The Leader Assistant Podcast with Jeremy Burrows

#353: Ask an Assistant Spotlight - Laptop Bags for the EA on the Go

• Jeremy Burrows • Episode 353

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Jess Lindgren is a longtime C-Suite assistant, and host of the Ask an Assistant podcast. 

In this Ask an Assistant spotlight episode, Jess talks about laptop bags for the EA on the go.

Show Notes -> leaderassistant.com/353

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Jeremy:

Hey friends, it's Jeremy Burrows, host of the Leader Assistant Podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Today I'm actually excited to put the spotlight on my friend Jess Lindgren's podcast called Ask an Assistant. Jess takes questions from you all and then answers them on the Ask an Assistant show. So be sure to go to askanassistant.com to check out more episodes and submit your questions for Jess. I hope you enjoy this spotlight episode of the Ask an Assistant show, and we'll talk to you soon.

Speaker 2:

The Leader Assistant podcast exists to encourage and challenge assistants to become confident, game-changing leader assistants.

Jess:

Hello and welcome to another episode of Ask an Assistant, the podcast for executive assistants and the people that love us. I'm your host, Jess Lindgren. Let's get to work. This week's question comes from esteemed colleague Julie, who asks, Jess, I'm looking for a new laptop bag. Do you have any recommendations for me? Julie, yes, I do. You know I do. Anybody out there who is listening first, Julie, I thank you for your question. And for anyone listening who has a question of their own that you would like answered, I would love to hear from you. Askanassistant.com. Lay your comments, questions, thoughts, concerns on me. Back to Julie's question. I have two laptop bags, both of which I bought when I was in Paris for the first time. One was planned, one was not planned. The one that was not planned is my ToMe backpack. I had bought a very lightweight Amazon brand camping backpack, like super lightweight, compresses down to almost nothing, and it broke. Like I landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport and it just fell apart. So I'm literally scooping all of my things up off the floor, trying to hold them together in this backpack and failing miserably. And uh just a few doors down from my gate was a ToMe store. Uh, not the best option to buy at the airport. I'm just gonna come out and say it. I definitely paid way more for that backpack than I should have. However, had a really lovely interaction with the woman there. She was an excellent salesperson and uh really sold me. It was definitely a less expensive model. I could have spent more, I will tell you that. Um, I wasn't thrilled with what I spent even now. I'm still a little bit like, man, if you just maybe there was like a, I don't know, some other backpack store somewhere else in the airport. But you know, off of an international flight, you're tired, you're jet lagged, you're whatever, you just need a backpack sometimes. And I was like, you know what? How many times do you come to Paris? We're gonna treat ourselves. So bought the Tumi backpack. I still have it 10, 8, 9, 10 years later, I'd have to look at what year that was. Um, it's been at least eight, if not 10 years, since I bought that backpack. I still have it, I still use it all the time. It's still in excellent shape for all the trips that it's been on. Um, so even though the price point still stings a little bit, even eight, nine, ten years later, uh, it's been totally worth it. Like the cost per use has definitely amortized over time. Um, it felt a little excessive at the time. And again, eight, nine, ten years later, it still feels a little excessive for a backpack. Um, but it has served me very well. It's very classic, it's very uh sleek, it's very chic, like it just looks nice, it feels nice, it carries enough stuff, it has room to expand, like it has a little zipper you can make the backpack um a little bigger or compress it a little bit. It has a lot of nice features, a lot of pockets. So if you carry things like I do, like pens, sharpies, uh chapstick, snacks, um, notebooks, a laptop, there are places inside of the backpack for all of your things. Um, the second laptop bag that I have was the planned purchase, which is the Longchamp Le Pliage. Um, I had planned to go to the shop on the Champs-Élysées and buy myself a Le Pliage, and I am so thrilled that I did. I still have my Paris one. I have, I think I've bought three total bags from Le Pliage, uh, Longchamp, rather, from the Le Pliage line over the years, all of which have come from Paris. I did recently buy, okay, so like the bag, like the full-size bag that I have. I have a canvas, Le Pliage, the folding style. Um, it's a black bag. It folds down, it's super lightweight, um, it's really nice. Again, one of those just classic, classy, looks good with everything, very chic, uh, very common in Europe. I call it my European lady bag. And uh anywhere you go in Europe, you'll see them all over the UK, all over France, all over the Netherlands, like everywhere that I've gone in Europe, I see women carrying this bag all the time. So just very classic, very classy, very uh affordable price point. Um, I think at the time that I bought mine, I have the large size. I think it was like 120 euros. And again, this would have been eight, nine, ten years ago. Still have the same bag. Um, have used it a ton over the years. I'm definitely looking forward to the next time I'm in Paris replacing it. I also have not looked at the Le Pliage, uh, excuse me, the Longchamp website in quite some time, and I do hope that they sell the bag that I have in leather so that I could buy a really nice one and just never have to replace it. Um, although, again, 10, you know, eight, nine, ten years of use for 120 euros, that's really not that bad. So maybe I will just buy another canvas one, but we'll see. Um, but over subsequent trips to Paris, I have since invested in the small handbag. And on that first trip, I also purchased the cosmetics case that they had at the time. I looked it up just before recording this episode, and it is called La Pouchette, I think. Um, they have since discontinued the model that I have, they have reissued it as basically like a super mini version of the le pliage, and it only has one handle that hangs off the back. I don't love that style for the le pliage. I like it when the handle is on both sides, or in the case of my pushette that I have, um it's one thicker leather handle on the top. I'll I'll put a picture on Instagram. You'll see what I'm talking about. So basically, I have like a small, medium, large version of my bags, and uh, even though the smaller ones do not hold a laptop, they are still things that fit into my laptop bag, whether it is my Longchamp bag or my To Me backpack, and they go everywhere with me. And the teeny tiny one, the little cosmetics case, that is the one that I get the most compliments on everywhere I go to this day. I've lived in Minnesota, I've lived in California, I presently live in New York, I travel quite a bit, California, Florida, Colorado, Eastern, Western Europe, rather. Um, and everywhere I go, everybody loves my teeny tiny cosmetics case. And everything that I need fits inside of it, which is my favorite part. Like my wallet fits in there. I might actually do a little what's in my bag on Instagram. I I keep meaning to do it. Every time that I open up my bag, I'm just like, wow, all the stuff that's in here. I should really just do a quick little, here's everything that actually fits in here. So it's basically everything that I need that's not my laptop fits inside of that little cosmetics case. Um, so that's where I'm at. Um, I personally am not a huge brand person. Like I have no problem shopping at and wearing, like looking at my outfit right now. I am wearing at least 50% Costco. And I have no problem with that. However, um, I am often in situations where people, if they don't care about brands, they at least notice brands. So maybe people do care if they notice. Um, but I definitely have some basics like um my coat, my jacket is a Calvin Klein piece. And then again, having my To Me backpack, my Long Champ, Le Pliage, those are pieces that are just instantly recognizable. People see them and they're like, okay, you've got a nice little it it serves both purposes of being a recognizable brand, uh, very sturdy and reliable and affordable. So it serves three purposes. Um, because you know, even though I paid, I think I paid like 400 euros for the Tumi backpack, which again, not thrilled about it, but over the course of many years, it has more than paid for itself. And with the Le Pliage, I mean 120 euros after a couple years, it's that was totally worth it. So, you know, it just serves a lot of purposes. Um, however, Julie, for you, these are the items that I like. Uh, I also carry the Le Pliage, the Longchamp bag less um just because I am in my 40s and putting the backpack, putting the laptop on one shoulder is less comfortable or at least less tolerable than it used to be. Um, so I definitely use my backpack a lot more so I can evenly distribute the weight between my shoulders. Uh, something I might invest in reasonably soon is more of like an executive weekender, something that I can pull behind me and just attach that to my luggage, like get a nice little matching set of executive weekender plus uh rolling carry-on. Um, just because the older you get, and maybe it's even better if you start younger, who knows? Um, but take care of your body and not putting, I mean, my laptop quote unquote only weighs what, three, three and a half, four pounds. That's still a lot on, especially when you're putting it on just one shoulder. Um, so the long and the short of it, I love these pieces. They were investments, but they have served me very well. Um, and then for you, Julie, it's really gonna depend. You know, do you want a backpack? Do you want a one-shoulder bag? Do you want um, I had a good friend who had and loved a really nice Kate Spade purse that was big enough to hold a laptop. Um, I think a lot of designers, anywhere from Target all the way up to whatever expensive Louis Vuitton, I don't know if they're the most expensive, but like that's the expensive brand that's coming to mind for me right now. Um, you know, a lot of brands have recognized the value and adapted over the last five to ten years to accommodate up to a 15-inch laptop. So I think it's really gonna depend on your personal preferences. If you want more of a traditional, like a purse, if you want something more like a tote bag, like I think it's Louis Vuitton, I think that makes like kind of a classic large leather tote style. Um, because I had another girlfriend who really that's all she carries, like it's big enough to put her coat in if she's on a flight, you know, plus a bunch of other stuff. Um, a friend with a purse, a friend with a giant designer tote bag, I like my somewhat designer foldable le pliage, I like my designer-ish backpack. Do you want more of a briefcase? Like, I'm sure who is uh like a classic briefcase. Is it Austin Power? It's a Fendi. It's a Fendi. Like I think Fendi makes a very fancy uh briefcase moment for you. Um, so it really just depends on what style it is that you're looking for. Anything you you can get what you like. If you like a purse, if you like a tote, if you like a shoulder bag, if you like a backpack, if you like what whatever it is, um, you know, decide on the style that you want, decide on the materials that you want, decide on your budget. And uh, since we are facing the end of the year, it is presently the almost gosh, we're almost a third of the way through December, aren't we? Um, it's the gift giving season, whether it's something that maybe a friend or a family member is gonna get for you, or maybe hint, hint, nudge, nudge, wink, wink, executives, any executives out there listening, if your assistant, um, if if you are in some kind of industry where appearances matter, which often as an executive assistant, appearances do matter. Having nice quality, brand recognizable items is definitely a bonus. If you are struggling, executive to figure out what to get for your executive assistant, set a budget and let your executive assistant pick out a super swanky laptop bag of their dreams. So, Julie, um, that's where we're at. You know, pick out the style, pick out the size, pick out the color, pick out the materials. Uh, after you've got a budget, whether it's a personal budget, a gifted budget, a work budget, whatever it is, pick something that you love, and uh I will see you on Instagram at ask an assistant. You can look for me there for a little tour of my various bags, and I would love to know what you end up choosing. Uh, for anybody else out there, again, askanassistant.com. I always love to hear from you. And until next week, take care.

Speaker 2:

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Jeremy Burrows

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