Organizing

How to handle a boss who's a hoarder

One admin writes, “My boss carried several boxes of files into the office one day because his wife told him to remove them from their garage. They have been sitting in the office for more than two years! Every time I try to straighten up his office, he won’t let me throw anything away.” What can she do about a boss who’s a hoarder?

Tips on managing someone else's inbox

Keep on top of the boss’s or someone else’s inbox with these proven tips from the trenches: 1.  Avoid duplicating work to the extent that you can. 2. Scan for timely actions. 3. Customize any system you adopt.

Set a date with your to-dos

How do you make sure a task gets done? Peter Bregman, author of 18 Minutes, believes we ought to make appointments with ourselves in order to accomplish things. “We should all be working off our calendars, not our task lists,” says Bregman.

Scheduling a meeting with multiple VIPs

When the meeting participants are mostly VIPs, scheduling can be a hairy process, says executive assistant Trisha Heil. Currently, she offers attendees a basic date-filled chart, so they can narrow down the choices to a mutually convenient time and date. But what do other admins do?

How am I so productive?

Jasmine Freeman’s job as chief executive assistant to Joan Burge at Office Dynamics keeps her busy supporting Burge’s day-to-day work and de­­veloping social me­­dia to support the business. A number of tools help her “keep on top of things”:

Set the stage for brainstorming sessions

Defer judgment ... The more ideas the better ... Bosses, don’t hijack the discussion. These are among the top rules of a productive brainstorming session. Before a team even begins the meeting, though, be sure to set up the room for maximum effectiveness:

Make it more than just another meeting

One way you can help team meetings run more smoothly is to make sure attendees come to any meeting ready to engage. Try these two tips from Al Pittampalli, author of Read This Before Our Next Meeting:

Minimize disruptions to your daily schedule

Appointments and errands need not devour the lion's share of your "free" time if you follow these tips during the work week:

Put your focus on what matters

Have you put processes or structures into place so you can accomplish what’s most important every day? Try these three tips:

Stop the stragglers; start the meeting

Years ago, Jon had set up an important team meeting for 10 a.m. At 9:45, he was setting up the room. By 9:50, he was ready to start. By 9:59, no one had arrived. “I had a decision to make,” he says. “What if I started the meeting on time—all by myself?” That’s exactly what he did. That’s why “Just start it” is now his No.1 rule for holding meetings that start on time.

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