A Holistic Approach to Calendar Management

The following is an excerpt from Joan's book, Become an Inner Circle Assistant

Managing a calendar effectively is a valuable skill. It's critical to the organization and productivity of your office. There are many aspects to appointment scheduling with which every administrative professional should be familiar.

The inner circle assistant doesn't just rely on a calendar when she schedules an appointment for the boss. She relies on big-picture knowledge.

Imagine that your boss is just returning from a five day business trip and will need office time to play catch-up. You'll free her first day back in the office for that purpose. Just because the calendar date is "empty" when you must schedule an appointment doesn't mean the date is "available."

Unless you acknowledge the importance of this distinction, you're likely to treat appointment coordination as a time management task and miss a ready-made opportunity to shine!

Imagine that you employ stringent gate-keeping rules prior to meetings that are likely to be demanding. You'll free the boss to concentrate on meeting preparation without distraction. Surely, this kind of pampering isn't frivolous; it enables your boss to be more productive. And, you're directly responsible for that result.

First Things First

Ideal assistant/manager teams are those in which the assistant is responsible, with the manager, for scheduling appointments. When that happens, you're likely to be using a mutually agreeable calendar tool for maintaining information. If, however, you and your boss schedule appointments independently from one another, it's likely that the boss has a calendar and you have a calendar. Sometimes each of you has more than one calendar. Pocket calendars, computer calendars, or the favorite desk calendars may be in use. With all these calendars floating around, how do you make sure appointments aren't missed and changes are made to all pertinent calendars?

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize the first thing to do is make sure you and the executive or executives you support are always looking at the same information.

Reviewing Calendars

If more than one scheduling calendar is in use, take the initiative and ask your boss to show it to you at regular intervals:

Every morning:

Discuss the day's events with your manager(s). Make any necessary changes, deletions, or additions. Contact any appropriate individuals regarding changes. Prepare materials needed for that day's events.

Weekly:

Review events in upcoming weeks. This allows you and your manager time to discuss and prepare agendas and materials, and to make necessary changes without waiting until the last minute.

Monthly:

Compare your calendar with your manager's as far as three months out. This gives you plenty of time to discuss, coordinate, and prepare as much as possible for future events. It suggests when you should and should not plan time off. Coordinating calendars helps the assistant be knowledgeable and sound intelligent when questioned about upcoming events.

On occasion:

Ask for general feedback with the goal of identifying adjustments that need to be made to increase
productivity and reduce stress.

No doubt you can add to the following reminders. Please do!

• Anticipate the manager's needs. This eliminates last-minute running around and the possibility of necessary materials not being found in time for a meeting.
• Prepare for critical time crunches.
• Will seasonal demands or something else that predictably requires "more" from you make out-of-the-ordinary arrangements desirable? Should temporary employees be hired? Or, should you solicit help from co-workers? It may be as basic as asking a co-worker to handle all your incoming calls. You can repay the favor by doing the same for him when he experiences a time crunch. (They say that -- forewarned is forearmed.)
• Watch for mail that arrives just prior to a meeting that's pertinent to the meeting. Flag it for your boss.

Post Meeting Chores

There are three parts to meeting planning:

1) Pre-meeting

2) The meeting

3) Post-meeting. It's this last part that's frequently overlooked.

Who makes sure that things get done after the meeting? You can help by questioning your manager when he or she returns from the meeting. "Is there anything you need to do to fulfill a promise you made at the meeting?" Also, ask if the manager has requested action items you need to follow up on or look for in the mail.

TIPS AT A GLANCE

• Learn your manager's appointment preferences.
• Give your manager time between appointments to review mail, return phone calls, and work on priority items.
• Do not schedule meetings as soon as your manager returns to the office from lunch.
• Avoid appointments for the first thing Monday morning or the last thing Friday afternoon.
• Allow extra time for travel when scheduling meetings outside the office.
• Allow time in the morning for your manager to get organized.
• Allow time at the end of the day for your manager to wrap up and prepare for the next day.

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