An administrative assistant can play a very important role within an organization. The position can oftentimes be very detail oriented and require managing many job duties simultaneously, especially if the person is an assistant to more than one person. A few tips for handling administrative assistant duties are to prioritize projects and tasks, keep work space organized, and keep up to date with new software that is critical to job performance. Learning keyboard shortcuts for programs can speed work processes up and help complete tasks in a shorter amount of time.
Many administrative assistant duties include keeping calendars for department executives or management. This entails organization skills to set up reminders for appointments or engagements if there are several employee calendars to manage. Organizational tips for administration assistant duties include optimizing time management. There are typically eight working hours in a day, and calendars should be scheduled for optimum performance. It is a good idea to leave a cushion of time in between appointments in case they run overtime.
Office strategies that can enhance performance for most administrative assistants are keeping an organized work space and prioritizing projects. Quite often, administrative assistants juggle many different projects at one time. This can be true especially for those who work as assistants for more than one person. The key to success in this type of position can be as simple as keeping an ongoing project list that prioritizes each in order of importance. An organized work space can create efficiency and bring order to a busy administrative assistant.
Being flexible when handling multiple administrative assistant duties at one time is key to maintaining the proper, prioritized schedule. Many tasks may move up or down the priority list according to the other tasks that pop up. Flexibility is an important trait and can help maintain performance in office operations. Administrative or clerical duties can become overwhelming when there is no flexibility.
Office software programs are constantly being updated. Technology can move at lightning speed at times, and it is important to set aside some time to update training for programs that are used frequently. Technology can enhance administrative assistant duties and make the job more efficient. Keyboard shortcuts are also a nice way to save time when handling work on the computer. Maintaining up-to-date software knowledge also typically includes the newest keyboard shortcuts as well.