Executive Assistant.

Also posted as

Ops assistant, chief of staff (jr), scheduling coordinator, admin partner

Core loop

Calendar → inbox → meetings → follow-through

Hours

Often 20–40/wk with 3–5 hours overlapping the exec's morning

Hardest part

Saying no on someone else's behalf

Easiest way in

One narrow offer: calendar + inbox, 10 hrs a week

Progress is saved in this browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere.

1. 01

   What the job actually is

   You can describe the EA role as an operating system, not a list of chores, and you know what you will not do.Time splitRatesRed/green flags18 min

   • Your product is the executive's attention. Every decision you make is either buying them attention or spending it.
   • Responsive is not the same as always-on. Agree a response window ("within 2 hours during your morning, next business day after") and you get your life back.
   • Confidentiality is the whole job. You will see salaries, terminations, term sheets and health stuff. Say nothing, ever, including to other VAs.
   • Write down the exec's preferences in one doc: how they like meetings, who they always take a call from, what times are sacred, how they want to be interrupted.
   • Remote EA work is mostly asynchronous. One remote EA on r/ExecutiveAssistants put it bluntly: "Everything is very asynchronous. You have to be on top of your shit though because we don't meet often."

   Worked example — The preferences doc, first five lines

   Sacred: 8–10am is deep work. Nothing goes there without asking me first.

   Always take: investors, the board, Dana at Redpath, anything from my kid's school.

   Never schedule: Friday afternoons, anything before 8am, back-to-back over 90 minutes.

   Interrupt me by: Slack DM with 🔴 in the first character. Email means it can wait.

   Default no: podcast invites, coffee chats, unpaid speaking, vendor demos I didn't ask for.

   You write this in week one by asking, then you keep updating it every time they correct you. It becomes your handover doc later.

   Where the hours go

   Where a 20 hr/week EA retainer actually goes

   A working week supporting one founder. Note how little of it is the thing the job title implies.

   • Inbox: triage, drafting, chasing32%

     The single biggest block, and the one clients underestimate most.

   • Calendar and scheduling20%

     Booking is fast. Negotiating conflicts is what takes the time.

   • Meeting prep, notes, decision logs18%

     Agendas out the night before, notes turned around same day.

   • Follow-through chasing12%

     The waiting-for list. This is the part that makes you irreplaceable.

   • Travel, expenses, documents10%

     Bursty. Zero one week, all of it the next.

   • Research and one-off projects8%

     Where the interesting work hides. Ask for more of this.

   Over half your week is inbox and calendar. If you cannot do those two things fast and quietly, nothing else you learn matters.

   What this pays

   What executive assistant work actually pays

   Two numbers per row. The first is what the job boards Verse scrapes are really posting; the second is what the same person gets from a direct US client once they can show judgment. The gap is the whole point of this track.

   Swipe the table sideways →

   Experience	Hourly (USD)	Monthly (USD)	What changes it
   Entry (0–1 yr)	$3–5	$480–900	Calendar and inbox under instruction. You are being told what to do.
   Junior (1–2 yrs)	$5–7	$800–1,150	You triage without asking. First drafts get sent with light edits.
   Mid (2–4 yrs)	$7–10	$1,150–1,700	You say no on their behalf, run travel, own the follow-up list.
   Senior (4–6 yrs)	$10–14	$1,700–2,400	You handle board, investors and legal docs. You brief, not just book.
   Lead / chief of staff (6+ yrs)	$14–22	$2,400–3,800	You own projects and other assistants. Judgment is the product.

   This table has 4 columns and scrolls horizontally on small screens.

   Same skill, different client

   • OnlineJobs.ph direct$3–8

     Cheapest market. Employers here are price-shopping, so lead with proof, not rate.

   • US client, direct$7–15

     The best value per hour of your life. Needs 3–5 hrs of morning overlap.

   • UK / EU client$6–12

     Kinder hours from PH (afternoon overlap), slightly lower ceiling than the US.

   • Australia / NZ$6–13

     Near-perfect timezone match with PH. Underrated and less crowded.

   • Upwork$8–18 listed

     Look higher because the 10% fee is baked in. Your take-home is not the sticker.

   Sources: 2,081 live listings on Verse's own board, OnlineJobs.ph salary data, and 2026 agency rate cards. Board medians sit lower than the published guides — the guides quote what good VAs get, not what average posts offer.

   Red flag / green flag

   Spot the difference

   Same situation, two ways it can go.

   The job post says

   Red flag

   "Rockstar EA / social media / bookkeeper / customer service ninja needed. Must be a self-starter who wears many hats. $400/month, 40 hrs/week, must be available anytime."

   Four jobs, one salary, no defined hours. "Wears many hats" is how a client describes a scope they have not thought about. "Available anytime" means weekends.

   Green flag

   "EA for our founder. 20 hrs/wk, 7–11am PT overlap required. Calendar, inbox triage, travel. $8/hr to start, review at 90 days. We use Google Workspace, Slack, Notion."

   Named hours, named scope, named tools, named review date. Someone thought about this before posting it.

   In the first interview, they say

   Red flag

   "My last three assistants didn't work out. They just couldn't keep up / weren't proactive enough."

   Three in a row is not an assistant problem. Ask what specifically went wrong. If every answer blames the assistant, you are number four.

   Green flag

   "My last assistant went in-house at a client. Here is the handover doc she built. The gap right now is that nobody is watching my follow-ups."

   A specific gap you can fill, evidence of a working relationship, and an existing doc means they respect process.

   Do this

   Interview a real person for 20 minutes about how they run their week. A friend, your manager, a business-owner tita. Anyone with a calendar.

   Hand in: A one-page preferences doc for them with the five headings above, filled in.≈ 40 min

   Check before you call it done

   • Every line is a rule you could follow without asking again
   • No vague words like 'sometimes' or 'usually' left in it
   • You noted at least one thing they contradicted themselves about
   • It fits on one screen

   Mark module done
2. 02

   Calendar triage

   You can take a broken week and hand back a defensible one, with reasons.WorkflowTools3 templates32 min

   • Work in this order: conflicts, then travel and buffers, then focus blocks, then optimisation. Fixing pretty before fixing broken is how you miss a double booking.
   • Every meeting needs four things or it does not get to exist: purpose, attendee list, link or address, and an owner. If you cannot find the purpose, ask, do not guess.
   • Time zones are where careers die. Always write both zones in the invite title for cross-border calls, and check the DST dates for the exec's country, not yours. The US and PH do not shift together.
   • Buffers are not a luxury. 10 minutes after every external call and 30 minutes either side of an airport run, or the whole day dominoes.
   • A soft hold is a tentative block you own and can release. Use them for options you are still confirming, and label them 'HOLD —' so nobody mistakes it for real.
   • When you move something, tell the affected human in one sentence with a reason. Silent reschedules make the exec look rude and you get blamed later.

   Worked example — Mara's Tuesday, before and after

   Before

   8:00 Deep work (booked over by 'Quick sync?' from sales)

   9:30 Investor call — no Zoom link

   9:30 1:1 with Ben — double booked

   11:00 Interview, candidate is in London (invite says 11:00, no zone)

   12:00 Lunch (booked over)

   1:00–4:30 five back-to-back calls, no gaps

   4:00 Flight to SFO

   After

   8:00–10:00 Deep work, protected. Sales sync moved to 10:15, told them why.

   10:15 Sales sync (15 min, agenda requested)

   11:00 Investor call — link added, dial-in added, one-page pre-read attached

   11:45 1:1 with Ben moved to Wednesday 9:00, Ben confirmed

   12:15 Lunch, held

   1:00 Interview retitled 'Interview: R. Osei — 1:00pm CT / 7:00pm BST', London confirmed

   1:45–2:45 two calls with a 10 min gap, remaining two pushed to Thursday

   2:45 Car to airport (buffer 30 min), 4:00 flight, nothing after 2:45

   Six changes, four short messages sent, one flight saved. That last line is the case study you put in your portfolio.

   Workflow

   The Monday calendar sweep

   Every Monday before the exec's day starts. 25 minutes, same order, every week.

   1. 1

      Pull the next 10 days into one view

      Not just this week. Trips, board meetings and deadlines hide in day 8.

   2. 2

      Flag hard conflicts first

      Double bookings and anything scheduled during travel or a flight. These are the only true emergencies.

   3. 3

      Check every meeting has a link, a location and an agenda

      Missing conference link is the number one cause of a wasted ten minutes.

   4. 4

      Find the meetings that should not exist

      No agenda, no decision needed, five people where two would do, recurring meetings nobody has questioned in a year.

   5. 5

      Protect deep work and meals

      Block them as real events with real titles. An empty slot is an invitation.

   6. 6

      Send one message with your proposed changes

      Grouped, with a reason per change, and a default: "I'll action these at 3pm unless you say otherwise."

   Where this breaks: Sending six separate Slack messages as you find each problem. You have now interrupted them six times to fix interruptions. Batch it into one.

   Workflow

   A new meeting request arrives

   Someone emails or Slacks asking for time.

   1. 1

      Who is it?

      Check the always-take list. Investors, board, family, key clients go straight through.

   2. 2

      Is there a decision to make?

      If not, it is an email. Reply with the async alternative first.

   3. 3

      Can you answer it yourself?

      About a third of meeting requests are questions in disguise.

   4. 4

      Does it need the exec, or just someone from their team?

      Redirect to the right owner and copy the exec so they see you handled it.

   5. 5

      Book it in a batch slot

      Cluster external calls into two afternoon blocks. Never scatter them.

   6. 6

      Add the agenda and pre-read before you send the invite

      An invite without an agenda is a meeting that will need a second meeting.

   Where this breaks: Booking first and asking questions later. Once it is on the calendar, removing it costs political capital you do not have.

   Tool comparison

   Scheduling and calendar tools

   You will be asked about these by name in interviews. Learn one deeply rather than five badly.

   Swipe the table sideways →

   Tool	Best for	Learning curve	Cost	Verdict
   Google CalendarLearn first	The default for 80% of startups and small businesses.	Easy — an afternoon, plus a week to get fast	Free	Non-negotiable. Learn working hours, appointment schedules, multiple timezone display and delegated access.
   Calendly	Killing the eight-email back-and-forth with external people.	Easy — one hour	Free tier, $12/mo for the good bits	Learn buffers, daily limits and separate event types. The free tier is enough to demo in an interview.
   Outlook / Microsoft 365	Corporate, finance, legal, healthcare and anything over 200 staff.	Medium — the UI fights you	Paid, client provides	Worth learning if you want higher-paying corporate clients. Fewer VAs know it, which is exactly why it pays.
   Motion / Reclaim	Auto-scheduling focus time around meetings.	Medium	$10–34/mo	Skip unless a client already uses it. Nice toy, rarely the reason you get hired.
   World Time Buddy	Sanity-checking a call across four timezones.	Instant	Free	Boring and essential. One mis-converted timezone can cost you a client.

   This table has 5 columns and scrolls horizontally on small screens.

   Copy-paste

   Steal these

   Swap the bracketed bits and send.

   Declining a meeting on the exec's behalf

   For low-value requests you have judged the exec should not take. Warm, final, offers a door.

   Copy template to clipboard

   Hi [Name],
   
   Thanks for reaching out, and sorry for the slow reply.
   
   [Exec] is heads-down on [broad reason — a product launch / closing the quarter] through [month], so they're not taking new intro calls right now.
   
   If it's useful, send over the specifics by email and I'll make sure it reaches them. If there's a better time later in the year, I'm happy to note it and come back to you.
   
   Best,
   [Your name]
   Executive Assistant to [Exec]

   Proposing calendar changes to your exec

   Your weekly sweep summary. One message, grouped, with a default action so they can reply with one word.

   Copy template to clipboard

   Calendar for the next 10 days — 4 things, all handled unless you say otherwise.
   
   1. Conflict Thu 2pm: [Meeting A] and [Meeting B] overlap. Proposing I move [B] to Fri 10am — it's internal and less time-sensitive.
   
   2. Killing: [recurring meeting]. No agenda for 3 weeks and no decisions logged. Suggest we drop it and I'll send a written update instead.
   
   3. Protecting: blocked 8–10am Mon/Wed/Fri as deep work. Two people tried to book into it last week.
   
   4. Needs you: [Person] wants 30 min about [topic]. I can't answer this one — yes or no?
   
   I'll action 1–3 at 3pm today unless you say stop.

   The 8-email back-and-forth killer

   First reply to any external scheduling request. Replaces four rounds of "does Tuesday work?"

   Copy template to clipboard

   Hi [Name],
   
   Happy to get this in the diary. Two options that work on [Exec]'s side:
   
   • [Day, date] at [time] [TZ] — also [time] [their TZ]
   • [Day, date] at [time] [TZ] — also [time] [their TZ]
   
   Reply with either and I'll send the invite with the link. If neither works, here's [Exec]'s booking page: [Calendly link]
   
   Best,
   [Your name]

   Do this

   Rebuild the Tuesday above from scratch in your own Google Calendar as a fake week, then write the four messages you would send to the affected people.

   Hand in: A screenshot of the fixed week plus a short 'what I changed and why' note, six bullets max.≈ 60 min

   Check before you call it done

   • No two events overlap
   • Every cross-timezone event shows both zones in the title
   • There is a buffer before travel and after every external call
   • Each message you wrote gives a reason and offers a new time
   • The focus block survived

   Mark module done
3. 03

   Inbox triage and writing in their voice

   You can take 200 unread emails to under 10 and draft replies the exec sends without editing.WorkflowTime splitRed/green flags4 templates34 min

   • Four buckets, nothing else: Action-them, Action-me, Waiting-for, Read-only. Every message gets a bucket within seconds or it goes to Read-only.
   • Do not delete anything and do not use 20 labels. A messy archive is fine. A false sense of order is not.
   • The waiting-for list is your secret weapon. Every time the exec asks someone for something, log it with a date, then chase it. Executives lose deals on things they asked for once and forgot.
   • To write in their voice, steal it. Read 30 of their sent emails and note: greeting, sign-off, average length, whether they use exclamation marks, whether they apologise.
   • Start replies with [DRAFT — send or edit] in the subject line for the first month. Once they stop editing, ask for permission to send directly on defined categories.
   • Escalate anything legal, financial, angry, or about a person's job. Those never get an auto-answer from you.

   Worked example — Same email, wrong voice and right voice

   Before

   Subject: Re: Partnership opportunity

   Dear Mr. Calderon,

   Thank you so much for reaching out to us regarding this exciting opportunity! We greatly appreciate your interest in our company. Unfortunately at this time we will not be able to move forward, but we will certainly keep your information on file for future consideration. Wishing you all the best!

   Warm regards,

   Mara

   After

   Subject: Re: Partnership opportunity

   Hi Luis —

   Not a fit for us this quarter, we're heads-down on the enterprise release until October. If you're still building in this space in Q4, ping me then.

   Mara

   The second one is shorter, gives a real reason, and gives a real date. Founders write like that. If your draft sounds like a customer-service macro, they will rewrite it and eventually stop asking you.

   Workflow

   The four-pile inbox triage

   Start of every shift, and once more mid-afternoon. Timebox it to 45 minutes.

   1. 1

      Sort before you write anything

      One pass, no replies. Label each email needs-them, needs-me, waiting-for, or noise. Speed matters more than perfection.

   2. 2

      Kill the noise permanently

      Do not just archive. Every newsletter you archive twice becomes a filter rule. The inbox should shrink week over week.

   3. 3

      Clear needs-me yourself

      Answer, book, send the doc, make the intro. Copy the exec only where they'd want to see it.

   4. 4

      Draft the needs-them pile

      Write the reply as them, leave it in drafts, and list them in your daily brief. Never leave a hard email undrafted just because it's hard.

   5. 5

      Date every waiting-for item

      "Chase [person] about [thing] on [date]" in your tracker. This list is your unfair advantage.

   6. 6

      Report the number

      "Inbox at 6, from 212. Three drafts waiting for you, two chases sent." Clients love the number.

   Where this breaks: Replying as you read. You'll spend 40 minutes on the third email and never reach the urgent one at position 90.

   Where the hours go

   What is actually in a founder's 200-email inbox

   A real morning's unread count, sorted. Only a small slice ever needed the human it was sent to.

   • Noise: newsletters, tools, receipts45%

     Archive or filter. Build the filter once and it never comes back.

   • Needs me — you can answer it25%

     Scheduling, intros, document requests, status questions.

   • Waiting-for: someone owes them something12%

     Does not need a reply. Needs a chase date.

   • Needs them — genuinely10%

     Decisions, relationships, anything with money or people in it.

   • Needs them, but you draft it first8%

     Your highest-value output. They approve in 10 seconds instead of writing for 10 minutes.

   Only about 1 in 10 emails truly needed the executive. Your job is to prove that, then earn the right to handle the other nine.

   Red flag / green flag

   Spot the difference

   Same situation, two ways it can go.

   Drafting a reply in the exec's voice

   Red flag

   "Dear Mr. Chen, I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to reach out and touch base regarding the proposal you kindly sent through last week. We are currently in the process of reviewing it internally and will endeavour to revert to you at our earliest possible convenience. Warmest regards, Mara"

   Nobody who runs a company writes like this. It is padded, passive, and commits to nothing. The exec will rewrite it, which means you cost them time instead of saving it.

   Green flag

   "Hi Dave, Read it over the weekend. The scope looks right, the timeline doesn't — we can't start before March. Can you send a version with a March 3 kickoff? If the number moves, tell me by how much. Mara"

   Short sentences, a real position, one specific ask, a deadline. This is what a busy person sounds like. Copy their last 20 sent emails before you write a single draft.

   Handling an email you are not sure about

   Red flag

   Forwarding it to the exec with "Thoughts?" and no context.

   You just moved the work back to them and added a step. "Thoughts?" is the assistant version of doing nothing.

   Green flag

   "[Person] wants [thing]. I think we say no because [reason] — draft's in your drafts folder. If you'd rather say yes, tell me and I'll rewrite. Needs an answer by Thursday."

   You made the call, showed your reasoning, did the work, and gave them a one-word exit. This is the difference between a $4 assistant and a $12 one.

   Copy-paste

   Steal these

   Swap the bracketed bits and send.

   The holding reply

   Send within 2 hours to anything you cannot resolve yet. Stops the follow-up email and buys you three days.

   Copy template to clipboard

   Hi [Name],
   
   Got this — thank you. [Exec] is travelling until [day], so I'm holding it for them.
   
   You'll have a proper answer by [specific day]. If anything changes before then, I'll let you know.
   
   Best,
   [Your name]
   Executive Assistant to [Exec]

   The polite chase (first nudge)

   For your waiting-for list. Day 5 after the original ask. Friendly, assumes good faith, makes it easy to reply.

   Copy template to clipboard

   Hi [Name],
   
   Circling back on [thing] — we asked on [date] and I want to make sure it didn't get buried.
   
   No rush if it's in progress. If you can give me a rough date, I'll stop chasing you. If it's stuck on our side, tell me what you need and I'll unblock it.
   
   Thanks,
   [Your name]

   The second chase (and the last one)

   Day 10. Names the consequence without being aggressive. Always cc nobody the first two times.

   Copy template to clipboard

   Hi [Name],
   
   Third time on [thing], sorry to be that person.
   
   We need it by [date] or [specific consequence — we'll have to push the launch / we'll proceed on the assumption of X]. Happy to jump on a 10-minute call if that's faster than email.
   
   Let me know either way today?
   
   [Your name]

   End-of-day brief

   Five lines, same shape every day. This single habit is why clients keep assistants for years.

   Copy template to clipboard

   EOD — [date]
   
   Done: [2–3 things that are finished, not in progress]
   Decided: [anything you decided on their behalf, so they can veto it]
   Blocked: [what you need from them, with a deadline]
   Needs you tomorrow: [the 1–2 things only they can do]
   I'm on next: [what you'll pick up first thing]
   
   Inbox: [n] | Waiting on [n] people | Calendar clean through [date]

   Do this

   Take your own inbox from the last 14 days. Sort it into the four buckets, then write an end-of-day brief as if you were reporting to someone about it.

   Hand in: A screenshot of the sorted inbox, a waiting-for table with five rows (who, what, asked on, chase on), and a five-line EOD brief.≈ 50 min

   Check before you call it done

   • Zero items left unsorted
   • Waiting-for rows all have a chase date, not just a request
   • The brief has: done, decided, blocked, needs you, next
   • The brief is under 120 words
   • You flagged at least one thing you would escalate rather than answer

   Mark module done
4. 04

   Meeting operations

   You can run the paperwork around a meeting so decisions survive contact with next week.WorkflowTools3 templates26 min

   • An agenda sent an hour before is decoration. Sent the day before, it changes who shows up prepared.
   • Notes are not a transcript. Nobody reads a transcript. Capture decisions, owners, deadlines, and open questions. Four headings, that is it.
   • Every action item needs a human name and a date. "The team will look into it" is not an action item, it is a way to lose two weeks.
   • Send the decision log within two hours while people still remember agreeing. After 24 hours everyone's memory has quietly renegotiated.
   • Push every action into the task board the same day. If it only lives in the notes doc, it does not exist.
   • Recording and transcription need consent. Ask in the invite, not after the fact.

   Worked example — A 40-minute call, compressed

   DECISIONS — Shipping the pricing change on 1 Sept, not 15 Aug. Grandfathering existing annual plans for 12 months.

   OWNERS — Ben: update pricing page copy by 22 Aug. Priya: email existing customers by 25 Aug. Mara: approve the email by 23 Aug.

   OPEN — Do partners get the grandfather clause too? Mara to ask legal, answer needed before 22 Aug.

   RISK — Priya is on leave 18–24 Aug. Her deadline is unrealistic; flagged to Mara.

   That last line is why an EA is worth real money. You are not typing, you are noticing.

   Workflow

   The meeting lifecycle

   Any meeting that matters. Internal standups do not need this; anything with a decision does.

   1. 1

      T-24h: agenda out

      Three bullets max, each phrased as a question or a decision. Attach the pre-read. If nobody can name a decision, cancel it.

   2. 2

      T-1h: prep pack to the exec

      Who's on the call, what they last talked about, what the exec promised last time, what you want out of it.

   3. 3

      During: capture decisions, not dialogue

      You are not a transcript. Write down what was decided, who owns it and by when. Everything else is noise.

   4. 4

      T+2h: send the decision log

      Same day, always. Memory of what was agreed diverges within 24 hours and then it's your word against theirs.

   5. 5

      T+2h: put every action in the tracker with a chase date

      An action item without a date is a wish.

   6. 6

      T+5 days: chase what has not moved

      This is the step everyone skips, and it is the entire reason meetings feel pointless at most companies.

   Where this breaks: Posting a raw AI transcript into Slack and calling it notes. Nobody reads it, and it signals you didn't understand the meeting well enough to summarise it.

   Tool comparison

   Meeting and notetaking tools

   The AI notetakers all transcribe fine now. What separates them is search, sharing and whether they annoy the other people on the call.

   Swipe the table sideways →

   Tool	Best for	Learning curve	Cost	Verdict
   FathomLearn first	Free AI notes with genuinely usable auto-summaries.	Easy — 20 minutes	Free tier is generous	Best starting point. Record your own practice calls with it and you have a portfolio piece by Friday.
   Fireflies	Teams that want a searchable archive of every call.	Easy	Free tier, $10/user/mo	Most commonly named in EA job posts. Learn the topic tracker and soundbites.
   Otter	Live transcription you read during the call.	Easy	Free tier, $17/mo	Fine, and the most-recognised name. Weaker summaries than Fathom.
   Granola	Execs who take their own rough notes and want them cleaned up.	Easy	$18/mo	Doesn't join the call as a bot, which some clients strongly prefer. Worth knowing exists.
   Plain Google Doc	Sensitive meetings — legal, HR, term sheets.	None	Free	Know when to switch the bot off. Recording an HR conversation without asking is a fireable mistake.

   This table has 5 columns and scrolls horizontally on small screens.

   Copy-paste

   Steal these

   Swap the bracketed bits and send.

   Meeting agenda

   Goes in the calendar invite body, 24 hours ahead. If you cannot fill in the decision line, the meeting should be an email.

   Copy template to clipboard

   [Meeting name] — [date], [duration]
   
   Decision we need to leave with:
   [One sentence. If blank, cancel.]
   
   Agenda
   1. [Question, not topic] — [owner] — [10 min]
   2. [Question, not topic] — [owner] — [15 min]
   3. Actions and next steps — [5 min]
   
   Pre-read: [link] (5 min, please read before)
   Attending: [names and why each one is here]
   Notes doc: [link]

   Decision log (post-meeting)

   Send within two hours, to everyone who attended plus anyone affected. Replaces notes entirely.

   Copy template to clipboard

   [Meeting name] — [date]
   
   Decisions
   • [Decided X.] Reason: [one line]
   • [Decided Y.] Reason: [one line]
   
   Actions
   • [Action] — [owner] — due [date]
   • [Action] — [owner] — due [date]
   
   Open / parked
   • [Thing we did not resolve] — revisit [when]
   
   Not discussed: [anything on the agenda you ran out of time for]
   
   Corrections welcome — reply by end of tomorrow and I'll update.

   Exec prep pack

   Slack or email it 60 minutes before an external meeting. Six lines, never more.

   Copy template to clipboard

   [Meeting] in 1 hour — [link]
   
   Who: [Name, title, company]. [One line on who they are to us.]
   Last contact: [date] — [what happened]
   You promised: [anything they're expecting from us]
   They want: [their likely agenda]
   We want: [the outcome to push for]
   Watch out for: [the awkward thing, the unpaid invoice, the thing they asked twice]

   Do this

   Find any 20–40 minute meeting recording, panel, or podcast where people commit to things. Turn it into a decision log using the four headings above.

   Hand in: A one-page decision log plus three tasks written out in task-board format.≈ 45 min

   Check before you call it done

   • Every action has a named owner and a date
   • You separated decisions from discussion
   • You listed at least one open question
   • You flagged at least one risk nobody said out loud
   • It fits on one page

   Mark module done
5. 05

   Travel and expenses without disasters

   You can build an itinerary someone can follow while exhausted in an airport, and file an expense report that gets approved first time.WorkflowRed/green flags3 templates24 min

   • Build the itinerary backwards from the first meeting at the destination, not forwards from the flight you found.
   • One page, chronological, in the destination's local time, with the departure time zone in brackets. Confirmation numbers and phone numbers on the same page.
   • Always note the cancellation deadline and the change fee next to each booking. That is the information they need at 11pm when a deal moves.
   • Check passport validity, visa rules and layover transit rules before you book. Six-month passport validity trips up a lot of people.
   • Expenses: separate reimbursable from non-reimbursable, attach every receipt, convert currency on the transaction date, and never front money from your own account.
   • Give them a 'if it all goes wrong' block: airline app, hotel number, your number, and who to call if you are asleep.

   Worked example — Itinerary line, weak vs usable

   Before

   Flight to SFO 4pm. Hotel booked. Meeting Wednesday.

   After

   TUE 12 AUG

   14:45 Car pickup — Uber Black booked, driver confirms 30 min prior

   16:00 UA 2231 AUS→SFO (dep 4:00pm CT / arr 6:05pm PT), seat 4A, conf QK7T2P

   Change fee $0 up to 24h before. Cancel by 11 Aug 4pm CT for full credit.

   18:45 Hotel Zeppelin, 545 Post St, conf 88213-A, +1 415 563 0303

   Late checkout requested for Thu, not yet confirmed

   WED 13 AUG

   09:00 Breakfast w/ Dana Reyes, Sightglass 270 7th St (12 min walk from hotel)

   IF IT GOES WRONG: United app / hotel above / me on Slack until 11pm PT / after that, Ben +1 512 555 0148

   The second one survives a delayed flight and a dead laptop. That is the actual test.

   Workflow

   Building a trip that survives a delayed flight

   Any travel more than one night or crossing a timezone.

   1. 1

      Confirm the non-negotiables before you price anything

      Which meeting is the reason for the trip, earliest departure they'll accept, aisle or window, loyalty numbers, and whether they'll take a connection.

   2. 2

      Book the anchor meeting's day first, then work outwards

      Never book flights before the meeting is confirmed in writing. This is the classic expensive mistake.

   3. 3

      Hotel within walking distance of the anchor meeting

      Cheaper and further is a false economy. A $40 saving is not worth a stressed exec in a taxi.

   4. 4

      Build ground transport for every gap

      Airport to hotel, hotel to meeting, meeting to airport. Include a backup: local taxi number, not just an app.

   5. 5

      Write the one-page itinerary

      Confirmation codes, addresses in local language, times in BOTH timezones, your phone number at the top.

   6. 6

      Hold the receipts as they arrive, not at month end

      Create the expense report on day one of the trip and add to it daily. Chasing a receipt three weeks later is misery.

   Where this breaks: Times written in only one timezone. An exec reading "pickup 6:00" on a phone still set to home time will miss the flight, and it will be your fault.

   Red flag / green flag

   Spot the difference

   Same situation, two ways it can go.

   The itinerary you hand over

   Red flag

   "Flight PR102 departs 6:35am. Hotel is the Marriott. Meeting with Dave at 2. Return Thursday."

   No terminal, no confirmation codes, no addresses, no phone numbers, no timezone, no ground transport. Every single gap becomes a phone call to you at 3am your time.

   Green flag

   "WED 12 MAR — depart 05:00 Grab to NAIA T2 (booked, driver texts you) 06:35 PR102 → SIN, arrives 10:20 SGT (= 10:20 PH, no change) Ref: XKQ4R2 | Seat 3A | Bag checked 11:00 Hotel car, meet at Arrivals door 4, sign says [Name] Backup taxi: +65 6555 8888 12:00 Check in — Marriott Tang Plaza, 320 Orchard Rd Ref: 88213 | Late checkout to 4pm confirmed 14:00 Dave Chen @ their office, 8 Marina Blvd L32 15 min walk or 6 min taxi. Reception asks for ID. Dave's mobile: +65 9123 4567"

   Every line answers "what do I do next" without needing you. Confirmation codes, both timezones, a human backup for each booked thing, and addresses they can show a driver.

   Copy-paste

   Steal these

   Swap the bracketed bits and send.

   Travel brief (ask this before you book anything)

   Send once, save the answers forever. Re-ask only the trip-specific top section next time.

   Copy template to clipboard

   Before I book — quick confirms:
   
   This trip
   • Anchor meeting: [what/when], confirmed in writing? [y/n]
   • Earliest you'll leave / latest you'll land:
   • Direct only, or will you take one connection?
   • Nights needed:
   
   Saved preferences (confirming these once, then I'll stop asking)
   • Airlines + loyalty numbers:
   • Seat: [aisle/window] [front/exit row]
   • Hotel: [chain preference, room type, floor]
   • Dietary / medical anything I should book around:
   • Passport expiry + number on file? [y/n]
   • Who else needs to know you're away:
   
   Budget ceiling per night / per flight:

   One-page itinerary skeleton

   Paste into a doc, share as a PDF AND a calendar event. Assume they will read it on a dying phone.

   Copy template to clipboard

   [EXEC NAME] — [CITY] — [DATES]
   Your EA: [name], [phone], [email]. Call me any hour on this trip.
   
   ── [DAY, DATE] ──────────────────
   [time local] [what] 
       Ref: [code] | [seat/room] | [address]
       Contact: [phone number of a human]
       Note: [the one thing that could go wrong]
   
   ── [DAY, DATE] ──────────────────
   [repeat]
   
   ALWAYS-USEFUL
   Hotel: [name, address, phone, confirmation]
   Backup taxi: [local number]
   Embassy: [number]
   Travel insurance: [policy no, claim line]
   All times shown in [local TZ]. [Local] is [+/- n] hrs from Manila.

   Expense report cover note

   Attach to every report you submit. Gets approvals first time and makes finance like you.

   Copy template to clipboard

   [Exec name] — [trip / month] expenses
   Total: [amount] [currency] | Reimbursable: [amount] | Company card: [amount]
   
   Breakdown
   • Flights [amount] — [ref]
   • Accommodation [amount] — [n] nights
   • Ground transport [amount]
   • Client meals [amount] — [who was present, required for tax]
   • Other [amount] — [what]
   
   Notes
   • [Any item over policy, and the approval that covers it]
   • [Any missing receipt, and why — declare it, don't hide it]
   
   All receipts attached and named [date]-[vendor]-[amount].

   Do this

   Plan a fictional Manila → Singapore business trip: two days, three meetings, one dinner. Invent the meetings. Use real airlines and real hotels with real published prices.

   Hand in: A one-page itinerary and a five-line expense report with a reimbursable and a non-reimbursable item.≈ 70 min

   Check before you call it done

   • Every booking shows a confirmation number and a cancellation deadline
   • All times are in destination local time with the origin zone noted
   • Transfers between every location are accounted for, including travel time
   • There is an emergency block
   • The expense report separates reimbursable from personal, with currency and date

   Mark module done
6. 06

   Turning vague requests into tracked work

   You can take "can you look into the office thing" and return a plan nobody has to manage.WorkflowRed/green flags3 templates22 min

   • The four questions that save you every time: what does done look like, when do you need it, who approves it, and what is the budget or limit.
   • Never start on a vague brief hoping you will guess right. Ten minutes of asking beats six hours of the wrong work.
   • Use a light RACI: one person Responsible, one Accountable, the rest Consulted or Informed. If two people are accountable, nobody is.
   • Status updates are a product. Same day, same format, every week. Done, in progress, blocked, needs a decision from you.
   • Blockers get escalated with an option attached. "We're stuck on X, I suggest Y, need your yes by Thursday" is a hundred times better than "we're stuck".
   • Track your own tasks somewhere the client can see. Being visible is how you stop being the person who is easy to cut.

   Worked example — Vague request, converted

   Before

   Mara, 11:48pm: "can you sort out something for the team offsite"

   After

   Reply: "On it. Four quick things so I don't build the wrong thing:

   1. Done looks like: venue booked + agenda + travel for 14 people. Yes?

   2. Date window: I'm assuming the week of 6 Oct. Confirm?

   3. Budget ceiling per head, all in?

   4. Who approves the spend — you or Ben?

   Answer these and I'll come back Thursday with three venue options and a draft agenda."

   You answered fast, took ownership, and refused to guess. Executives read that as competence, not friction.

   Workflow

   Vague request to tracked work

   Any time you hear "can you look into...", "we should probably...", or "the thing with the..."

   1. 1

      Do not start. Restate it back in one sentence

      "So: find out why the office internet keeps dropping and what it'd cost to fix. Right?" Half the time they correct you, and you just saved four hours.

   2. 2

      Ask the three questions

      What does done look like? When do you need it? What's the budget or limit? If they can't answer the first one, the task isn't real yet.

   3. 3

      Timebox it out loud

      "I'll give this two hours and come back with options." This protects you from a research hole and them from a surprise invoice.

   4. 4

      Come back with options, not a question

      Three choices, a recommendation, and a price. Never return with "what do you want me to do?"

   5. 5

      Log it with an owner and a date

      Even if the owner is them. Especially if the owner is them.

   6. 6

      Close the loop in writing when it's done

      "Office internet: switched to [provider], installed Tuesday, [cost]/mo, contract in the shared drive." Then it's off both your plates permanently.

   Where this breaks: Starting the research immediately because you want to look responsive. You'll produce something thorough and wrong.

   Red flag / green flag

   Spot the difference

   Same situation, two ways it can go.

   Coming back after being asked to "look into" something

   Red flag

   "Hi! So I looked into the office internet thing. There are a lot of options — PLDT, Converge, Globe all have business plans, and there's also the question of whether we want fibre or not. Some are cheaper but have longer contracts. What do you think we should do?"

   You did the work and then handed the decision back with all the complexity still attached. The exec now has to do the thinking you were paid to do.

   Green flag

   "Office internet — recommend Converge Biz 500Mbps, ₱4,999/mo, 24-mo contract, installs in 5 working days. Why: cheapest of the three that has an SLA. PLDT is ₱1,200 cheaper but no SLA and the reviews from the building's other tenants are bad. Alternatives if you'd rather: Globe at ₱6,500 (12-mo contract, more flexible) or stay put and add a backup LTE router at ₱1,500/mo. Say go and I'll book the install for next week."

   A recommendation with a reason, real numbers, two alternatives with the tradeoff named, and a one-word path to done.

   Copy-paste

   Steal these

   Swap the bracketed bits and send.

   The scoping reply

   Send this within 15 minutes of any vague request. Being fast with questions beats being slow with work.

   Copy template to clipboard

   Happy to take this on. Before I start, so I don't build the wrong thing:
   
   1. Done looks like: [my guess at the deliverable] — right?
   2. Need it by: [my guess at the deadline]?
   3. Constraint: [budget / must use existing tool / can't tell anyone yet]?
   
   If my guesses are right, just reply "yep" and I'll get going. I'll timebox it to [n] hours and come back with options.

   The options memo

   How you return any piece of research. Fits on one screen. Never longer.

   Copy template to clipboard

   [Thing] — recommendation
   
   Recommend: [option], [cost], [timeline].
   Why: [one or two sentences. Name the tradeoff you accepted.]
   
   Also considered
   • [Option B] — [cost]. [Why not: one line.]
   • [Option C] — [cost]. [Why not: one line.]
   
   Risk: [the thing that could go wrong with my recommendation]
   Next step if you say yes: [what I'll do, and by when]
   Decision needed by: [date, and what happens if we miss it]

   Weekly project tracker line

   The format for every row in whatever tool the client uses. Consistency is the whole trick.

   Copy template to clipboard

   [Project] | Owner: [name] | Due: [date] | Status: [On track / At risk / Blocked / Done]
   Last update [date]: [what changed since the last update, one line]
   Next: [the literal next action, and who does it]
   Blocked by: [person + what you need, or "nothing"]

   Do this

   Write out five deliberately vague requests you have received in any job. Convert each into a scoped task with the four questions answered.

   Hand in: A scoping table plus one weekly status update written from a fictional mid-project week.≈ 40 min

   Check before you call it done

   • Every task has a definition of done in one sentence
   • Every task has an approver named
   • The status update has a blocker with a proposed option
   • Nothing in the update is longer than two lines

   Mark module done
7. 07

   Pricing, proposals and boundaries

   You can quote a package out loud without flinching and write the terms that stop scope creep.RatesRed/green flags3 templates28 min

   • Sell a package, not hours. "Calendar and inbox, 10 hours a week, weekday mornings US Central" is easy to say yes to. "I do admin stuff" is not.
   • Have two offers ready: a starter (calendar + inbox) and a bigger one (executive operations, including meetings, follow-through, travel and reporting). Price the second at roughly double.
   • Put the out-of-scope list in writing. Personal errands, weekend cover, bookkeeping, phone answering, family logistics. Not refusals, just separately priced.
   • Define your response window and your after-hours rate in the same paragraph. This is the single clause that saves the relationship in month four.
   • Raise rates at a natural marker: three months in, a scope change, or a new year. Come with evidence, not feelings. Show what you took off their plate.
   • Executive support should never be priced like data entry. Confidentiality, time-zone coverage, and speaking on someone's behalf are what you are charging for.

   Worked example — A one-page offer that closes

   WHAT — Calendar, inbox, meeting prep and follow-through for one executive.

   HOURS — 10 hrs/week, Mon–Fri, 8am–10am US Central plus async.

   RESPONSE — Under 2 hours during those windows. Next business day outside them.

   INCLUDED — Calendar triage, scheduling, inbox sorting and drafting, agendas, notes, decision logs, waiting-for chasing, weekly status update.

   NOT INCLUDED (quoted separately) — Travel booking, expense reports, bookkeeping, personal errands, weekend cover, phone answering.

   URGENT / AFTER-HOURS — 1.5× hourly, agreed in writing before the work starts.

   TOOLS — I work inside your accounts with least-privilege access. No shared passwords.

   TRIAL — Two paid weeks. Either of us can walk with no notice.

   Every line here exists because some EA got burned. The trial clause makes nervous clients say yes faster.

   What this pays

   Retainer packages that actually sell

   Stop quoting hours. Quote a package with a named scope and an hours ceiling. Same work, better price, fewer arguments.

   Swipe the table sideways →

   Experience	Hourly (USD)	Monthly (USD)	What changes it
   Starter — 10 hrs/wk	$8–10 effective	$350–450	Calendar + inbox only. Your foot-in-the-door offer. Deliberately narrow.
   Core — 20 hrs/wk	$8–12 effective	$700–1,000	Adds meeting ops and follow-through. Most common EA retainer.
   Full — 40 hrs/wk	$9–14 effective	$1,500–2,400	Everything, plus travel and projects. Ask for a 3-month minimum.
   Rush / out-of-hours	1.5× base	Billed on top	Weekends, PH holidays, anything under 12 hours' notice. Write it into the contract from day one.
   Project (one-off)	n/a — price the outcome	$150–600 per project	Inbox rescue, SOP build, travel for one trip. Great for testing a new client cheaply.

   This table has 4 columns and scrolls horizontally on small screens.

   Same skill, different client

   • Raise for existing clients+10–15%

     Every 12 months, with evidence. Anyone who refuses forever is capping you deliberately.

   • Second and third client+20–30%

     Price new clients above your oldest one. Your oldest client is always your cheapest.

   Effective hourly = monthly ÷ hours worked. Packages beat hourly because you keep the upside when you get faster.

   Red flag / green flag

   Spot the difference

   Same situation, two ways it can go.

   They ask what you charge

   Red flag

   "It depends on the work really — what's your budget? I'm pretty flexible, I just want to find something that works for both of us. I'm happy to start lower and see how it goes."

   You've told them you don't know what you're worth and invited them to name a low number. "Start lower and see" almost never gets revisited.

   Green flag

   "My Core package is $900 a month — that's 20 hours a week covering calendar, inbox, meeting prep and follow-up. Most founders start there. If you want travel and projects too, that's the Full package at $1,700. Which one sounds closer to what you need?"

   A number, said calmly, with the scope attached, and a question at the end that assumes you're working together. Say the number and then stop talking.

   Six weeks in, the scope has quietly grown

   Red flag

   Doing the extra work, resenting it, and hoping they notice and offer more money. (They will not notice.)

   Silent scope creep is the number one reason good VAs burn out and quit clients they liked. It is never resolved by waiting.

   Green flag

   "Quick one on scope. We agreed on calendar, inbox and meetings. Over the last month I've also picked up the bookkeeping handoff and the customer emails — about 6 extra hours a week. Happy to keep both. Two options: move to the Full package at $1,700, or I hand the customer emails back. Which do you prefer?"

   No accusation, evidence in hours, and two acceptable outcomes. You are not asking permission, you are presenting a choice where both answers are fine with you.

   Copy-paste

   Steal these

   Swap the bracketed bits and send.

   The one-page proposal

   Send within 24 hours of a discovery call. Never send a 6-page PDF. This fits in an email body.

   Copy template to clipboard

   [Their name] — EA support proposal
   
   What I understood from our call
   • You're losing [n] hours a week to [specific thing they said]
   • The real problem is [the thing behind it — usually follow-up or context switching]
   • Success in 90 days = [their words, quoted back]
   
   What I'd do
   Month 1: Inbox to under 10 daily, calendar cleaned and defended, preferences doc built.
   Month 2: Meeting ops — agendas, decision logs, chasing actions. You stop repeating yourself.
   Month 3: Travel, projects, and an SOP for everything so nothing depends on me being awake.
   
   Investment
   Core — 20 hrs/wk — $900/month.
   Includes: calendar, inbox, meeting prep + notes, follow-up tracking, daily EOD brief.
   Not included: bookkeeping, customer support, design. Available as add-ons.
   
   How it works
   • Overlap [time]–[time] your time, Mon–Fri
   • Response within 2 hrs in those hours, next business day outside them
   • Invoiced 1st of the month, [Wise/Payoneer], 7-day terms
   • 2 weeks' notice either side, no lock-in
   
   Start date available: [date]. Want me to send the agreement?

   Raising your rate on an existing client

   Send 60 days before the increase, once a year. Evidence first, number second, no apology anywhere.

   Copy template to clipboard

   Hi [Name],
   
   It's been a year — wanted to flag a rate change with plenty of notice.
   
   Since [month], we've gone from [starting state] to [current state]. A few specifics:
   • [Metric — e.g. inbox from 200+ daily to under 10, every day]
   • [Metric — e.g. 40+ meetings run with agendas and logged decisions]
   • [Something you took over that wasn't in the original scope]
   
   From [date, 60 days out], my rate for this scope goes to [new number]/month — a [n]% increase. Everything we do stays the same.
   
   If that doesn't work for your budget, tell me and we'll look at trimming scope instead. I'd rather adjust the work than the relationship.
   
   [Your name]

   Scope boundaries clause

   Goes in every agreement. The specific sentences that prevent the arguments.

   Copy template to clipboard

   Scope
   Included: [list the 5 things]. Anything not on this list is out of scope and quoted separately.
   
   Hours
   [n] hours per week, Mon–Fri, [time]–[time] [timezone]. Hours don't roll over between months.
   If a week runs over [n] hours, I'll flag it before hour [n+1], not after.
   
   Response times
   Within 2 hours during overlap hours. Next business day otherwise.
   I don't work weekends or Philippine public holidays. Genuine emergencies: call, don't message. Billed at 1.5×.
   
   Changes
   Either of us can propose a scope change in writing. New scope starts the following month.
   
   Payment
   [Amount] on the 1st, [n]-day terms, via [method]. Work pauses on invoices 14+ days overdue.
   
   Notice
   Two weeks either side. On exit I hand over all SOPs, passwords and trackers within 5 working days.

   Do this

   Write both offers for yourself, then say your rate out loud into your phone's recorder until you can do it without a nervous laugh or a discount at the end.

   Hand in: Two one-page offers, plus a 30-second recording of you quoting the higher one.≈ 45 min

   Check before you call it done

   • Both offers name the hours and the response window
   • The out-of-scope list has at least five items
   • There is an after-hours rate
   • In the recording you state the number and then stop talking

   Mark module done
8. 08

   Capstone: run Mara's week

   You finish with a portfolio a client can look at in four minutes and understand you are safe to hire.Workflow2 templates90 min

   • Do the whole loop once: Monday planning, midweek execution, Friday review. Nothing simulated is wasted, it is all portfolio material.
   • Show the judgment, not just the artefact. Under every deliverable write two lines on what you decided and why.
   • Finish with an onboarding SOP: how someone would take over from you in a day. Ironically this makes you harder to replace, because it proves you build systems.
   • Record a three-minute Loom walking through the pack. Most applicants send a PDF. A calm voice explaining decisions beats a PDF every time.

   Worked example — What goes in the pack

   1. Calendar rescue, before and after screenshots with a six-bullet change note

   2. Inbox triage taxonomy and a waiting-for tracker

   3. One executive brief, one page

   4. Meeting agenda template plus a filled decision log

   5. Travel itinerary and expense report

   6. Weekly status update sample

   7. Onboarding SOP for a new EA

   8. Three-minute Loom tour

   Eight files. Real names removed, fictional company clearly labelled. Put it in one Drive folder with a clean index doc and share the link in applications.

   Workflow

   Turning the capstone into a portfolio a client reads in 4 minutes

   Once you've finished the Mara week. Do this the same day while it's fresh.

   1. 1

      One page per artefact, not one giant doc

      Preferences doc, fixed calendar, inbox triage summary, decision log, itinerary, options memo, SOP. Seven links.

   2. 2

      Put a before/after number on every piece

      "212 emails to 6." "11 meetings to 7, 4 hours of deep work recovered." Numbers are the whole portfolio.

   3. 3

      Redact nothing, because none of it is real

      The advantage of a fictional exec is you can show the work in full. Label it clearly as a practice scenario — never imply it was a real client.

   4. 4

      Record a 90-second Loom walking through the calendar fix

      Clients hire the person whose voice they've heard. This single video outperforms every CV bullet you will ever write.

   5. 5

      Write the 4-line summary that goes at the top

      What the situation was, what you did, what changed, what it would cost them. That's the whole pitch.

   6. 6

      Put it behind one link

      A Notion page or Google Doc set to view-only. One link in every application, forever.

   Where this breaks: Building a beautiful portfolio and never linking it. Put the URL in your first sentence of every application, not the last.

   Copy-paste

   Steal these

   Swap the bracketed bits and send.

   Portfolio cover page

   The top of your one link. This is what a client reads before deciding whether to scroll.

   Copy template to clipboard

   [Your name] — Executive Assistant
   [email] | [timezone + overlap hours you offer] | [Loom intro link]
   
   A worked example: one week supporting a 14-person software founder.
   
   The situation: 212 unread emails, 11 meetings in 4 days including 2 double-bookings, no agenda on any of them, three commitments made and forgotten.
   
   What I did: rebuilt the week, drained the inbox to 6, wrote agendas and decision logs for every meeting, built an itinerary for a 3-day trip, and wrote the SOP so it runs without me.
   
   The result: 4 hours of protected deep work recovered, 2 meetings killed entirely, every action item owned and dated.
   
   Note: [Exec name] is a practice scenario, not a real client — which means I can show you all of it. Every artefact is below.
   
   1. Preferences doc → [link]
   2. Calendar: before and after → [link]
   3. Inbox triage + 3 drafted replies → [link]
   4. Meeting agenda + decision log → [link]
   5. Three-day itinerary → [link]
   6. Options memo → [link]
   7. The SOP that runs it all → [link]

   Handover SOP skeleton

   The document that proves you're senior. Written for the person who replaces you.

   Copy template to clipboard

   [Exec] — EA operating manual
   Last updated: [date] by [you]
   
   1. THE PERSON
   Sacred hours: [when not to book]
   Always take: [list]
   Default no: [list]
   Interrupt by: [channel + how]
   Writing voice: [3 rules — e.g. short sentences, no "hope this finds you well", signs off with first name only]
   
   2. THE DAILY LOOP
   [time] Calendar sweep — [what you check, in order]
   [time] Inbox triage — [the four labels and what goes where]
   [time] Drafts to exec
   [time] EOD brief — [the template]
   
   3. THE WEEKLY LOOP
   Mon: 10-day calendar sweep, send proposed changes
   Wed: chase the waiting-for list
   Fri: update trackers, file expenses, send the week summary
   
   4. ACCESS
   [Tool] — [who owns it, where the login lives — 1Password vault name, NEVER the password itself]
   [repeat for each]
   
   5. PEOPLE
   [Name] — [role] — [what they need from us, and how often they chase]
   
   6. RECURRING DEADLINES
   [Date/frequency] — [what] — [who needs reminding, how far ahead]
   
   7. IF SOMETHING BREAKS
   Missed flight: [steps]
   Exec unreachable and a decision is needed: [who to ask, in order]
   Tool down: [fallback]

   Do this

   Assemble everything from modules 1–7 into a single shared folder for the fictional Mara Villaflor, with an index page explaining each item in one line.

   Hand in: A public-view Drive or Notion folder link you can paste into any application.≈ 90 min

   Check before you call it done

   • Every file is labelled as simulated work for a fictional company
   • No real person's data appears anywhere
   • The index reads top to bottom in the order a client would care about
   • The Loom is under four minutes
   • You tested the share link in a private browser window

   Mark module done

Six situations that come up in real work. Pick an answer for each, then check. Nothing is recorded.

1. 01Your exec has a 9:30 investor call and a 9:30 1:1 with their direct report. What do you do first?

   AMove the 1:1, tell Ben why, and offer two new timesBAsk the exec which one they want to keepCMove the investor call, it is easier to reschedule internallyDLeave both and let the exec decide in the moment

2. 02A recruiter emails asking to schedule a chat about a role for the exec's team. Which bucket?

   AAction-themBAction-meCWaiting-forDRead-only

3. 03The client says 'just use my login, it's easier'. Best response?

   AUse it, they gave permissionBUse it but change the password monthlyCAsk for a delegated account or staff role instead, and explain why in one lineDRefuse and end the conversation

4. 04You are booking a 1:00pm Central call with a candidate in London. What goes in the invite title?

   AInterview: R. OseiBInterview: R. Osei — 1:00pm CT / 7:00pm BSTCInterview: R. Osei — 1:00pmDInterview: R. Osei (London time)

5. 05Your exec agreed in a meeting that 'the team will look into the pricing issue'. What do you log?

   ADecision: team to look into pricingBNothing, it was not a real decisionCAn open question, plus a note asking who owns it and by whenDA task assigned to the whole team

6. 06A client asks you to also handle their kid's school schedule and grocery orders, same rate.

   ASay yes, relationships matter more than scopeBRefuse outright, it is not executive workCSend a short change request: happy to, here is the extra time and the costDDo it quietly and bring it up at your review

Walk away when you see these

Not every one of these is a scam. Some are just clients who will cost you more than they pay you, which ends the same way.

• A check to deposit, equipment to buy, or gift cards to purchase

  This is the fake-check scam, every single time. A real employer never routes money through you.

• Hired after a short text-only interview

  Legitimate clients want to see and hear you before handing over their inbox.

• Wants 24/7 availability but will not define hours

  Undefined coverage becomes total coverage. Get the window in writing or walk.

• Asks for personal or business banking access

  Payments should go through the company's finance process, never your login or your account.

• Personal errands added without adding hours

  Not immoral, just unpriced. Every add-on gets a change request.

• Keeps adding new bosses and channels without changing scope

  One EA supporting five people at one person's price is how burnout starts.

• Pays 'after your first month' with no contract

  Weekly or biweekly for a new client, with a written agreement. No exceptions in month one.