How to fix your 'sitting' problem

While there are many advantages to working as an Executive Assistant, one of the disadvantages is that it's a job where sitting typically makes up much of your day. Sitting for sustained periods of time has been linked to many health complications, including obesity, cardiovascular problems and even cancer, according to Mayo Clinic. But being in an office doesn't necessitate you sitting. Standing desks or Swiss balls are options that can mitigate - or even eliminate - the negative effects of sitting.

Swiss balls are great options for those that still need to sit, but don't want to be stuck in a chair. They can be great for tuning up your posture, as you can't sit comfortably on one if you're slouched. But remember, regardless of your seating, it's still possible to sit sloppily, so make sure you're not lapsing into bad postural habits.

It'll strengthen your core too, as you'll be constantly making micro adjustments to keep your balance. It's recommended that you start slow and integrate ball and chair sitting until you're strong enough to change to just a ball - it can be hard work!

If your office can accommodate it, a standing desk is another option that can minimise your sitting time during the day. The best kinds are transformable from seating to standing mode, meaning anytime you need a break, you can lower the desk without having to move or rearrange all your stuff.

Making these small changes can make a big difference towards your health. The BBC reported that the amount of physical activity you engage in changes how your body processes glucose - the less movement, the less efficiently this process runs. They ran an experiment and asked people that normally sit during the day to stand for large parts of it. They found that their blood glucose levels returned to normal after eating far quicker when participants were standing compared with sitting.

Thinking of refreshing your task management system?

Executive Assistants are always juggling the innumerable tasks they have to do. Making phone calls, setting appointments, scheduling events - sometimes the tasks can seem endless. Staying on top of everything is key.

Most EAs will have a system for managing this tremendous variety of work. But for those that don't - or those that are after a change - consider using some of these services to help make your day a little more organised.

1. Google Keep

Keep is Google's answer to the litany of note taking and task management apps available today. Functioning as a kind of digital post-it note service, Keep allows you to take voice, written and image notes, and organise them on a virtual desktop. You can set notifications for individual notepads, which is helpful to remind you when you need to give a certain task your attention. It has various options for labelling and colour coding, so it's easy to keep track of different kinds of tasks too.

2. Todoist

Todoist has all the features you would expect from a modern task management system, but it's especially interesting because of its ability for collaboration. Your entire office can be connected on the platform, with all of their files, tasks and discussions held within the one app. When you add a task, you can assign a team member to do it, set the due date, and see the progress everyone is making in the activity stream.

Another benefit is that it's available on almost every platform, from web-browsers to PC and mobile operating systems.

3. Wunderlist

Wunderlist makes setting tasks easy. You can group all related tasks in folders, use hashtags to give more information and, if you're that way inclined, print your task lists with one click.

A special feature of Wunderlist is that it has an app for the Apple Watch. This will allow you to check on your lists and productivity even when you're away from your desk or phone.

Does your office have too much overtime?

Depending on your business environment, overtime may or may not be a big part of your office culture. If you're the kind of Executive Assistant that manages your Executive's support team, what can you do to minimise overtime and keep your co-workers happy?

1. Ensure good systems

Making sure your office processes run cleanly is vitally important for making sure that overtime is minimised. Inefficiencies in processes create extra worker hours that don't need to exist. Most employees can understand when a time-sensitive project requires staying late, but having to work overtime just because your processes are ineffective is less likely to be well accepted.

2. Make sure everyone knows what their responsibilities are

A big time waster at the office is when two people are doing the same job, unnecessarily. Making the responsibility for each task known to everyone will help avoid those late nights because it will mean each person can focus entirely on what they need to do.

The importance of seeking negative feedback

The entrepreneur and business magnate Elon Musk once gave the following advice in an interview with Foundation 20:

"I think it is very important to actively seek out and listen very carefully to negative feedback. This is something people typically tend to avoid because it's painful. But I think this is a very common mistake - to not actively seek out and listen to negative feedback."

Seeking negative feedback from your Executive is one of the best things you can do to improve as an EA. While yours is a professional relationship, it's likely you are on friendly terms with your Executive, and in some cases, this may temper the amount of criticism they are willing to give you.

While you don't always want to be seen in a negative light, the harsh truth is that the only way to improve as an EA is to know what your weaknesses are. Unfortunately, this can involve hearing things you might not want to hear.

One of the best ways to do this is to have monthly review sessions where you and your Executive can sit down and talk about any issues you are having. The advantage of soliciting negative feedback in a formal, organised meeting is that it allows you to keep the negativity contained to that meeting. If you can go in knowing you might hear things that will hurt, you can be better prepared to deal with the harsh truths that are coming. Doing it this way is preferable to having random, unexpected bouts of negative feedback that are more difficult to swallow.

Reducing digital eyestrain

Working Australians spend an average of six hours a day looking at screens, according to OPSM. As an Executive Assistant in an office job, it's possible this time is even longer for you. While this is not harmful to your eyes in and of itself, you may be able to better reduce potential eye strain by adopting some healthier habits.

As reported by Health.com, there is a simple practice you can adopt to combat eye strain. It's called the 20/20/20 rule. Every 20 minutes you should take a break and look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This will allow your eyes to have a break from focusing on things that are close to you.

Not only can screen use cause eye strain, it can also disrupt your sleeping patterns. Looking at screens that are emitting a lot of blue light suppresses melatonin, the hormone that makes you feel sleepy at night. This can be a problem if you're using your computer or device after it's become dark - your body is getting ready for sleep but it's being tricked into thinking it's day because of the amount of blue light it's seeing.

There are many applications available for both Windows and Mac OS that alter the colour temperature of your screen, depending on the time of day. F.lux is freely downloadable application that allows you to set a daytime colour temperature, that slowly reduces the amount of blue light put out as the day turns to night. This allows your body to follow a more natural circadian rhythm, and will help you feel sleepy when it's time for bed.

Enhancing your team's dynamics

The suggestion of engaging in some team building exercises is often met by a groan from employees. This can be the result of past experiences they've had with uninspiring exercises, ones where even their leaders weren't very engaged.

As an EA, sometimes your role will include managing your Executive's support team. A good team needs to have a bond, and as much as some people dislike them, team building exercises can be a good way to build camaraderie quickly.

The next time you're looking to run some team building activities, consider giving these ones a try.

1. Some truths and some lies

This game is especially good if you have a new team, and you're looking to get everyone somewhat familiar with each other quickly. Everybody sits in a circle and takes turns to tell three true things about themselves and one lie. Once your statements have been made, the rest of the group tries to guess which ones are true and which are false.

2. Drawing Blind

Everybody splits off into teams of two. Each partnership sits in such a way that they can't see what their partner is doing. One person has to describe an object for the other person to draw. The key is that they can't just come out and say exactly what it is - they have to describe its features and shape, in a way that the drawing person will eventually be able to guess what the object is. The idea of this game is to enhance communication and get people to think about how they describe things more clearly.

3. The Wall

This one's a little different to the other two, in that it's not so much a game as it is an item to foster office culture. Have a big book in the break room, along with coloured pens and pencils. The book will be available for anyone to write in - things they've been reading, quotes or even just random thoughts. The idea is that it's a bit like a Facebook wall, but in hardcopy form - a piece of office history where everyone can have a say and create in a shared space.