Virtual Moxie - The Cure For The Common Virtual Assistance Practice

Moxie Tip 180: The Best Email Productivity Tip, EVER!

Don't file your email in folders--it's a huge waste of time. Just archive it, then search when you need to find something.

I've been doing this for years--but now, Baydin, the fine folks who created Boomerang for Gmail and Outlook, have a free Revive Your Inbox e-course that teaches this, and so much more about how to really get a grip on being productive with your email. If you struggle with it at all--this is the course you want to take.

Moxie Tip 179: One Step at a Time

You *can* have the practice you dream of. Just start moving in the direction you want to go, today, one step at a time.

Moxie Tip 178: Change What Needs Changing

Do the best you can with what you have. And whatever you absolutely don’t like—change it.

Hello, Voice... I Recognize You!

At the end of last week, D and I were watching TV and during a commercial break, I went to my office to get my iPad. As I picked it up, I noticed a running water noise. Stepping back out into our hallway, it only took a second to realize it was coming from our Master bath and, having taken two steps into our bedroom and encountering soggy carpet, another nanosecond to realize something was seriously amiss.

Turns out that the toilet had spontaneously cracked, flooding the bathroom, the walk-in closet, and part of our bedroom. Ick. Upside? Clean water. :)

Fortunately, we have good people to take care of such things, and although we quickly had to move some furniture and clear out luggage and such from the closet, in short order, people arrived and the situation was handled. Yay!

In the shuffle, we found two bags of stuff (pictures, things my parents had saved, etc.) from the early days of my parent’s relationship, and my childhood. One of them I’m sharing with you today.

One of the ways I was punished when I was young was by being given “essays” to write. Let me introduce you to the 11 year old me, though my essay on temper:

Temper
by Me

Sometimes, something wells up inside of me, something that I have no control over. It usually happens when I get frustrated or angry, or someone says something that makes me feel bad. At times like these I wish I could yell, “Get away from me!” and have everyone do it.

This thing is temper and it works in strange ways. Sometimes it doesn’t affect us at all but sometimes it slips out when you don’t want it to. Usually you can hold it in and let it out in tears while you’re in the bathtub, on the toilet or in bed. Personally, in bed is better because you can stick your nose into the pillow and cry peacefully, usually without anyone hearing you.

But during the times when you get so angry you want to hurt the other person, don’t. Try telling them calmly what’s wrong, but if that doesn’t work, go to the nearest bathtub, toilet, or bed, do not collect 200 dollars and do not pass go until you have cried it out of your system. And while you’re at it, think about why you got so angry in the first place. I bet you can’t even remember your motive. But if you can, then examine your motive bit by bit and you’ll find out 9 times out of 10, that your anger could have been avoided.

If the person happens to be your mother, watch out! If you receive a punishment, don’t try to reason with her for it just seems to perturb her more than ever. Just go to your bedroom and do your punishment. Then try and explain to her what happened. Chances are she will be as muddled as you are.

Seriously, though, temper is a terrible thing. It just gets you both mad at each other. So take my advice and avoid it as much as possible. If you have had a bad day, don’t take it out on other people. Do what is suggested above and keep peace in your house!

Clearly, this was a big hit with my folks. Nearly 40 years later, I snorted when I read the “keep peace in your house” line, so I understand why it would have been.

I read it to a friend who commented, “I could absolutely imagine your writing something like that for Moxie—your voice is still the same!”

Which brings me to my point—not about temper, or how to diffuse it (although I might suggest holding on to this post and reading it when you do get angry, as it’s sure to make you giggle which could be helpful in the moment--whether or not you’re near a bathtub, toilet or bed!), but about being who you are and using the voice you’ve had all along.

You’ve been you for however many years you’ve been on this planet. And who you are—the core of that—was formed pretty early. What you like, what you don’t, your style, what emboldens you, what infuriates you all can change with life experiences, but who you are really doesn’t.

And that core has a voice that is critical to your being. No big surprise there.

What might surprise you, though, is exactly what surprised me—that I’ve used that voice for most of my life. What a glorious discovery, this!!

It’s true that I’ve never struggled to find my voice. And I realize that’s not true for some people—maybe you’re one of them. If you struggle, how cool would it be to find that the voice you’re meant to use is the voice you used as a child? Ask your mom or a close relative if you’re not sure what that sounded like. Maybe the discovery for you will be as magical as mine was for me. ♥

Whatever that voice is… that’s the voice you need to infuse your work with. It’s the voice of the person you were before you started getting messages that you’re not enough, or that you can’t do this or that. And it’s critical to reclaim it because it’s yours. You need it. We need it. You can’t genuinely serve others with a voice that’s not your own. or with words that belong to others (even those from a different “version” of yourself).

What does your voice sound like, and what does it most want to say?

Moxie Tip 177: Stick With What Works

When you find a system that works well for you, stop looking for something better. It's a waste of time and energy and a distraction from your work <= http://bit.ly/2k6CY5

Moxie Tip 176: Be You; Do You

Be yourself. Speak for yourself. Do you. Everyone else is already taken.

Survey Results!

I'm beyond grateful to all of you who took time out of your days to weigh in on the survey about the frequency of the Moxie Tips. Thank you. ♥

It's clear (67% to 37%) that you love getting the tips four times each week, and one longer Moxie post--just the way I've been serving it up. So that's what I'll continue to do! For those of you who wanted fewer tips, I hope this decision won't be a huge disappointment!

Thank you, too, for all the super-great comments--it's immensely heart-warming to get your feedback and to hear that the daily tips make a difference for you! Your suggestions for what you'd like to see me write about were wonderful--and I've put all of it in the hopper and will use it to spark some future posts.

Please know that you can write to me anytime with questions or comments, or you can simply leave me comments here on the blog. I promise I'm listening.... :)

Moxie Tip 175: Use Your Words

When you first start out, it's helpful to model the language used by industry leaders or other VAs you admire. But if you’ve been in biz for more than a year, you need to find your own voice.

Talk about what you do & offer in your OWN way; don't copy. You may think to yourself, "I can't say it better than this VA or that VA does," but you can. If you want to attract clients to yourself, you can't do that with other people's words.