Project Management
Issue: September / October 2012

How to Deal with Procrastination

By - September 25, 2012

Facing your fears might just be the way to eliminating procrastination for good.   Jeremy Lazell, a successful journalist, used to be a self-confessed procrastinator. In a recent Sunday Times article, he described how in two years he’d managed to write three pages of his novel. Until that is, he attended one of my training... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: September / October 2012

Developing Your Personal Advisory Board

By - September 25, 2012

Surround yourself with many wise advisors, and you’ll reap the benefits of their wisdom and insights explains Julie Perrine
Health & Wellbeing
Issue: September / October 2012

The Perfect Stress-less Day

By - September 25, 2012

Imagine if you could easily and painlessly transform a full day of work into a peaceful experience. How would you like that? What would it feel like? Well, this dream may come true if you follow our Sophrology advice!   But first, what is Sophrology? Sophrology means ‘the science of the consciousness in harmony’. It... Read more »
Productivity
Issue: September / October 2012

Swimming Through Molasses!

By - September 25, 2012

Overwhelmed by your inbox? Fear not, there is a way to lessen the feeling of burden.   Can you imagine trying to swim in a pool full of molasses? It would be almost impossible. Do you ever feel so overwhelmed that it feels like you’re doing just that? You’re not alone. In today’s fast-paced life,... Read more »
Career Development
Issue: September / October 2012

First impressions count!

By - September 25, 2012

So what really happens in the opening moments of a job interview?   The idea that employers decide to hire or reject in the first 30 seconds of an interview is an urban myth. If it were true, interviews would be much shorter. What happens is that an interviewer makes initial decisions about your personality... Read more »
Project Management
Issue: September / October 2012

Meetings Manners Matter

By - September 25, 2012

Keeping courtesy top of mind when you are planning an event can make all the difference.   Meetings represent such wonderful opportunities for the sharing of information, making of decisions, building of morale, and forming of ideas to name just a few. But they can equally be challenging, so here we show how an emphasis... Read more »
Profiles
Issue: September / October 2012

PROFILE – Maria Lazarou

By - September 25, 2012

Maria Lazarou is the European Chairman for EUMA
Technology
Issue: September / October 2012

Just How Social Can You Be at Work?

By - September 25, 2012

With advances in technology and culture, the lines of work and play are being blurred – but how far can you go? Comfort Zones… Remember when the introduction of ‘dress down’ Friday meant heading into work in your ‘weekend clothes’? Initially this felt like quite a strange concept and one that took a lot of... Read more »
Communication
Issue: September / October 2012

Getting your PR right as a PA

By - September 25, 2012

Why paying attention to all the small things is critical when communicating with the media.   PAs often find themselves at the interface between the business and the outside world.  As such, they are responsible for the external image that the business portrays.  I want to share a story that happened recently, which has important... Read more »
Communication
Issue: September / October 2012

The power of storytelling.

By - September 25, 2012

A strong narrative is the key to successfully communicating with customers on the corporate website.     People are being bombarded with brand messages. From social media to advertising, the copious ways that brands are trying to spread their messages has left a sour taste in many people’s mouths, creating a sense of information overload... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: September / October 2012

Put Intuition to Work for You

By - September 25, 2012

Robert Hosking shows how trusting your gut can be a valuable technique at work, not just in your personal life
Technology
Issue: September / October 2012

An Introduction to Digital Dictation Outsourcing

By - September 25, 2012

Maxine Park, director and head of HR for outsourced digital dictation specialists DictateNow, looks at the ways in which this is affecting today’s Assistant, and how in fact, it can be of real benefit.   As organisations increasingly look to outsourcing as a way to help improve efficiency and reduce costs, one area experiencing significant... Read more »
Project Management
Issue: September / October 2012

How to Set Up a Brainstorming Meeting

By - September 25, 2012

Brainstorming is easy right? It can be, as long as the session is organized with a few rules in mind.   Brainstorming, even when you just hear it, it sounds so provocative.   It was developed in the 1940s by the American advertising executive Alex Osborn, and describes the method of generating ideas or problem... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: September / October 2012

Bosses need boundaries

By - September 25, 2012

Adam Fidler discusses how PAs should set boundaries with their bosses in terms of their working hours, the expectation for them to be checking their e-mails out of hours and their availability when out of the office or on annual leave. One downside of the PA role, if I can use the word ‘downside’, is... Read more »
Communication
Issue: September / October 2012

PA Pty Ltd: Building a Powerful Brand

By - September 25, 2012

We all understand what a brand is, but most of us do not know how it applies to us as office professionals or as human beings.   What is a brand? Brands are the way we identify companies and organisations – right? It is their color, their logo and often their slogan. Well, yes. But... Read more »
Health & Wellbeing
Issue: September / October 2012

Aches and pains at work

By - September 25, 2012

Understanding why you have a pain in the neck may help you make the right adjustments to heal it.   In literature, you will find many reasons for pains and aches at work; but in fact, all aches and pains come down to an uncontrolled load accumulation on your loco-motor system which involves your muscles,... Read more »