Julie Reynolds Virtual

02/16/2026

I know it's the 2020s. The "F-word" has long since, regrettably, become commonplace. Profanity is kind of insidious; the more you're exposed to it, the more you can find it slipping out in your own conversation. My swear word usage definitely picked up as a young legal secretary working for a brash, blunt lawyer from New Jersey who spoke like a Soprano and verbally abused his wife over the phone. (I still carry "That's horse s**t, Norma!!!" with me as a mental running joke to myself.)

However, if you want to be viewed as a professional, there is no place for the F bomb in writing. Not in your emails. Not on your LinkedIn posts. Not on any other social media post that might be seen by your employer or any of your colleagues. No matter how mad you are. Not in writing, ever!

Someone I follow on LinkedIn, who is a marketing professional, wrote a post about being rejected for a job he'd applied for. He used the work f*** three times in that post. A post on a career networking platform, where his profile will be seen by prospective employers. Does he really think presenting himself as a foul-mouthed "Bitter, party of one" is going to make him more appealing to those employers?

Just don't do it. It's not like I've never said it. I made it to 50 years old before I let it slip in front of my mother (in my defense, we were in traffic and I thought we were about to have a head-on collision), but I've said it. But don't put it in writing. Have some class. Protect your image.

02/11/2026

I've been asked more than once, "So what do you actually DO?" Just what does an Executive Assistant do? Is it just a fancy modern title for "Secretary"? The role did *evolve* from the secretarial position - anyone who tells you otherwise is not being honest. But anyone who envisions typing, taking dictation, answering the boss's phone and serving coffee is living in the wrong century. This description is IT! (Brilliantly written by Lucy Brazier OBE, Founder & CEO, Executive Support Media - follow her on LinkedIn.)

"'You're an admin! What do you bring to the table?'

Nothing. I bring nothing to the table.

I am the planner, the anticipator, the one who sees the risk before it happens.

I manage calendars that create space for thought.

I am the calm in the chaos.

I prepare meetings that shape decisions.

I protect time like it is currency, because it is.

I am the business's memory.

I track the details no one else notices.

I join the dots others miss.

I brief, debrief, follow up and follow through.

I smooth relationships.

I hold the line on capacity, so ambition does not turn into exhaustion.

I read the room before the room even knows what it feels like.

I hold confidences and never reveal them.

I absorb pressure so leaders can think clearly.

I organise the travel, the events, the strategy days, the board packs.

I manage suppliers, budgets, inboxes, crises.

I fix what is broken before it becomes apparent.

I make it look effortless when it is anything but.

I support.

I challenge when needed.

I protect the reputation of the office and the integrity of the leader.

And when the organisation grows, it is often because I made space for it to grow.

So what do I bring to the table?

Nothing. I bring nothing to the table.

I am the table."

02/11/2026

Hi kids! Well, I returned to the corporate world quite some time ago and shelved my virtual assistant business. I came back to the same realization I had almost a decade ago: What I really, really wanted was to be an entrepreneur. And working as a freelance executive assistant meant I was still trading time for money (and very sporadic money at that). Not for me. So, as I do the 8-to-5 office life (which, fortunately for me, I do enjoy) and quietly work on other business ventures offline, I’ve repurposed this page as a spot to share advice and observations gleaned from 35 years in the workforce as a legal secretary, legal assistant, and executive assistant, with a couple years of recruiting thrown in. (I know that number dates me. I don’t care.) Who’s my target audience? I have no idea - whoever might benefit from my own lessons learned, or someone who’s really bored and enjoys my writing. Welcome!

03/11/2024

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. - Tony Robbins

11/30/2023

For instance...my personal policy, with rare exceptions, has always been not to be Facebook friends with current co-workers - and *never* with my boss. Always remember: No matter how awesomely your boss treats you and how much you like and respect them, their first loyalty is to the company.

09/13/2023

When coaching / providing feedback to others, try to use the 5:1 rule of balancing positive and negative feedback: Offer 5 positives to 1 negative. Or, as Mary Kay Ash put it, "Sandwich every bit of criticism between heavy layers of praise." And exercise diplomacy - use the lightest touch possible to obtain the desired results.

09/11/2023

06/23/2023

Hi kids! Here's a bit of summer school studying for you. There are so many project management tools out there today: Monday, Asana, Trello, and many others. Which one is best for you depends on a number of factors. Do you have a team, or are you a solopreneur? Are you in a creative field, or the corporate world, or in social media management? Comparing your needs vs pricing vs what each one delivers can be overwhelming. Forbes has one of the most concise articles I've seen breaking it all down. Here's the link.

Project management software makes it easy to plan projects, allocate tasks and keep teams organized so that deadlines and goals are met. With so many project management systems on the market today, however, choosing the right option for your needs can be difficult. To help, we analyzed dozens of the

09/07/2022

Looking at it this way, instead of "I'm just trading time for money", is so much more positive - and it's true, regardless of whether you're hourly, salaried, on retainer or self-employed.

08/28/2022

Simple but powerful advice. Excited to start a new week and wishing you a happy and productive one as well!