Focuses on the training and development needs of admin professionals and features topics such as hard skills (software competencies, writing, communication, filing) and soft skills (teamwork, time management, leadership).
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/249955
FEBRUARY 2014 Distractions... (finish headline later) FR OM TH E E D I TOR Joyce Grant It is 9:39 a.m. I'm 39 minutes behind schedule, according to my to-do list. By now I should have ticked off half the items: Joyce's to-do list • Write two emails. • Browse Facebook and Twitter. • Rewrite an article about NHL hockey for teachingkidsnews. com. • Write an article for the next edition of AAU. • Edit some work done by Humber interns. • Call a colleague to confirm an ap- Administrative Assistant's UPDATE Administrative Assistant's Update is published once a month by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. EDITORIAL OFFICE v joycegrant@sympatico.ca S (416) 656-7796 U Joyce Grant, Editor Administrative Assistant's Update Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 1 Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Road Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 CUSTOMER SERVICE S (416) 609-3800 (800) 387-5164 T FAX (416) 298-5082 (877) 750-9041 v carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Contents copyright. All rights reserved. © 2014 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission. Brief extracts may be made with due acknowledgement. Annual subscription: $189. Publications Mail Registration No. 40065782 GST# 897176350 2 pointment. I have precisely 21 minutes… no, change that, 18 minutes (it's now 9:42) to get all of that done. And the funny thing is, I still think I can make it! Except... instead of doing anything on my list, I'm writing this article. Back up. How did I get here? Yesterday I had an epiphany. I realized that I have a lot of trouble sticking to one task at a time. I now have just 16 minutes left. I can still make it, It had gotten so that I'd be writing something, and I'd get distracted by an email… and in the middle of that I'd get distracted by a notification from Facebook, which would take me to an Internet article… you get the idea. I wasn't getting enough done and I had tons of deadlines, most of which I was looking at in my rearview mirror as they went by me. So I turned to an expert. Rhonda Scharf and I have known each other for more than a decade, and I consider her a genius when it comes to being organized and able to manage her time and work-life balance. She had some great advice for me. She told me to take a one-hour block of time and break it down into 10- or 15-minute increments. I started out great. I went to Starbucks with my daytimer in hand. I found one of those great, cushy leather chairs and claimed it with my coat. I ordered a coffee. I sat down and read through the newspaper. 13 minutes. I can still make it! 12. Then some friends wandered in and we had to catch up because it would have been rude not to. And then I made my list—pretty much exactly as I've outlined it above. Then I realized I didn't have my phone with me, so I didn't know what time it was. I also realized I couldn't text my son, who would be waiting to hear from me. But I stayed on-task. Instead of going back home for my phone, I borrowed one. But I couldn't remember my son's phone number (it was in my phone) so I asked my friend to text my husband to ask him to text my son. Confused? Ten minutes. I finished my coffee and my list and headed home, feeling pretty good about how the morning had gone. After all, I'd done my list as Rhonda recommended. When I got home, I found that it was already 9:10. No worries—50 minutes to complete my list. Still plenty of time. Eight minutes. Except, I was hungry. I popped some bread in the toaster and turned on the radio for company. Argh. Seven minutes. I'm starting to think I may be in trouble. (Type faster, I'm telling myself right now.) Continued on page 5