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Going Above and Beyond "Work" [Digg]
2008-01-15 14:44:00
Do you find yourself going into work day after day, week after week, feeling like you could do just a little more? You feel that your work life is in place and need to find some balance in other parts of your life?
More About: Work , Digg

Going Above and Beyond "Work"
2008-01-15 14:38:00
Do you find yourself going into work day after day, week after week, feeling like you could do just a little more? You feel that your work life is in place and need to find some balance in other parts of your life?   Up until recently, I too felt this way. There is life outside of the office, but of course, you need to go to work to get your bread and butter. Work is work, which can definitely be fulfilling, which I have to admit, is great in my life. I went through quite a few companies before I found my dream job. I never thought that I’d want to be a Professional Assistant, but somehow it just jumped out at me. But that’s another story.   Recently, I started volunteering through my workplace, since they allow us to have a certain amount of time during work hours. This is great, but I still try to do this outside of work.   I started with helping at a drop-in centre at a Salvation Army location, where other colleagues a...
More About: Networking , Productivity

E-mails Should Not Be Like a Game of Tennis!
2008-01-14 14:47:00
You write an e-mail to a staff member about a client having an issue with something. The staff member writes you back, but you don’t quite understand it. You write them again, asking for clarification.   Has this ever happened to you? People use e-mail too frequently, making messages more and more convoluted as they go back and forth like a tennis ball.   Using e-mail is a great tool, especially if you are trying to cut down on company costs via international phone calls and postage fees. One of the downfalls of it is not getting the message across between yourself and the receiver.   Sure, there are times that e-mail is appropriate, such as when you need some sort of record from a client to fulfill their product order. But when it comes to information exchange between you and your colleague, it really depends on what issue is at hand.   The best way would be to either call or chat face to face with the other person. At this po...
More About: Organize , Tennis , Customer Service , Productivity , E-Mail

Want to Decorate Your Cubicle/Office?
2008-01-11 14:50:00
Do you want to decorate your cubicle/office? Are you worried that you might put things up that are not appropriate for the office?   I recently had someone ask me how they should go about decorating their cubicle. There really isn't any right or wrong answer to this, but trying to keep a professional image is always key.   Here are some basic points to follow:   Try to keep your work area clean. This will help you with organizing and prioritizing any tasks that you are asked to do.  Hang any pictures that you wish, with the exception of anything that might offend other staff members. Try to keep the pictures on a professional level, so obviously don't hang anything that might be lewd, harmful to others' cultures or has a picture of something illegal on it.  Try not to clutter your cubicle too much. You need to be able to find certain documents on your cubicle walls for easy reference. Keep these in areas that...
More About: Organize , Office , Productivity

Got the Flu? Work from Home!
2008-01-10 14:39:00
Are you stuck at home because you're sick? Did your co-worker, significant other or a client give you a surprise by coughing and sneezing around you?  Don't you wish you could be where they are (to the left) instead?   Flu season can definitely be debilitating to your health. It happens each and every year, even if you end up getting the flu shot. Unfortunately, you can still get the flu, regardless, but it does help.   If you're stuck in a situation where you don't feel well enough to go into the office, but weren't supplied with a laptop, there is another solution. If you're feeling well enough to be able to work from home (telecommuting), an alternative would be to ask your IT department to set you up with VPN (virtual private network) access.   Basically, this allows you to connect to your work environment via your internet connection. Make sure that you have a faster connection than dial-up, since the speed will be a nightmare....
More About: Networking , Customer Service , Home , Work , Productivity

Opening Microsoft Office 2007 Files in Microsoft Office XP [Digg]
2008-01-09 23:23:00
I recently had a vendor send us an Excel spreadsheet that he created in Microsoft Word 2007 format. Unfortunately, our firm still only has Microsoft Office XP and was curious as to how this would work.
More About: Microsoft Office , Digg , Opening

Opening Microsoft Office 2007 Files in Microsoft Office XP
2008-01-09 15:04:00
I recently had a vendor send us an Excel spreadsheet that he created in Microsoft Word 2007 format. Unfortunately, our firm still only has Microsoft Office XP and was curious as to how this would work.   I remember in the past that you can always downgrade files. For example, if I have Microsoft Excel XP and would like to send a file to a client that only has Microsoft Excel 97 (which was a horrible disaster for Microsoft, since there were quite a few bugs in this version), you could save the file as a Microsoft Excel 97 version. The only downfall was that if you accidentally sent the client a Microsoft Excel XP version, they wouldn't be able to open it.   The good news is that Microsoft has come out with a patch for this. If you receive a file that was written in the Microsoft Office 2007 format, you can download the patch called Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats.   You can now go ahead and open...
More About: Customer Service , Productivity

Trying to Phone/Fax Internationally?
2008-01-07 16:07:00
Do you have trouble figuring out how to call a client or even a colleague in another country? Do you want to fax some documents to a client, but not sure if the fax number you are dialing will be correct?   I had the same trouble in the past, since I have to fax quite a few documents to clients on a regular basis. In my particular field (Publishing), it can be very stressful when your boss asks you to fax something right away, since the time difference is substantial at times and you need to figure out how to decipher a fax number.   There’s a really easy solution to this. I found a great website called Time and Date.com. This site allows you to select a city or near a city that you are dialing from and select the city or near city that you need to dial. Then you just enter the phone or fax number in the third section.     Voila!  You have yourself the dialing instructions.     But don’t forget, some office fa...
More About: Phone , Customer Service , Productivity , Tasks

Checking Stats for Your Company's Website?
2008-01-04 11:00:00
Are you being asked to check your company's website stats? Do you have software in place for it?   I have been updating my firm's website stats for quite some time now and wanted to share some tips on getting the information correct - the first time.   We use SmarterStats to review our page views, hits, resolved IP addresses, etc. It's a great piece of software that will help you and you marketing department figure out the best course of action to increase your site's popularity. The best part of this software is that it provides you with resolved IP addresses, which (most of the time) tells you what company visited your site.   Another tip that I would like to add is to make sure to exclude any IP addresses or pages that spiders or other crawlers might hit your site with. These will inflate you stats and won't show a true indication of what your site really has to offer.   Talk to you IT department and see if they can help you with getti...
More About: Website

Bored at Work?
2008-01-02 11:00:00
Are you running out of things to do? Do you find yourself wanting to just goof off and surf the net?   Believe it or not, there are some people that run out of things to do at their office. I am one of these people (at times). The only difference is that I only surf the net during my break times, which you should not be doing during work time. I'll leave it up to you to figure out, but remember that the higher ups are always watching you.   One way to try to get myself to become more productive is that when I do run out of work, I usually ask around to see if anyone needs help. This is a fail-safe method for me, since I work with a staff of about 30 and someone always has something for me.   If you really can't find anything to do, there's a great website that I found a while back that you can play online games on, watch videos and do other things to pass the time. Check out I am Bored .com for all the great stuff.  They update the...
More About: Work

Co-Workers Annoying You? [Digg]
2007-12-31 17:06:00
Are your co-workers annoying you at work by talking to loudly? Do you wish you could take a fog horn and toot it around, just so that they would quiet down?
More About: Workers , Digg , Annoying

100 Resources to Keep You Productive When on the Move [Digg]
2007-12-31 17:02:00
Do you find yourself wanting to get work done while you are travelling? Are you looking for software or information on how you can help your company and staff members achieve this?
More About: Resources , Digg , Move

Would You Relocate to Avoid Traffic Jams? [Digg]
2007-12-31 16:59:00
Do you find yourself getting stuck in traffic each morning and afternoon? Do you feel that people should relocate to a closer home or find a new job?
More About: Traffic , Digg , Jams , Avoid

A Better Cup of Coffee to be More Productive! [Digg]
2007-12-31 16:55:00
Do you feel like you need a coffee fix every day? Can you really survive your morning without that cup of Joe?
More About: Coffee , Digg , Cup of coffee

Co-Workers Annoying You?
2007-12-31 11:00:00
Are your co-workers annoying you at work by talking to loudly? Do you wish you could take a fog horn and toot it around, just so that they would quiet down?   I also work in an environment where it gets a little too loud at times. It's an open-concept office and at times, I would like my colleagues to simmer down a bit.   Here are some tips on getting your team members to lower their voices:   Ask the group of people to quiet down, move their conversation to a meeting room or even take the conversation outside. It's nice to socialize at times, but we are here to work. Taking a break is good for your health, but it's not a bar or a club.  You can take your work with you (if you have a laptop) to a coffee shop or another tranquil place, such as a park.  If all else fails, wear ear plugs. You'd be amazed of how well they work. If you like this post, please subscribe to my feeds or get posts e-mailed directly t...
More About: Workers , Annoying

Blogging Here and There
2007-12-28 11:10:00
As you may have noticed, I haven't been blogging on a daily basis for about 2 weeks now.  I realized that blogging is great, but you have to try to have a life outside of the computer world as well. I will try to write posts when my time permits.  If I find a really great or juicy story, I will definitely post it on here. I also want to wish everyone Happy Holidays and a Happy and Prosperous New Year! If you like this post, please subscribe to my feeds or get posts e-mailed directly to you. Until next time, Take care - of your clutter!
More About: Blogging

No E-mail Day?
2007-12-17 11:00:00
What would you say about having a “No e-mail day?” What would you do in place of it?   Intel is the first company to implement this day for its employees. The UK office started this “No e-mail day” as a way to get its employees, especially engineers, to talk with each other face to face each and every Friday. E-mail is strictly prohibited and is enforced. They can use any other means of communication, even picking up the phone and talking to each other.   There have been instances of where employees that sit a few cubicles away from each other prefer to e-mail rather than walk over or call the other on the phone. This actually happens quite a bit at my workplace as well.   Some employees that are right across from each other, where a filing cabinet is placed between them, prefer to e-mail or call each other on the phone. Yet it only takes literally 2 seconds to get up from your desk, which is good for your body to ...
More About: Mail , E-Mail

Phishing & Spam - Not Your Everyday Food Items!
2007-12-14 11:00:00
Do you receive spam in your e-mail box? How can you determine what's real and what's not? Do you fear that opening an e-mail will cause a virus to roam around your firm's network and do some potential damage?   You're not alone. I'm sure that everyone receives spam on a daily basis. Some of it is harmless and others can be a threat to your system and even cause identity theft.   Phishing scams have been around for quite some time now, where an e-mail would ask you to enter some personal information into a fake website that looks quite real. They would create a look-a-like web page that looks exactly the same as a bank or large corporation's site. Then they would lure you into entering your bank account information, pin, etc. After this, they would use this information to transfer funds from your account or do other damage. They would even sell your personal information in chat rooms on the black market.   One easy way to k...
More About: Food , Spam , Items

4 Easy Steps to Finding Old E-mails
2007-12-13 11:00:00
Do you have trouble sifting through hundreds or even thousands of e-mails? Does your boss come up to you and ask you to find information on an e-mail that you've received and needs it yesterday?   One of my colleagues asked me this same question a short while ago and she was very surprised to hear that there is an "Advanced Find" function on Microsoft Outlook.   To use this function, follow these 4 easy steps:   Make sure that you have the "Find" icon highlighted. If it isn't, click on it and a new toolbar will pop up.  Then click on Options, Advanced Find.  Here you can enter all of your criteria, whether it be a specific folder that you want to look in (make sure to select "Search Subfolders", just so that it will look for your particular criteria in those folders as well. You can even specify who sent the e-mail, who it was addressed to, date fields, etc.  A new window will pop up ...
More About: Easy , Steps

100 Resources to Keep You Productive When on the Move - Guest Post
2007-12-12 11:00:00
Do you find yourself wanting to get work done while you are travelling? Are you looking for software or information on how you can help your company and staff members achieve this?   I recently received an e-mail from a fellow blogger asking if they could guest post an article on this site. I read their article and found it very intriguing. The vast amount of information that was provided on various ways to communicate with others via technology was astounding.   Take a look at their article entitled "The Mobile Productivity Toolbox: 100 Resources to Keep You Productive When on the Move " for more information. This article will provide some creative ways to communicate with your staff members and your office in short detail. Just don't forget that you should never use your cellular phone or other hand held device while operating a vehicle. You can also find more travel related articles here. If you like this post, please subscribe to my fee...
More About: Post , Guest

Blogging Tips for Company Blogs
2007-12-11 11:00:00
Do you blog for your company? Do you feel like you want to voice your opinion about other topics? If you read my recent article on blogging at work, read on.   Here are 9 great tips on making you a better blogger:   Credentials are a must. Make sure that the person who is blogging for your company (if this is not you), has outstanding credentials. A person with high authority would help the blog the most.  The blogger's photo is important. This will help readers put a face to the writer.  Post regularly. Keeping your readers up-to-date and information about current information on your company or topic will make them ask for more.  Skilled writing the key. Don't allow for spelling and grammar errors. Make sure you know how to write proper material and your readers will think that you are an expert in your field.  Always proofread. Too many mistakes and your integrity will be shut...
More About: Company , Tips , Blogging , Blogs

Is Your Company SOX Compliant?
2007-12-10 11:00:00
Is your firm compliance ready according to Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX)? Do you have proper documentation to support any lawsuits or fines?  More and more firms are moving towards this compliance method, since they don't want to be slapped on the wrist by clients and other authorities, such as the Canada Revenue Agency. Keeping proper electronic and paper based files are very important.    Make sure that you keep at least 10 years worth of data of your business, which includes any data files, e-mails, etc. Keeping hard copies of information is also suggested, since back up systems can fail or viruses can hit your company's system and destroy everything, if you don't have it backed up one way or another.  I would suggest for small businesses to back up their information on a weekly basis at most, but daily would be preferred. Medium to large businesses should back up their information on a daily basis.  You should also keep a...
More About: Company

Death By E-mail?
2007-12-07 10:59:00
Do you find yourself having to pile through mountains of e-mails? Do you wish you had a mole hill of it instead?   At my current job, I receive close to 100 e-mails per day. You wonder how I get through it all? Well, to tell you the truth, most of them are simple requests or "Thank You's". These are easy and quick to sort through. The others I actually have to tend to carefully.   Don't check your e-mails every minute.  One thing that helps me quite a bit is to take it one step at a time. I don't check my e-mails every time the small envelope shows up on my screen. I've even disabled the transparent window that pops up every time someone sends me something. It just makes you more stressed. It's bad enough that you get more and more e-mails each and every minute.   Another e-mail battler is a spam fighter.  Our firm has installed quite a sophisticated spam filtering software. It automatically mo...
More About: Mail , E-Mail , Death

Would You Relocate to Avoid Traffic Jams?
2007-12-06 11:00:00
Do you find yourself getting stuck in traffic each morning and afternoon? Do you feel that people should relocate to a closer home or find a new job?   Here's an interesting article I found about how most employees would rather get stuck in traffic jams rather than relocate to a new home or job.   Most people would rather commute for a longer period of time due to family reasons. I personally would prefer the same, since I've moved around to 9 different homes, within 3 different countries. Here's another article on working too much: Working to Live or Living to Work? If you like this post, please subscribe to my feeds or get posts e-mailed directly to you. Until next time, Take care - of your clutter!
More About: Traffic , Jams , Avoid , Loca

Want to Blog About Your Work?
2007-12-05 11:00:00
Do you want to help your firm exceed in the business world? Do you have a knack for writing? More importantly, do you want to get recognized and let your manager see that you are going that extra mile to do what’s above and beyond of your job expectation?   Blog ging about your firm is one of the ways to do this. More and more firms are allowing their employees to blog, whether it be internal or external. This can boost company credibility and advertise itself in a global way.   Internal blogging refers to employees writing blogs that are stored on an intranet or company server. Only the employees within that company can view the information that they write. This is definitely good for sharing ideas and skills among teammates and other departments.   I am actually a part of a committee called the “Administrative Exchange” at my firm. We hold meetings every so often (since everyone’s busy and can’t really ...
More About: Work

4 Ways to Cope with Difficult Colleagues
2007-12-04 11:00:00
Do you find yourself having to deal with a difficult person in your office? Do you feel that they are overbearing and don’t know when to keep their opinions to themselves? Do they make inappropriate comments in a professional environment?   In my previous jobs, which I’d rather not mention, I had to deal with these types of personalities. At times, I would think to myself, “If I could only talk to them.” or “I wish I could quit!”   There are ways to help yourself of dealing with these types of personas. Here are 4 ways you can help yourself and hopefully the rest of your team:   Remember the positives. Take a look at the positive aspects of your annoying co-worker. You’d be surprised to see that they can be a kind-hearted person. Always wanting to help out others when they’re in a jam. Try to overlook the negatives and the positives will shine through.  Control...
More About: Diff , Cope

Falling Behind on Your Follow-Ups?
2007-12-03 11:00:00
Are you falling behind on your follow-ups? Do you want to improve the efficiency of following up with clients?   I sometimes get caught up with work overload at times and don't realize that I forgot to follow up with staff or clients' needs. I try my best at times to do this, but things get pushed back - I'm sure you know the drill.   One of the things that I do on a daily basis (well, try to anyways), is to take a look at my to-do list. I create reminders on Outlook for each task, so that when I do forget, a message will pop up on my screen to remind me of the task. If it's urgent, I will get to it right away. If not, I will click on the "Snooze" button and set it to whatever period of time I feel I can get it done in.   There will be days where you can't get to these tasks at all and others where you can just whiz through them. Try to complete tasks that need your attention within 2 - 3 business days. Otherwise you w...

Office Fridge Etiquette [Digg]
2007-12-03 00:46:00
Do you bring your food to work? Do you keep it in the office fridge? Are you in a constant battle to get your food into a pint-sized fridge because others leave their food there for days on end?
More About: Office , Etiquette , Digg , Fridge

Want Confidential Documents to Stay Confidential?
2007-11-30 11:00:00
Are you looking for a way to make sure that others don’t open your letters or packages? Do you have confidential information that you need to send to someone, but want to make sure that it gets treated like registered mail?   Then Redi-Tag Security Seals and Tape is the product for you. If someone other than the recipient of the letter or package opens it, a red “Stop Sign” alert patter is exposed and is impossible to replace. This will ensure that the letter or package will be opened only once and hopefully it will be the person you are sending it to. For more information, visit www.reditag.com. If you would like more information on keeping your documents safe, take a look at the "How Safe Are Your Documents ?" post.  If you like this post, please subscribe to my feeds or get posts e-mailed directly to you.   Until next time,   Take care - of your clutter!
More About: Stay

A Better Cup of Coffee to be More Productive!
2007-11-29 11:00:00
Do you feel like you need a coffee fix every day? Can you really survive your morning without that cup of Joe?   If this sounds like you, you're not alone. A large number of people that wake up in the morning need their coffee to jump start their mornings and help them throughout the day. Some even drink way too much - 2 cups of regular strength coffee is enough. This is actually good for your heart and has many health benefits as well.   Upscale coffee brands are becoming the norm in many offices across the world. Hotel managers and catering companies are also getting rave reviews about good branding quality. People that drink better coffee "feel" that they are becoming more productive and hence work better throughout the day.   I am not saying that there is scientific evidence on this matter (maybe there is, but I'm not a scientist). Just the psychological aspect of it shows this point.   So the next time you drink...
More About: Coffee , Cup of coffee