Personal Effectiveness

Seven secrets of successful office professionals

Here are a few funny phrases I pulled from an email I recently received. Can you read these sentences correctly on the first try? Enjoy!

If you're anything like me and many others, you have a lot of distractions during the course of your working day. With so many distractions at work, it can be hard to get on with what you need to get done. Sometimes we get into some bad habits, such as over-checking your email and checking our Facebook.

I'm writing this post from Sheffield in the UK right now, where I'm enjoying visiting family and friends. Last week I was honoured to speak at Executive Secretary Live, organised by Lucy Brazier and her team from the popular magazine Executive Secretary. What an awesome event it was, with 7 international speakers and 120 delegates from 17 countries.

Do you sometimes feel that you're being pulled in a million directions? Do you feel like there's just never enough time, and does your to-do list seem never-ending? Don't worry.

If you're like me, you can easily drag your heels on projects that just don't grab your attention. But remember, ignoring the task won't make it go away. Procrastination is one of the worst habits we can get into, and it's one that limits our personal effectiveness.

Feeling overworked? Well, that's probably because you are. And guess what? You're not alone.

Do you remember the last time you set a goal? Did you succeed? What was it about your goal that encouraged success or promoted failure? Were you aiming too high or too low? Why do we need to set goals?

Is your workplace filled with stress? Do you end the day feeling exhausted and upset, dreading going back tomorrow? Work stress is at an all time high, and alarmingly, it is only getting higher.

What do you do when you get home from work? Plop in front of the TV, or even worse, in front of the computer for a few more hours? Technology that is meant to make our lives easier is actually zapping our energy. Are you really making the most of your spare time?