I started writing From the Desk of Janet Barclay in November 2006, mainly as a way to get a better understanding of what blogging was about. It has seen a lot of changes over the past five years, in its design, in its content, and in my frequency of posting, and I have enjoyed every step of the way.

Other changes during that time include the launch of Your Organizing Business, my blog for professional organizers; the introduction and growing importance of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media to my online marketing strategy; and the increasing success of my website design and virtual assistance business, Organized Assistant. I’m also spending more time with my family, including my new dog, and I’ve rediscovered my love for cooking.

With all of these exciting changes in both my personal and professional lives, this will be my last regular weekly post on From the Desk of Janet Barclay. The current content will remain here for your reference, and I may still blog here occasionally, but for regular updates, I invite you to:

• Join my Mailing List
• Follow me on Twitter
• Like Organized Assistant on Facebook

It would mean a lot to me if you’d leave a comment and let me know: What has been your favourite post on this blog?

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on A New Chapter for a New Year.

I’ve tackled this topic before, and I really don’t have anything new to say about it, so instead I’d like to share this anonymous poem I found online.

‘Twas the night before Christmas and Santa’s a wreck…
How to live in a world that’s politically correct?
His workers no longer would answer to “Elves”,
“Vertically Challenged” they were calling themselves.
And labor conditions at the North Pole,
were alleged by the union, to stifle the soul.

Four reindeer had vanished without much propriety,
released to the wilds, by the Humane Society.
And equal employment had made it quite clear,
that Santa had better not use just reindeer.
So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid,
were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!

The runners had been removed from his beautiful sleigh,
because the ruts were deemed dangerous by the EPA,
And millions of people were calling the Cops,
when they heard sled noises upon their roof tops.
Second-hand smoke from his pipe, had his workers quite frightened,
and his fur trimmed red suit was called “unenlightened”.

To show you the strangeness of today’s ebbs and flows,
Rudolf was suing over unauthorized use of his nose.
He went to Geraldo, in front of the Nation,
demanding millions in over-due workers compensation.

So…half of the reindeer were gone, and his wife
who suddenly said she’d had enough of this life,
joined a self-help group, packed and left in a whiz,
demanding from now on that her title was Ms.

And as for gifts…why, he’d never had the notion
that making a choice could cause such commotion.
Nothing of leather, nothing of fur…
Which meant nothing for him or nothing for her.
Nothing to aim, Nothing to shoot,
Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise.
Nothing for just girls and nothing for just boys.
Nothing that claimed to be gender specific,
Nothing that’s warlike or non-pacifistic.

No candy or sweets…they were bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish upon the truth.
And fairy tales…while not yet forbidden,
were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden,
for they raised the hackles of those psychological,
who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.

No baseball, no football…someone might get hurt,
besides – playing sports exposed kids to dirt.
Dolls were said to be sexist and should be passe.
and Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.

So Santa just stood there, disheveled and perplexed,
he just couldn’t figure out what to do next?
He tried to be merry he tried to be gay,
but you must have to admit he was having a very bad day.
His sack was quite empty, it was flat on the ground,
nothing fully acceptable was anywhere to be found.

Something special was needed, a gift that he might,
give to us all, without angering the left or the right.
A gift that would satisfy – with no indecision,
each group of people in every religion.
Every race, every hue,
everyone, everywhere…even you!
So here is that gift, it’s price beyond worth…

“MAY YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES, ENJOY PEACE ON EARTH”

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on A Politically Correct Christmas.

• It’s too cold/hot/rainy/snowy/windy
• I’m too busy
• There’s no one to walk with

They’re all terrible excuses, especially when you consider how much I enjoy walking, and of course the health benefits. Each one can be countered:

• Dress appropriately
• A break will allow me to clear my head and re-energize
• I can listen to music, podcasts, or recorded teleclasses on my iPhone

Self-discipline obviously wasn’t cutting it, so I’ve just undergone a major life change that’s going to make it so walking is no longer optional, but a mandatory part of each and every day. Yes – I’ve adopted a dog!

Carly is about two years old and apparently a cross between a Border Collie and a Chocolate Lab. We have already become good friends and I look forward to many walks with her. Hopefully my cat will soon come out of hiding long enough to make friends with her too!

If you’d like a new furry friend in your life, I highly recommend adopting a homeless pet. Most shelters and rescue groups do a thorough screening to make sure you choose one that’s right for your family and your lifestyle, and it’s very rewarding to know you’re providing an unwanted animal with a home. If you don’t want the stress of raising a kitten or puppy, there are lots of adults, both young and old, ready to love you. Just click on the logo below to begin your search.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Why Wait for New Year’s? Change can begin any day….

I was on People in Connection Internet TV earlier this month, and invite you to watch the video:

It seems that people like what I write, because NewsClipTV featured my Tips for Organizing a Business Event, and Linda Samuels included an excerpt from my review of her book, The Other Side of Organized on her website.

Even better, people like my work, as evidenced by Kathy Stinson’s post, Did you create your own website?

I’m sorry to be hogging the spotlight – please feel free to brag about your recent successes here in the comments!

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on There I am again!.

As mentioned in my last post, I recently attended the POC Conference in Toronto. It was a fabulous experience and, in addition to having the honour of presenting to 70 professional organizers from all over Canada, I heard some excellent speakers, including Joe Roberts, The Skid Row CEO and Margarita Ibbott of Downshifting – Professional Organizing Solutions and Linked Learning. I talked a bit about what I learned on People in Connection Internet TV on Monday.

Learning is an important aspect of any conference, but so is networking, and I did lots of that too. I spoke with 15 of my past and current clients in one day, and was amazed to realize that was more than 10% of the conference delegates! Here are just a few of the special people I connected with:

I was thrilled to find out that Janine Adams, who came all the way from St. Louis, Missouri, was as excited to meet me as I was to meet her!

The only downside was that after such a long and busy day (I left home at 7:00 AM and was go-go-go until about 10:30 PM), combined with the time change and some noisy hotel guests (not POC members, I’m sure!), I was way too tired to go to WordCamp Toronto as planned.

On Sunday morning, I put on a black sweater and pants and deep red jacket, unintentionally choosing POC colours. I guess you can take Janet out of POC, but you can’t take POC out of Janet!

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on POC Conference 2011: The Afterglow.

This is what I’ll be up to over the next few days:

On Saturday, I’ll be joining members of Professional Organizers in Canada for the third day of their National Conference in Toronto, where I’ll be presenting on Blogging: Beyond the Basics. In addition, I’ll have the opportunity to attend other educational sessions and enjoy time networking with clients and former colleagues and hopefully meeting many new people as well.

On Sunday, I’m attending Day Two of WordCamp Toronto 2011, and I’m looking forward to learning even more about my favourite technology, reconnecting with some of the people I met at last year’s event, and meeting other WordPress users and developers.

On Monday, I’ll be sharing the highlights of both events with viewers of People in Connection TV, as they broadcast live from their new location at the Movie Palace on Concession Street. Watch the show online at 11:00 AM.

What are you doing this weekend?

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on The Janet Finder.

Of course, I know it’s not a real award, not like the Thomas Leonard International Virtual Assistant of Distinction Award I was nominated for in 2009. It’s really just a meme, but memes can be fun, so I’m happy to have an excuse to use one in my blog, and thank Erika for thinking of me.

There are four simple rules for The Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Post a link to the person who gave you the award.
2. Tell your readers seven random things about yourself.
3. Award 15 newly discovered blogs.
4. Send them a note letting them know you nominated them.

So, here are seven random facts about me:

1. I won second prize in the Discover Mississauga Photo Contest several years ago for this interior shot of Mississauga City Hall.
   
   (This is a photo of the photo, through the glass of the frame, so doesn’t really do it justice.)
2. I usually carry the same purse for months, and sometimes don’t even switch with the change in seasons, but I love shopping for purses. Shoes, not so much.
3. I love to play trivia games and am pretty good at them too.
4. I was a matched Big Sister for many years, and am still friends with my Little Sister, who is now all grown up and recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.
5. I have signed up for Google+, but haven’t yet figured out what, if anything, I will do there.
6. I was into Reduce-Reuse-Recycle before it was even a trend.
7. I make my own granola.

And here are the 15 blogs I’m nominating for the Versatile Blogger Award, in alphabetical order:

1. LinkedLearning by Margarita Ibbott: Help with using LinkedIn and other social media.
2. Daily Blogging Ideas by Michelle Shaeffer: Wonderful inspiration for both personal and business blogs.
3. Fabulous After 40 by Deborah Boland and JoJami Tyler: Fashion advice for those of us who aren’t as young as we used to be.
4. Garious Blog – Up to date information about social media.
5. Grow with Stacy: Tips for personal development, as well as blogging and social media.
6. The Lady Bloggers Society headed by Stepfanie Cuevas: Once a week they hold a Lady Blogger Social Tea Party to give readers a chance to share their blog posts – a great way to connect with other bloggers!
7. Marian Schembari: More goodies on social media and blogging.
8. MS Outlook for Business: Valuable tips for using email and discovering features of Outlook you never knew existed.
9. The Other Side of Organized by Linda Samuels: Explores the emotions connected with making changes in your life.
10. Site Sketch 101 by Nicholas Cardot: A wealth of information about blogging.
11. Solo-E.com by Terri Zwierzynski: Articles on all aspects of running a small business, including marketing, productivity and more.
12. Sunday Stealing hosted by Judd Corizan: A great place to find out about different blog memes of all types.
13. Teatime with Tina by Tina Chase: All about food and cooking.
14. Virtually Yours by Joanne Burgess: Fabulous tips about social media and small business topics.
15. WordPress Jedi: Information about WordPress themes, plugins, and security issues, as well as SEO and social media tips.

If you enjoyed this post, why not nominate yourself for a Versatile Blogger Award? If you do, please leave a link to your post in the Comments, so we can learn more about you and the blogs you read.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on The Versatile Blogger Award.

No?

Maybe you’re just not keeping your eyes open for chances to get your name out there!

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m always seeking out opportunities to be a source for other bloggers, and here are a couple of posts I’ve contributed to lately:

Creative Uses for 3M Post It Notes (I’m #16)

Where To Find Great Sales People (I’m #50)

It’s an especially nice surprise to see my name in someone else’s blog when I haven’t even responded to a query, and my friend Julie Bestry (AKA Paper Doll) has mentioned me TWICE recently!

Paper Doll Sends a Summer Postcard

Paper Doll Rejects the Fair but Embraces the Carnival

Yesterday I received an email letting me know my recent post on Avoiding Automation Overkill had been featured on NewsClipTV, a news hub for the Hamilton area.

So yes, I’m feeling pretty good about myself these days, but I’d really like to turn the spotlight on YOU!

If you’ve had any media exposure lately – whether online or in print, local or national – I’d love to hear about it? Don’t be shy – tell me about it in the Comments!

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Are Your Ears Buzzing? Mine Are!.

This week, I’ve decided to shine a light on a few of the local businesses that I’ve dealt with and am happy to recommend.

JK Business Services

I’ve known Jenn Kubilis (the “JK” in “JK Business Services”) nearly as long as I’ve been in business. We first met in an online forum for Canadian businesswomen, when she was kind enough to invite me to attend a networking event at the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. We met again many times at other local networking events and got to know each other fairly well. When my business coach recommended that I outsource my bookkeeping (an excellent move, by the way), Jenn was the first person to come to mind. I was not surprised to find that she is thorough, accurate, and reliable, and a pleasure to deal with.

Jenn is a valued member of the Golden Horseshoe Virtual Assistants Group, an amazing bunch of entrepreneurs from Hamilton and the surrounding area. I often call upon one of the members when I need someone to cover for me or have a client request I can’t fill.

Mountaineer Movers

Some people, when moving, will rent or borrow a truck and solicit friends to help them out. Scott and I are not those people. We’ve moved three times since we’ve been together, and each time we’ve used Mountaineer Movers. They do such a good job that we don’t even think about calling anyone else.

Jon Evans Photography

I became acquainted with Jon several years ago, when he engaged Organized Assistant® for a couple of small projects. Having seen his portfolio, when I finally decided to get some professional photos done, I was sure he was the right photographer for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the photo session in his beautiful studio, and had a hard time choosing from the many photos he took. I ultimately decided upon the one on my About page and the one on my Twitter page and other social media profiles.

I was originally introduced to Jon by Don Giberson of Dreamcrafters Inc., another local business I’ve had the pleasure to work with, both as a client and as a supplier.

People in Connection

I couldn’t possibly write a tribute to local businesses without mentioning Marie Mushing, who invited me to one of her breakfast events many years ago, when her group was called the Go-Steeltown Network. Since then I’ve watched the network grow to four chapters who meet monthly in Hamilton, Burlington, St. Catharines, and Niagara Falls. As a member of People in Connection, I’ve met many interesting people, had the opportunity to speak at a few events, and  been featured on the live Internet TV show. And, as Marie’s friend and colleague, I’ve learned a lot about networking, about web design and search engine optimization, and about business in general.

Is there a business you’d like to recommend (from Hamilton or elsewhere)? Please feel free to do so in the Comments section below.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on A Salute to Hamilton Businesses.

Today I’d like to share a few more collaborative blog posts in which I’ve been a participant:

• 7 Expert Tips on Getting Blog Traffic
• 39 Tips on Generating Ideas for a Blog Post
• Blogging to Build Your Business
• 118 Ways To Use Social Media In Business
• Paper You Should Probably Get Rid of – But You Keep Anyway

I think we’ll be seeing more and more of these opportunities, so do keep your eyes open for queries related to your areas of interest and/or expertise.

I’m also thrilled that someone blogged about me (and I didn’t even ask them to)!

• International Virtual Assistants Day

If you’ve had any exposure online (other than your own website, blog, or social media profile), feel free to brag about it here!

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Collaborative Blogging.