The "Four Ds for Decision-Making" model (4 Ds) is a valuable tool for processing email, helping you to quickly decide what action to take with each message and how to remove it from your Inbox. Decide what to do with each and every email How many times have you ...Read More »

Are your emails out of control? Is your inbox overflowing? Open it now... How many emails do you have sitting there? 2? 15? 50? 250? 500? How many of those are actually relevant and require actioning today? An interesting question... Controlling your email is like any other aspect of your job, you ...Read More »

If you are like me, networking fills you with dread. Walking into a room full of strangers, having to make the intial first contact and then there's the dreaded elevator pitch. To be a successful networker you have to move out of your comfort zone, which takes both practice and self-belief.  ...Read More »

Well, what a day! Yesterday I attended the 5th National VA Conference and Awards at the Holiday Inn in Woking.  I was looking forward to the day, not only because of the Awards but also for meeting old friends and making new ones.  I was particularly looking forward to meeting up with fellow members of the Read More »

I don't like to ask for things but on this occasion I am going to... please would you take 2 minutes to read Caden's story.  He is one of my son's best friends and this appeal will certainly be life changing for Caden and his family. In May 2010 Caden was ...Read More »

I cannot believe it was a year ago that Emily Robe, Dee Uzoka and myself were presented with the inaugural “Spirit of the VA Industry” Award at the 4th National VA Conference and Awards 2010.  I submitted our application form and to be honest thought nothing more it as I was too busy helping Carmen MacDougall, Founder of ...Read More »

I was interviewed earlier this week by Carmen MacDougall, one of the leaders in the UK Virtual Assistant industry.  She was putting together a book for VAs looking to build up their client list and wanted to find out how I went about hiring my first VA. It was more than 4 years ago that I took on my first VA ...Read More »

Do you believe there is not enough time in each day to complete your tasks.  Do you try to work longer or faster and inevitably make mistakes, get frustrated, become tired or unmotivated.  How can we manage our time better and avoid such problems? The answer lies in prioritising your tasks and for this there are many systems and whilst I ...Read More »

Do you control your to do list or does it control you?  I have 20 tips for showing your list who’s boss and final part is below: Tip 16 - Avoid rewriting Try to avoid rewriting your list too often.  By keeping one list you can see how long tasks have been ...Read More »

Do you control your to do list or does it control you?  I have 20 tips for showing your list who’s boss and part three is below: Tip 11 - Jobs you hate If there are no urgent jobs then prioritise the jobs you hate, get them over and done with otherwise ...Read More »