CSE Newsletter: March 31, 2008 - Are You Just Busy?

Called To Assist I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone. [Numbers 11:17, NIV] Feel free to pass this ezine on to your friends and colleagues... << Subscribe to this Ezine >>     << View Previous Issue >>

NOTE FROM TAMALA

Hey there! I intended to send this to you yesterday, but my website hosting company shut down for a big move and we were out of commission for 48 hours. I thought I was going to go bonkers without my email! As I sit down at my computer to write, it is about 12:30 a.m. and I've just gotten home from my "other job" (it's conference time), but writing for you is like therapy for me (smile... sleepy smile). **What I Hate About Exercise** I have started (again) watching what I eat and exercising. For sure I'm not gonna want to wake up in the morning and hit the treadmill. I just downloaded season one of Samantha Who? to my iPod so maybe that will help motivate me. I hate that it takes so long to build up your endurance when exercising and one week of lounging around seems to take you back to ground zero (grimace)! Don't you? **Are You Just Busy?** With all of the tasks that you have to complete each day ask yourself if you are really being efficient or just busy. There is a difference. Check out the feature article below and see where you stand. Honored to Serve You, Tamala M. Huntley, Executive Assistant Author of Basic Training Module 101: Effectively Managing Multiple Projects... A Super Easy Guide to Getting Organized, Reducing Office Clutter, & Producing More With Less Stress

FEATURE ARTICLE

Are You Just Busy? by Tamala Huntley There are days when I go home thinking, what did I accomplish today? This person came in asking for this and that person called wanting me to drop everything and help them do something else.By the end of the day, my to-do list is longer than it was when I started!Does this sound familiar? I have a theory. Most of the time, we are just being busy... we are not accomplishing the really big things that we set out to do at the start of our day. This happens for many reasons. It's so easy to get distracted. And what happens is that we end up missing deadlines or feeling overwhelming pressure to finish something at the last minute. I have a vaccine for the busy-but-not-productive bug... Single Handle Every Task This means that when you are working on updating the membership database, don't get distracted by incoming email, phone calls, or chatty co-workers. I recently read that when you concentrate on one task, single-mindedly, without distraction, you can get the job done 50% faster! And that starting and stopping a task can increase the time it takes you to finish it by 500%. Enough said. Avoidance Doesn't Pay Off Avoiding big or what we may consider hard tasks doesn't make them go away. I actually think it makes it harder for you to concentrate on what you are doing in its place. Instead of being able to focus your attention completely on the substitute task, you keep thinking about what you have to do to finish the "big one" and your productivity actually decreases. On the flip side, starting and finishing the big task will psychologically strengthen your resolve to get tackle the rest of your tasks. Move Past Your Mistakes When you make a mistake... and we all do... don't beat yourself up about it. Accept responsibility for the outcome. Figure out what went wrong. Create a system to make sure it doesn't happen again. It's that simple. Don't be fooled by busyness. It is not the same as being productive. If you have the same tasks on your to-do list for weeks at a time and it's not because of someone else, you are too busy and can probably use a boost of productivity.

ABOUT TAMALA

Tamala M. Huntley, "The Church Secretary Coach," is the author of the revolutionary book, Effectively Managing Multiple Projects... A Super Easy Guide to Getting Organized, Reducing Office Clutter and Producing More With Less Stress. If you liked today's ezine, you'll ABSOLUTELY LOVE this simple, easy-to-read book. If you implement the principles you learn, you are guraranteed to see a turnaround in your life and work in just 1 week. It is the most practical and enjoyable guide to being an effective church secretary, executive assistant or administrative assistant available and QUICKLY produces TANGIBLE RESULTS. Browse the Table of Contents and read an excerpt now at www.ChurchSecretaryEssentials.com

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

The DYMO LetraTag Plus LT-100T is the compact label maker that is ideal for the home or small office. The computer keyboard design is easy-to-use with navigation buttons that allow for quick access to advanced features like multiple font styles, text sizing, date stamping and more. Its unique graphical display allows you to see bold, italic, underlined and other text effects on screen before you print. It prints on a variety of labels with different applications, such as paper and plastic labels for organizing, iron-on labels for clothing and magnetic labels for file cabinets and whiteboards. Get your Dymo label maker at www.dymo.com The CSE Basic Forms Pak: Have you ever gotten overwhelmed with the volume of tasks that you have to complete for your church on a daily basis? Have you ever gotten "chewed out" because you forgot to do something important? Well, here is an easy solution to your dilemma. The Basic Forms Pak will help you plan your events, prepare for guests that come to your church, ensure that your Pastor is taken care of when he or she travels and more! The forms are simple... this is not rocket-science. You won't be wracking your brain trying to figure out how to use them. Includes event planning toolkit, sample guest information form, sample travel agreement and bonus 25 sample ministry letters.  more info...>>

**CSE Newsletter: Feb. 08 - Nobody's Gonna Do It For You**

- FEATURE ARTICLE: Nobody's Gonna Do It For You << Subscribe to this Ezine >> << View Previous Issue >>	Called To Assist I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone. [Numbers 11:17, NIV]
SPECIAL NOTE FROM TAMALA
Hey there! I can't believe we are already into February!!! Time seems to go so fast it's crazy. I hope you had great holidays and all that jazz. With the new year comes new W-O-R-K... but, it's all good because you can handle it. If you're overwhelmed and haven't gotten organized yet for the new year, you should check out some of my previous blog posts and the Articles Archive. **Hanging Out With The Children** I'm going on a retreat with our church teenagers this weekend. So pray for me (smile)! This is our second year and the kids have been extremely blessed by it... to the amazement of even their parents! **Nobody's Gonna Do It For You** When it comes to having drive and tenacity in getting things done, some things can't be taught and nobody will do it for you. Check out the feature article below and learn what you can do to accomplish more without boundaries. Honored to Serve You, Tamala M. Huntley, Executive Assistant Author of Effectively Managing Multiple Projects... A Super Easy Guide to Getting Organized, Reducing Office Clutter, & Producing More With Less Stress
ABOUT TAMALA
Tamala M. Huntley, "The Church Secretary Coach," the author of the revolutionary book, Effectively Managing Multiple Projects... A Super Easy Guide to Getting Organized, Reducing Office Clutter and Producing More With Less Stress. If you liked today's ezine, you'll ABSOLUTELY LOVE this simple, easy-to-read book. If you implement the principles you learn, you are guraranteed to see a turnaround in your life and work in just 1 week. It is the most practical and enjoyable guide to being an effective church secretary, executive assistant or administrative assistant available and QUICKLY produces TANGIBLE RESULTS. Browse the Table of Contents now at www.ChurchSecretaryEssentials.com
FEATURE ARTICLE
Nobody's Gonna Do It For You by Tamala Huntley In today's society, it's often hard to find people with what I call the "get-up-and-get-it-ness" factor. Think about all of the people you deal with on a daily basis and count how many of them actually follow through on what they tell you, complete projects entirely, or even just make effort to do things with attention to detail and excellence. You can probably count them on one hand! When it comes to your work, you can't be one of these people. Nobody is going to do your work for you. If you don't take the time to take a class, read a book, watch a video... get the training you need to become better, I repeat... nobody is gonna do it for you. I'm not saying this to imply that you don't do a good job. Not at all. I am saying that it's going to take a concerted effort on your part to make things happen. Your office will not organize itself. Your Inbox won't empty itself. Your Pastor is counting on you to have the "get-up-and-get-it-ness" factor. As much as I wish I didn't have to return phone calls... I'm a secretary who hates telephones (smile)... but as much as I wish I didn't have to return phone calls, I have to push myself to do it. I have to push myself to file... by the way, I hate filing too (big grin)... I breeze through the things I like, but I have to push myself through the things that I don't because I know that nobody is gonna do them for me. How do I do it? I focus on the fact that doing my part, with excellence, helps my (boss)Pastor do what she needs to do. Simple as that. If there is something that I don't know how to do, I find a book, I search the Internet, I do what it takes to get better understanding. And nobody has to make me do it. I understand that I have to care enough to make it happen. Even when I'm tired, have worked all day, have solved everybody else's problems and don't want to be bothered, I make a point to read at least 2 chapters in a book or watch a video online. Let me be your encourager. Let me push you. Don't just say, I'm not good with computers and leave it at that. Don't just say, I hate reading. Don't just say I can't write well. In part, that is why I'm here... to provide the push you need to take yourself to the next level, but don't just settle for the status quo. The "get-up-and-get-it-ness" factor... develop it, cultivate it, nurture it. You'll see your career and your life expand like never before if you do.

**CSE Newsletter: Nov. 07** - 7 Myths About Organizing for Church Secretaries

- WORDS TO INSPIRE: Change How You See You - FEATURE ARTICLE: Top 7 Myths About Being Organized - RECOMMENDED RESOURCES	Called To Assist I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone. [Numbers 11:17, NIV] << Subscribe to this Ezine >> << View September 2007 Issue >>
SPECIAL NOTE FROM TAMALA
Hi! Whew! Last month was a BEAST! We had one of our biggest conferences of the year for church pastors and their leaders. It was great, but boy was it a lot of work! I taught a workshop, along with our Bishop's executive secretary, that was just for The Pastor's Secretary. Check out my portion of the powerpoint presentation: The Pastor's Secretary Presentation **New Newsletter Format** I've shortened the newsletter because I know how busy you are. The newsletter is not effective if you don't read it. So I wanted to provide only the most important information so that you don't have to wade through so much extra.I will add the other stuff to the blog periodically, like the questions you send me (I get tons of them), and quick tips. So check the blog...I'm gonna make a very big effort to update it more often (smile). Click here to go to the CSE Blog **Happy Thanksgiving!** I trust you will have an awesome Thanksgiving... there is sooo much to be thankful for! Take some time to slow down and enjoy your family and the blessings you have.Honored to Serve You, Tamala M. Huntley, Executive Assistant Author of Effectively Managing Multiple Projects... A Super Easy Guide to Getting Organized, Reducing Office Clutter, & Producing More With Less Stress
WORDS TO INSPIRE
Numbers 13:30-33 [AMP] - "Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it; we are well able to conquer it. But his fellow scouts said, We are not able to go up against the people [of Canaan], for they are stronger than we are. So they brought the Israelites an evil report of the land which they had scouted out, saying, The land through which we went to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the Nephilim [or giants], the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." Having the right perspective is vitally important if we are going to be successful, not just in our careers, but in our very lives. When the 10 spies searched out the Promised Land, the perspective of 8 of them was so negative, it kept them from receiving something God had ALREADY promised them. Check your perspective. Are you overly sensitive to your pastor's comments? Do you feel like everybody is out to get you and nobody likes you? Do you even think more highly of yourself than you should? Are you dreading a project because you think there is no way you have the skills to get it done? Change your perspective. See yourself, your work, your ability as God sees you. See yourself as competent and more than able to handle the assignment that has been given to you. Ask God for wisdom and watch how quickly things change.
FEATURE ARTICLE
Dispelling the Top 7 Myths About Being Organized There are lots of myths going around when it comes to getting and staying organized. Here are the top 7, along with the truths. MYTH NUMBER 1: BEING ORGANIZED MEANS BEING NEAT.While you can certainly be neat AND be organized, the two terms should never be confused with each other. While you might have NEAT piles, or NEAT boxes piled one on top of the other, or objects lined up NEATLY in a straight line, you may still not be able to find a single thing when you need it. Being organized means you're using a structured system that allows you to find everything you need when you need it, and you get everything done when it's due--without frustration, chaos or stress. MYTH NUMBER 2: TO BE ORGANIZED IS TO BE CLEAN.Once again, while you can be BOTH organized AND clean, those terms should not be confused. Cleaning means that you're removing dirt, grime and otherwise preparing a sanitary surface. But, you can have the cleanest home or office on the block, and still be disorganized. MYTH NUMBER 3: TO BE ORGANIZED MEANS TO SCHEDULE EVERY MINUTE OF YOUR DAY.While scheduling appointments, projects you need to complete, chores, etc. is highly recommended, you certainly do not have to schedule 'every moment' of your day to be organized. 'Scheduling is the fine art of packing every day JUST FULL ENOUGH of the most useful activities.' Never overload it. Your schedule should always allow you time for spontaneity. MYTH NUMBER 4: ONLY CERTAIN TYPES OF PEOPLE CAN BE ORGANIZED.While there are a very small percentage of people who 'don't have the ability' to be organized, such as someone with a serious illness, most people CAN be organized. Being disorganized is not a disease, it is a decision. If you truly want to be organized, there are proven systems to help you. Once you know these systems and apply them every day of your life, you will be organized. MYTH NUMBER 5: BEING ORGANIZED TAKES LOTS OF TIME AND EFFORT.The truth is, it takes a lot less time and effort to be organized, than it does to be disorganized. Disorganization takes more time than you can imagine, and ensures that huge obstacles are always directly in the path of 'getting things done.' Getting and staying organized is not rocket-science. The systems and ideas, once learned, applied and practiced, can become as simple as brushing your teeth or combing your hair. MYTH NUMBER 6: EVERYONE I KNOW IS ORGANIZED, EXCEPT ME.Beware of this myth. Being organized is both an outer and inner trait. Unless you really know a person well, you really can't come to this conclusion. For example, someone may have a very neat home, but she is never on time. Another person may have an organized home, but his office filing system is out of control. Yet another person may have an organized home and office, but never reaches any of her goals. You are not alone. There are many, many people in the world who need help getting organized in certain areas of their lives--even if it doesn't seem so on the surface. MYTH NUMBER 7: ORGANIZED PEOPLE HAVE NO FUN.On the contrary, the people who are organized are getting the very best out of life. They are getting things done. They're achieving their goals. They're not wasting time searching for lost items, or re-doing things, or missing appointments. They're finding the time they need to do the things they love, and to spend time with the people they care about. by Maria Gracia - Get Organized Now!™Want to get organized? Get your FREE Get Organized Now!™ Idea-Pak, filled with tips and ideas to help you organize your home, your office and your life, at the Get Organized Now!™ Website http://www.getorganizednow.com
ABOUT TAMALA
Tamala M. Huntley, "The Church Secretary Coach," the author of the revolutionary book, Effectively Managing Multiple Projects... A Super Easy Guide to Getting Organized, Reducing Office Clutter and Producing More With Less Stress. If you liked today's ezine, you'll ABSOLUTELY LOVE this simple, easy-to-read e-book. If you implement the principles you learn, you are guraranteed to see a turnaround in your life and work in just 1 week. It is the most practical and enjoyable guide to being an effective church secretary, executive assistant or administrative assistant available and QUICKLY produces TANGIBLE RESULTS. Browse the Table of Contents now at www.ChurchSecretaryEssentials.com
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
The DYMO LetraTag Plus LT-100T is the compact label maker that is ideal for the home or small office. The computer keyboard design is easy-to-use with navigation buttons that allow for quick access to advanced features like multiple font styles, text sizing, date stamping and more. Its unique graphical display allows you to see bold, italic, underlined and other text effects on screen before you print. It prints on a variety of labels with different applications, such as paper and plastic labels for organizing, iron-on labels for clothing and magnetic labels for file cabinets and whiteboards. Get your Dymo label maker at www.dymo.com