Traits of a great admin assistant gatekeeper

Traits of a great admin assistant gatekeeper So you’re an admin or executive assistant and you want to be a great one. However, if you’re not a ninja-level gatekeeper, you’ll never hit your goal. Great gatekeepers are experts at managing flow. They are more about filtering out the noise than blocking people, and they do it all to ensure their bosses receive all necessary information and communication while still having plenty of time to accomplish their workloads.To be the best gatekeeper you can be, make sure you’re doing the following key things.You look and act the part.To be a real rockstar gatekeeper, you have to first be a rockstar assistant. You must do all parts of your job competently, calmly, and efficiently. You must be an A+ communicator both verbally and over email. Be pleasant but firm. Dress the part. Command authority without going on a power trip. You have to be able to seamlessly manage your and your boss’s time by dealing with distractions. Being the best involves knowing yo ur job, your boss’ job, and your industry inside and out.You demand respect.It’s probably a given that your boss is expected to receive a certain degree of respect, but you have some coming to you as well. If anyone isn’t properly respectful of both your boss’ time and your time, then it’s appropriate for you to deny him or her access until you both start receiving the consideration you both deserve. If people are rude and dismissive of you and your position, any good boss would be fine with you denying them access- especially if they want a favor.You read minds.Reading minds may seem like a magic trick, but it’s actually an achievable skill when it comes to gatekeeping. It basically involves figuring out what anyone trying to schedule a phone call or meeting with your boss is after. What is their motive? What do they need to discuss? Is it something that really requires a meeting or your boss’s time? If not, and you can get them what they want or need through other channels, it will limit the strain on your boss’s brain and schedule. The more time you put into your job, the better you will get at sniffing out what people really want when they ask for a few minutes of your bosss time. One you recognize patterns, you can ask directly: Is what you really want time sensitive? Tell me why, but if not, then I will have to schedule you when my boss is not in a crunch time.You use discretion.According to a survey performed by Staples, administrative assistants are the most trusted members of any office. Always remain among the trustworthy by keeping your head high while wading through office politics without getting bogged down by gossip or distractions. Be comfortable and clear when handling confidential information. Be reliable. Be a vault. Cultivate and exercise unimpeachable good judgment.You establish a system with your boss.You and your boss need to function like a dynamic duo to make both of your work liv es run smoother. Perhaps you two can develop a secret signal she can give you when someone is monopolizing her time. Or maybe you can color-code your online calendar: red meetings are crucial and yellow meetings arent time-sensitive and can be rescheduled as needed. Work together so you can become her ideal gatekeeper: keeping out the unnecessary and letting in the crucial.

The History and Fact About the Mousetrap

The History and Fact About the Mousetrap A  mousetrap  is a type of  animal trap  designed primarily to catch  mice; however, it may also, accidentally or not, trap other small animals. Mousetraps are usually set somewhere indoors where there is a suspected infestation of  rodents. The trap that is credited as the first patented lethal mousetrap was a set of spring-loaded, cast-iron jaws dubbed Royal No. 1.  It was patented on November 4, 1879, by James M. Keep of New York.  From the patent description, it is clear that this is not the  first  mousetrap of this type, but the patent is for this simplified, easy-to-manufacture, design. It is the industrial age development of the  deadfall trap, but relying on the force of a wound spring rather than gravity. The jaws of this type are operated by a coiled spring and the triggering mechanism is between the jaws, where the bait is held. The  trip  snaps the jaws shut, killing the rodent. Lightweight traps of this style are now constructed from plastic. These traps do not have a powerful snap like other types. They are safer for the fingers of the person setting them than other lethal traps and can be set with the press on a tab by a single finger or even by foot. James Henry Atkinson The classic spring-loaded mousetrap was first patented by William C. Hooker of  Abingdon, Illinois, who received a patent for his design in 1894.  A British inventor,  James Henry Atkinson, patented a similar trap called the Little Nipper in 1898, including variations that had a weight-activated treadle as the trip The Little Nipper is the classic snapping mousetrap that we are all familiar with that has the small flat wooden base, the spring trap, and the wire fastenings.  Cheese may be placed on the trip as  bait, but other foods such as oats, chocolate, bread, meat, butter, and peanut butter are more commonly used.   The Little Nipper slams shut in 38,000th of a second and that record has never been beaten. This is the design that has prevailed until today. This mousetrap has captured a 60 percent share of the British mousetrap market alone, and an estimated equal share of the international market. James Atkinson sold his mousetrap patent in 1913 for 1,000 pounds to Procter, the company that has been manufacturing the Little Nipper ever since, and has even built a 150-exhibit mousetrap museum in their factory headquarters. American John Mast of Lititz, Pennsylvania, received a patent on his similar snap-trap mousetrap in 1899. Humane Mousetraps Austin Kness had an idea for a better mousetrap back in the 1920s. The Kness Ketch-All Multiple Catch mousetrap doesnt use bait. It catches mice alive and can catch several before it needs to be reset. Mousetraps Galore Did you know that the Patent Office has issued more than 4,400 mousetrap patents; however, only about 20 of those patents have made any money? Catch a few of the different designs for mousetraps in our mousetrap gallery.