PA and Secretary Community - Deskdemon.com

I would say travel and emails.

B

ugh - telephone - sometimes I feel like a glorified switchboard operator!

Sales Metrics -  Sometimes my head spins with so many numbers

Laura
Peer Moderator

The past month? Waiting for Outlook to synch, so I can look at bossie's schedule, only to be told "the set of folders could not be opened." It's very embarrassing!

Hi Andrea

Following up on emails and telephone calls probably.  We use email for absolutely everything now so it is the main way that work comes in.....and then hopefully goes out again!

I also spend a lot of time with my boss.  He not only dictates but likes to chat things through as well.......which I try to take as a compliment in the way that he finds me easy to talk to and perhaps values my opinion.  However, it can be pretty time consuming!

All the best,
Nicola.

Outside contemplating String Theory (ha ha--don't I wish, on a beautiful day like this!)

Actually, it seems I've been spending a great deal of time in the Copy Room (or so my coworkers tell me!) The rest of the time I'm at my desk contemplating such modest mysteries as how to access that un-clickable picture in a Word document!

This last week most of my time seems to have been devoted to selling houses and apartments, and its been an excellent week. This week....well who knows - every weeks is different in my job!

S

PS Is there a true definition of a PA???!!!!

Since my employer put me in this temporary (6 month term) holding pattern, I'm spending most of my day in the file room. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I seem to be spending most of my time in worthless meetings.  These are meetings that really don't involve me, that I gain nothing from (not even networking, as I can network with the members in other capacities), and never get anything done anyway.  If I wasn't in these worthless meetings, then I'd spend most of my time doing tort claim "stuff" such as reviewing records, typing letters to involved providers, requesting secondary reviews, etc.  Now that is a varied and fun workload, so why am I spending my time in these meetings??

CountriGal
Peer Moderator

Things are pretty varied here, thank goodness!  Loads of meetings and minute taking, regular diary management for about a dozen of the team, working on our intranet, looking after our disaster recovery plan and making sure it's current, organising the internal PA group, making sure everyone in the team has met their deadlines, preparing presentations, etc.... I've even waited at bossie's flat to let in the plumber, organised trips to the theatre for him and his wife, and bought my own xmas pressie!  My newest task is to run daily customer satisfaction surveys to ensure 'the business' are happy with the service we (IT) deliver to them.  I don't often have time to get bored!

I agree with CG about meetings that don't achieve anything, but luckily my present company are pretty good at keeping to the point.  Bossie instigated a list of 'crimes' to keep meetings on track (offenders have a £2 fine which either goes to charity or to the xmas party).  It works pretty well - the following are all offences:
+ being late
+ phones ringing / vibrating
+ amnesia
+ war stories
+ personal attacks
+ scowling
+ lack of contribution
+ fiddling with electronic equipment
+ gender solidarity
+ hogging the strike
If there is no way you can get out of the meetings, maybe a similar system could help shorten them?

I wish.  Unfortunately, I work for the government, who seems to thrive on meetings and work under the impression that unless you're in meetings you have no job or any reason for being at work.  So we literally have meetings to discuss setting up meetings to arrange other meetings.  Waste of time!!!  And members see it, so folks do the bare minimum to get through these meetings, but the chairs of the meetings are 'important' because they are chairing a committee.  When we streamlines our committee structure, a number of folks came to me personally and complained because their committee or team was disbanded or absorbed into another one.  The new streamlined structure lasted all of 1 month before politics took over once more and everyone has their own meeting or team or committee, which each requires 10-15 members.  My thought?  Stop the insanity!!!

CountriGal
Peer Moderator

It seems like I spend most of my time putting out fires.... including office politics.  Realistically, its probably more along the lines of handling the accounting but it certainly seems like I'm constantly jumping from my desk because "The copier is jammed", "I can't print"', "My computer's frozen", "So&So left early" and my personal favorite.... "Can you just come over, its too difficult to explain whats happening".

D.

My workload is pretty varied, too, and some of the projects I deal with are seasonal.  I'm responsible for our awards programme and national Council elections so those projects usually start in the Autumn of each year and finish in the Spring of the following year.  My other two big projects - medical malpractice and professional conduct casework - take up about 50 per cent of my time.  The remainder of my time is spent doing everything else that an EA is supposed to do.  My appraisal is on Monday next week and I believe that Bossie is finally going to appoint a permanent person to assist me.  And she is someone who has worked (excellently) with me on and off in the past year. Oh joy!

Raindance

PS Countrigal - remember this: meetings are the only practical alternative to work

Who knows where the day goes sometimes? I seem to spend most of them answering questions from staff and students that is when I'm not opening the office doors so they can come in even though all staff have a code to enter it seems to be difficult for them to type it in even when times are extremely busy. This is in addition to seasonal projects, minutes, diaries, travel  blah, blah, blah!

Most of my day is doing data entry of reports, faxes, mail, etc.  Everything must be entered into our system as being received.  I also transcribe letters and legal documents for our two remote adjusters.  I also make phone calls throughout the day to report accidents to insurance companies (each call could take 30-45 minutes)  I have a lot of work during the day but for some reason, it is very boring to me and I feel like I am wasting all of my skills that I picked up while I was working as an executive assistant.

I have no idea where my time goes – no hang on a minute, interruptions!  That’s the thing about this role – you can plan as much as you like, but when your workload comes from others you get interruptions via phone, e-mail or in person.  I also spend a lot of my time at my desk replying to and dealing with e-mails, although I try and reply by phone sometimes to hopefully cut down receiving any more!

Typing up minutes takes the longest because I need to think about it, decipher my writing, remember what was said if I can’t and I procrastinate on them … never ending story that one.

I have a daily list of tasks which includes recording/dealing with the internal and external mail, organising boss’ brought forward file, dealing with the tasks that he has given me to do and monitoring/dealing with his e-mails.

I can sympathise with jahdra – I am always waiting for my computer to stop freezing and catch up with my brain – I think I read somewhere that we lose about an hour a day due to IT problems …

And I can also sympathise with mbajjada – I spend a lot of my time opening the door for people who’ve forgotten their pass … rah rah rah!

At trade shows - setting up , tearing down and standing around talking to potential clients and established clients

Well, let's see...Right now, it's pretty slow around here. No hurricanes to respond to, and bossie has been traveling for the last 2 months (I've just about forgotten what he looks like!). In addition, I'll be leaving my job in another month or so (job is being relocated, and I don't want to move with it). So lately, all I've been coordinating bossie's travel and rewriting my desk manual to help whoever gets my job later on.

Tif

I'd say the majority of my job is spent in connecting people and information sharing.  Bossie is very difficult to get ahold of so I get many calls a day with "Where is he and can you have him call me?" or Bossie telling me to call someone for him.  Plus I'm kinda the clearinghouse of information so whenever people want to know something, they call me.

Plus all the usual stuff of e-mails, travel arrangements, meetings, conference calls, data entry, reports, etc.

I spend most of my time transcribing interviews and conferences and monitoring my emails. Most of my work comes in and goes out via email, which is great. Its a very clean way to work although I still receive tapes as well.

Edited by jackie on 10/04/06 07:48 PM.