Sue Darby, MOS

12 ways to make people SMILE!

1. Thank random people in uniform for their service to society. You may end up making a new friend or learning something about the world from someone with firsthand experience. (did you know it snowed in Afghanistan recently and the trucks freeze shut requiring our troops to chip ice off the hard way… no ice scrapers! Said vet learned that rubbing alcohol will melt ice easier and help them get into their trucks faster!) Another time I stopped a police officer coming out of the court house in downtown and thanked them. I got a seriously confused officer who questioned “Thank you for what?” “Protecting the people” there were tears in his eyes and a smile, no one had stopped him and simply thanked him for doing what he does for a living like that. I got the feeling he’d just come out of a bad court room case and really needed the pick up!
2. Keep fun treats in your office that are to share. Licorice, lemon drops, M&M’s, peanuts, are all great items to keep handy….It’s fun to watch a boss act like a little kid when they see there’s a favored treat available…. Their guard goes down just for a second and they are very human about it which for me gives a glimpse of the real person not just the professional I know.
3. Teach your children to entertain themselves by making faces at other drivers when stopped at red lights. My kids did this to a police officer just as the light turned green… she had trouble driving through the intersection she was laughing so hard!
4. Send a funny e-card to various people in your address book
5. Leave a random small treat on a co-worker’s desk in a random “run by chocolating” or “run by treating”. My co-workers do this to me because I do it to them!
6. Compliment your boss on something you really like about their supervisory style
7. Compliment someone’s outfit or a part of their outfit
8. Buy treats at lunch and then offer one to the clerk you just bought them from
9. Give the commuter bus driver a break when you know he’s been on the road for a couple hours and needs a bathroom run and there’s time before you have to take off. It doesn’t take much to keep a head count and open the doors for other passengers and they LOVE the opportunity to stretch!

10. Take a plate of goodies from a work potluck to the receptionist who didn’t get to go OR go down and give her a quick break so she can go!

11. Take a random coffee run with co-workers and then pay for a co-worker’s treat despite protests. I have a couple people I go for a random coffee run with and it’s funny to watch a boss protest when those they supervise treat them to a coffee and get the response “you can have your turn the next time I’m in need of a coffee run like this” we all take turns spoiling each other.

12. Bring home a random but unique goodie to your significant other. I found some cherry flavored jelly beans just before Valentine’s Day by a brand I’d never heard of and they turned out to be super good. I only got one bag and when I went back for more they were all gone!

Sue Darby, BS Business, MOS
Certificate in Fashion Design
Microsoft Office Master Certified
Alpha Beta Kappa Honors Society
Business Owner & Webmistress

I am a State of Alaska File Clerk and have found that my projects in the last  year has caused a HUGE backlog and for some things to get buried under the clutter and paper piles!

Clutter on your desk is a great distraction and time waster. It also buries the truly important items that might have to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Clearing your desk at least once a month or more and organizing your piles of papers and other items into some sort of folder system is a great way to increase productivity.

I’ve found over time that if it’s in a drawer it gets forgotten and the same goes for piles. Just today I cleared my desk and found some forgotten items that should have been taken care of and will be after lunch! In the meantime the piles of things to file or sort have been moved into some semblance of order and a basic plan to attack the months of back files that need to be made and placed in drawers has formed.

My basic plan….

Tackle part of the alphabet at a time so for this week and likely next I will be tackling A-L of the provider files that I handle. I have the simple to file paperwork already in alpha order in a nice rolling cart.  I have some new files I need to make and label to go with those and then I’ll spend the rest of the day, week and even month getting those files crammed into overstuffed drawers… although I have ideas for how to unstuff the drawers but that will be for another post.

The reason it’ll take so long to get everything into the drawers is that each drawer is so crammed that nothing more can fit and so files have to be repeatedly shifted to make space. This is a very slow process with only one clerk to do it all.

I’ll have to keep plugging away at this until all the files are in the drawer once more… the never ending battle except that about this time last year I had it nearly caught up and then various things started to blow up and my skills were needed for a lot of other projects. We shall see how well my plan works in the coming weeks!

Sue Darby, BS Business, MOS
Certificate in Fashion Design
Microsoft Office Master Certified
Alpha Beta Kappa Honors Society
Business Owner & Webmistress

Technically I am a Administrative Clerk or Office Assistant which says files and phones BUT I have many more skills and my supervisors and bosses tend to put those skill sets to good use. Over the last 6 months I’ve done a number of projects that are out of my scope of my job description and while riding the bus for my morning commute I was thinking about it all. When I got to work (early as usual now) I wrote down some of the ideas I’d had coming in. I’m going to add a number of these to my resumes, portfolio website and even add some of the specific projects in excerpts of course.

My latest in projects includes:

• Develop color coding systems to make reporting from various spreadsheets quicker and easier
• Analyze data to ensure accuracy in reports
• Suggest changes to format or content of reports, letters, charts and data systems
• Query databases to collect data for reports, graphs, charts or mail merges
• Format federal level reports, graphs and charts making continuous use easy for repetitive reports
• Develop draft policy & procedures for clerical duties including file plans and archive policy
• Develop tracking systems used for new processes until a formal solution is developed
• Beta test formal solutions providing feedback for improvement
• Provide technical assistance to co-workers only escalating problems that require admin permissions
• Maintain unit equipment clearing jams and replacing parts & supplies as needed
• Develop and maintain color coded e-mail system
• Reconcile multiple sources to create an accurate list for mail merges
• Data entry for CIRs & Training data
• Perform complex calculations to generate correct data for State & Federal reports

All of these projects or skills were used in the last 6 months. I’ve done things for senior management and my unit with kudos coming back to me directly from those I’ve helped. I was a well kept secret until the temporary unit manager became the division director… the cat’s out of the bag!

I’m going to keep thinking about what I do, what projects I’ve been involved in and new skills I’ve learned and keep an eye out for something that encompasses what I do well and enjoy!

Sue Darby, BS Business, MOS
Certificate in Fashion Design
Microsoft Office Master Certified
Alpha Beta Kappa Honors Society
Business Owner & Webmistress