u/Famous_Ant_2018

most productivity advice is about tasks and time. nobody talks about the mental load of just… remembering context on people.
If your job involves managing a lot of relationships (clients, stakeholders, whoever), you know the feeling of walking into a call and blanking on where things left off
I went down a rabbit hole trying to fix this for myself a while back. tried notes app (unsearchable mess), tried a spreadsheet (dies after 2 weeks, nobody updates it), ended up building a proper system in notion with actual structure - last contact, notes, follow up reminders
weirdly this made a bigger difference to my day than most task management stuff i’ve tried. anyone else optimize for this specifically or is it just me.

been meaning to post this for a while. I support an exec with a ton of relationships to manage - board, leadership, external partners - and I got tired of losing context between meetings
ended up building this out in notion over a few weekends. basic structure is a database of people with fields for last touch, prefs, running notes, that kind of thing, plus a filtered view that shows me who i’m overdue to follow up with
honestly the biggest unlock was just having ONE place instead of scattered notes app entries i never revisited. sounds obvious but actually building the structure took some trial and error
happy to answer questions on how I set it up if anyone’s dealing with a similar problem, or share the template if useful

genuine question bc I feel like i’ve tried everything. between investors, leadership, key partners etc, i’m constantly trying to recall not just who someone is but where we left things - open threads, what they care about, when I last actually followed up
spreadsheet worked for like a month then just became a graveyard of stale info nobody updated.
tried a CRM too, way too much overhead for what’s basically internal relationship tracking, not sales
I ended up cobbling together my own system in notion for this - mostly bc i was tired of the mental load - and it’s actually held up well for me. context, next touch reminders, all in one spot I actually check
curious what other COS’s are doing here though, feels like this should have a better answer than “ I built my own thing”

ok so this has been driving me insane for months. I support someone who’s got like 50+ regular contacts - board, leadership, external partners - and I swear half my prep time before any meeting is just… trying to remember stuff. did we already talk about their promotion. do they prefer texts or calls. what did we leave off on last time
I tried just using notes app, tried a spreadsheet, both fell apart after like week 2 bc there’s no structure to it, just a wall of text i never go back and read
ended up putting together my own notion setup for it eventually (relationship history, prefs, last touch, that kind of thing) and it’s genuinely cut my prep time down a lot. wasn’t even trying to build “a thing,” just needed it to stop losing my mind before meetings
anyway - how is everyone else handling this? feel like this can’t just be my problem lol

Hello everyone,
I am relatively new to the Executive Assistant profession, and I am genuinely drawn to the depth and impact of this role.
I am currently exploring opportunities in my city and would love to gain some insight from those of you who have navigated this path successfully. I know that the day-to-day demands, logistics, quick thinking, interpersonal navigation, conflict resolution, and high-pressure problem solving are significant.
Beyond the technical and tactical skills required to excel at the desk, I would be grateful to hear: What are the deeper life skills that this job has taught you?
How has your time as an EA shaped the way you approach your own life, relationships, or personal growth?
Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your wisdom. I am truly looking forward to reading your insights.