Time Management for Administrative Assistants: A Helpful Guide

Time management is a crucial gateway to success at any point in life. Anything that can be opted as “successful”, has the integration of time management along with other factors. For administrative assistants, time management is a crucial fact as they are subjected to juggling many objectives and tasks.

These tasks may include handling multiple phone calls at a time, preparing important presentations, booking appointments, and so on. One may feel helpless at times if he/she doesn’t have the proper guidance, knowledge, and hacks about time management.

So, today we are here to guide you and give the necessary hacks about time management so that you can be able to handle everything without missing a beat.

Table of Contents

What are the time management skills of administrative assistants?

There are many valuable strategies and techniques that are essential for time management. As an administrative assistant, the primary goal is to aid others in the accomplishment of their goals/objectives.

The first and foremost thing is to master time rather than letting time take control of you. And to master time, the following skill sets are a must.

Ability to prioritize tasks:

This skill is very important because, at many times, the administrative assistant has to improvise on the basis of the situation they are in. You have to identify the hierarchy of urgency of the tasks. And in doing so, deadlines also play a crucial part in decision-making. The critical tasks with small deadlines if taken to immediate attention many obstacles can be easily smoothened.

Having the capability to adapt:

Adjusting oneself to the changes in situations and conditions plays a great factor in mastering time management. As one says “the survival of the fittest”, adaptability allows one to take calm decisions instead of rushing. This particular way of handling unexpected situations makes a great administrative assistant who can reach their expected goals

To have organizational capacity:

Organizing capability, in many cases, is given higher priority to prevent derailment of tasks. The core of organizational ability includes the maintenance of the workspaces and the categorization of each task on a daily basis.

Multitasking is not the best option:

As we know, the myth of multitasking is a contradictory opinion. Many people suggest that multitasking can speed up the process of multitasking. It is not true at all.

Multi-tasking itself requires one to divide their focus into two or three tasks at once. And this division of tasks guarantees that all tasks will not get equal attention and mistakes will be made eventually like a domino. Thus it will ruin the hard work of an administrative assistant. Rather than multitasking, one should monotask and do the task in their hand with undivided focus which leads to better performance in the long run.

Communicational skills:

Communication skills offer a higher degree of improvement for mastering the time by the administrative assistants. As you have to deal with multiple tasks at a time with multiple people, if you don’t have the ability to perform clear and concise communication, the tasks themselves crumble down. Better communication provides a better understanding of given tasks and it minimizes the chances of confusion and time-wasting events.

How to prioritize tasks as an administrative assistant?

As mentioned earlier, prioritizing tasks provides a lot of options to master the time in lieu of time taking control of you. And they should break down this process of prioritizing to simplify the objective and goals.

Listing the tasks:

You should list all the tasks you are assigned to do. It may include the creation of a to-do list or simply note down the points on a sticky note.

Categorizing the tasks:

After the listing of tasks, you have to categorize them depending on the urgency and identify which task has greater importance.

Deadline remembrance:

All tasks have their deadlines and one must keep in mind these deadlines. The deadlines have to be dealt with utmost importance which also leads to the creation of work accountability for the administrative assistants.

9 Time management tips for administrative assistants

Fixing the goals to achieve:

Determine the objectives that you have to/ want to fulfill within the respective day, week, or month. Take measures so that whatever happens, your activities don’t hamper achieving the goals you have set.

Disassemblement of tasks into their subparts:

After you have fixed the goals/ you know what objectives are to be achieved, pay heed to the minute tasks. Try dividing a task into more intricate and much doable tasks within a short span of time. Know about the topic, create an overview, and plan accordingly.

Removing the factors of distraction:

Get rid of anything that distracts you from working towards your goals. One may get distracted by his/her phone. If so, keep your phone away and indulge yourself in the goal you are working to achieve. Likewise, unnecessary browser tabs, a small relaxation toy, etc may work as your source of distraction. It is not possible to clear all distractions, but steps are to be taken to at least minimize them.

Taking advantage of different time management tools:

Technology is sometimes a blessing and thus its blessing has bestowed upon us the time management tools. These tools are very much essential on the road to mastering time and managing it efficiently. For example, a to-do list allows one to list their daily goals and follow them to work accordingly. The Pomodoro technique allows one to divide the time for their tasks to achieve them without feeling monotonous.

Dividing time into blocks for reducing wastage of time

Once you have all the setup to start, divide your time for each sub-task you have determined. It greatly helps to avoid waste of time. Divide time according to your task.

You have to be realistic about a task and how much time it should take to be finished by you. Otherwise, you will get stressed over time and nothing will be done

Perfect allotment of time for each subtask

It’s crucial to allot the proper amount of time for each work when you’re splitting your time between them. If you don’t, you’ll either have to finish the activity quickly or put it off until later.

And to allocate, you should keep in mind the task and its complexity, the time you have to take to understand and research it, the number of people you have to associate with, and the skill to carry out the tasks.

Avoiding activities that don’t align with the priorities

After setting tasks, you have to question yourself about what are the essential tasks that are related to achieving your goals. You have to ensure that you have the correct information about the deadline for the big tasks.

Because it is of utmost necessity to know how to identify the task that is related to the task ongoing now. If one indulges in doing work that is not related, they will lose focus and the workflow will be hampered.

Occasional recuperation and easing off after tiresome objective completion

It is the foremost part to keep in mind. Humans are not machines that can work all day and all night. Even machines require rest sometime. So as a human being, taking breaks are a must. Without the breaks, one will definitely lose their focus and the monotonous activities will bore them to death.

Try taking a walk, stretching yourself, listening to music and loosening your shoulder, and relaxing for a bit before diving into each sub-subtask. Through that, the workflow will be easy and take less time to finish.

Handing over tasks to other colleagues

You shouldn’t be hesitant to assign responsibilities to colleagues if you have too much on your plate. By doing this, you’ll have more time to devote to your most crucial activities.

Try to make sure that you provide tasks with clear instructions and deadlines when assigning them. You should also give your coworkers the tools they require to finish the job. It takes practice to become proficient in time management. You’ll get better at it as you practice more. Therefore, don’t be scared to try out several methods to see which suits you the most.

Verdict

The process of time management for administrative assistants is a mixture of regulation valuation and refinement. It can’t be achieved from day one of any work also. It is also not an impossible task to do. If one follows the proper guidelines given, time management at one stage becomes a piece of cake.

You have to be the perfect performer of time leverage meant and division among the tasks considering factors such a prioritizing, deadlines, and so on.

Thank you!