Very few things in today’s world are not fast-paced and demanding of our seemingly immediate attention. Notice how we all walk around staring at our phones all day- oblivious to the world around us. Ok, that was me officially succumbing to the aging social stigma of complaining about “kids these days!” But am I wrong? Of course not! Lol
My point is: you gotta keep up! So how do we do that? Luckily, along with all the distractions of a fast-paced world, there are some pretty cool, quite useful tools.
As an administrative assistant in the social marketing arena or any other area, the primary objective is to keep things running. Smoothly. Effectively.
Here are a few tips I’ve picked up that make my job a lot easier (and more efficient!):
- Schedule Blocking:
- Set aside time in your schedule for things that matter most. Like checking emails at the very start of your day. Checking your calender, and those of your team members, to see what their agenda for the day looks like. Maybe a client in crisis needs the focus of your attention above all else. Make Time. It won't happen any other way!
- Utilize Project Management Tools:
- Many programs have automations and workflows to help you and your team stay on track and see “what’s next?” Hubspot, Asana, Trello are a few. They are not free, but worth it!
- Batching Tasks:
- Ever heard of “mental switching?” If you haven’t heard the term, I guarantee you’ve had to do it. Probably a lot if you work in any interactive work environment. (Or have small children!) It’s when you have to quickly switch your train of thought from one thing to another. My “train” too easily goes “off-track” anyway, so it’s imperative to group similar-themed tasks together. Doing them all at the same time improves accuracy & efficiency.
- Use Email Filters and Templates:
- Send the same type of email over & over? Saying the same message? Create a template instead! Make it personalized so you can drop in client & project names & dates. Maybe even make 2 or 3 versions of it so your clients won’t see the same thing every time they open your recurring email.
- Create Recurring Tasks:
- Again with the automations! But really, if you have to do A, B & C for client One every M,W,F and D & E for client Two, but only every 2 weeks… Can you keep up with that? Consistently? If you can, you’re pretty awesome. Me? Not so much! Setting up recurring tasks in Hubspot and Asana keep me on track every day!
- Take Strategic Breaks:
- Ever get stuck so deep in a mind-bender you literally can’t think? What’s my name?! What day is it?! Ok, a little exaggerated, but seriously, sometimes “thinking harder” just gets harder! Get up! Walk around. Chat with a friend. Pet your dog. Go outside for a minute or two. Take one of those “mental shifts” mentioned earlier, but this time it’s for a good purpose.
All that said, small but meaningful adjustments in your methods and time management can have a huge impact in your day! You’ll find you are more productive, and probably generally happier with your work overall. Who knows? Maybe your boss notices your awesomeness and sends you on a “thank you” cruise! Right, Rich?
