productivity! Today I was on the opposite end of the candy dish! I was visiting an office and the administrative assistant had an open style cubicle with a big, full, inviting, jar of Hershey’s Kisses.  Ok, it is one of my weaknesses, I love chocolate so had to stop by and take one. The jar did say “Take One”… and they were chocolate!!!  I didn’t want to be rude and just take one so I talked for a minute. A few minutes later, while I was waiting for the person I needed to talk to, someone else helped themselves to a chocolate as well. I noticed they also said hi to the admin. This person knew the admin and talked for quite some time. It occurred to me, even if everyone just says hi while helping themselves to a chocolate, that time adds up! Thus that jar of chocolates is bad for that admin’s productivity. Not only is she getting interrupted all day, I noticed when anyone took one regardless of chat, she looked up.  It can be the little things within one’s day that can steal your time.  If you feel you never have enough time in the day, you may want to look at the little things that are taking your time. The little things can up to big time.

What happens in Vegas, comes back to the office??

Last week I attended the APC (Administrative Professionals Conference) in Las Vegas.  This was my fourth year attending and once again I found the event to be one of the highlights of my "business" year. It delivered on all it promised. It had great networking, tracks that were relevant and informative, the key notes speakers were inspirational and I came out with my head full of information, so much it took a few days to assimilate it all.  There lies the issue…

What do you do with all the information you take in at the conference? Well, hopefully everyone who attended the conference will implement their own action plans and share the vast amount of knowledge they acquired. So if you did attend, or attend a different conference though out the year, I encourage you to share what you learned. Give a presentation to your peers about what tracks or sessions you took, sit down with your manager and share your experiences, create real action plans and implement the tools or knowledge you took home. The information you learned is only as good as you actually using it. 

So as I titled the post at least for this one instance, what happens in Vegas, comes back office!