The Art of the Smile

Some days a simple smile can go a long way in the office environment.  I'm not talking a flirty or suggestive smile. I'm talking about a genuine happy to see you, I'm glad you are here smile.

The smile is something so simple, yet so powerfully profound.  When the office environment is tough, someone is having a really bad day, a smile can make all the difference in the world.

Not to be too dramatic, but a smile can save a life.

When you smile at a person, it means you acknowledge them.  You've made an effort to notice them.  In an age where we are inundated by deadlines, buried in assignments, and overwhelmed by responsibilities, being acknowledged can truly make a difference in your day or someone else's.

So, Admin Gal's Challenge to the world at large is to smile at someone today.

Save someone's day, and maybe their life.

Food is in the Air

To the office staff in general:

I, Admin Gal, send a plea of epic proportions out to save my olfactory sense. Preserve this delicate sense of smell for the flowers that bloom beyond our concrete jungle, for the sweet smell of baby powder after a bath, for anything other than the malodorous offense of fish and some other indecipherable substance that has been heated up in the microwave.

Oftentimes our midday meal is the main meal of our day. But to bring something that will send a stank through the floor, ruining everyone else's meal is just plain rude. Some businesses actually have rules as to what can be brought to work to be heated up, so not to offend the general populace.

I implore you to be considerate. If you must have your super spicy jambalaya (which I adore), your fabulous curry that your grandmother makes, the fish that only the cat should eat, please take into consideration the people you work with. Their stomachs and noses may not be as fortified as yours.

Vacation Admonitions

In preparation for taking some well deserved down time, Admin Gal has prepared the following prep list for her executive team:

1. Communications - I have set up a back up Admin to assist you during my absence.  No, that does not mean you can email me, telephone me or contact me in any fashion for the aforementioned time.  The back-up Admin is there to assist you while I am out of the office taking a well deserved break from YOU, drinking Mai Tai's until I can't remember where I work.
2. Projects - Any actions that need to be addressed while I am gone should be directed to my associate.  She has been brief in any out-standing items and can render assistance.  DO NOT hoard your tasks until my return, demanding that I complete said tasks as an emergency of your making.
3. My Desk - DO NOT pile my desk with tasks, papers, files or assorted notes of things you might have forgotten to tell me before I left.  I am not there to read  or accomplish them.  (if they are time sensitive... well SOL)  The last thing I want to do is come back to a desk piled high of things that you no long want on your desk.  Or sticky-notes covering my monitor of things you deem too important for me to forget upon my return.

If these three simple guidelines can be met, your Admin will be returned to you in a relaxed and stress-free fashion, ready to take on the next gargantuan set of tasks set before her.

Alas, if you can not help yourselves and can not avail yourselves of the resources left to help you while your Admin is away...

May the PTB's (Powers That Be) rest your souls.