Time Management for Administrative Professionals is a top skill to understand and master. In this article, you will get an idea of what time management is and how it applies to the Administrative career.
What is Time Management?
Before you can master a skill, you must first understand it. Let’s define time management. According to Dictionary.com, time management is “the analysis of how working hours are spent and the prioritization of tasks in order to maximize personal efficiency in the workplace.”
What does that definition mean? When we look at our day, we need to break it down into chunks to maximize the time we have with the tasks we need to complete. At the end of the day, it is how we manage to complete our work in the most efficient way. Now let’s look at how time management applies to Administrative Professionals.
For advice on chunking tasks, check out my 10 Time Management Tips post.
How does time management apply to Administrative Professionals?
In the Administrative Professional field, we are to be efficient, organized, and keep those whom we support moving in the right direction. Time management is crucial for any administrative professional. Not only do you have to be cognizant of your own time, but you are also more than likely in charge of another admin, manager, or executive. How you react and juggle your tasks reflects your time management. Flipping your mindset to positivity and creating healthy habits can greatly improve your confidence. To better understand, check out this article, Benefits of Time Management. Therefore, it is a top priority to understand how to maximize time and use it best.
Time Management Style
One of the first steps to improving your time management if figuring out your own style.
- How effective are you in the morning versus the afternoon?
- When do you need to work on tasks that take all of your concentration?
- Does your work environment give you the flexibility to manage your time?
- Do you attack tasks as soon as they appear or add them to a list?
- Are you using your calendar to block out meetings only?
- Do you know how to prioritize your day?
Answering these questions above can help you determine your time management style and how to adapt. Not quite sure of your methods? Check out this post, Time Management Quiz, that can help you identify your current style and where you can improve!
If you are thinking, how can I improve my time management skills if it’s all in my head? Plenty of time management tools can help give you reminders, structure, and a system of accountability. I depend heavily on my calendar, that syncs automatically across all my devices: PC, Mac, and cell. If I didn’t have my electronic calendar, I wouldn’t be able to keep my Executives and myself on time and effectively.
Here is an insight of time management in my world:
As an Executive Assistant, I support the CEO and our Vice Presidents. I must understand how each executive that I support works, they aren’t all the same!
For example, my CEO likes to have blocks of time in the morning to make rounds at our local job sites and also time to do deep thinking. Since he needs this time, I have to be sure not to schedule a meeting during these crucial hours. The VP’s have different methods of working their calendar. However, that does not stop me from thinking ahead and understanding how I fit all of my executives and myself into a time management system.
Victoria Worsham, Executive Assistant
Check out my post, 10 Time Management Tips, for more advice.
How to Make a Time Management Plan
Now that you have figured out your style, devising a time management plan is the next step. What is a time management plan? It is a structured process outlining how to manage your time. If you are responsible for another’s time, you will want to do this same exercise.
- My calendar will be used to capture…
- Incoming tasks will be tracked by…
- I will monitor my email every…
- Projects or tasks will be treated as…
- If I’m waiting for things from others…
Answers to all of these items above can be part of your time management plan. It is simply creating a plan, following thru, and applying it. Every Administrative Professional has different expectations, but understanding how to master your time effectively is the key to time management.
Create your time management plan here.
Time Management Resources
I am an avid learner; I enjoy reading and growing in the field of Administrative Professionals. Time Management is a skill that is learned through opportunities from some experts. I’ve picked up tips of advice, tweaked my ways along with my career, and developed some great habits. Learning from others’ successes and mistakes helps you grow, allowing you to approach a topic you may not have before. It is with many years of exercising time management in my personal and work life that has helped me to master this skill.
If you are looking for additional information on time management, check out my reference article, Administrative Professional References.
As Administrative Professionals, we are given certain responsibilities, one being time management for our managers and executives. It is with great care and caution that we properly treat their time. To give them the ability to delegate and depend that we will manage appropriately.
You can’t buy back time. Use it wisely. Manage your time, don’t let time manage you!
Victoria Worsham, Executive Assistant
This blog is part of the Time Management Series:
Time Management for Administrative Professionals
10 Time Management Tips
Benefits of Time Management
Time Management Quiz
Time Management Tools
Time Management Plan
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