Nowadays, Thursday is my busiest day of the work week. So, without revealing too many details, I’m sharing a glimpse into my life as an administrative assistant.
1. Organize the tasks by priority.
Recently, I bought a Muji Tear-Off Memo Pad for my work tasks, and it helped me finish them more efficiently. In the memo pad, I write the date and day, and then make a checklist of all the tasks.
I also assign priority levels to my tasks with my Muji Gel Ink Pens: red (high, the most urgent task), orange (mid, tasks that can be done later after the most urgent ones), and yellow (low, the least important task that can be done tomorrow or later).
Sidebar: I just realized something: Yel-LOW. Heh.
The default notes app, Evernote, and Todoist are dependable apps for checklists, but there’s something satisfying about writing and checking items from an analog notepad. My memo pad improved my workflow, and it got through today’s tasks (and it was a long list).
Lesson: Having a task checklist makes your workflow more efficient.
2. Consider what needs to be done first.
Time is one of the things I consider when organizing and working on the day’s tasks.
Let me explain: A mentor advised me to finish the easiest tasks before moving on to the difficult ones. That usually works, especially in my previous job as a graphic designer.
Nowadays, as an admin assistant, it still works except for my Thursday tasks. Every Thursday (including today), I scan documents and then encode them for procurement. I’ve been doing that for almost a year, and I noticed that scanning takes longer, and checking whether they are properly scanned takes more time. (I’m still a designer. I can’t turn that off.) After everything is clear, I encode them into the system without skimming the files again.
Lesson: When organizing tasks by priority, consider the duration/time estimate. Sometimes, doing the most mundane tasks takes longer.
3. Finish non-urgent tasks early, not on the deadline.
Procrastination was one of my worst habits, and it took me a long time (and honestly, having my first job) to wake up and improve. Now, after finishing today’s tasks, I check whether there are tasks to work on even if the deadline is later. Starting and clearing tasks as soon as possible is efficient work.
For example, besides being an admin assistant, I also maintain our company’s social media accounts. I was assigned to post on Instagram every Tuesday at 12:00pm. The cool thing is that I can queue Facebook and Instagram posts on Meta Business Suite. For a month, I don’t have to worry about queuing. Before the last queued post goes live, I prepare for the next queue.
Lesson: After urgent tasks, start working on the non-urgent ones, even if the deadlines are later.
And that’s a day in my life (and what I’ve learned) as an admin assistant. I might turn this into another blog series, huh?
Happy Thursday!
Thanks to Anete Lusina for the header image.
