This was the day before I ran into chilly winter waters … for a 10th consecutive year! I thought I’d spare you any photos of my actual 10th annual Polar Bear Swim on New Year’s Day 2022 – and, in…
Exceptional EA
a resource for assistants around the globe, from international trainer Shelagh Donnelly
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Honestly
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: some curious sheep in Armadale, Scotland. I was on the Isle of Skye and in Armadale to visit its castle ruins and garden – and the castle museum is sure to be of interest to anyone with MacDonald ancestry.
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Elements
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: We have beautiful bleu skies today. The last two Sundays, on the other hand, began in fog. Here, a morning stroll as the fog began to clear and unmask our North Shore mountains
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Soon
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: Who else is looking forward to seeing crocuses and other signs of spring (in the northern hemisphere) soon?
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Hope
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: the view from Cuith-raing, Quiraing, on Scotland’s Isle of Skye. This is from 2018, and I’m looking forward to returning this year!
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Trails
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: In 2015, I visited Miami’s Fairchild Botanical Garden. I encourage any garden lovers who visit the area to spend a day there. This is but one portion of the garden’s 700-foot/213-meter long Vine Pergola.
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Final
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: Locals and visitors alike, gathered outside the Louvre in Paris a few years ago
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Dreamy
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: In Kelowna a few years ago, I woke in the wee hours of the morning and was treated to the sight of this gorgeous moon.
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Influence
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: sunrise over Baffin Island. Located in Nunavut, Canada, this island is situated at roughly the same latitude as Greenland and Iceland. I caught this photo from my window seat enroute to England in 2019.
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Sudipa Sarkar: Career Insights from Canada
For this week’s Real Careers interview, I’m talking with Sudipa Sarkar, CCAP, PACE. Sudipa is Executive Assistant to the senior vice president of her organisation. To read this newest of my Real Careers interviews, click here. About Real Careers: I…
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Directions
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: We woke to dense fog Sunday, yet it cleared mid-morning. An hour before I took this photo of a ship off Stanley Park, the mountains weren’t even visible.
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Coming up in Real Careers: Assistants from Canada/India and Trinidad and Tobago
I’m delighted to share word of some of my upcoming Real Careers interviews, beginning this week with Sudipa Sarkar. Wed, Jan 19/22: Sudipa Sarkar of Canada; originally from India Wed, Feb 9/22: Nekeisha F. Nelson of Trinidad and Tobago, West…
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Possible
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: a September (!) afternoon on Florida’s Siesta Key Beach. I’m looking forward to the day I can return to this beach. Even in very hot weather, the sand is comfortable beneath your feet. That’s because it’s made up mostly of quartz, rather than coral. The waters are also beautiful!
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Turning a corner in ’22
This was the day before I ran into chilly winter waters … for a 10th consecutive year! I thought I’d spare you any photos of my actual 10th annual Polar Bear Swim on New Year’s Day 2022 – and, in…
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Longevity
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: sunset outside the Louvre, during our 2016 visit to Paris
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Aspirations
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: close up with one of the peonies at England’s Kew Gardens. Knowing my love of gardens, my favourite botanist encouraged me to make a point of visiting Kew during my last visit to England, and I’m glad she did. I’m booked to be back in London this April and May, and will certainly make time for a return visit to Kew.
Go ahead. Be exceptional.
Exceptional EA has been here since 2013 for assistants around the globe … and we’ve built some incredible communities along the way. The faces you see on this page are not stock images. Rather, they represent a sampling of some…
For training and event planners
Helping you adapt as new norms continue to take shape As assistants and employers rebuild on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to focus on professional development that reflects evolving norms and needs. More than ever, it’s critical…
Upcoming webinars
Scroll down for a look at webinars by month At the base of this page, you’ll find my upcoming webinars listed by month. I continually update this page, so you may wish to bookmark it and check to see when…
Weekend Polls - where assistants around the globe have their say
Weekend Poll: Your professional development amid a prolonged pandemic
Maintaining focus amid challenging times To paraphrase John Lennon, “Another COVID year over, a new one just begun”. How are you feeling about 2022? You may have seen memes half-jokingly reflecting a cautious approach (“Before I agree to 2022, I…
Weekend Poll Results: Waking Up to the Importance of Sleep
With thanks to all who participated, here are your responses to my question … Are you getting enough sleep? We need more sleep How well rested do you feel today? When I posed this question to assistants in my latest Weekend…
Honestly
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: some curious sheep in Armadale, Scotland. I was on the Isle of Skye and in Armadale to visit its castle ruins and garden – and the castle museum is sure to be of interest to anyone with MacDonald ancestry.
Elements
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: We have beautiful bleu skies today. The last two Sundays, on the other hand, began in fog. Here, a morning stroll as the fog began to clear and unmask our North Shore mountains
Soon
A thought for your day, featuring photography from my travels. This shot: Who else is looking forward to seeing crocuses and other signs of spring (in the northern hemisphere) soon?