Together Friends,
Happy Deep Fall. Or Dark-Tober? Rock-tober?! Or maybe you are Team “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” (Anne of Green Gables fans will get that one.)
Maybe you are coming off a fall break or looking forward to a few days off for Turkey Day. Oh, and if you want to talk holidays with us, come join us over here for a fun, free chat around managing the busy season that spans Halloween to the New Year.
PS We are looking to feature some additional folks in supporting and operations roles in Together Tours later this fall, so nominate someone or nominate yourself here. Please submit at least 3-5 artifacts with your nomination.
PPS Is it too early to start using everyone’s favorite meme? (credit: somewhere on the internet.)
Together Tour: Jamaica Chavez
This month’s Together Tour features Jamaica Chavez, the Executive Assistant for the nonprofit California Competes. Jamaica is a fellow cat-lady (seriously, we diverged for 10 minutes for her to tell me about her Catio, I’m obsessed!), works a hybrid schedule, and is the mom to a first-grader in Oakland Unified Public Schools. Jamaica participated in an online Together Teammate course last year and is currently a participant in Together Project Management. As soon as I heard just how much Jamaica was juggling in her role in a small, busy nonprofit, I knew I needed to dig in behind the scenes to learn more.
What are some tools you use to keep yourself Together?
Let’s start with my calendar. I keep it mostly clear because I usually have an overlay of the CEO’s calendar, which is much busier. I aim to put just the big blocks up so I keep on track, but also so other staff can see where I might not be as quick to respond to requests – usually first thing in the morning as I catch up on emails!
How do you manage to find the time for focused work, since you are required to be available to the CEO all day?
I mirror the CEO’s time! Since she sets aside afternoons and Fridays for focused work, I tend to do the same. I check in with the CEO on Thursday afternoons, and anything new or urgent that comes up during our check-in can be worked on during Friday – which I hold as THE DAY to get any of my bigger chunks of focused work done, such as reimbursements, spreadsheet updates, calendar clean-up, and planning notes for the coming week.
What tool do you use to track your To-Do’s?
I am a huge fan of Google Keep. This has become one of my key tools and I didn’t understand how to use it until I took The Together Teammate course. The mini-training offered on Keep was a game-changer for my work as an Executive Assistant! (Editor’s Note: You can sign up for the Together Leader / Teammate hybrid course here!)
As you can see in this and my other examples, I’m really big on color coding. When I’m juggling this many conferences and events for the CEO, it helps to have a clear system for organizing everything. I rely heavily on labeling (by event) and color-coding to be able to find my way back to the info I need.
What are the labels in your Gmail?
I use the 1, 2, 3 folders to triage my email first thing in the morning. The (1) is for items to immediately address after my triage. The second folder is for emails for the end of the day, and the (3) is for items that can wait until the end of the week. Additionally, I categorize EVERY email I send out to ensure I get responses. (Editor’s Note: Jamaica uses Gmail’s labels in an amazing way, which is so important in EA roles when so many items need to be filed or resurrected for the future!)
Tell me about the event tracker you have built.
This is my ultimate spreadsheet – how I track upcoming conferences and events. So many travel details can get a little hectic, so I keep this master doc updated with all past, present, and upcoming events. If the CEO has any questions about what is coming up, whether travel has been reserved, or if registration was submitted, I can quickly find the answers here. Once everything has been set, I create a detailed itinerary doc for event travel and link it in this spreadsheet as well as the CEO’s calendar.
Why did you create the event tracker?
When I started out with this organization I figured the CEO’s travel would be easy to track through emails and calendar holds, but during the first heavy stretch of conference travel I found myself scrambling to keep the details straight for each event. To fix that, I turned my pain points into a spreadsheet that answers common questions at a glance and helps me see what steps to take next, which I’ve continued refining over time as new details (most recently the Itinerary column and Cancellations & Credits tab) became useful to track. (Editor’s Note: Way to Spot the Need for Systems! – one of the Together Try-Its included in my latest book The Together Teammate.)
You are a pretty digital human – is there ANY paper in your life? I usually take Fridays to plan out the next week on paper. I love this To-Do List notebook and am already on my second one!
But this is also kind of my place to get messy (in a Together way 😉) . . . I remember things better when I write them down, and going through my inbox / calendar at the end of a busy week during my blocked “Together Time” (aka Meeting with Myself), I have a chance to put the next week in focus, see what needs to be prioritized, and make a plan.
I also usually keep a sticky note in the blank square at the bottom right to add quick thoughts and on-the-go notes as I go about my day. (Editor’s Note: We love a sticky note!)
Thank you, Jamaica, for giving us such a full picture of how you juggle both proactive work and reactive work, and being a shining example of what we fondly call a “Systems Spotter.”
- Work AND life are full of interruptions. Not all interruptions are bad, but it’s important to find ways to manage them so they don’t derail the flow of your workday. Also, repeat after me, sometimes interruptions ARE THE JOB.
- Anyone else drowning in links and tabs? The Together Group loves it when you can find everything you need in one place. Sam H took the time to share her Together Leader Hub with us, and we’re HUGE fans! You can also find more of these goodies here and here.
- Hate to say it, but it’s time to prep for 2026! We already know that it’s the start of “circle back after the holiday” season, but that also means that we’ve got to start planning for what comes after the holidays. Are you ready?
