Beth Beutler is the founder and executive director of HOPE Unlimited, a dedicated network of independent contractors offering collaborative virtual assistance, operations support resourcing and professional development mentoring/education designed to Help Overwhelmed Professionals Excel. Beth has been featured in FIRST for Women magazine and blogs regularly at BethBeutler.com on topics related to teamwork, communication, productivity and values.
Website: http://bethbeutler.com
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I still remember being called into the boss’s office. Not one to get into trouble much, it was unusual to have a sit-down with the boss over an issue that was my fault. But it happened, and was part of three distinct situations with a prevalent theme that got my attention. These opportunities for improvement led to beneficial professional–and personal–growth.
How long has it been since you’ve received a genuinely sincere written or electronically typed thank you note? The nice yet empty, “Thank You” response that we use so easily in emails, texts, and social media is not what I’m referring to. I’m talking about the moment makers; the sweet, thought out, and inspiring thank you note that makes you stop and want to genuinely thank the person back for making your day.
In the past, I have taught a class on Effective Time Management, where students sit for a day or two to just focus on this concept. There are also many books and blog postings about time management out there, many of which have similar “conventional wisdom” concepts worked into them.
Every month, I prepare a statistical and financial report on a project for which there are ongoing sales and other people involved. No one is standing over my shoulder waiting for the information, but it is useful.One day, toward the end of my work day, that task remained on my list. So I changed the due date and closed up shop for the day. The next morning, when I had limited time, I decided to see how long it would take to actually do the task and get the report out, so I set a timer and dove in.
Your boss has asked you to take charge of an event.
Gulp.
You’ve attended plenty of events, but never taken charge of one. How are you supposed to make sure it comes off without a hitch?
Face it, email is here to stay. We tend to have a love/hate relationship with email. On the one hand, it provides us the connection, information, and even business leads we need. On the other, it is the source of some ongoing problems. But there are ways to make changes that will help. Let’s look at four.
Chances are, you are a leader at work. Whether you have direct reports or not, in some way, shape or form, you have to demonstrate leadership qualities.
You have those annoying coworkers. But did you ever consider that you may BE one?
Maybe your job isn’t all that enjoyable either But YOU can do a few things to bring some joy into even the most unfulfilling day.
It was a Monday. The day of the week I typically plan to be a high productivity day to power through client and personal responsibilities. However, this one was not starting out that way.