Productivity Blog
New Year Planning
As the end of the year approaches, it’s time for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and executives to reflect, recharge, and recalibrate. The holiday season often brings added responsibilities and stress, but with intentional planning, it can also serve as a springboard to success in the upcoming year. Here’s how you can set your business up for a successful year-end and start the new year ready to thrive.
Case Study: RISC Zero
Case Study: RISC Zero Background: RISC Zero, a brand-new start-up, came to us smack in the middle of the pandemic, August 2022. They were in need of executive assistance to support their operations and leadership team. It was no coincidence they were referred...
Case Study for Athena Executive Services
Best Selling Author, Gary John Bishop “My career is about to go ape-shit” This case study demonstrates one of the many different places our potential clients find themselves before they hire us. Gary was in the ideal place when he approached us – a place that many...
Creating Systems That Work for You Now
As you may know, I was part of Athena on its inception day several years ago. I was the first contractor hired here and was a part of our firm’s growth for four years before being offered an opportunity to serve an impact investing firm as their Chief of Staff....
Does Having an Executive Assistant Feel Too Fancy?
Do you ever have the experience that you work all week and then most of the weekend you're still working, but for a different boss? Do you shift from working for your boss or your company to working for the family or household? Even though I'm 52 and the term...
What could you delegate off your plate today?
There really is a world of delegating effectively and turning over projects and tasks to another person in a way that leaves you freed up to go do the things that are a higher and better use of you and your unique talents and expertise. We will always shout this from...
Jet-Set with Ease: Smart Travel Hacks
I have been traveling a lot this year. Two to three trips a month. Most of it was planned before the end of 2023 so I knew it was coming. I’m excited to share with you my thinking, my structures, and my approach to travel, which helps make travel smooth and...
From Conflict Management to Conflict Curiosity
What is the best way to avoid or manage conflict? I hate conflict as much as the next person, but there is an interesting paradox here. If you get interested in the conflict or issue, then a lot of the fire or fury can quickly be taken down a notch. People tend to...
Trusting the Captain of Your Ship – Your EA
Gina celebrated a milestone birthday a couple of years ago and wanted to do something on her bucket list - a yacht trip around the beautiful Puget Sound area where she lives most of the year. How the heck do you plan something so fabulous? You turn to your EA, of...
Your Time and Your Health
“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” – Henry David Thoreau We all know that rest and sleep allow our body and mind to recover, rejuvenate and heal. Studies have shown how important this is. Experts have published articles and papers about...
Learning and Growing Together
A couple weeks ago we had our Athena Leadership retreat. This happens a couple times a year with me and our two managers, Jennifer and Dorian. We met together right back where we were last January, in Pismo Beach, California. This is one of my happy places. It’s on...
Delegating: Take the Risk and Be Surprised
I have been doing a lot of podcast interviews lately. (Thank you, Your Expert Guest.) It has given me the opportunity to speak to many different audiences and communities, from architects to bookkeepers, to women lawyers and moms running businesses. I particularly...
What Does an Assistant Really Want to Do?
What FEEDS a high-caliber Executive Assistant? They want to be of Service to you! You may think to yourself, “Really, they want to do this stuff that I absolutely do not want to do?” Yes, they do. “Really, they want to book my airline tickets and send out birthday...
Delegating: Take the Risk and Be Surprised
Athena CEO Gina Cotner was recently interviewed by Davina Frederick of Wealthy Woman Lawyer. The conversation moved into a discussion around delegating thinking: I thought to myself, “Well, let's just go there and see if I can start to speak somewhat intelligently...
Do I Have to Be ‘Cute Bitchy’?
“Cute bitchy, but not "bitchy" bitchy.” – The Diplomat. S1 Ep 3. There I was one evening where I often can be found, on the couch sitting next to my honey after he has cooked a great meal and I have thoroughly cleaned the kitchen. It was around 8pm when we usually...
Athena Team spotlight: Rachel Brown
https://youtu.be/tCb4pSQud9s Executive Virtual Assistant, Rachel Brown Meet Rachel Brown - one of our incredibly talented Virtual Executive Assistants. ⭐️ Rachel loves the work-life balance she helps her clients achieve, while also maintaining a healthy balance for...
Athena Team Spotlight: Hope Beach
Athena EA Hope Beach shares what she loves about working with Athena and describes the 'culture of yes' that is at the forefront of everything we do. AND… Congratulations to Hope who walked the stage last weekend for completing her Master’s Degree! ...
Security and Confidentiality
https://youtu.be/yHmNEzShvuk How do Athena EAs manage confidentiality, discretion, and security? Our Executive Assistants operate with the highest level of integrity required - which is all-important when you have people’s personal lives and personal data in your...
The Wild World of AI
https://youtu.be/6E5wgRpKFOk Gina, Jennifer, and Dorian discuss how AI is being used by their team to support clients. Dorian explains that they are using AI to help with scheduling appointments, proofing calendars, and preparing for debriefing. They also discuss how...
Overlapping Remote Work with Vacation
We enjoyed reading this recent article from the Wall Street Journal about working remotely while on vacation. We always encourage Athena EAs and our team to do the prep work before a scheduled trip or time off, so they can truly relax and recharge. However, one of the...
Seven Years of Athena Executive Services!
This month marks the seventh Anniversary of Athena Executive Services. Happy birthday to us! The Athena Leadership Team recently came together to reflect on where we've been, the state of things currently, and where the company is headed in the next five years....
Consistently Nurturing and Developing Your Team Pays Off!
As a leader, if you are consistent over time in how you hire, develop and train your people, your investment will pay off in the heat of battle when your teams are tested! Create a culture that runs on its values and mission. Don't make your mission statement...
What Wellness means to the Athena Team
What does wellness mean to you? To the Leadership Team at Athena Executive Services, Wellness is more than one's physical fitness or simply not being sick. WELLNESS is a core value of our company, with a laser focus on both health and personal happiness. Recently,...
Delegation is Empowering!
Athena CEO Gina Cotner does a household purge pretty regularly, going through closets and adding things to the giveaway pile. Recently she noticed that a lot of what she was sorting through represented who she was five years ago. Some of this had to do with the...
Perception vs. Reality
We will always take the opportunity to sing the praises of our high-caliber Executive Assistants. The role of an EA is so much more complex than many people realize! This article gives some great examples of the types of things an EA actually does - and the perception...
Adding humor to your Out of Office Email
Is it important to let customers and colleagues know you are out of the office? Yes! Letting people know you won't be able to respond to their email until you return to work is not only a courtesy, but is also a huge stress reliever for you. The bones of creating an...
The Humbling Power of Learning Something New
There is something special about coming together with people in your community, and I’ve discovered it’s even more rewarding to meet your neighbors on a sport court for some friendly and fierce competition. I’ve written about my recent Pickleball obsession, but I’d...
Failure is part of the journey
You have to be willing to screw up. Whether you are a virtual assistant or an executive, a business owner or entrepreneur, the fastest road to success is being willing to bounce over failures. Not “bounce” like . . . Forget about them . . . or discount them . ....
Finding Balance
Our clients let us know on a regular basis just how organized their lives are, and how much stress has been removed from their daily existence because they have Rockstar Executive Assistant. We never get tired of hearing about it! Having a right-hand person in your...
Fitting fun and self-care into a busy schedule
I don’t have time for Yoga. I don’t have time to learn Pickleball. I don’t have time to see my parents. I don’t have time for a lunch date with a friend. Someday when I have more time, I’ll be one of those people. Is that you, or something like you? Some weeks, is...
Hooked On Delegation
For the first few years of owning and operating this business I didn't have an assistant. I was running a firm centered around the great benefits of having an Executive Assistant, but I had never had an Executive Assistant myself. It wasn’t really a problem, because I...
When a Team Member Leaves the Nest
If you’ve listened to any of the podcasts where I’m interviewed about our company and the VA industry at large, you’ve likely heard me answer the question, “So, how did Athena come to be?” And then I tell the tale. In the tale you learn that the first two people on...
Gina Joins the Authentically Successful Podcast
Gina was recently featured on the Authentically Successful Podcast, joining Leadership coach and podcast host, Carol Schultz, to talk about her journey through various entrepreneurial ventures to arrive at Athena Executive Services. Gina and Carol speak about the...
Effective Leadership and Remote Teams
Knowing and empathizing with whatever your remote workers are dealing with is critical. As someone who has always had staff who work from home, I have always been interested in what’s going on at home. Why? Because that’s the environment in which they are working (for...
Alone Time is Quality Time
I need to be alone sometimes. I’m not mad. I’m not upset. It’s just one way that I refuel and rejuvenate. Once an only-child, always an only-child. And I think when you’re a Gen X only-child, that somehow makes you even more independent and seeking some alone time....
Invest in your talent
We have always been a virtual company. Our team of high-caliber, high-performing Virtual Executive Assistants are located all across the United States. Working from home is a benefit and advantage for our contractors. However, this doesn't mean they are working alone!...
Giving Thanks
This is the time of year that giving thanks is truly celebrated, and we have so much to be grateful for! We are deeply thankful for everyone on the Athena Executive Services Team, both past and present. We are especially thankful for every client we have ever had...
Thriving during times of crisis
"If ever there were a time when executives must call on the full complement of their assistant’s skills and utilize them to best advantage, now would surely be that time." So true! High-performing EAs have always been the not-so-secret super power for their...
Finding the Time to Live a Balanced Life with Gina Cotner
Athena Executive Services CEO Gina Cotner was recently a guest on Robyn Crane's podcast, "Growing Your Financial Business...The Woman's Way". Outsourcing work or expanding your team can be scary, especially if you’ve always handled it on your own. But if you follow...
B students, be proud!
I saw an article like this one last month and it made me smile. Yep, I was a B student! I graduated from high school with a 3.25 GPA and from college with a 2.75 GPA. Not exactly what mom and dad hoped for, yet paid a lot of money for, but it really did all turn out....
Decrease Stress to Increase Longevity
Fascinating! A 40-year study that set out to research the result that healthy living (aerobic exercise, balanced diet, stopping smoking) had on the risk of heart disease, found decades later that the most important factor of longevity was actually stress. In this...
The Red Hot Chili Peppers, delegating thinking and fuzzy sweaters!
Athena CEO Gina Cotner recently had a fantastic conversation with Erin Keam on her podcast, "Erin Keam's Conversations about Closets with my Closest 1000 friends". The two talk delegation, breaking free to get back to the things you are truly passionate about, and so...
Partnership: The Key to Growth
You need partners to be able to grow, and I’ve been incredibly fortunate in this world. Meet my great friend, Dorian. Here we are five years after I founded this firm, Athena Executive Services. She no longer works for me, but we are still very close. She's now...
Moving from Delegating Tasks to Delegating Thinking
I’ve been expanding my knowledge and abilities around delegating in this last year. I consider myself an expert delegator in many ways, but there is always more to master and new things to discover. I’ve been moving myself from simply delegating well-defined tasks and...
The Joy Of Not Being Accountable
A few weeks ago I wrote this blog on how I was preparing to completely relax and recharge on my upcoming vacation. Well... I did it! I did the real work and it paid off. The Operations Manager at Athena, Jennifer Tracy, was a Rockstar. It wasn’t all smooth sailing...
Time Management Tips
Why do some people seem to get so much more done with their time than others? What is the secret to managing your time effectively? There are many answers that are unique to everyone on this topic, but we did find a handy guide about this all-important productivity...
Matthew Jarvis: The real list of what one Executive has delegated to his Assistant
This newsletter was shared by one of our clients and it really captures why one would have a virtual executive assistant: Hi, In theory, delegation should be the simplest of tasks. Simply ask/pay someone else to do it. The reality is that for most people, delegation...
‘Building Your Band’ With An Executive Assistant
Athena Executive Services Contractor, Christina Miser, was recently interviewed by her executive, Gabe Nelson, on his podcast "Solopreneur Money" . Christina and Gabe discuss the tasks that a 'band manager' (aka executive assistant) can do, and creating a true...
Doing the work to be on a real vacation
My trip to Hawaii is looming. Looming? I mean, “Yea! I’m traveling again!” but it’s all coming back to me now, the work it takes to have a real vacation. It’s really worth it and it takes work. It’s now June 9. I leave June 29. I’ll be gone for 10 days. If I want a...
The Art of Productivity
Being productive takes planning, and energy. We have all put off those things that we really wanted or needed to do! We recently read a fantastic blog post about how time, energy and attention are all at the core of being more productive, and the importance of daily...
Give Your Brain A Break
Virtual meeting fatigue is very real. Have you experienced it? Working from home has a ton of perks, but just because you can sit in front of your laptop all day and attend back-to-back meetings...doesn't mean you should. Your brain needs a break! Doing something as...
Don’t Wait To Want To
Don’t wait to want to exercise. Don’t wait to want to make that phone call. Ever notice how happy or relieved you are AFTER you exercise? AFTER you make that call? AFTER you get that issue resolved? The inspiration and satisfaction is coming. It will come AFTER you do...
Effective Delegation with Gina Cotner
Athena Executive Services CEO Gina Cotner was recently interviewed by Gabe Nelson on his podcast, "Solopreneur Money". The two discussed the art of delegation, Gina's path to becoming an entrepreneur and how to strike a balance between demanding and appreciative. "If...
Thriving During a Crisis
"On the best of days, many CEOs would be lost without their EAs. In the chaos of the pandemic, exemplary assistance is not a luxury, but a requirement." Of course... we couldn't agree more! A good Executive Assistant is much more than a task-doer. A great Executive...
Delegating the “Heavy Lifting”
The art of delegating can be tricky, but worth it! How do you develop the people around you to really rise up and take on more of the 'heavy lifting' of your company? Giving things 'away' can seem daunting but once you do the real work of learning how to effectively...
Cut Through the Boredom!
Asian Efficiency is a blog we consistently return to. This recent post about tackling so-called 'boring' tasks has some useful tips on learning to form productive habits, as well as long- and short-term solutions to overcoming lethargy. Of course, one solution is...
Urgency wrecks productivity!
Enjoy this article which we agree with so very much. "Your ability to distinguish urgent and important tasks has a lot to do with your success.” Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”...
Delegation: It takes too long to explain what I want done!
"It takes too long to explain what I want done!" Have you ever had that thought? "I know I should delegate this, but it will take me longer to explain how to do it then it will take for me to simply do it myself!” You are correct. You are absolutely right. So why...
Working Virtually Isn’t Going Anywhere
Like the author of this article, our team has been working remotely since the start of our company, almost five years ago. Working from home is a benefit and advantage for our contractors. Our team of virtual Executive Assistants stay connected via bi-weekly strategy...
What does it take to manage people remotely?
What does it take to manage people remotely? As the founder and CEO of Athena, that’s all I’ve ever done. We didn’t “transition” our business to a “work from home” business. That’s been the primary benefit for our staff right from the beginning. With the pandemic came...
The Accountable Leader
Our CEO Gina Cotner frequently speaks to other Admin and Executive organizations on successfully managing expectations what accountability really looks like. Our own team of high-performing Executive Assistants are continuously trained and mentored on setting and...
Managing Expectations
Recently, Gina delivered a workshop at the amazing Empower 2020 Summit for Assistants, put on by our friends at Base. Here is an excerpt from the discussion on what it takes to truly be a high-caliber executive assistant: Managing Expectations of those around...
Failure isn’t the opposite of success
Yes, Bill Gates, I agree. "Success isn't binary.” Is the opposite of Success, Failure? No. Success is incremental. Are you learning lessons along the way? This is key. And this has been the key for our company. Certain clauses in our Master Service Agreement are...
How Athena Started
I left IBM in 2006 to “become an entrepreneur”. After going to motivational conferences and reading some Robert Kiyosaki, my 32-year-old self said to herself, “No need to be bound to a large corporation! I’m going to go be free! I’m going to be in control of my...
Compensation and the High-Level Executive Assistant
For many, the conversation about compensation can be uncomfortable or even daunting. What is a high level Executive Assistant actually worth? Who decides that amount and assigns a number value? This excellent article, featuring several thought leaders in the EA space,...
Questions Executive Assistants and Executives Should Ask Each Other
Great stuff again from Jeremy Burrows! Jeremy is an Executive Assistant, Author and Podcast host. In this Op-Ed for Base, Jeremy discusses effective Communication, and outlines specific questions Executives and their Assistants should be asking each other. "Think back...
Taking time off during the pandemic? But how?
“But business is slow. I’m not as busy as I once was. How can I justify Time Off?” Time Off is for your overall wellness. And you have been taxed during the pandemic. You have been taxed mentally, emotionally and perhaps financially and physically. It has been a...
Who Moved My Cheese? Who Moved My Life!?
This 22-year-old book is still so relevant! On the back cover, you’ll see the names of companies that reveal its age and era. This book is about the different ways we respond to life’s changes. Here in 2020 we might call a new edition of this book “Who Moved My...
Tips for Effective Delegation
Coaching our clients and Executive Assistants on effective delegation is one of the most important things we continue to do. Delegating with intention keeps a partnership strong and productive. We like this article that outlines 7 tips the author finds effective....
Would I have done anything differently?
Recently I was interviewed by a couple of students from the Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Washington. One of our current clients asked me if I would be willing to speak with them. When she introduced me via email, she said, “I believe that the training...
The Leader Assistant
We've been looking forward to the launch of this book! Our CEO, Gina Cotner, had the honor of writing a recommendation for The Leader Assistant, that is included on the inside pages. She was also interviewed by author Jeremy Burrows on his podcast last year, The...
Fostering Unity In A Diverse Remote Team
Leading your team remotely comes with its own set of challenges and surprises. Technology leaders are paving the way for those freshly navigating this new world of work. This article offers some useful tips on how to create team unity and continue to improve your...
WFH Perils and Predicaments – Part 3
Turning distractions and disruption into value! The distractions and disruptions that happen working from home, can be turned on their head into something valuable. The annoyance or burden of laundry or dishes can be turned into a “brain break” or a break in the...
Communication Secrets of Remote Teams
"Working from home, we don’t have hallway conversations and office parties that strengthen relationships and build trust. Also absent are the contextual clues that help us interpret meaning: body language, facial expression, and tone of voice. Without context,...
WFH Perils and Predicaments – Part 2
In our first blog, Gina talked about jointly working from home and how we have managed to be effective. I am going to address how we live (and work) in close quarters and the structures we use to support our sanity and our relationship. Most of what we have learned...
Co-viral Living: Sharing Your At-Home Workspace
Are there now two of you working from home in some amount of shared space? Have you started working through the issues that have popped up? Is this a cool new future emerging for you two, or a case for one of you moving to a tent in the backyard? We’ve been there!...
Happy 4th Birthday Athena!
It’s Athena’s 4th birthday this week! Four years ago, we incorporated. And how are we faring? All in all, well. We are grateful. This business has always “worked from home”, whether it’s me the CEO in a two-bedroom condo near Alki Beach in Seattle, WA (oh yes, our...
Managing people remotely
Athena has always been a work-from-home company. 100% virtual, from Day 1. But what does it take to manage your staff from home? There’s a lot that has come out in the last week or two on tips for working from home. But how do you manage your team, while sitting...
Work From Home Tips
Are you new to telecommuting? Our contractors love the flexibility of working remotely. They also are extremely adept at virtual work and staying on task. With the escalating health crisis in our world today, you may be new to working from home. This article via...
Actually finding work-life balance
We love helping clients truly find that balance between their work and personal life. Our team of virtual assistants make it possible for clients not only to get more done, but to be more fulfilled and satisfied with the work that they do themselves. This article...
The Power of a Brilliant Assistant
Business legend and entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson, knows a thing or two about effective delegation and what it takes to succeed. This article is from a few years ago, but his points still ring true. Having a smart phone is great, but having that right-hand person...
Spending 10 Hours A Week On “Compound Time”
Carving out time in your busy day for journal writing or taking a walk may seem counterproductive, but could it actually be a key to even greater success? "Despite having way more responsibility than anyone else, top performers in the business world often find time to...
The productivity issues we now have, due to real-time-all-the-time communication
Very interesting article about “the problems with real-time-all-the-time communication,” and the value of “asynchronous communication,” which is when you send a message without expecting an immediate response. “This trend toward near-constant communication means that...
Delegate Effectively
Enjoy this great podcast about delegating effectively! We love Asian Efficiency and learned a lot from this particular episode. If you don’t have an hour to learn about delegation, check out the podcast cheat sheet and pick a section that sounds good to you! Perhaps...
Sharing Our ‘Secret Sauce’
Gina really enjoyed getting to share some of the principles that make Athena EA’s high performers, with the great Personal Assistants at Pepper's Personal Assistants. Gina specifically outlined the “8 characteristics of an Athena Executive Assistant”. These 8 specific...
Want more productive, less stressed workers?
We were delighted to read that the study highlighted in this article shows that the reasons people decided to work remotely were better work-life balance (91%), increased productivity/better focus (79%), less stress (78%), and to avoid a commute (78%). What are the...
The Building Blocks Of Success
Humility, clear communication, and a penchant for learning are all qualities that help define 'success'. The earlier these kind of qualities are learned and implemented, the better! We particularly appreciated this recent article highlighting 13 of the most difficult...
How Will You Prepare Now to Hit the Ground Running in 2020?
Will you be wondering where your next hot toddy is coming from, or will you be hitting the ground running with gusto in the first week of 2020? Our CEO, Gina Cotner, shares how Athena Executive Services assistants are helping our clients craft and plan now how they'll...
JOMO (the Joy of Missing Out) & 5 tips to get there
While this article has a summertime setting and that season has passed where we are, we love it so much that we want to share it anyway! "JOMO is about disconnecting, opting out and being O.K. just where you are.” Seems like a great access to being present with...
The Value of Time Ownership
Does having every minute of the day scheduled mean you won’t get to have fun? What if allocating all 24 hours in the day, led to less stress? Shawn Blanc shares why he schedules every minute of the day. Our two favorite reasons: 1) Keeps me from dual focus: I know...
The High Road® Leader Podcast
Athena Executive Services CEO Gina Cotner was recently interviewed by Ron Rael of The High Road® Institute. The two discussed Gina's path to becoming a leader, how she partners with her team of virtual EA's and her definition of good leadership. Listen here: The High...
The power of self-awareness
Self awareness increases productivity and fortunately it can be developed and nurtured! This is a big reason why the team at Athena is unique. Enjoy this great article with 7 ways to develop Self-Aware Teams!
A Conversation with Dr. Marc Cooper of MBC Consultants
Gina recently joined Dr. Marc B. Cooper, of MBC Consultants, to discuss Core Values and the difference they can make in your company.
CEO Gina Cotner featured on The Leader Assistant Podcast
Our CEO Gina had the pleasure of being interviewed by Jeremy Burrows, on The Leader Assistant Podcast. Gina and Jeremy discuss what it takes to be a virtual vs. on-site Executive Assistant, time management and other tips, and how to set yourself apart as a...
I’m going to have a balanced life – as soon as I find the time- Part 8
I’m going to start to pull all this together now: So, we’ve talked about how time is different than money, in that you can’t make more of it. And we all have the same amount of time. You’ve begun to think about what would be a Balanced Life for you. And we’ve talked...
I’m going to have a balanced life – as soon as I find the time- Part 7
Ok, so now back to my request that you do this project by the end of the month. Many people can’t say if they can do that or not. When you’re out of money you start bouncing checks. However with time, we have some crazy notion that we can keep squeezing things...
I’m going to have a balanced life – as soon as I find the time- Part 6
You may be saying to yourself, “Yes, of course Gina, my CALENDAR IS clearly my check register for Time. Duh. That’s where I would look to see if I had time for that project." I know some of you have amazing calendars. Online. Color coded. Filters that can be turned on...
I’m going to have a balanced life – as soon as I find the time- Part 5
The point here is to get that you’re SPENDING. You know, you talk to your kids about spending money. You maybe talk to them about overspending or "living within their means". Or maybe you are having these same discussions with your spouse or partner. We’re pretty...
I’m going to have a balanced life – as soon as I find the time- Part 4
While we all woke up today with different amounts of money in our checking accounts, we all woke up with the SAME AMOUNT of time. It’s not like I get a 32 hours in a day and you get 20 hours in a day, and you get 35. You, like everybody else, get 24 hours in a day,...
I’m going to have a balanced life – as soon as I find the time- Part 3
Ok, well, as odd as it may seem, I’m going to give you a new way to think about Time by talking about MONEY. Unlike Money, Time is something you cannot make more of. I’ll probably say that 3 more times today. You all have different amounts of money in your checking...
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