From the Desk of Janet Barclay

In June, this blog was mainly devoted to sharing the interesting results of my recent online marketing and networking survey. If you operate an online business or use the Internet to promote your products or services, be sure to check them out!

Last month I also became a monthly contributor to the new Canadian Virtual Assistant Blog where I posted one of my "oldies but goodies" on Working Remotely.

Elsewhere, I’ve blogged about the following topics:

OnlineOrganizing.com - Technology as an Organizing Tool:

• Logging Your Mileage
• "Upcoming" Events
• Another Tool for Finding and Promoting Events Online
• Summertime, and the living is easy…

Introvert Retreat:

• Social Networking: Introversion vs. Extraversion
• Marketing Tips for the Introvert
• Interesting Facts About Introverts

I’ve also posted a new article, Market Your Own Business, and a book review of Time Management for Unmanageable People at OrganizedArticles.com.

Happy Reading!

As part of my series looking at how various home-based professionals structure their time, I asked Jacqui D. Barrett of Career Trend to describe her typical workday. Here’s what she told me:

I generally schedule client interviews in the mornings between 7 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. (these are my 1-hour deep consultations that complement the career branding intake worksheet to capture the essence of my client’s voice and clarify worksheet assertions).  I’ve found that clients (and I) are more articulate and focused on such a targeted, critical conversation early in the day (thus, netting more quality-focused results). 

The balance of the morning generally is spent managing email correspondence, scheduling or placing sales calls / consultations, scheduling and assigning projects with partner writers and performing other time-sensitive communications. Afternoons often are reserved for writing and editing and occasional sales consultations, and many evenings are absorbed conducting resume reviews for partner affiliates and performing other marketing-related initiatives.

This ‘typical workday’ clearly is a ‘rule of thumb,’ but truly does reflect my work-style preference. On days where more intense writing/thinking is required – true ‘manual labor of the mind,’ if you will — I will carve out time in the early morning.

It is clear to see that Jacqui is well in tune with what works best for her and has learned to schedule her work around her energy cycles whenever possible. One of the great things about working from home is having the flexibility to do this. If you’re not, you owe it to yourself to take some time to explore the best time for you to engage in various types of activities, so you don’t miss out on your peak productive times.

*This post was featured in the Virtual Assistant/Home Business Blog Carnival #5

April was a pretty busy month, between wrapping up the GHVA website and preparing for my teleseminars, not to mention my regular client work! However, I’ve still managed to post to my other blogs:

OnlineOrganizing.com - Technology as an Organizing Tool:

• Organize Your Email - Part 3
• Google Docs
• RSS Really Is Simple
• Your Very Own Personal Assistant
  

Introvert Retreat:

• Ponderings of an Introvert
• Tips from a Professional Networker
• Virtual Assistance and Introversion
• Let ‘em come to you!

I’ve also written a new article on Going Green in the Office, which you can read over at OrganizedArticles.com.

Enjoy!

I haven’t made an official announcement here on my blog, but over the last few months my husband Scott has been working with me at Organized Assistant. It’s a perfect fit for him, since he has Microsoft Office Specialist certification in five programs and is naturally organized.

Most people, when I tell them the news, think it’s a wonderful set-up, but others express concern, saying that they could never work with their spouses. The thing is, Scott and I actually met in the workplace and worked together at another organization for several years, so we’re well aware of the potential problems – and the benefits.

We’re not prone to arguing, which seems to be what most people are worried about. Maybe because we’re so close, we’re more apt to say what’s on our minds if we’re annoyed or upset about something than we would with others. Then it’s out in the open and we can move on, instead of keeping negative feelings bottled up inside, leading to more serious problems. One of the things I really like about working with Scott is that we know about and are interested in each others’ work, so we don’t have to be polite and pretend we can relate to certain issues that we really don’t understand.

I’ve done a little research on the subject, and it seems that the majority of experts agree that any potential drawbacks are outweighed by the advantages. For example, in her article Marriage Advice From Couples Who Work Together, Beth Levine talks about being able to spend more time together, sharing a passion, and being aware of each others’ strengths and weaknesses. In The Rules of Engagement, Fast Company’s Linda Tischler credits a woman who works with her spouse with saying "Knowing your best interest is in the forefront of every decision being made without you is really comforting." And in Working couples in small business, Philip M. van Auken indicates that working together may enhance a couple’s sense of intimacy. I’m not disputing that there are challenges, and each of the articles mentioned suggests strategies to deal with those.

Knowing that we are not alone in this, I set up a Facebook group for Couples Who Work Together and was amazed to discover that nearly 10% of the people in my existing network work with their spouse, girlfriend, or boyfriend, in either a traditional workplace or home-based business. If you’re in this situation, I hope you’ll join the group – we would love to hear about your experiences! Of course, you are always welcome to post your comments here on the blog.

I have another exciting announcement – the second one this week!

I’ve been invited by the President of the Association of Online Resume & Career Professionals (AORCP) to conduct a series of teleseminars for their members, who are primarily career coaches and resume writers who market their business and/or provide their services through website technology. As I’ve been contacted a number of times about people outside my local area who were unable to attend my live workshops, I’m especially pleased that the sessions are open to non-members.  (If you’re one of them, here’s your big chance!

The topics are as follows:

• Organizing Your Home Office – Thursday, April 3, 2008
• The Four Steps to Organization – Thursday, April 17, 2008
• Organizing and Your Computer – Thursday, May 1, 2008
• Maximizing Your Time with a Virtual Assistant – Thursday, May 15, 2008
• Organizing Your Life, Your Way – Thursday, May 29, 2008
• Paper Management – Thursday, June 12, 2008

Click for further details and registration information

I’m looking forward to this opportunity to connect with some of my blog readers!