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williamcsanchez · 6 years ago

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My Top 10 Free Travel Apps for Connectivity and Productivity

Whether you or your executive travels for business, both of you should be aware of several key apps that can keep you connected and productive while away from the office. I say “both of you” because as an admin, you can significantly shorten your executive’s learning curve on how to use the apps if you test them in advance. Besides, you know they’re going to ask you when they have questions, so be prepared in advance!

So, here’s my top 10 list for useful travel apps:

Tripit App: With the simple forward of an email, you can turn your flight, hotel, and rental car information into a mobile travel itinerary that organizes everything in one convenient location. It automatically includes maps, directions, and weather details. You can find restaurants, theatre tickets, and activities to include from inside Tripit. All of the trip details are accessible from mobile devices, or can be printed for your traveler to have in hand. (Note: I still highly recommend a printed travel itinerary in addition to Tripit.)

Dropbox App: Dropbox allows you to access all of your files and photos from anywhere thanks to this app. Say goodbye to transporting flash drives or emailing files to yourself. Everything you need is a touch away. The Dropbox app makes accessing files and uploading photos from my trips automatic. Plus, my smartphone automatically syncs all of my photos to Dropbox within seconds of snapping them, so they are instantly backed up and saved. This tool makes updating and sharing files with my team instant and efficient.

Currency App: For international travel, a currency app saves a lot of time calculating when you need to know exactly what something will cost in another currency.

WorldClock App: Setup your favorite locations and always have the time and time zone information at your fingertips. No more guessing, wasting time, or potentially miscalculating the time in your head…especially if you’re under the spell of jet lag.

Kindle, Nook or iBooks Apps: With weight restrictions on luggage, there’s no reason to haul a bunch of books or magazines with you when you travel. Ebook readers make life a lot easier and your bags a lot lighter. Even if you aren’t a regular ebook fan, for travel they can be very useful.

Social Media Apps: While I have all of the individual apps for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn loaded on my mobile devices, I actually prefer one app which accesses all three, such as HootSuite or TweetDeck. Once it’s setup, you simply visit one app for monitoring and accessing all of your social media sites very efficiently.

Evernote App: You never know which device you’re going to be on when you discover the next cool idea or concept you want to capture and share. Download the apps on each device you use, clip and save as you browse, and you’ll be able to do an instant recall when you need the information again later.

Travel Review Site Apps: Whether you’re headed to an old familiar place or a new destination, taking a few minutes to review the location, travel recommendations, and other details before you leave can make a world of difference. Thanks to apps like TripAdvisor and city specific apps by Fodor’s, you can read reviews, share reviews, and avoid potential issues before you ever leave.

City/Destination Specific Apps: Before a recent trip to Paris, I did a search in the app store on my iPad for “Paris + Travel.” I discovered dozens of free apps for speaking basic French (audio files included), sightseeing insights, how to do it on a small budget, hotel information, metro maps, and so much more. Search for the specific city, state, region, or country you are traveling to and see what destination specific apps you find.

Airline Apps: One of the quickest ways to connect with your airline or to find out if your flights are on time is through your airline’s travel app. I recommend you download the apps for every major airline you typically travel with so you always have them ready and accessible in a pinch.

Share them with us at [email protected], or on our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages.

HOW TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR WEBSITE

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Julie Perrine, CAP-OM, is the founder and CEO of All Things Admin, providing training, mentoring and resources for administrative professionals worldwide. Julie applies her administrative expertise and passion for lifelong learning to serving as an enthusiastic mentor, speaker and author who educates admins around the world on how to be more effective every day. Learn more about Julie’s books — The Innovative Admin: Unleash the Power of Innovation in Your Administrative Career and The Organized Admin: Leverage Your Unique Organizing Style to Create Systems, Reduce Overwhelm, and Increase Productivity, and Become a Procedures Pro: The Admin’s Guide to Developing Effective Office Systems and Procedures. And request your free copy of our special report “From Reactive to Proactive: Creating Your Strategic Administrative Career Plan” at www.AllThingsAdmin.com.

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williamcsanchez · 6 years ago

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Note From Julie: Are You Ready to Test Your New AI Assistant

The best way to get comfortable with a new tool is to use it. That’s why my team and I started using our first artificial intelligence (AI) assistant about a year ago. Her name is Olivia.

Our initial goal for Olivia was to provide better customer support for the AdminPro Training Series membership and answer website visitors’ questions. And she has certainly helped us accomplish that! Now that we’re comfortable with how Olivia works, we are looking at additional ways she can make us even more responsive and efficient.

While it might not be a widely adopted trend yet, I believe top-level assistants will all be using AI tools to accomplish various aspects of their work in the near future. So the best time to learn about these tools, and what they can do for you, is now!

Most AI tools offer a free demo or training videos that highlight their key features and functionality. Take advantage of them! Ask for a free trial and enlist the support of other admins you know or work with to learn what a particular tool can do.

A lot of admins are hesitant to implement AI in their offices. However, choosing the tools you want to use is much easier than having one forced on you. This week, we’re highlighting some of our favorite AI tools, and explaining how to find the ones that are right for you and your team. We’re also sharing some great content on our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages!

We’d love to hear what AI tools your organization uses, and how they’ve made your admin job easier? Send us your thoughts at [email protected]!

Supporting your administrative success, Julie Perrine

P.S. There’s just one week left to get the February AdminPro Training Series webinar. Click here to learn how to survive and thrive in the 21st century office!

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williamcsanchez · 6 years ago

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Artificial Intelligence Tools to Boost Your Efficiency

For the administrative professional, “efficient” is more than a buzzword that looks nice on a resume; it’s a way of life. It’s crucial that you are able to move from one task to the next as quickly as possible, while still maintaining the exemplary attention to detail that your executive expects from you.

At heart, efficiency is all about finding a simpler, easier way to do things without sacrificing quality. And with so many artificial intelligence (AI) tools at your disposal, it’s easier than ever – if you know how to leverage them for your specific job duties.

There are numerous ways admins can (and should) be using AI in their jobs, including:

Providing support when you’re away from your desk or the office. With a simple link in your email auto signature, you can encourage people to launch your AI assistant and ask their questions – whether you’re at your desk or not.

Create easy access to company policies and procedures. Many of the repetitive questions you’re asked over the course of a week are related to procedural things. You can upload documented procedures to your AI assistant so it can handle the repetitive routine requests – freeing you up to focus on more important tasks.

Reduction in interruptions. When your AI assistant becomes part of the team, colleagues know they can start there first. When implemented correctly, this helps reduce the number of interruptions you incur throughout out the day.

New hire onboarding. Have you ever started a new job and struggled to figure out the company acronyms? Or wondered how to submit your timesheet? An AI assistant can help new hires get up to speed and keep them connected to the company resources they need!

Announcements and company events. Everyone knows the annual appreciation event is set for June, but what’s this year’s theme? Can you bring a significant other? What’s the dress code? Programming your AI assistant with all of the details makes it more interactive and user friendly than having to click through multiple pages of the intranet site or reading a long email.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. As more AI tools are developed and get smarter with use, there will be dozens of ways these tools can be used to make you more efficient.

Which AI Assistant is Right for You?

There are lots of AI assistants on the market today, but not all of them are the same. These resources can help you “interview” several different assistants so you can find the one that’s right for you.

AI Assistants You May Have Heard Of:

Google Now

https://assistant.google.com/

https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/feature/google-android/use-google-assistant-3574727/

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/what-is-google-now/

Apple Siri

https://www.apple.com/siri/

https://www.imore.com/siri

Microsoft Cortana

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cortana

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cortana/gettingstarted?activetab=pivot1%3aprimaryr2

https://www.lifewire.com/microsoft-cortana-4147978

AI Assistants You Should Research:

Albert “learns” from a word doc that can be updated as needed. I used the Albert AI tool to create Olivia, the All Things Admin virtual assistant.

Albert Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSJwKUzVQgc

Here are some examples and links to templates for getting started: http://www.albertai.com/assistants.html

Jane.ai can connect within your online ecosystem, and serve as a virtual HR hub both internally and externally – answering questions such as, “Are you hiring?” or “How many vacation days do I have?”

Watch the demo video: https://jane.ai/

These “smart” scheduling assistants can make it simpler for you to manage your calendar and connect with the people who matter – without all the back and forth common with manual scheduling.

ClaraLabs.com

X.ai

Work Smarter, Not Harder

Artificial intelligence is here to stay, and The Innovative Admin needs to implement it in order to stay relevant in the 21st century. Technology exists to make you more efficient – are you ready to embrace it?

Is your company using AI assistants? Share your tools and resources with us at [email protected], or on our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages.

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williamcsanchez · 6 years ago

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An Admin’s Guide to Artificial Intelligence

These days, it sometimes feels like we’re living in a 1950’s sci-fi novel. We have virtual personal assistants living in our phones and on our desktops. They remember our favorite pizza toppings, can “sense” when we’ve run out of printer paper and automatically order more, and remind us that our executive’s birthday is just around the corner.

According to a 2016 HubSpot survey, only 37% of respondents claimed they were “very interested” in artificial intelligence (AI) tools. However, a bit more digging revealed that 63% of those surveyed were already using AI tools – without even realizing it.

It’s a brand new world out there, and some people are adapting to it more willingly than others. In the old science fiction novels, the fear was always “robots taking over the world.” In 2018, however, that fear has shifted to “robots taking over our jobs” – and it’s causing many admins to avoid AI technology completely, anxious that AI will render them obsolete.

Take a deep breath. AI won’t replace you if you’re adding value. In fact, utilizing the technology can actually make you more efficient and allow you to get your job done quicker, thus making you even more valuable to your executive and your organization.

AI Eliminates Mundane Tasks

How many times have you been called away from an important project to answer simple questions like, “What are your business hours?” or “How do I do X?”

If you’re like most busy admins, the answer is probably “Way too often.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if you had your own assistant – someone who could focus on the little things while you handle the stuff that really matters? AI has made that possible!

Take Albert, for example. The (literal) brainchild of noHold, he was designed to make your life easier by helping you to create your own virtual assistant who can handle repetitive, time-draining tasks in your stead.

Does your colleague have a quick question about an office procedure? Albert (or whatever you name your new assistant) can answer it for them. Is a client wondering about your pricing or hours of operation? They can get information just by asking – all without you having to stop what you’re doing.

At All Things Admin, our Albert-enabled virtual assistant is named Olivia. She handles your questions when we can’t, allowing you to have 24/7 access to the answers you need.

Automating part of your workload frees you up to spend your time doing the things that AI can’t – which means the most important tasks get the full benefit of your undivided attention.

Beyond Siri, Cortana, Alexa, and Albert

When most admins think AI, they think of virtual assistants. But there’s more to the technology than a cleverly-named, smooth-voiced robot at your beck and call.

Augmented writing tools like Textio can help you strengthen your business communications. AI-driven sales tools such as Clari help you manage risks, forecast revenue, and show you where you should focus your attention. Human resources solutions like Clara can pre-screen potential candidates and book interviews and meetings with very little effort on your end.

Just when you think there’s no end to what AI can do, something else new and fantastic comes out. Need to record a remote meeting and have the minutes automatically transcribed and sent to the attendees? No problem. Looking to analyze a legal contract? AI technology can do that for you, too.

AI Will Never Replace The Innovative Admin

There’s plenty of talk about AI replacing jobs – you may have heard experts say that it will render 16% of jobs obsolete by the end of the decade.

The Innovative Admin, however, has nothing to fear. AI is reactive. The Innovative Admin is proactive. Proactive assistants always have the advantage.

Consistently develop your skills – especially strategic thinking, problem solving, and collaboration. Go above and beyond for your company. Embrace AI and all that it can offer, rather than shunning it out of stubbornness or anxiety. Learn all you can about new technology. When you set yourself up to remain relevant in the 21st century office, AI will not be able to replace you!

How are you using AI in your admin career? Share your stories with us on our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages., or email us at [email protected]!

HOW TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR WEBSITE

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williamcsanchez · 6 years ago

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An Admin’s Guide to Inbox Zero

How many emails do you have in your inbox right now? 20? 50? More than 100? If your number is anything more than zero, I have some tips for you!

For most admins, email is a major pain point. In the time it takes you to read one email, three more pop up. Add that to all your other administrative duties, and the thought of a clean inbox seems almost laughable. But these simple strategies can make inbox zero a reality!

Change Your Mindset

Think of your inbox as a processing facility rather than a warehouse. The “package” (the email, in this case) is sent to the “facility” (your inbox) to be dealt with, not stored indefinitely.

If it’s possible to act on an email immediately, do it. Do you have a calendar invite for a meeting? Click “accept” to automatically move it to your calendar. You’ll still be able to view the email in its entirety on your calendar, but it’ll no longer waste precious space in your inbox.

Did the invitation come in message format? No problem! Utilize the “move” feature to convert it to an appointment.

Tasks work the same way. Did you just get an email from your executive asking you to submit the budget report next Tuesday? Move it to a task. This gets the email out of your inbox, while attaching the message to your master to-do list.

Pro Tip: When you drag (instead of move) a task in Microsoft Outlook, the original message is copied to your task list, but not included as an attachment. If you need to follow up on a task via email, it’s better to move rather than drag.

Move Emails to a Shared Network Folder

At most companies, storage space is a precious commodity. Some cap the amount of messages you can have in your inbox; others ask you to police yourself, which can work to your own detriment when you’re facing an overflowing inbox and the frustration that comes along with it.

Instead of leaving those messages in your inbox, save space (and sanity) by moving them to a shared network folder with the rest of your project files. Outlook uses an .msg extension to convert emails to documents that you can open just like you would any other file. The information in the message is saved — and so is the email storage space!

Set the “Rules” as You Go

You likely get email each day that’s important to you, but not critical to your job — newsletters, advertising circulars, LinkedIn updates, etc. Rules allow you to automate the sorting process, regulating this type of communication to a separate folder that you specify. It’s still there when you want it, but it’s not popping up in your inbox, hogging space, and distracting you from other tasks.

Start Fresh

Knowing how to process the email as you go is all well and good, but what should you do with the messages that are already in your inbox? Just the thought of sorting through that mess can sap your energy. How will you ever get it all sorted?

The answer? Start with a clean slate!

Move all the email in your inbox to a new folder named “old inbox.” Take a moment to breathe a sigh of relief — doesn’t a clean inbox feel great? Just emptying your inbox can give you a new perspective, and help you feel more motivated to keep it empty moving forward.

Unfortunately, your work isn’t done yet. Those old emails may be out of your inbox, but you still need to deal with them.

Sort your emails by name and start deleting chunks of non-important clutter. Clearing entire blocks of email with one click can be cathartic!

Now, sort your archived messages by date. Is there anything important in there that you need to deal with immediately? Convert it to a task or a calendar appointment. Go back about a month — more if you have time, but 30 days is usually all that’s needed to weed out the crucial missives. And since you didn’t delete anything, you can refer back to the folder if need be.

Focus on the Future

Once you achieve inbox zero, you need to have a plan to keep it that way! It’s all too easy to slip back into bad habits — I know this from personal experience!

Vow to never end the day with an email in your inbox. This doesn’t mean that you’ve dealt with each and every email — for an admin, that’s a nearly impossible feat. Instead, it means that you have efficiently and effectively processed the messages and staged them in your task list for what needs to happen next.

Create good habits for the future. Unsubscribe from (or create rules for) all those newsletters, advertisements, and promotional emails. Shut off all unnecessary social media notifications. Do everything you can to avoid more junk piling up in your newly emptied inbox.

When you slip up — and you will probably slip up a time or two before your new email management strategy becomes habit — be kind to yourself. It’s just as easy to get back on track as it was to get off, and feeling defeated won’t help the situation. Instead, try to identify your triggers. What happened and why? Were you dealing with a nearly impossible workload? Were you overwhelmed with email after returning from vacation? Did your personal life interfere with your ability to keep up with your inbox?

When you identify the triggers that cause email disorganization, it’s easier for you to plan for them in the future.

Creating a successful email management system puts you in control of your inbox, rather than the other way around. It makes you more productive and effective as an admin.

Action items and calendar appointments no longer slip through the cracks. And you feel the relief every time you see your empty inbox. The habit of inbox zero may not happen overnight, but the time and discipline you put in to developing this habit is more than worth it!

How do you manage your email? Share your story with us at [email protected]!

Want step-by-step, guided instructions on how to implement these tips? This training on demand webinar will show you how: Maximize Your Productivity by Mastering Workflow with Microsoft Outlook.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, ezine or website? You can — just as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

from All Things Admin http://bit.ly/2FUt8oV

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williamcsanchez · 7 years ago

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Note From Julie: Reasons You Will Love Small Admin Conferences

Not all training conferences are created equal. So it’s important to identify your specific training need, and do your research before making your selection and investing money to attend.

Last week, I highlighted several of the larger conferences I have experience with and can comfortably recommend to assistants looking for that type of training opportunity. This week, I’m sharing my picks for the smaller, more intimate conference training options for assistants.

Big admin conferences often get all the attention. But small and mid-size admin conferences offer a lot of perks you can’t always get at the big name events – from better networking opportunities to more personalized attention and one on one interaction with speakers and attendees alike. This week, we’re highlighting some of our favorites on our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages, as well as in our feature article. There’s still plenty of time to add these events on your 2019 calendar!

Have you attended a great admin conference? We’d love to hear about it! Email us at [email protected] and tell us why you think it belongs on our next list of exciting events.

Supporting your administrative success,

Julie Perrine

P.S. Have you ever missed an important career opportunity because you weren’t adequately prepared? Has a workplace re-organization, merger, or acquisition ever impacted your job? If the rug were ripped out from under you today, could you immediately activate your network and begin submitting resumes for new jobs? It’s time to make career organization a priority. This webinar will help you start 2019 off on the right foot!

from All Things Admin http://bit.ly/2EI4NTG

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