Ultimate Guide to Productivity: A Tip That Worx

I’ve been tagged! One of my very good and long-standing clients, Gillian Hood-Gabrielson of Healthier Outcomes, has tagged me once again. The last time she tagged me, I didn’t have a chance to participate because I was busy launching two new products: a resource site for the virtual assistance industry and a series of books I wrote with Jaime Lee Mann of Mann Made Time. As you can imagine, these projects took every spare second of my time, and then some. I didn’t want to miss out on this topic, although it is a little late. But better late than never, right?

The topic for this tag is favorite productivity tips, which was started by Ben Yoskovitz at the Instigator Blog. I have to admit that I haven’t been as productive as usual for the past few months, so this will be a hard one for me, especially after just returning from a much-needed vacation. I’m very good at helping my clients get organized and get things done, but lately I’ve had a harder time getting MY stuff done! My business has grown so much—and I’m certainly not complaining—but I often find it hard to keep up because I’ve taken on too much or overextended myself, even after adding several subcontractors to my team. For months I have been searching for that perfect system which will allow me to communicate with my team members and clients in a cohesive environment, and nothing seems to fit the bill. I am now testing yet another system and have high hopes that this will be THE ONE! Read more

Connie McVicker Nominated for the Janet Jordan Achievement Award

There is only one word to describe what I am felling right now…WOW! I was just notified that I have been nominated to receive the 2007 Janet Jordan Achievement Award presented by the Online International Virtual Assistant Convention (OIVAC). The award honors a newcomer Virtual Assistant who has been in business for less than 2 years and has reached a milestone in their short career in the industry. This milestone needs to be an accomplishment that has helped to boost their new business to an overwhelming success.

It is extremely humbling that my peers, people I work, collaborate, and share with every day, have nominated me for such an honor. It sincerely means a lot just to be nominated and I personally thank those, from the bottom of my heart, who took the time to submit a nomination for me.

Janet Jordan, who passed away in January 2006, was a recognized industry leader in the virtual assistance field. Mrs. Jordan’s virtual assisting career began in 1980, long before the term “Virtual Assistant” was coined. Along with running her private VA practices which included clients who spanned the globe, Mrs. Jordan also trained aspiring entrepreneurs to launch their own up-to-the-minute, compelling and relevant virtual assistant practices through Virtual Assistance U. Jordan created future leaders in the VA industry.

The OIVAC Judging Panel for the Janet Jordan Achievement Award consists of experienced Virtual Assistants from around the world. The winner will be honored during the International Virtual Assistants Day (IVAD) event which will be held online May 18th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm EST. The celebration coincides with a three-day Online International Virtual Assistants Convention (OIVAC) scheduled for May 17-19, 2007. Visit the OIVAC website for more information.

A Year of Success!

January marks a major milestone for Signature Worx…we just celebrated our 1 year business anniversary! Looking back on this past year, I wonder if my success was based on skill, determination, lots of luck, or a combination of all these things. One thing I’m sure of, I have learned and accomplished so much more than I ever expected. Did I accomplish everything I set out to do? No, but four months after starting, my business simply took another direction.

Obviously these aren’t the only things that will make your business successful, but I think they are the seeds that will either help your business flourish or kill it before you even get started. Read more

Multitasking is a LIE

This is a great article on multitasking. For years, while working for corporate America, the one question that always seemed to be asked during interviews was “Are you a multitasker?” or “Can you multitask?” I have always disliked this term because you simply cannot devote 100% to more than one task at a time. For example, you have several projects on your plate – Project A, B, & C. This of course doesn’t include the daily tasks in which you are responsible like email, phone calls, etc. If you’re working on Project A, then stop to work on Project B for a while, then again on Project C, nothing is getting done and all you have are partially finished projects. This causes other issues as well because when you have to return to a project, time is wasted because you have to set aside the task you’re working on, gather information for another task again, and figure out where you left off and what still needs to be done.
In addition, from my experience, almost every task I worked on hindered someone else doing their job so until I finish Project A completely, there was someone else who couldn’t get their job done because they needed that information or that phase to be completed.

You can certainly manage multiple projects at one time by prioritizing them and working on them effectively by getting the job finished which is much more productive that skipping around from project to project. Enjoy the article!

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Do you wear the term ‘multitasking’ like a badge of honor? Do you, with great pride, brag to your friends and coworkers that you can manage more tasks at once than an octopus? Are you convinced that you are much more efficient doing 2 or more things at once? I’m here to tell you that multitasking is a big fat LIE! Multitasking does not help us get more things done; in fact it reduces our productivity and efficiency and increases stress.

Corporate and social culture has created multitasking as a norm. With many companies doing more with less, and business owners having to straddle multiple personal and professional roles, there is a certain expectation to get it all done and be responsive to every beep and ring tone that demands your attention. As wonderful as communications technology has become, it has created the side effect of tremendous distraction. Read more