5 Quick Tips for Surviving & Thriving Your Work Day

Can we all agree that Personal Assistants have stressful jobs? We are responsible for other’s lives, their children and their workplace. Coordinating it all smoothly and seamlessly is an art, especially when you know you’re cool-under-fire demeanor is necessary to professionalism and sets the tone for your employer.

But what do you do for yourself to survive your workday and better handle tomorrow?

Here are 5 easy apps/websites to help you:

1. Do you take a lunch break? Any break? So many of us power through lunch and eat while we type. While the boss is eating, you’re taking valuable time preparing for the next meeting or activity and your break is your drive home at the end of a 12 hr. day. For those of you diehards, try an app called calm.com. For just 2 minutes you can refresh yourself. This can be done hiding out in the bathroom stall. Why this is helpful—Taking a break and eating, has physiological benefits to our productivity and brainpower. Taking two minutes resets your brain and takes you out of chaotic behavior to realign priorities and make you more effective. www.calm.com
2. My best talent as a PA is also my downfall as a PA. It is being able to handle multiple tasks at once. I hear conversations and am acting on them before I am told, all the while doing something else. Multiple interruptions make you forget what you were doing two seconds before. Did you know that most people can only focus for about 20 seconds? Multitasking has its place but time has proven it’s not the productivity amazon first touted. There is an amazing app called focus@will that seamlessly streams music “that boosts productivity 400%” (see their science page) and you select the genre of music. It memorizes your preferences and learns what you like. Why this is helpful—Focusing and completing projects is a very rewarding experience that fills you with a sense of accomplishment. www.focusatwill.com
3. I once worked in an office where every morning we had a code word for the mood of the employer so we could all be aware of the tempo of the day. (Sometimes a knowing glance would do). And like any relationship, after time you also know how to shift their mood. But guess what? Did you ever think the bad mood could be yours? There is an app for tracking your moods during the day called My Mood Tracker. I recognized at 2pm without lunch I’d get grouchy, at 4pm I’d be tired, and around 6pm we’d all be punchy, laughing at nothing and everything. Why this is Helpful— How you react to your boss, job, etc. may be your mood. By identifying a pattern you can recognize when you slip-up, or get down, and correct it.  www.mymoodtracker.com. If you’re really into this technology, check out this article: http://tech.co/best-habit-and-mood-tracking-apps-2013-08
4. Did you have a good day or bad day? Review your day at the end of the day. Highlight the good and think about why it was good. Human nature is to focus on the one thing that went wrong and ignore 100 little things that went flawlessly right. Why this is helpful—By recognizing what you did right builds your self-esteem and makes you less likely to engage in self-deprecating behavior. Working confidently helps you focus and perform better. Don’t forget, you’re a rock star in a crazed world and pull off miracles on a daily basis. Check out the app iDoneThis to assist you and have a written reminder of all you accomplished. www.idonethis.com
5. Did you slip up today? Don’t harp on your mistakes; learn from them. Look at what you would do differently next time, and I’m not talking about why your boss was unhappy. Why this is helpful—Doing a review of what went wrong helps you leave it at the office and, more importantly, not magnify it later in your mind or wake you up at night. By recognizing where you failed or why, or if you really did, keeps history from repeating itself. Byron Katie is a favorite self-help guru of mine who teaches you to examine your core belief systems by examining events. By asking yourself four simple questions: “Is it true? Do absolutely know it’s true? What happens when I believe that thought? Where would you I without that thought?” you can change your limiting behaviors forever. Judge-your-neighbor is her app. for iPad but she has other tools as well. www.byronkatie.com.