By Karen Porter

Many administrative professionals love to make to-do lists, whether in Microsoft Outlook Tasks and OneNote apps or handwritten on a piece of paper. These administrative professionals also usually keep a notepad handy to make or take notes on the go (but at the desk too). And they’re savvy at creating spreadsheets in Excel that are used to keep logs of information, checklists and action item lists. Perhaps you are one of those administrative professionals.

Like your administrative colleagues, you use all of this information to keep organized. These to-do lists, checklists, notes, action lists and more help administrative professionals remember what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and even if it was done. The notes and lists are also used by admins to remind others what needs to be done and when and to follow up to ensure it was done by those other people. Basically, lists and notes help ensure it gets remembered and done — whoever is doing it.

But once a task is done or followed up on, what then? Should you toss these handwritten lists and notes into the trash (or shredder) and delete the spreadsheets of information? Probably not. In fact, many administrative assistants and executive assistants say they keep this information to refer back to in case of unexpected questions that arise. Also sometimes it’s used as documentation that something was said or done. And the notes give admin pros indications or reminders of things to do in the future (such as a task to be repeated next quarter or next year).

That’s all good! However, saving your to-do lists and keeping logs of your daily interactions and actions can do more than just keep you organized or give you proof (documentation) of what you did or even self-reminders that you did it….

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