Here I am November 9th and I just noticed that I hadn’t posted since July!  Okay so the plan I made two years ago – completely out the window. 

I could give you 101 excuses why I left my blog silent and alone for over 4 months.  In fact, that in itself could be a fairly lengthy blog post.  I could tell you that work has been crazy, that family has been crazy, that I -have even gone a little crazy.  And to be honest, each of these in one way or another would be the truth. 

But they would simply be excuses, and for those of you who are still taking the time to read my posts, well you deserve a little more than excuses.

So how about this?  I’m sorry. 

Simple right? Two words oppose to the list of 101 excuses.  Whether you choose to accept my apology is up to you.  I have absolutely no control over that.  But, I do have control over how I frame that apology and what I choose to do moving forward. 

I could beef up that apology with a whole lot of fluffy nothing.  But sometimes, in my opinion a simple, genuine to the point “I’m sorry” is all that’s needed.  Because it’s what you do afterwards that really counts.

So having said that, am I going to start writing articles every week again?  Well, no.  If I promised that in 6 months I’d be back here apologizing again.  It would only show you that I really didn’t learn much. That I didn’t take the time to reflect on what went wrong and make the necessary adjustments to correct them.

I made a commitment 2 years ago to write every week.  A commitment that I knew may work out for a while, but may fall short somewhere down the line.  Even knowing this, I still made that commitment.  That was the mistake.

So here’s how I plan to rectify the situation.  I commit, to not committing.  You’re probably thinking “that’s just a big cop out.”   Well you’re entitled to your thoughts.  The bottomline is I just can’t commit to writing a blog post every week.  I can’t even commit to writing a blog post every month. 

All I really can commit to is writing at some point.  This expectation I know I can meet right now.  I’m not saying it’s going to be another 4 months before I write again, I’m also not saying it isn’t going to be another 4 months. 

What I am saying is that I will write when I feel like it, not when I feel like I HAVE to.   It doesn’t do you any good to throw up some useless crap because a month has gone by and my guilty conscious is yelling at me. We all get far too much useless crap come our way, I don’t’ want to join in on that. So here’s the deal… When I have something of value to share, I will I promise.  That is what I am committing to.  This is the expectation I am holding myself too.  A realistic expectation at this point in my life. 

I hope you’ll still be here on those occasions when I have something to say.  Cause when I do, I think you’ll find it worth reading!!!

In my virtual world I have found the challenges of sharing and collaborating on projects with clients and colleagues to be one of the big ones. For everyone on the team to work effectively everyone needs to have access to the documents we are all working on together. I find when everyone can work on the documents at any time and still leave them in a place where they are accessible to the rest of the team there is less time wasted with emailing, faxing, calling back and forth and waiting for answers.  Once a sharing platform is chosen for the project every member of the team knows they can go there to find the latest copy of all of the documents that pertain to that project. Lots of sharing and collaborating platforms have places to post messages for all team members to see and as well, a method for private messages that I only want a specific person to see.

There are many different programs available on the internet. Most of them have a free component that does not include all the bells and whistles that the versions that you pay for have but are still very powerful programs that can do most anything that I need to do for the size of projects that I need to share. Doing a comparison of the different plans a program offers makes it easy to decide what specific features you think you want to use for your project and then deciding how much you want to pay over the basic free plan.

There is no end to the usefulness of a program that you can work together with others in. I like to be able to share files and images, to create groups within projects and to speak with other group members in real time chat rooms. Some programs have white board features where all members of the group can be brainstorming their ideas all at once and adding them to the white board themselves with no need for a moderator to do all of the writing. I find it is useful to have a feature where group members can take ownership of individual tasks within a project and they can set milestones so the project keeps moving forward and on time so the deadline that has been set can be met. With some programs tasks, milestones and meetings can be synced with Outlook or Google Calendar so no one forgets and everything pops up at their finger tips. What could be more convenient than that?!

When I am considering which sharing and collaborating platform I am going to use on a project I like to choose one that has an application for my Blackberry. I like to have that mobile component so I can access documents and projects where ever I am. Some days in my life I just never know where I will be or what I will be doing so I like to be able to use any down time to stay in touch with my clients and colleagues and to access any documents I might need to refer to.  You just never know when I may be hit with a brilliant thought or idea I just have to share right away with other team members before it eludes me! It’s been known to happen!

I have found that sharing/collaborating platforms can make my virtual life a lot easier and hassle free, I hope you find that they will do the same for you. Happy sharing!

Do you remember when the little ding and the automated voice saying “You’ve got mail!” made you run expectantly to your computer to see who near and dear to you was dropping you a note?

Wow, are those days ever gone! Back in the day, not that long ago, the e-mail was probably from a dear friend that I couldn’t wait to hear from. Today e-mail can be from a whole host of strangers bombarding me with everything from get rich quick schemes to advertising, in other words SPAM.

E-mail today is either a god-send or can be the bane of my existence. Pretty much whichever I consider it to be, it is an undisputedly highly important form of communication in today’s work world. What VA worth their salt could function without it?

Don’t get me wrong I love getting e-mail as it is the most important form of communication in my VA business. I know I could not do the virtual work that I do without it. E-mail keeps me in touch with other members of my team and my clients. If I manage it right, it is a wonderful form of communication that makes my work easier and more efficient.

E-mail etiquette is a pet peeve of mine. Your e-mail is the first impression someone gets about you and your business; in a virtual world maybe the only impression they will get of you.  My thoughts are “The better the e-mail is written the better the impression you make.” I believe there is e-mail etiquette to be followed by both the sender and the receiver. It is important to remember your audience when composing your e-mails. I like to keep business e-mails professional but let my personality shine through in notes of a personal nature to friends and family, yes, I have even been known to add a smiley face or two.

I am a bit of a stickler for correct spelling and grammar. Spelling and grammar checks can be done right on your computer, making it very easy to catch most errors. I really appreciate a clearly defined subject line that gives me all of the information that the e-mail will be about, as well as, making it easier to find when I have to refer back to it at a later date. Some other items that I consider when I am writing an e-mail are: I only include one topic per e-mail unless I am going to use bullet points or numbering to set ideas apart for the ease of the reader, I always draw attention to attachments so the reader will not miss them, I like to use simple, direct language and to stay away from jargon or abbreviations that readers may not be familiar with and I proof read the e-mail before I send it (hopefully, catching any errors). These tips make it easier for me to read e-mails when I am on the receiving end so I hope those who receive mine feel the same way.

As a recipient and reader of an e-mail I feel it is important to give the e-mail the attention it deserves, much as I would if the sender were speaking to me personally. After all, the sender thought the information was important enough to take the time to compose it and send it to me. I like to carefully read the e-mail message to get the full meaning and gather all of the information that is delivered in it. I try to respond to all of the points that have been included, if I am asked to respond, in a timely manner. If I have not been asked to respond I still like to send a quick note back to let the sender know that I have received and read their e-mail.

Apart from the mechanics of e-mail writing, I think it is very important to ensure that the message and tone intended for the reader is the message and tone that they receive. It is sometimes very hard to convey the tone you are intending. With careful choice of wording you can set the mood of the message; you would not want to sound like you are being flip about a serious subject, or conversely, that you are angry when you are in fact not. I find re-reading my message will help me to make sure the tone I want to set is the tone that I have achieved. It is so much easier to take a moment when writing the e-mail to set the tone than it is to have to go back and explain myself after it may have been mistakenly misinterpreted.

Well, after sharing all these thoughts with you, happy e-mailing!

Ding! “You’ve got Mail” That’s my cue! I am back to communicating in a virtual world!

With the advances in technology many industry job positions have become obsolete and many new industry job positions have been developed. One such industry is the Virtual Assistant industry. It seems that more and more people are seeking ways to access free time in their lives to do activities that give them personal satisfaction outside of the work place. This is where Virtual Assistance becomes a very desirable industry to explore.

Virtual Assistance is a career that allows you to be your own boss: setting your own hours, choosing your ideal clients, working from your home office and deciding what types of tasks you want to do. Many skills are required in the Virtual Assistant industry and a VA needs to be a lifelong learner, prepared to embrace many types of communication technologies and to acquire new skills in our ever changing business world. A VA can be an integral part of a clients business, offering them the skills that will allow the client to have the extra time in a day that they are seeking to do the activities that give them personal satisfaction outside the work place. It is a win-win industry that many people are now looking to get involved with.

There are many educational program options available to anyone looking to expand their knowledge. One such certificated program is the Virtual Assistant Program at Red Deer College. This program helps you to develop many, many essential skills required in today’s business world, such as, how to be an effective communicator and to be proficient in many computer programs. The Red Deer College program is delivered virtually, which gives students the opportunity to practice working and effectively communicating in a virtual world.

No matter what your age or educational background now is the time to embrace the power of knowledge that can be yours!

The event will feature guest speakers Tina Forsyth, Pam Thomas and Carla Wilson. The topics that will be covered are new technology and the benefits of self care in the ever evolving profession of Virtual Assistance. These are both very timely topics as our profession relies almost solely on communication through technology within our virtual world. I think it is very important to stay current and informed about these changes. Information about proper self care is becoming a universal concern among health conscious people. Learning more about this topic can only make our work day and life better and more comfortable, both mentally and physically.

Now to the part you have been waiting to hear! This event will take place June 23, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and you can register at http://www.nextwave4vas.ca/. The event is being hosted by the 2011 Red Deer College Graduating Class of the Virtual Assistant Certificate Program.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part…it’s free!

I hope to see you there.