3 Ways Your Executive Assistant Can Help You Smash Your Q1 Goals
The first quarter of each year is an important one for everyone on your team. It’s a fresh start to the new year and can set the standard and tone for how the next three quarters will play out. When you start off with a strong quarter, your team feels bolstered by the success. And let’s be honest, sometimes the first quarter can feel extra stressful because of the pressure to kick off the year on a high.
Before you know it, the first quarterly reports will be arriving and you’ll have to check in with investors and your team to see how things are running – never mind all the things on your day-to-day plate.
Your EA can help you, not only manage that stress, but also help strategize to achieve your goals, and get your year started on the right foot. There are many ways that your EA can help you to do this – in addition to the myriad of duties they can help with year-round – and they can become invaluable in that ever-important first quarter. From goal setting to task management, here are three ways your EA can help you manage the first three months of your year.
1: Share your Q1 goals with your EA so they can support you and your team in achieving them
One of the biggest traps CEOs fall into is making grand plans for the business and not creating a system to let everyone else know how they can support in making those goals happen. Not only can your EA help you break down your goals into projects and tasks but they can help manage and delegate parts of the project.
A study by psychologist Gail Matthews found that people who wrote down and got specific with their goals were 33% more successful in achieving them. And that 33% can make a huge difference in a bigger business.
Your EA can help oversee project management and help keep you and your team on track.
As a busy executive, your time is better spent on the high-level, needle-moving parts of the business instead of breaking down all the project management pieces that can be tedious and filled with small details.
Start by making sure your EA knows what your goals are going into the next quarter. That way, they can help you strategize and achieve them as efficiently as possible. One great way your EA can help you is by keeping your team accountable for their responsibilities. Your EA can create a system in a project management tool or workflow app that allows your team to check-in, send projects to the next person, and collaborate.
2: Re-evaluate your ideal week structure so it’s strategic for Q1 and then implement
The ideal week structure is a tried and true method EAs use to help busy executives manage their schedules and ensure they have time for everything they want and need to get done. From creating calendar slots for meetings, projects, checking email, working out, reading, taking breaks, and anything else they want, the ideal calendar keeps everything running smoothly.
And it’s especially helpful to understand exactly how the ideal week works so you and your EA can build in time to accomplish everything you need to support your Q1 goals. Maybe that looks like extra sales calls at first or scheduling meetings with investors and teams. Strategizing where your presence is necessary versus where you can outsource will largely come from what your calendar looks like and what you’re willing to take on.
Here are a few things to keep in mind that your EA can take off your plate when planning your ideal week:
Sustaining and managing a calendar of meetings and events
Preparing agendas, reports, presentations, and project management information
Drafting correspondence for internal communications, and board meetings
Conserving your time by conducting research, doing readings, and collecting/analyzing information as needed
Organizing and syncing your work and family calendars
The ideal week can also include having your EA track your time. That allows you to make decisions from data to know what activities were really needle-moving and where to reassess.
3: Empower your EA to protect your time and push back on things that can be moved to/handled in Q2
One of the biggest drains on any executive’s time is the frenzy of (usually well-meaning) people who need your attention or input right now. (At least, that’s how it feels for them.) If you’ve planned ahead and communicated with your EA about what projects you’re willing to take on, your EA can head off projects that can be pushed until a later time.
This also ties back into making sure you’ve shared your goals and plans for Q1 with your EA. If and when someone comes with a new demand for your time, your EA can determine if it’s a necessary project right now, if it must be done by you, and where it can be delegated if necessary.
Relieving the stress and pressure that comes with Q1 of the year can feel insurmountable as your to-do list begins to tower. But having a well-trained, sensible, and service-focused EA in your back pocket can make things so much easier.
What is the number one thing you’d love to have taken off your plate this quarter? Let us know in the comments.
