Help me improve administratively
October 20, 2020 11:38 AM Subscribe
I went from a hands on service delivery role to an admin one. I'm not great at this. But I also never had the bulk of my job be reports, paperwork, organizing, project management, etc. I am not really bad at it I don't think, but I'm very mediocre. Which in my mind means bad. Help me?
I'm not great at building good working relationships with people that I just met before the pandemic sent me to virtual work. How do people do this when you only have IM, email or phone calls and you can't tell whether someone is a shoot the breeze person or not? I have social anxiety and quickly see myself as a burden that people don't want to talk to (and my current team sends very ostrasizing kinds of messages at times which doesn't help), so it's really hard to network. Any tips on networking virtually, to increase access to the informal information sharing that I'm not privy to now that I'm not in an office with people who know each other better, like each other more, etc?
I'm not great at listening well during conference calls. I am not a good auditory processor. I may have ADHD, but it isn't being treated. I don't want to be the bad guy that causes all our meetings to switch to video, but I need some way of paying attention better. I multitask, either on work or I'll play a game/doodle/shop online during calls. A lot of the material covered in calls isn't relevant to me so I zone out and often miss the bits that are.
I need a way to remember and track who is responsible for what, where to find forms, etc. I've created multiple cheat sheets for myself but forget what I have added to them. I've been in my position for almost a year and I'm ashamed of how little I'm retaining about the nuts and bolts of collaboration with other departments etc.
I'm not great at being productive on projects with no looming deadline. I've never had this problem before so maybe it's pandemic stress. How do you motivate yourself without external accountability? How do you find extra work to fill your time when there's only so many reports you can do?
My position is meant to be telework regardless of the pandemic, and for health reasons it is important to keep that structure as I have days I'm unable to work under office conditions. But I need help with having more discipline in the WFH context. Yes the pandemic is scary, and yes there are additional life stressors in my family including financial ones, but that's also part of why I need to solve this problem.
I love my position and it is far less stressful than my last one. Apparently I needed the stress to help me function at my best?
I'm not great at building good working relationships with people that I just met before the pandemic sent me to virtual work. How do people do this when you only have IM, email or phone calls and you can't tell whether someone is a shoot the breeze person or not? I have social anxiety and quickly see myself as a burden that people don't want to talk to (and my current team sends very ostrasizing kinds of messages at times which doesn't help), so it's really hard to network. Any tips on networking virtually, to increase access to the informal information sharing that I'm not privy to now that I'm not in an office with people who know each other better, like each other more, etc?
I'm not great at listening well during conference calls. I am not a good auditory processor. I may have ADHD, but it isn't being treated. I don't want to be the bad guy that causes all our meetings to switch to video, but I need some way of paying attention better. I multitask, either on work or I'll play a game/doodle/shop online during calls. A lot of the material covered in calls isn't relevant to me so I zone out and often miss the bits that are.
I need a way to remember and track who is responsible for what, where to find forms, etc. I've created multiple cheat sheets for myself but forget what I have added to them. I've been in my position for almost a year and I'm ashamed of how little I'm retaining about the nuts and bolts of collaboration with other departments etc.
I'm not great at being productive on projects with no looming deadline. I've never had this problem before so maybe it's pandemic stress. How do you motivate yourself without external accountability? How do you find extra work to fill your time when there's only so many reports you can do?
My position is meant to be telework regardless of the pandemic, and for health reasons it is important to keep that structure as I have days I'm unable to work under office conditions. But I need help with having more discipline in the WFH context. Yes the pandemic is scary, and yes there are additional life stressors in my family including financial ones, but that's also part of why I need to solve this problem.
I love my position and it is far less stressful than my last one. Apparently I needed the stress to help me function at my best?
A lot of the material covered in calls isn't relevant to me so I zone out and often miss the bits that are.
Take notes of everything while on the call, no matter if it is relevant to you or not. This means you can't multitask - which is good. After the call, take a few minutes to pull out the relevant details into your actual notes.
I struggle with lack of deadlines, too. I try to keep a list of my current projects (each with sub tasks) and note deadlines on it. I also try to update my documentation when anything changes. I put a circle or empty square in my notes when I have a task to do, so maybe have one symbol for your actual tasks and another for documentation type updates. I keep my notes in a physical notebook and then transcribe the important stuff into OneNote. You shouldn't have to remember what you put in your cheat sheets - just that each one exists so you know where to look. Are they in a place you can easily search the text on them all at one time?
People may not want to talk to you, but this is work, not a party. You need something from them and part of their job is working with you. Most people are fine with a bit of small talk, greeting, etc. Even when it annoys me, it is just because of my own mood and not the person who is talking to me. Just keep it short and say "Thanks" once they have given you the info.
posted by soelo at 12:38 PM on October 20, 2020
Take notes of everything while on the call, no matter if it is relevant to you or not. This means you can't multitask - which is good. After the call, take a few minutes to pull out the relevant details into your actual notes.
I struggle with lack of deadlines, too. I try to keep a list of my current projects (each with sub tasks) and note deadlines on it. I also try to update my documentation when anything changes. I put a circle or empty square in my notes when I have a task to do, so maybe have one symbol for your actual tasks and another for documentation type updates. I keep my notes in a physical notebook and then transcribe the important stuff into OneNote. You shouldn't have to remember what you put in your cheat sheets - just that each one exists so you know where to look. Are they in a place you can easily search the text on them all at one time?
People may not want to talk to you, but this is work, not a party. You need something from them and part of their job is working with you. Most people are fine with a bit of small talk, greeting, etc. Even when it annoys me, it is just because of my own mood and not the person who is talking to me. Just keep it short and say "Thanks" once they have given you the info.
posted by soelo at 12:38 PM on October 20, 2020
General advice about admin work - the whole point is to make work processes for non-admin staff go smoothly. Like for all those service reps (work you used to do) easier. So you may want to think about where your strengths lie that you can create reports and processes that make thihgs go smoother for others.
But you are asking a lot of perfectly good but very specific questions that you need to ask your direct supervisor about; they are the one that should be setting parameters and outcomes for you, and help you figure out the best way to accomplish them.
Also, what if you job is just *not* that stressful? You sound stressed out about it being non-stressful, which sort of defeats the point! Again, talk to boss, find out how you are performing, and work around those parameters.
posted by RajahKing at 12:48 PM on October 20, 2020
But you are asking a lot of perfectly good but very specific questions that you need to ask your direct supervisor about; they are the one that should be setting parameters and outcomes for you, and help you figure out the best way to accomplish them.
Also, what if you job is just *not* that stressful? You sound stressed out about it being non-stressful, which sort of defeats the point! Again, talk to boss, find out how you are performing, and work around those parameters.
posted by RajahKing at 12:48 PM on October 20, 2020
I'm not great at listening well during conference calls. I am not a good auditory processor. I may have ADHD, but it isn't being treated. I don't want to be the bad guy that causes all our meetings to switch to video, but I need some way of paying attention better. I multitask, either on work or I'll play a game/doodle/shop online during calls. A lot of the material covered in calls isn't relevant to me so I zone out and often miss the bits that are.
This might not be a great long term solution for you, but as an emergency, need to get better at this immediately sort of thing, take notes on a pad of paper on EVERYTHING in the call, circle or highlight what's important to find later.
Use some of the software solutions out there to block your ability to game or shop during calls if you aren't able to stop yourself from doing these things.
posted by yohko at 12:52 PM on October 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
This might not be a great long term solution for you, but as an emergency, need to get better at this immediately sort of thing, take notes on a pad of paper on EVERYTHING in the call, circle or highlight what's important to find later.
Use some of the software solutions out there to block your ability to game or shop during calls if you aren't able to stop yourself from doing these things.
posted by yohko at 12:52 PM on October 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
I have trouble paying attention on phone calls as well and the only thing that works is writing something like a rough transcript as I listen.
Virtual networking is just hard. In my organisation, we actively set up opportunities for people to talk to those they wouldn't normally interact with, giving people a chance to link up. They can then keep going via IM if they want.
Do you have any kind of message board, Slack or Teams where people can casually chat and share things? You might be able to suggest setting one up if not.
posted by knapah at 1:03 PM on October 20, 2020
Virtual networking is just hard. In my organisation, we actively set up opportunities for people to talk to those they wouldn't normally interact with, giving people a chance to link up. They can then keep going via IM if they want.
Do you have any kind of message board, Slack or Teams where people can casually chat and share things? You might be able to suggest setting one up if not.
posted by knapah at 1:03 PM on October 20, 2020
I am not a lawyer, but would it be possible to record these calls, either as public suggestion or covertly with your cell phone or something? I also have difficulty following audio only (I can't use audio books to save my life), and I don't think it's at all ridiculous to suggest that you simply cannot follow lengthy phone meetings without either a transcript or a dedicated note-taker. This is not a you failure.
posted by nakedmolerats at 1:10 PM on October 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by nakedmolerats at 1:10 PM on October 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
I can't recommend this guide enough:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/best-practices-for-outlook-f90e5f69-8832-4d89-95b3-bfdf76c82ef8
This took me from 50 to 90 on outlook skills/productivity.
After that, I recommend taking copious notes in onenote.
Those large conference calls, it's always hard to get a lot from them unless you are actively engaging. I wouldn't hold yourself to listen to those too much.
For the extra accountability on long projects, the best thing for that is to engage your manager. Have weekly 1 on 1 check ins to discuss, at the very least at a high level, your current goals and challenges and progress. They can often help solve problems, and are very adept at keeping employees to tasks and on schedules.
posted by bbqturtle at 1:38 PM on October 20, 2020 [9 favorites]
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/best-practices-for-outlook-f90e5f69-8832-4d89-95b3-bfdf76c82ef8
This took me from 50 to 90 on outlook skills/productivity.
After that, I recommend taking copious notes in onenote.
Those large conference calls, it's always hard to get a lot from them unless you are actively engaging. I wouldn't hold yourself to listen to those too much.
For the extra accountability on long projects, the best thing for that is to engage your manager. Have weekly 1 on 1 check ins to discuss, at the very least at a high level, your current goals and challenges and progress. They can often help solve problems, and are very adept at keeping employees to tasks and on schedules.
posted by bbqturtle at 1:38 PM on October 20, 2020 [9 favorites]
Years ago an admin/office manager told me the most important part of her job was in training the people she was adminning for to operate by her system. I don't think you have to have a system already, but if there are ways that you work that could have some process improvements, you can try sliding those into your daily operations.
posted by rhizome at 1:50 PM on October 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 1:50 PM on October 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm not great at being productive on projects with no looming deadline.
and then
How do you find extra work to fill your time when there's only so many reports you can do?
Use #1 for #2, and maybe have a loose schedule for yourself where you time-box the "no deadline" tasks with some regularity depending on the load (3x week, Fridays, every day, etc.).
posted by rhizome at 1:53 PM on October 20, 2020
and then
How do you find extra work to fill your time when there's only so many reports you can do?
Use #1 for #2, and maybe have a loose schedule for yourself where you time-box the "no deadline" tasks with some regularity depending on the load (3x week, Fridays, every day, etc.).
posted by rhizome at 1:53 PM on October 20, 2020
Keep in mind if you have ADHD for real, that you may have been inadvertently trained to use stress/cortisol to GET THINGS DONE and so part of what is happening is that you aren't getting that internal response to external stressors to drive you along. This is a disordered response to being treated like you didn't have ADHD when you do. So it may not be the most practical, right-now, time-management response, but if you have access to insurance, USE IT, and get evaluated for ADHD and get medicated if that is appropriate.
Secondarily as a project manager, a few tips.
1) when I am really on my game I keep a daily modified version of the Bullet Journal. I don't find a lot of utility in the beautiful, deeply designed versions that other people love so much, but the practical, list driven ethos of the original is really great. Every day, at the end of the day, review what you had on your list for today. Migrate anything that didn't get done today to tomorrow's list. Be sure the things you DID do are checked off/represented. During the day, check off your tasks. If new ones come up, add them and check them off as they get done. Again, at the end of the day, evaluate your list, move things over, and VOILA you are prepared for tomorrow. It's a great system.
2) If you have trouble paying attention in meetings where you can't see people's faces, if you trust the person whose meeting it is, just say, hey, this feels impersonal and odd to me, and I have a hard time processing information without seeing people's faces, can we do a video call? I mean, I'm just kind of surprised that it's not video anyway, 95% of the time I'm on camera for Zoom, but I get it also if your work culture is different. Alternatively, volunteer to be the meeting note-taker. Take notes for everyone. If you want a basic format for this, hit me up. Then you will have A JOB and it will maybe make you feel a little more accountable about the information in the meeting.
3) Learn how to build timelines in MS Project, Smartsheet, or whatever software your organization uses. Use some downtime to learn how (or again, I do this for money, please ask me questions) and then use the software to plan your own work. Just because there is "no" deadline doesn't mean there is no effort involved -- this kind of software will help you plan and visualize your effort so that you know that you plan to spend 2 hours on Friday on Widget Reports and then 4 hours on Wodget Notes or whatever.
posted by Medieval Maven at 2:25 PM on October 20, 2020 [9 favorites]
Secondarily as a project manager, a few tips.
1) when I am really on my game I keep a daily modified version of the Bullet Journal. I don't find a lot of utility in the beautiful, deeply designed versions that other people love so much, but the practical, list driven ethos of the original is really great. Every day, at the end of the day, review what you had on your list for today. Migrate anything that didn't get done today to tomorrow's list. Be sure the things you DID do are checked off/represented. During the day, check off your tasks. If new ones come up, add them and check them off as they get done. Again, at the end of the day, evaluate your list, move things over, and VOILA you are prepared for tomorrow. It's a great system.
2) If you have trouble paying attention in meetings where you can't see people's faces, if you trust the person whose meeting it is, just say, hey, this feels impersonal and odd to me, and I have a hard time processing information without seeing people's faces, can we do a video call? I mean, I'm just kind of surprised that it's not video anyway, 95% of the time I'm on camera for Zoom, but I get it also if your work culture is different. Alternatively, volunteer to be the meeting note-taker. Take notes for everyone. If you want a basic format for this, hit me up. Then you will have A JOB and it will maybe make you feel a little more accountable about the information in the meeting.
3) Learn how to build timelines in MS Project, Smartsheet, or whatever software your organization uses. Use some downtime to learn how (or again, I do this for money, please ask me questions) and then use the software to plan your own work. Just because there is "no" deadline doesn't mean there is no effort involved -- this kind of software will help you plan and visualize your effort so that you know that you plan to spend 2 hours on Friday on Widget Reports and then 4 hours on Wodget Notes or whatever.
posted by Medieval Maven at 2:25 PM on October 20, 2020 [9 favorites]
I was a quite good admin for a while.
- I kept a task list in Excel so it was easy to sort. A column for context is important to include, I used “waiting” with a follow up date in the due date column, @Name for things to talk about when I could get a boss/coworker’s time, project names, or just to do. Include a “completed” column that gets a date so you can filter for tasks to be done but also readily see if/when you did something. I use Trello now that I need something mobile friendly, but I miss my Excel file.
- +1 take notes during meetings. If you are responsible for minutes, include action tracking at the end of them and chime in to confirm when you hear an action, like “so Bob is bringing a list of five vendors to the next meeting”.
- admins tend to have slack time in their jobs to account for when urgent projects get dropped on them. It is also important to spend the time you need to keep your task list and tracking systems updated, even though that can feel non-productive. General time tracking is also a good thing to do so you can share it with your boss if things need to be adjusted / someone is taking a lot of your time. I did this in my todo excel.
posted by momus_window at 6:27 PM on October 20, 2020 [4 favorites]
- I kept a task list in Excel so it was easy to sort. A column for context is important to include, I used “waiting” with a follow up date in the due date column, @Name for things to talk about when I could get a boss/coworker’s time, project names, or just to do. Include a “completed” column that gets a date so you can filter for tasks to be done but also readily see if/when you did something. I use Trello now that I need something mobile friendly, but I miss my Excel file.
- +1 take notes during meetings. If you are responsible for minutes, include action tracking at the end of them and chime in to confirm when you hear an action, like “so Bob is bringing a list of five vendors to the next meeting”.
- admins tend to have slack time in their jobs to account for when urgent projects get dropped on them. It is also important to spend the time you need to keep your task list and tracking systems updated, even though that can feel non-productive. General time tracking is also a good thing to do so you can share it with your boss if things need to be adjusted / someone is taking a lot of your time. I did this in my todo excel.
posted by momus_window at 6:27 PM on October 20, 2020 [4 favorites]
Here is my big life-changing tip for you as a person who has done a LOT of admin work and also has many ADHD symptoms: Get things done right away or as close to the moment they are assigned to you as you can (without rushing or being sloppy, of course) whether there's a deadline or not. I've tried so many organizational systems and productivity techniques but that is the only one that's really made my work life less stressful. If there's something you're really dragging your feet about completing for whatever mental reason, just tell yourself you'll work on it for a minute then take a 5 minute break, work on it for another minute, then 5 minute break (or whatever time increments make sense). You will eventually get it done that way, probably faster than you think.
Of course you will need some kind of organizational system for recurring tasks, projects where you have to wait for things from other people, etc., but I feel the downfall of a lot of productivity systems is that they encourage you to put things off in favor of fiddling with organizing things.
posted by Jess the Mess at 8:33 AM on October 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
Of course you will need some kind of organizational system for recurring tasks, projects where you have to wait for things from other people, etc., but I feel the downfall of a lot of productivity systems is that they encourage you to put things off in favor of fiddling with organizing things.
posted by Jess the Mess at 8:33 AM on October 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
I feel the downfall of a lot of productivity systems is that they encourage you to put things off in favor of fiddling with organizing things.
Yeah, the problem with productivity systems and ADHD is that they have a learning curve and setup time...both of which require focus and organization. As anecdata, my ADHD doctor said maybe 10% of her patients who have tried GTD have been able to stick with it.
posted by rhizome at 8:41 PM on October 21, 2020
Yeah, the problem with productivity systems and ADHD is that they have a learning curve and setup time...both of which require focus and organization. As anecdata, my ADHD doctor said maybe 10% of her patients who have tried GTD have been able to stick with it.
posted by rhizome at 8:41 PM on October 21, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by crunchy potato at 11:52 AM on October 20, 2020