Administrative Assistant's Update

NOVEMBER 2017 2 Making one's 1440 minutes a day count What's on your to-do list? You don't have one? Then you're already synching with one of the hab- its of ultra-productive people. They tend not to make such lists (41% of items on to-do lists never get done, but add clutter to one's mind, according to one survey). Rather, they schedule everything on their calendar and then work and live by that calendar. Banishing to-do lists was one of the habits Travis Bradberry (co-author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0) found intriguing in the Kevin Kruse book 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management. For the book, Kruse did research on more than 4,000 executives and quali - tative interviews with more than 200 "self-made millionaires, CEOs, high tech entrepreneurs and even Olympic athletes." Following are more of Bradberry's (from a LinkedIn post) favourite hab- its of ultra-productive people: They avoid meetings. "If you do run a meeting," says Bradberry, "keep it short and to the point." They touch things only once. If it take less than five or ten minutes, they deal with it on the spot, so it doesn't become baggage. They carry a notebook – every- where. Richard Branson has said that he wouldn't have been able to build Virgin without the notebook that he carries wherever he goes. Greek ship- ping magnate Aristotle Onassis carried one and wrote everything down as well. When thoughts come to you, record them. They make it home for dinner. Or devote time to something else they value besides work, because there is always something more that could or should be done, but one needs to pay attention to the things one values in life. Energy is everything. "Highly suc - cessful people don't skip meals, sleep or breaks in pursuit of more, more, more. Instead, they view food as fuel, sleep as recovery and breaks as op- portunities to recharge in order to get even more done." And there are more. For example, they say no to almost everything and they process email only a few times a day, a couple of practices that execu- tives may afford to follow but which could lose an EA her or his job. Overall, though, there's some- thing to be learned from how highly productive people set priorities. There are 1440 minutes in a day, and time isn't something one can buy more of. So we need to make the most of what we've got. E D I TO R ' S N OT E George Pearson Administrative Assistant's Update is published once a month by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Director, Media Solutions, Canada: Karen Lorimer Publisher: Todd Humber Editor: George Pearson george@adminupdate.ca Associate Editor: Jennifer Lewington jennifer@adminupdate.ca EDITORIAL OFFICE (519) 271-6000 Administrative Assistant's Update Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 1 Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Road Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 CUSTOMER SERVICE (416) 609-3800 (800) 387-5164 FAX (416) 298-5082 (877) 750-9041 customersupport.legaltaxcanada @tr.com Contents copyright. All rights reserved. © 2017 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 UPDATE Administrative Assistant's Recognizing and controlling anger Anger can stem from a variety of sources and is often encountered in work situations. MindTools catalogues some of these sources in a recent blog: • Frustration and powerlessness • Hurt • Harasssment and bullying • Injustice (real or perceived) • Exhaustion and burnout from stress • Demands of criticisms that we think are unfair • Threats to people, things or ideas that we hold dear The blog suggests ways to recognize anger, the dangers of anger, how to control it, and dealing with someone else's anger. To read the entire blog, search on MindTools what is anger.

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