5 Surprising Ways Your Executive Assistant Can Help You Get More Done

When most people think of an Executive Assistant, they think of the administrative tasks like calendaring, email management and managing meetings. The fact is, the Executive Assistant is the secret weapon for top-level executives and I love all the things they can do in such a demanding role to make our lives better.

Here are some additional tasks for your high-level assistants.

#1: Helping You Organize Your Tasks and Projects. 

For some of us, we love our complex projects and keep it all in our head. For others, we like to visually see the mapping of our key concepts and enjoy grabbing some sticky notes and getting them on the wall so we can see what we need to work on. Your executive assistant can do the same thing by creating a virtual wall of information with modern day tools and give you the framework to ensure that you get those projects done. This is where allowing your executive assistant to use their familiarity with office software and project management tools can be a game changer.

While business leaders may be great with a laundry list of responsibilities, leaning in and letting your assistant help you organize your tasks and projects is vital to your sanity!

#2: Data & Reporting.

Your executive assistant plays a crucial role in helping get these critical tasks done. Data and reporting are vital to the strategic planning and creating a company culture and management style that is based in numbers.

Gathering this information should not be on the owner’s valuable time but instead can be a key element of the executive assistant skills which help the executive team. Whether in creating Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and Scorecards or building out a framework for being able to analyze the information, skilled assistants can be a strategic partner to the owner in this. An executive assistant can also help with delegating parts of the project to other c-suite executives, team members or vendors.

So whether you need help with expense reports, financial reports, business productivity or people management, lean in and let your assistant help you with these everyday tasks.

#3: Ordering Advanced Supplies to Help Support You

So often we think how helpful would it be to have certain advanced tool in place but we don’t take the time to research and find the right tools that will make our lives better. A personal assistant that is dedicated to helping make your life better is willing to find the perfect tools.

For instance, simple but practical medium size 5 x 7 sticky notes can be great for mapping out projects or putting information against a wall to see how the workflow will work. Glass desk organizers are great for getting clutter off your desk but also mapping out your to do for the day so you can easily check off as you get things done and wipe your sleep clean for the next day. or even coordinating modern day tools for everyday tasks like charging electronics can protect your valuable time.

The fact is, there are many simple things that an assistant can procure to simplify complex situations and change stressful situations into calm moments.

4: Helping You Plan and Film Videos

For many of us, creating some videos, whether it’s for our team relating to how we want things done, or for marketing and sales, videos are a key part of what we do. The hardest part is not the actual filming, but scheduling time to map out talking points and sit down and film. This is a great way to expand your personal assistant’s list of responsibilities to incorporate critical tasks such as calendaring skills and communications skills to include additional video and event coordination. Whether the filming is just a videographer and you, or your full team, your assistant can showcase their skill sets in additional ways.

Not sure what they can help with? ASK! You might be surprised to learn that your assistant has a level of skill that places you on center stage.

#5: Scheduling Time for You.

A key part of being a successful business owner is to navigate your time and block out time to uplevel your surroundings, your views and your creative and productive time. Whether it’s scheduling time as a staycation or scheduling time at a different location, your assistant can help you with travel arrangements and plan some good work productivity times to help you get the most accomplished.

For instance, we did an annual retreat at one location, and we were super productive and found that we would benefit from doing a few more days in another location for more filming and to complete some projects. Our assistant was able to help us to plan additional days so we could be in ultra-productivity mode and get the most accomplished. Sometimes all you have to do is ask.

Overall, while we often think of an executive assistant doing basics like calendaring and email, a key part of their role is to be the gatekeeper, but also to help us get into that productive mode so we can get things done. Every time another executive assistant graduates from our EA training program, I’m always thrilled because I know how much they’ll be able to support the owner and help reduce the stress, the strain and help the owner be more productive in less time.

So start embracing an assistant more and allow yourself to be supported and not have to do everything yourself!