KNOW, the Magazine for Paralegals Fall/Winter 2013.2 | Page 8

3. Share Email Access Enlist your assistant’s help with responding to certain types of emails (scheduling, followup, etc.) by adding them as a “delegate” to specific email folders. This will help cut down on the number of times you have to forward emails to your assistant; instead, they can respond for you! Remember to clearly define how and what types of emails you would like their help with. It will take some getting used to, but it’s worth it in the long run. 4. Establish Inbox Trays When you’re constantly on-the-go and returning from appointments with business cards, meeting notes, and marketing collateral, it’s important to create inbox trays that are clearly labeled to reflect the follow-up tasks associated with the items in that tray. For example, you may want to create inbox trays for To File, To Scan, To Enter in CRM, or Receipts to Process depending on your specific set of needs. [Do you have any tips for delegating tasks more efficiently to your assistant? We’d love to hear about them! [email protected]] About the Author Founder and President of Innovatively Organized, Elizabeth Bowman received her B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. She has experience in the defense contracting and consulting industry, working with government agencies and homeland security. Elizabeth is an active member of the National Association of Professional Organizers. She served as the NAPO Seattle Chapter President from May 2009 to April 2011, and currently remains on the Board of Directors. Elizabeth founded Innovatively Organized in 2006 to help busy professionals stay successful. Coming from a fastpaced and stressful work environment, she understood the importance for professionals to decrease stress and avoid burnout. 8