Top 5 Time Saving Tips for Busy Personal and Executive Assistants

Personal and executive assistants have to deal with a huge amount every day. From helping the boss keep track of daily tasks, deadlines and meetings to fielding calls, memos and emails from other employees in the company and people from other organisations, PAs and EAs are often run off their feet from the moment the office opens to the time the last worker leaves.

To help all of those hard working personal and executive assistants out there get through their day, we’ve put together our top 5 time saving tips for PAs and EAs.

1. Colour code

Writing messages and memos on colour coded paper will help you and your boss to keep track of them. Using coloured paper, even tones that are just slightly off white, will help you to find important messages in amongst the piles of white paper that cover the desk.

2. Create a system

Creating a standard for all of your memos, messages, notes and emails will help you to locate important information quickly and easily.

Try to write, the name, phone number, email address and subject in the same place on the page, or in the email, every time. Decide how you’re going to catalogue messages and memos – for example, alphabetically by first name, by last name or chronologically – and then stick to it.

The more rigid you are with your system, the easier it will be for everyone in your office, including your boss, to use it efficiently.

3. All-in-one office coffee

Ordering coffee, buying coffee machines, and arranging repairs when those machines break down, takes time and energy. Reclaim a few vital hours by ordering your office drinks through FreshGround.

Not only is our coffee among the best in the business, we include repairs as part of the deal, so your coffee machine will be up and running again before caffeine withdrawal has taken hold in the office.

4. Group interruptions

If you have several errands to run or people to meet, try to group all of these interruptions at the same time. Research has shown that it takes most people a while to refocus on their work after leaving their desk. Minimising the number of times you leave your desk will cut down on the time wasted readjusting to work.

5. Make a list

Simple but effective, lists are one of the most practical ways to organise your day and streamline your tasks. If you haven’t yet discovered the joy of lists, now’s the perfect time to grab a notebook and get scribbling.

To find out more about our exceptional range of coffee and our comprehensive service, get in touch with a member of the FreshGround team today.

And don’t forget to come and see us as this year’s PA Show at Olympia London on March 2nd and 3rd.