Contexts Working as an Administrative Assistant

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NicoleS

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I am an administrative assistant, supporting an executive and "backing up" the Exec Assistant (the president's secretary).
I am unsure of using contexts because the majority of my day is @computer and @phone - and the two often work simultaneously.
Therefore, I'm not even sure that I need contexts.

Are there any admins using GTD?
What contexts work for you?
How have you used the system to help you be productive? (When one phone call can de-rail your best-laid plans for at least an hour, sometimes a day.)
Can you suggest any resources that specifically apply GTD to admins? (blogs, articles, hacks, etc.)

Looking forward to seeing your responses.
Thanks :)
Nicole
 
I don't quite qualify here, because I have a different kind of job, but I believe that you may have in-house "errands" that require you to leave you desk? (And some external errands, too, maybe).

What I personally find better than an @phone context is an @person context that I use for all kinds of "real-time dialogue", whether by phone or face-to-face (e.g. grab someone when you see them etc).

And instead of @computer you might want to consider having both a context @desk for tasks that require you to be at you desk (or use the desk computer) and another context called, say, @info or @anywhere for tasks that you can get done virtually anywhere (using your phone or tablet or any other computer that you happen to have nearby.)
 
Nicole,

Great Question!! The role of most administrative support staff is to complete the shorter cycles of action that the executive cannot complete. Here some some tips that you might want to consider:

We find that most administrative assistants often use an action folder vs. action support folders. Since so much of what you need to do is quick turn around it would take to long to to track a task then to do it in the moment so action folders can be more effective. Some common action folders are:

Travel and expenses to process
Meetings to schedule
To copy
Next Action

then when you need to do work you just go into those folders whether they be email folders or paper folders.

Hope that helps.

Meg
 
Hi there,
I'm not sure if this is relevant, but I've created the context CGE (calls, google, e-mail) because my e-mail, phone and computer are together in my phone and computer, I've brought them together for activities that will take a few minutes (but more than two minutes). They are all quite quick and I fly through them when I don't have the bandwidth for anything weightier. They are easy to do, give a quick sense of accomplishment and then I sometimes I can use that energy to push my way into the next action.

Michael
 
Hello Nicole S,

Folke has very good points that you should consider.

Considering that you are supporting 2 different people, at least you will have two contexts (that are agendas) and if you support them with paperwork I can really think that you have a few more like accounting or travel agency.

Don't think of contexts like something that is fixed in stone but like something that you can create and change as your projects change. If you are now talking with an "ad agency" because your executive is now managing an ad campaign then fell free to create that context and when everything changes just eliminate it.
 
Hi all,

I'm wondering if you can give me advice on where to remind myself to complete meeting minutes? I'm an exec. assist. and have at least 3 meetings a month that I need to finalize minutes for. I've tried putting them on my calendar to remind me, but since they are not "on fire" I tend to ignore the reminders repeatedly. What do you guys suggest?

Thanks!
Virginia
 
NicoleS: This maybe adding too much nuance, but looks you have two different Areas of Focus, in terms of people you work for.

One suggestion is to separate the contexts by person, ie Computer-Executive and Computer-Assistant

I know that appears to double the number of contexts, but the benefit is that you can completely focus on one of them at a time. It also allows possibility of dragging an action from one focused context to the other.

Just a thought. Discard if too complex.

Virgina: If they're not on fire, and therefore not really committed to for a specific day or day/time, then remove from Calendar and place on a list that you look at each day.
 
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