Recognition - Award Nomination
I recently learned that I was nominated by my peers for AssistU VA of the Year, an award which will be presented in Las Vegas at the AssistU Community Awards event. To say that I was choked up is an understatement. What can be more flattering than to be recognized by my colleagues? I’m awed and am so grateful to those who submitted my name and think I’m worthy of such an award.
AssistU VAs are professionals who have completed a rigorous 20-week training program (the VTP) and uphold a stringent Code of Ethics, providing business support services in a global, virtual environment. What sets us apart from other Virtual Assistants is our focus on partnerships with our clients. We stand for our clients by upholding our own business standards (working only with clients who “fit” those standards, doing work we love); we’re vested in our clients’ successes, and we are constantly seeking and sharing new technologies and skills to better serve those clients.
To be nominated by those professionals is an honor, and I do not take it lightly. I’m humbled, privileged, and so appreciative to be listed among five other very deserving VAs for this award.
“…The Truth Will Set You Free”
Most of you know that I was away this last week, attending David Neagle’s conference, “Experience the Reality of Success.” Many of you wondered why I was going and what I hoped to gain. I couldn’t really explain it before I went, and I still can’t completely explain it after attending. I can tell you that the experience was mind-shattering, emotional and amazing.
The focus of the 4 days was to fully learn and experience the connection between one’s thoughts, emotions and body and the manifestation of the abundance that is available to everyone when all three are aligned and in harmony. Did I experience “my truth?” You bet! I was challenged, and my awareness was increased 1000 fold; the process was both depleting and exhilarating. I’m riding high today, and plan to ride the wave from here on.
Why would I subject myself to this emotional rollercoaster? My business is going along just fine. I love my clients and the work I do, so why? I guess it’s because I know there’s more, and I want to experience it now – not next year or five years from now. Others who have attended this conference have said it was life-changing. They didn’t explain how or why, just that it was the catalyst that moved them to new heights in their personal and business lives. Why wouldn’t I want that too?
What’s the key to abundance? It’s giving, forgiveness, gratitude and love, security and self-esteem all mixed together through the source of your power (mine is God). The result is freedom from the bondage of the past and the realization of the Light in the present and future. Don’t you want this too? If so, be sure to explore DavidNeagle.com. “Experience the Reality of Success” (ERS) is coming again in February of 2009. Will I see you there?
Outlook or Outlook Express - Which one is best?
One of my obligations as a Virtual Assistant is to share best-of-practices information with my clients, and frequently that includes a bit of education concerning email clients - the programs that manage your email. Most of us have both Outlook and Outlook Express on our PCs, so which one should you use? What are the differences?
In an article by Dave Paradi, he points out that Outlook was designed as a Personal Information Tool (PIM), and Jay Lee defines it this way.
Outlook Express is a free program that comes with Internet Explorer and is a part of Microsoft Windows; it is not a part of the Microsoft Office suite of software. It supports email and has a very limited capacity for contact management. It does not replace Outlook, nor is it a tool for business. It may be fine for the home computer user.
Outlook is much more than an email (client) program; it’s a contact manager, calendar and scheduling manager, and a task manager just for *starters*. Outlook synchronizes easily with other databases such as ACT and is also linked to handheld PCs, which run on the Windows platform. If you want an all-in-one program for task, time and email management, and you want to stay with a Microsoft-based program, Outlook is the answer. Can you tell that I’m an avid Outlook user?
Here are a couple of tips for organizing and moving email from your Inbox:
Organizing Email Messages in Outlook
Email messages initially arrive to your Inbox, but what do you do with them as they accumulate? If you want to save your incoming email messages, organize them much like you’d organize your office – put them in alphabetical folders by subject in a file cabinet. In this case, the file cabinet is your Inbox, and the file folders will be created preferably by subject.
To create a folder within your Inbox:
- Right click on the Inbox icon or name.
- From the drop-down menu, select New Folder.
- In the Create New Folder dialog box, type the name of the folder and highlight the Inbox folder (where to place the folder). Outlook will place the new folder in the Inbox.
- Click OK. The New Folder will appear in alphabetical order under the Inbox.
Move Messages to the appropriate folder:
There are several ways to move messages from the Inbox to a different folder.
- Drag: You can left click and hold, then drag the message to the appropriate folder.
- Move: Open the message. Slowly move your mouse over the icons on the Toolbar and left-click on the Move to Folder icon. On the drop-down menu, select Move to Folder. The Move Item To dialog box appears. Select the appropriate folder and click OK or click on New to create a new folder within the Inbox (which is another way to create a new folder).
Future Tips will address the Outlook Task List, Creating and Scheduling Tasks by dragging messages to the Calendar and Task List, Managing the Outlook Calendar, and utilizing Contacts to record data and contact information.
