Annie Croner:
Welcome to the Whole Assistant Podcast where assistants come to embrace their badassery and discover how to show up more strategically for their careers, their executives, and most importantly, themselves. I'm your coach, Annie Croner. Join us as we dive into the skills, strategies and mindset that will help you unleash your full potential. Let's go. Welcome to this episode of the Whole Assistant Podcast where I'm going to share 55 habits of exceptionally Efficient Executive Assistance. So there is something to be said for efficiency, as we all know, and sometimes we lose sight of what actually impacts our efficiency. And these habits are just going to be a good reminder for you today that when we implement these things, we can streamline everything. We can reduce stress and create efficiency for ourselves.
Annie Croner:
The first habit I'm going to cover in this episode is a habit of systematizing everything. If you want to be a truly impactful executive assistant, systematization is the foundation which we build on. So if you've participated in any one of my free live masterclasses on how to embrace your executive assistant badassery, you will know this because I share this. I talk about this a lot in that lesson in that masterclass. And the reason why is because without well defined, well articulated, well thought out systems and processes, we tend to run around like chickens with our heads cut off. We are lacking in productivity. We are lacking in efficiency. When we have systems that are working for us, we don't have to work as hard.
Annie Croner:
Meaning that whenever we have those systems in place, it will reduce decision fatigue. It's going to reduce the mental fatigue, the mental load. It's also going to boost the speed by which we do things or increase our efficient output. And this builds consistency because when we are doing something the same way over and over again, we're showing up consistently more often, we're making less mistakes as a result. And this is going to serve to build trust with your executive. So when it comes to systems, they are so important for us. And honestly, there are so many great tools out there to help with your systems. I have a list of tools that I train on and I talk about when I train on systems.
Annie Croner:
So if you're interested in learning more, you can get on the waitlist for my Leveled Up Assistant program because it's really going to help you with your efficiency and it's also going to help you with systematizing everything. Some examples of systems are creating email templates for yourselves, recurring meetings, prep lists and agendas for your meetings, even your one on ones with your executive. Anything that you do on a consistent basis, can and should be systematized. It will just help you reduce stress and know the next step. And there again, once we act on that system over and over again, it's going to increase our efficiency, it's going to increase our productive output, and we are going to experience so much less decision fatigue and mental fatigue as a result. So what recurring tasks can you templatize or systematize? I really want you to think about that. And for my really high performing executive assistants, you may be sitting there thinking, yes, I've heard this all before, but there is always room for improvement. So just be thinking about how you can improve your systems so that you can really maximize your productive output and create more efficiency in your day and in your life as a whole.
Annie Croner:
The second habit of exceptionally efficient executive assistants is that they ruthlessly prioritize, ruthlessly prioritizing matters. And we often lose sight of what's actually important based on what we're presented with in that moment. And there's also this biological feedback loop. Whenever we get something done or whenever we accomplish a task, our bodies give us a little bit of dopamine. So what ends up happening is we fail to prioritize because we're over here playing whack a mole all day and we're saying yes to everything and everybody instead of getting really clear on the priorities for yourself, getting really clear on the priorities for your executive and executing on those things. So it's going to take a little bit of restraint, especially if you have a background like I do, where I started out as a generalist and I was started out as a receptionist right out of college and I was happy to be everyone's yes person. I was happy to do anything for anyone. So I'm saying yes to all the things all the time.
Annie Croner:
But as my career progressed, I had to let go of that and I really had to step into a more of a strategic role for the executives that I was supporting. So we're probably going to have to let go of a few things or when it comes to prioritization, and we're going to have to level up our self concept and how we're choosing to think about ourselves in our roles in order to effectively prioritize. And this will get easier with time and it'll get easier with setting healthy boundaries and it'll get easier with empowering people to be their own solution. So often we feel this strong urge or the strong desire to be everyone's yes person to, to do the thing when we don't have to be the one doing the thing we can actually empower others to do for themselves and we can point them in the right direction without actually having the be the boots on the ground person who does everything. So exceptionally efficient assistance, and I would also argue exceptionally effective assistance, know where the priorities are, know what will move the needle forward for their executive, and know what will be most impactful in their organizations when it comes to prioritization, when it comes to actually the things that need to get done. So that is the second habit of exceptionally efficient assistance. The third habit is that exceptionally efficient assistance communicate with precision. They've got their protocols down with their executive.
Annie Croner:
And this matters because clear input equals clear output equals fewer back and forths. So when you're able to efficiently communicate with whoever it is you're communicating with, it's going to eliminate a lot of that back and forth. It's going to eliminate a lot of the white noise that just is a part of our day to day. And so an example of this would be email subject lines with context, proactive status updates, clear asks of people, especially our executives. Our executives are going at a clip and so we definitely need to be efficient in our communication with them. Also when it comes to communication and especially communication with your executive, I'm a big fan of bending to their communication style. In my last role, I, I tried many things before I finally landed on a weekly update email that I would send to my executive. And yes, I had templatized it.
Annie Croner:
I had a template for this email and that was how I best communicated with him. And it's also important to communicate because we need to be articulating the value we bring to our executive. We need to be articulating the value we bring to our organization on a consistent and regular basis. Because nobody understands the role of executive assistant, least of all your executive. They don't understand all that you're keeping from landing on their plate. They don't understand all that you're handling on the backend that they don't even see. And the only way they're going to know that is if we actually articulate those things. And the way that I found to be most efficient in my last role was to just send a weekly update email outlining all I'd accomplished for my executive.
Annie Croner:
There was a section in there of things I needed from him and then my plan for the upcoming week, okay, so whatever your communication style is, whatever your executive's communication style is, rather, we do need to bend to that and it'll Take a bit of time to discover what that is. Now in the moment, if I needed something urgent from my executive, I found a text to be the best with him. So it really is a matter of figuring out the context for the communication, what it looks like to actually communicate. And then I think the number one barrier to, to success when it comes to effective communication is the desire not to bother or to disturb our executives because we see all that's on their plate, we see all that's on their shoulders, we see how weighed down they are by running an organization or all that they have to manage. So we tend to shrink back and it's just not a very efficient or effective way to be strategic support professional. So when it comes to exceptionally efficient assistance, they know how best to communicate with their executives and they get it done. Okay. Now the third habit of efficient executive assistance is that they manage their time like they manage their CEO's time.
Annie Croner:
Now what I love about this is that this takes us out of a reactive place where, where we feel overwhelmed and this puts us in the power seat of proactiveness. And so we take back our time. Of course we want to time block and manage all the things, but our time is ours to own and we often forget that. And it's really challenging when our work worlds anyway revolve around supporting someone else, around making their lives efficient. We forget that we can take ownership of our own time and in the same way that we manage our executives time as well. So I would encourage you guys to incorporate a couple of habits that will help you manage your own time effectively. There again, prioritization will be key for this. But daily planning, right, daily planning.
Annie Croner:
Planning out your day and what you want your day to look like. Of course there are going to be things thrown into the mix. Of course we're going to have to pivot on a dime. I'm not saying that we aren't going to have to do those things, but if you can plan for that, it will go a long way in serving and supporting the long term goal and then also your goal for what you want to accomplish that day. So for me, this looked like time blocking on my calendar and I totally had my task management system and then I had my calendar and I would actually block certain blocks of time to complete certain projects. But then I also built in three or four hours of white time throughout my day, white space on my calendar. So if something came up, I could shift my calendar effectively to be able to handle those last minute requests, those things that inevitably pop up and I was able to manage my time effectively that way. I think also considering how your body functions, I do my best work early in the morning.
Annie Croner:
It's when my mind is most creative. It's when I'm on point in terms of all the ideas. It's when I do my best work. And so I would say the redundant or repetitive tasks or even data entry tasks for later on in the afternoon. I also tend to respond to my emails later in the afternoon. If it can wait now, of course, if it's an urgent message, I'll respond right away. But for the most part I, I would really be aware of how my body best functions. Some of you guys are really late night people.
Annie Croner:
Perhaps you want to work it in or you do your best work late at night. However your body functions, if you can figure out a way to work with your body rhythms, it will go a long way in serving and supporting your efficiency as well. Now, it's not always possible, I will say that, but if it were possible for you, what could it potentially look like to be more strategic with your time given your situation, given your circumstances, I would also just have you consider perhaps blocking one hour per day for high leverage work. Just one hour and see how far that gets you. Start small. One block, one hour. I'm a big fan of telling my executive assistant or my executive as well that I'm going to be going heads down. I'm going to close out on my email inbox.
Annie Croner:
I'm going to give myself the gift of focus. I always gave my executive an alternative way to reach me and I was always via text. I actually on my phone, I cut out all of the notifications on my phone with the exception of text because that was how my partner could reach me, that was how my kids school could reach me and that was how my executive could reach me in the event of an emergency. So consider ways in which you can also create more focus for yourself. Focus will also promote efficiency and then manage your time like you manage your CEO's time or like you manage your executive's time. Okay, the fifth and final habit that I'm going to cover for you today is that exceptionally efficient executive assistants are always seeking ways to improve and they reflect and refine regularly. Okay, this matters because efficiency is not built overnight. Efficiency is a long game.
Annie Croner:
So when we talk about improving efficiency, it's not going to be a one and done. It's going to be iterative like so many other things in life. So we're going to try different tactics. We're Going to try different strategies, we're going to see what works for us. We're going to tweak, we're going to pivot a little bit until we find our rhythm and until we find our groove. Okay, Now, I love a weekly review ritual. Looking over your master task list, looking over everything you've accomplished over the week, asking yourself what you still have left, asking yourself if there was what it could have been, a way where you had, where you could have perhaps gotten more done and kind of just doing a bit of an audit of your time. Did you spend your time in the most effective and efficient way based on the priorities or were you scattered at any time throughout your week? Were you distracted by your phone, were you distracted by the interwebs? All the things, right? So consider how you can refine on a weekly basis.
Annie Croner:
Consider efficiencies that you can perhaps build in or incorporate or integrate into your workflows. And just know that when it comes to efficiency, it's not a one and done conversation. This is going to be iterative over time. And one kind of bonus tip here for you. All truly efficient executive assistants know when to ask for help. So instead of spinning your wheels for two hours, when you could go to your executive, when you could go to a colleague or co worker and just ask the question will go a long way in helping your efficiency. And this is going to be a fine line because I'm a big fan of resourcefulness for executive assistance. And so try and figure it out on your own first, if you can perceive that it's going to take more than an hour or two and you could turn to somebody else or turn to something else and get a, get an answer in five minutes, just consider that and weigh that as an option.
Annie Croner:
Because oftentimes we are so self sufficient that it's to our detriment. And then on the other side of that, we know that other people have the answers, so we go chasing the other people. We don't want to fall into either one of these ditches. We kind of want to be in the middle of the road on this one, weighing each situation individually and making a judgment call as to whether or not we should ask for help or be resourceful ourselves. So just something to consider when it comes to efficiency. And there again we want to automate. We want to look at tools and things to integrate. There are so many great tools out there.
Annie Croner:
If you're interested in learning some of those tools, you can get on the waitlist for my leveled up program, which I'm going to link to down below. And one last kind of word on habits. I'm just gonna plug my favorite book in the whole wide world. This is my favorite book for executive assistance. It's not a book written for executive assistance. It's called Atomic Habits by James Clear. And I round on this book at least once a year and there's an audible version, which I love. But I think that so often we get stuck in our perfectionism that we forget that the small incremental steps and small incremental changes can have a huge impact over time for us as strategic business partners.
Annie Croner:
And James Clear's book outlines in detail what this can look like for you and how the big impact of small changes can have a great effect on our lives, on our work lives, and on our relationships with our executive and in creating the efficiency that we want to create for ourselves and the stress reduction that we want to create for ourselves in our roles. So this is what I have for you guys today. I hope you found it helpful. Be intentional, Be whole. And that is all for now. Hey, before you go, don't forget to grab my free Strategic Planning Session guide. This stealthy playbook will help you and your executive find clarity on their priorities so you can make a greater impact. Go to wholeassistant.com/guide or click the link in the Show Notes to snag your copy.
Annie Croner:
And if you're loving the podcast, please subscribe, leave a review, and share with another assistant ready to level up. Thanks for listening and until next time, keep embracing your badassery.
