Repeating Headers and Footers while in Sections

Someone was asking on another site how to repeat a footer for just one section in a document, i.e. a table. I called my helpline (my sister) and she wrote the following instructions. She said it would be the same instructions for a table or a document in Word.

These are instructions for Word 2003.

"I had a 6 page table and I changed the footer on page 2 and then again on page 5.

In this example, I did the following:

Go to the end of page 1, i.e. the last cell (bottom right), or after the last word on the page.

• Insert
• Break
• Next Page
  your cursor will bump you to the "next page" (page 2).
  
  When on the next page (or page 2)
• View the footer
• In the View footer pop-up menu you will see an icon that looks like eyeglasses (formally called the "Link to Previous" button)
• Click on this icon so that it is not depressed (or selected)
  Once it is unselected, you can type whatever you want in as your new footer and it will not change page 1
  
• Close the footer pop-up menu. You will see that the page 2 footer continues on until you change it again, i.e. I wanted to change the footer on page 5 as well so I went to the end of page 4 (last cell bottom right - or if in a Word document, then after the last word on a page...)
  
• Insert
• Break
• Next Page
  the cursor bumped me to the "next page" (page 5)
  and I was able to type in a different footer which continued on until the end of the document.
  
  Repeat this for each page that you want a different footer on.
  
  NOTE: This is the same way you change a header. If you want to change the header on separate pages, you have to do the same as above, only select header instead of footer. "
  Lynn Crosbie

Hope this was helpful. I haven't tried it because I have Word 2007 and the instructions did not work for me.

I am not sure why the Comments sections is not working on my blog, but a reader e-mailed me with this Comment:

"The reason it did not work for you is that you have to create a “Section Break”, not just a page break. In Word 2007, you go to Page Layout, Breaks, Section Breaks.

Thanks.
Patty"

October 15th, Blog Action Day: Poverty

I am participating in Blog Action Day and the theme this year is Poverty.

I previously wrote an article on Charities in the Workplace and have seen an increase in the participation in charities at offices I have worked in. I think by rallying together around a cause whether it be poverty at home or abroad, or any other good cause, it is important for an office to be part of their community and show the world we care.

One of the charities I personally support is WorldVision, who lend support to children who are thrown into poverty by war, by their geographic location or any number of reasons. Children are so innocent and are often the victims when they lose parents or live in a poor area of the world. How fortunate we are in North America, but even here there are people living below the poverty line.

I support three children through World Vision and feel although it is a small drop in the bucket, many drops will fill the bucket to overflowing so I would encourage others to look into charities that help relieve the sufferings of people in poverty around the world.

One office I worked in together sponsored a child as a workplace charity project. We all participated by writing to our sponsored child and contributed money towards supporting her.

There are many things we can do as employees to better our world, even while at work. Take up a cause today at your office and rally your co-workers to reach out and touch someone who is less fortunate than yourself.

Working for the Disorganized...

I was recently reminded by a reader of what it can be like to work for someone who is completely disorganized. That definitely can be a challenge.

In all my career I have only worked for one person who fit this description. A wonderful person, but totally disorganized and always waiting for the last minute for everything.

How can the assistant cope? The argument could be said that the role of the assistant is to assist and keep your boss organized so we shouldn't complain when we have to do it. For the most part I agree with that but when it comes to working for multiple bosses this can sometimes be a daunting task when one or more is very disorganized. I have found the best way to cope is to keep yourself organized. Keeping yourself organized will give your boss assurance that everything is under control and they will feel more secure that you are handling things for them. You will also feel more in control of the situation and less stressed.

• A disorganized boss will oftentimes leave more things in the assistant's hands to get done on their behalf because they see that you are good at it and can handle it, which makes for a more interesting job. Although you have to be careful they don't pile everything on you.
• Disorganized bosses are also very appreciative of the way we can make order out of chaos so there is a lot of job satisfaction when you are appreciated and needed.

In my reader's example, the problem was the trials of working for multiple bosses when one or more of them is disorganized. In today's working world it is probably the norm that we are going to work for more than one person, the question is how to balance it? When I worked for multiple bosses, while the one was a proscrastinator and disorganized, the other one was excellent to work for and could fend for himself. The unfortunate part of this was that the person who was organized tended to get less assistance because the most time was spent on the disorganized person.

If you get along well with your bosses then that makes it more bearable and you are also more able to discuss the problems with them. Sometimes bringing the situation to their attention may help. It probably won't help the disorganized get organized, but they will at least have an understanding of what you are coping with and hopefully keep that in mind when they are giving you work.

Here are some things I would suggest to help:

• Have regular meetings with your boss. If that is not happening, schedule yourself in their calendar. If you do arrange to meet with them, be prepared with questions and information so they will see the benefit.
• Read all incoming correspondence and if you have access to their Inbox, read their e-mail as well. You want to keep up to date on their working life and all they have to do.
• Keep up to date on their calendar and look ahead to see what is coming up and what your boss might need to prepare for that. A good bring-forward system is a must for this as you will want to bring forward items they will need for meetings and conference calls.
• Put reminders in their Tasks or Calendar of anything you know is coming up with enough lead time so they will have time to complete it. Remind them verbally as well when you meet with them.
• Keep an organized filing system and file list. You will be the one they go to if they want something.
• If your boss tends to misplace things when they get it, make an extra copy for your file before giving it to them.
• Your co-workers may be able to lend a hand when things get too overwhelming. Return the favour if you can.

To my reader I say, we sometimes put a lot of burdens on ourselves to perform perfectly. Sometimes we just have to accept that we can only do so much in a day and leave it at that. If you are a hard worker, that will be noticed and appreciated. So keep yourself organized and do the best you can do and that is all anyone can expect from you.

Kings and Queens of the Office

A friend was telling me about an Executive Assistant who has taken on a superior attitude at work and seems to think she is the Queen, looking down her nose on all her subjects, the other assistants. How can you survive in this kind of a working environment?

Of course we know that people like this are not the Queen and their self-importance is only from themselves, but they can sure make your life miserable while you are in their kingdom.

The head of your organization can often set the tone for how the rest of the office functions. If they are a team player then that filters down to the staff, but if they are the King of the Hill, then that also starts to filter down and people start to feel more important than they should and a lot of power struggles start happening and back-biting.

Even though you may have someone in your office that is like this, that does not mean you have to become involved. To work effectively, I have always found working as a team is the best working situation. Everyone helping each other and working together to achieve the goals of the organization. Here are some ways that I have found can help:

• Be friendly and pleasant to all your co-workers;
• Do your work to the best of your ability;
• Find co-workers you can work with and develop good working relationships with them and help each other;
• Keep good records, you never know when you will need them to cover yourself. Kings and Queens like to blame others when they fail;
• Evaluate your own behaviour and make sure you are not part of the problem;
• Try to keep a good work/life balance and know that your job is only part of your life, not all of it.

Take a deep breath. It is only work and there are more important things in the big scheme of life. Start a new attitude at work, beginning with your own and see how your good attitude can spread throughout the office. Perhaps even on a little royalty as you pass their way.