As an EA, having to constantly juggle your Executive’s time is a complex operation—and to those supporting multiple execs—kudos! As assistants ourselves, we understand that this can be a huge undertaking. One thing that’s made the process of supporting our executives a whole heck of a lot easier, you ask? Schedule and calendar management.

Listen—it’s not lost on us that there are a ton of assistants out there that have not been set up with the proper tools and support to proactively and efficiently manage their executives calendar. That’s why we created a platform to help. 

Learning the skills to effective calendar management isn’t just for the benefit of the executive! It’s also a great way to make yourself stick out. Anyone can add stuff to a calendar. EAs build credibility when they can take the various tasks and meetings and arrange them in a way that enhances the operations of their executive. 

Keep reading to learn how Base makes calendar management for executive assistants a breeze.

An EAs Calendar Management Responsibilities 

As we all know, calendar management responsibilities for an EA are never a “one and done” thing. It’s our job to pay attention to our executives’ schedule shifts and adjust their calendars accordingly. 

Taking on calendar management for a leader means every decision you make should be decisive and made with your exec’s precious time in the forefront of your mind. There’s no time for scheduling errors when your executive is expected to be in so many back-to-back meetings throughout the week. As an EA, calendar and schedule management will go a long way in getting you noticed. We want to set you up with the calendar management techniques you need to take on the following scheduling responsibilities with ease:

• Creating a routine for your exec: It’s up to you to make sure your executive is starting each day with a clear plan of what needs to be achieved. It’s said that routine is the secret to effective time management, so ensuring your exec has time to do tasks and tend to meetings is your duty.
• Time blocking: Blocking off time in your executive’s schedule for particular tasks is a great habit to get into. From reviewing their emails to prepping for meetings, they’ll thank you for finding these important sweet spots in their schedule.
• Scheduling meetings: It’s an EAs responsibility to work with multiple people back and forth to find the right meeting times for your exec. With Base, you can easily offer times and gather guests’ preferences to book the best, most convenient time in minutes.
• Get specific with meetings: While meetings are a necessary part of an executive’s schedule, you need to make sure of two things before accepting meetings: 1. That it’s not a “coulda been an email” scenario, 2. That you have all the info your exec will need to show up prepared. 
• Work to open time up for your exec: Your executive only has so many hours in the day, so even though it might not work out every week, open up some time where your exec can catch up with the team. Maybe something needs their quick collaboration—you can help give them some time to do so without cutting into their schedule.

Calendar Management Skills For Executive Assistants

Base has the calendar management tools assistants need to upskill their scheduling practices and wow their executives time and time again. No matter if you’re supporting one exec or ten, here are some calendar management tips from our team of professional assistants:

• Calendar audit: Ah, yes—the almighty calendar audit. With Base, you can hook your executive’s calendar up to our Hourglass Report and see how they’re spending their time, when they’re busiest, and who they’re meeting with most often. 
• Easy integration: Once your executive’s calendar is integrated into Base, you can easily create meeting notes, as well as drop events, files, attachments, and more into our Digest tool. This gives your executive a comprehensive view of everything they need in one convenient place.
• Color coding: This is one of our favorite tips! Though it may seem basic, We’ve received a lot of feedback about how color coding an executive calendar can enhance organization and help you both approach the week with more clarity. It’s a highly effective way to quickly visualize the week ahead and stay aligned with different goals and priorities.

There’s a lot EAs can do to enhance overall calendar management. The possibilities are endless—especially when you have access to all the amazing features Base provides.

For example, Base Inbox takes calendar management for executive assistants to the next level. This tool streamlines the way we as assistants work by allowing us to send key information from any application directly into Base. Having access to Inbox means you can send any email or Slack message directly to Base for a seamless transition to Tasks or Dossier. You’ll love never having to worry about losing track of an email or Slack message again!

Scheduling Made Easy and Efficient

For many of us, scheduling meetings for our executive(s) takes up a large portion of our day. To cut back on the time it takes and increase overall productivity, there are a few techniques we highly recommend. Consider the utilization of the following:

• AI automation: Oftentimes, when EAs receive an email, all that’s required of us is an acknowledgment and creation of an action item. When utilizing AI for schedule management, you can teach it to recognize these instances based on a keyword or phrase. Once the buzzword or phrase is stated, you can set it up to trigger an automated response and task in your chosen management platform.
• Template scheduling: For many of us, scheduling meetings for our executive takes up a large portion of our day. While automation is great for some tasks, there will still be those inevitable back-and-forth emails we must tend to. Since the same verbiage is typically used in many of your responses, it’s beneficial to make and schedule templates ahead of time. This way, you won’t have to retype the same reply over and over again.
• Click-to-call: An amazing way to simplify scheduled phone calls is to use “click-to-call” numbers in Google Calendar holds. When calling into conference calls, you typically need to dial both a phone number and an access code. The great thing about using “click-to-call” for conference lines is that your executive won’t have to worry about manually dialing either number.

Even better? Our calendaring feature, Scheduler, represents the single largest opportunity cost for assistants. Move aside, Calendly; there’s a new kid in town. Whether you’re looking to adjust and share availability or see how your exec is spending their time, this tool is revolutionizing calendaring and scheduling.

A Calendar Management System Made Specifically for EAs

If you’ve been looking for a calendar management system that will help you upskill as an EA, maintain job security, and improve your relationship with your exec—look no further. Base is all this and so much more. Effective calendar management and scheduling are just a few clicks away.