Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is absolutely nothing. Yet.
There was a time when I thought being a great assistant meant being fast.
Email comes in?
Answer it.
Slack notification?
I'm on it.
Client asks for something?
Already halfway done.
I was responsive as hell.
I was also training myself to treat every incoming request like somebody had pulled the fire alarm.
And when you work that way long enough, something weird happens.
Everything starts feeling urgent.
Even when almost none of it is.
That's why I like Falkland's Law.
The idea is ridiculously simple:
If you don't have to make a decision right now, don't.
That's it.
No 47-step productivity system.
Sometimes you need to act.
Sometimes you need to gather more information.
And sometimes you need to leave that shit alone for 20 minutes.
Knowing the difference is a skill.
Fast Doesn't Automatically Mean Good
Assistants get rewarded for responsiveness.
I understand why.
You're supporting people who have a lot moving at once. Things change. Problems happen. Somebody needs an answer.
But somewhere along the way, responsive can turn into reactive.
There's a difference.
Reactive Monica sees a message and thinks:
How quickly can I handle this?
Strategic Monica asks:
Does this actually need to be handled right now?
Those two questions can produce very different decisions.
And after spending more than 20 years supporting executives and managing projects, I've learned that speed is useful.
Discernment is better.
Some Shit Actually Is on Fire
Let's say a client's Stripe account stops processing payments.
Okay.
We're not forming a committee.
Money isn't coming in.
Investigate.
Escalate.
Communicate.
Move.
Same thing if an email is scheduled to go to 10,000 people and you spot a typo right before it goes out.
Fix the damn typo.
You don't need a strategy session.
There are situations where waiting creates a bigger problem.
That's when you move.
But then there are the requests that only look urgent because they arrived.
Those are the dangerous ones.
“I'm Thinking About Rebranding...”
A client casually mentions they might want to rebrand.
Cool.
That is not permission to open Canva and start picking fonts.
I want to know why.
What's changing?
Who are we trying to reach?
What's wrong with the current brand?
Is this an actual business decision or did you see somebody else's website at 11:38 last night and decide we need a new personality?
Let me gather some information first.
Because the bigger the decision, the less interested I am in making it with half the information.
That's not procrastination.
That's doing my damn job.
Even Moving a Meeting Can Be a Trap
This is one of those things executive assistants understand immediately.
“Can you move Tuesday's meeting?”
Sounds easy.
Until Tuesday's meeting has six attendees.
One person is flying in.
Another rearranged their schedule to attend.
The conference room is booked.
There's a deadline attached to the conversation.
And the next available time when everyone can meet is three weeks from now.
Now imagine I immediately cancel it because somebody sent me a six-word Slack message.
No, ma'am.
Context first.
Then action.
The Pause Is Part of the Job
I think this is where experienced assistants start separating themselves.
You stop treating speed like the only evidence that you're good at what you do.
Sometimes your value is catching the thing nobody else noticed.
Sometimes it's asking one more question.
Sometimes it's recognizing that the person asking you for something doesn't have all the information either.
And sometimes your job is protecting your executive from a decision they made too quickly.
That's what being a strategic partner actually looks like.
You're not sitting around waiting for instructions.
You're thinking alongside the business.
My Favorite Question Became: What Happens If I Wait?
Not forever.
I'm not advocating disappearing into the woods while your client's business burns down.
I'm asking what happens if you wait long enough to understand what you're actually dealing with.
Five minutes.
An hour.
Until another stakeholder responds.
Until you have the numbers.
Until the client clarifies what they meant.
If waiting creates measurable harm?
Move.
If waiting gives you information that could change the decision?
Wait.
That question has saved me from doing a lot of unnecessary shit.
Your Inbox Is Not Your Boss
This might be the bigger lesson.
Something arriving does not automatically give it priority.
Your inbox doesn't get to decide what's important.
Slack doesn't get to decide.
A notification certainly doesn't get to decide.
You do.
That's part of running your own business too.
Because if every person who contacts you gets immediate access to your attention, eventually there's nothing left for you.
You're spending the entire day responding to everybody else's priorities.
Then 6 PM rolls around and you're wondering why you were busy all day but somehow didn't touch the work that actually moves your business forward.
Been there.
Do not recommend.
This Is How You Become the Person They Trust
When I coach VAs, I'm much less interested in teaching them how to complete more tasks.
I want them thinking.
Why are we doing this?
What information is missing?
Who else does this affect?
What happens if we act now?
What happens if we wait?
That's the difference between someone who completes the request and someone a CEO trusts to help them make decisions.
You don't become strategic by calling yourself strategic on LinkedIn.
You become strategic when somebody throws you a problem and you know whether to catch it, question it, escalate it, or leave the damn thing alone until you know more.
That takes judgment.
And judgment takes practice.
So Before You Jump...
Ask yourself one question:
Does this actually need a decision right now?
If yes, handle your business.
If no, give yourself permission to gather what you need first.
You don't get extra points for being the fastest person to make the wrong decision.
Sometimes leadership looks like moving immediately.
Sometimes it looks like saying:
“Give me a minute. I want to look at this first.”
I've learned to respect both.
CURRENT MOOD
“Slow Down” by Bobby V.
Because apparently Bobby Valentino was giving operational advice and none of us noticed.
Not everything needs to happen the second somebody asks for it.
Slow down.
Look at what you're dealing with.
Then decide whether this thing actually deserves your attention right now.
And if it does?
Handle it.
Listen to “Slow Down” by Bobby V on YouTube
PEAK OF THE WEEK
Noticing how much easier it is for me now to let something sit for a minute.
Young Monica would've seen the notification and jumped.
Current Monica will read it, look at the context, decide when it actually needs my attention, and keep eating my lunch.
Growth.
#NotEveryPingIsAFire
XXX,
M💋
0 comments