Joan Burge's Administrative Blog

Nicole wrote me and asked: "What would you suggest doing to maintain a positive attitude when executive assistants rarely get the recognition that is deserved?" To be quite honest, there are a lot of people in the workplace today that are working very hard and getting little recognition. Attitude has been around for decades. Zig Ziglar talked about attitude way back; Og Mandino (whose work and books I adored), spoke on this for decades.

This is the last Monday Motivator in a series of 3. This is a list of random lessons learned. I hope you tuck them close to you for if and when a day comes that you might need them. Or share them with others who might need these now! Read them carefully as several of these lessons are behaviors you need to develop now so you have a parachute in the future.

I hope you enjoyed a little break around the 4th of July. In case you don't remember, I started a 3 MM series on June 28 around Lessons Learned During Crises. Today's Lesson: Dealing with Disappointment Before my husband, Dave, had a health set back in June, we had many plans for a wonderful June. We were going on a fabulous cruise for a week for our 2010 vacation. Dave had booked the cruise 4 months ago and was eagerly counting down every day until our well-earned vacation. I had planned to finish a writing project, focusing on some VIP client work, swimming with my grandchildren, and finally working less hours after a busy 5 months of the year.

It feels good to be back at work and writing again. I have so much to share based on the past 3 weeks, that I don't know where to begin. Therefore, I'd like to spread out Lessons Learned During Crises over 3 weeks. I encourage you to read each Monday Motivator as each of us never knows when a crisis or crises will hit us personally or professionally. Even if you experience a business professional crisis such as a job loss, it still affects you personally. And vice versa . . . when your personal life is tossed about like a small boat in the huge ocean, your professional life is affected.

by Nancy Fraze I GET to go to work today! How’s that for exciting news? Does it rev your cognitive engine and get you fired up? “Getting to go to work” is a foundational concept which forms the basis of our attitude, strongly affecting how we will work while at our desks.

Thanks to 100s of you who have sent Dave and me your well wishes, prayers, and cards. We certainly needed every bit of encouragement. Dave and I have been through quite a test of faith and hope the past 3 weeks. I have learned more nursing skills than I ever would wish to have learned (I am very squeamish, on top of it) and Dave has been fighting daily battles in his own way. With the rally of so many friends, family, the Office Dynamics staff, and even those of you from countries I have never traveled to, we have been able to get through this very difficult time.

It’s been a hectic time at our office and with the recent holiday and conferences taking us offsite – it has been a challenge staying focused. I’m sure you have experienced the same with long weekends and the beginning of summer before us. We have also faced many challenges recently as many of us do from time to time in life. My question, though, is have you lost your groove?

Do you know that it only takes one obstacle in an otherwise-perfect day to make you feel less-than-best? Especially in these hectic times, when every employee is pressed to achieve more in less time with fewer resources, a single hiccup can make you feel like everything is in upheaval.

Enjoy this guest blog from dear friend, fellow speaker, and author, Jeff Keller.

Do you need an AMA? If you are at all experiencing an upswing in your work, more pressure and intensity from your workplace, then you probably need an AMA. The past few weeks at our office have been insanely busy -- in a good way.