EAC Time Management & Prioritization 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The 'Eat the Frog' principle, attributed to Brian Tracy, advises executive assistants to:
- Schedule the most unpleasant task at the end of the day as a reward mechanism
- Tackle the most challenging or dreaded task first thing in the morning (Correct answer)
- Delegate difficult tasks to team members to improve overall efficiency
- Break large tasks into small pieces and spread them throughout the week
Correct answer: Tackle the most challenging or dreaded task first thing in the morning
'Eat the Frog' means completing your most difficult or important task first so it doesn't loom over the rest of your day.
Question 2: An executive's calendar has a conflict between a recurring department meeting and a newly scheduled investor call. Both are marked as high priority. Your BEST course of action is to:
- Automatically cancel the recurring meeting as the investor call is newer
- Present both conflicts to the executive and ask which to prioritize (Correct answer)
- Move the investor call to a different day without consulting the executive
- Split the executive's attendance by scheduling them for 15 minutes in each
Correct answer: Present both conflicts to the executive and ask which to prioritize
Calendar conflicts involving equally high-priority items require executive judgment — never make the final call unilaterally.
Question 3: Time blocking is MOST effective for an executive assistant when:
- Used exclusively for administrative tasks and never for creative work
- Applied only during the executive's travel days
- Dedicated calendar slots are assigned for specific categories of work such as correspondence, project work, and planning (Correct answer)
- All blocks are kept flexible and interchangeable throughout the day
Correct answer: Dedicated calendar slots are assigned for specific categories of work such as correspondence, project work, and planning
Time blocking assigns specific calendar segments to defined work categories, reducing decision fatigue and protecting focus time.
Question 4: When an executive delegates a task with a vague deadline like 'when you get a chance,' an EA should:
- Complete it only after all tasks with firm deadlines are done
- Clarify the actual priority and expected completion timeframe immediately (Correct answer)
- Assume it is low priority and place it at the bottom of the task list indefinitely
- Ask another executive assistant to handle it since no deadline was given
Correct answer: Clarify the actual priority and expected completion timeframe immediately
Vague deadlines create scheduling ambiguity; clarifying expectations upfront prevents last-minute scrambles and misaligned priorities.
Question 5: Which tool or method is MOST useful for tracking multiple concurrent projects with different deadlines as an executive assistant?
- A single notepad with a running to-do list
- A project management tool or master task list organized by deadline and priority (Correct answer)
- Memorizing all deadlines without written documentation
- Emailing yourself task reminders without a centralized system
Correct answer: A project management tool or master task list organized by deadline and priority
A centralized project management system provides visibility into all tasks, deadlines, and priorities, preventing items from falling through the cracks.
Question 6: During peak periods, an executive assistant should PRIMARILY communicate workload capacity issues to:
- Only the HR department to document the concern formally
- The executive they support, to renegotiate timelines or delegate work (Correct answer)
- Other administrative staff without informing the executive
- External vendors who may be causing the workload increase
Correct answer: The executive they support, to renegotiate timelines or delegate work
Proactively communicating capacity constraints to the supported executive allows for informed decisions about delegation, deadline adjustment, or resource allocation.
Question 7: The concept of 'protected time' on an executive's calendar refers to:
- Time slots reserved only for confidential meetings
- Blocked time shielded from interruptions to allow deep work or strategic thinking (Correct answer)
- Hours during which the executive cannot be contacted by anyone
- Calendar time that only the CEO can schedule over
Correct answer: Blocked time shielded from interruptions to allow deep work or strategic thinking
Protected time blocks are intentionally guarded from meetings and interruptions to give the executive uninterrupted focus for high-priority work.
EAC Time Management & Prioritization 3
The 'Eat the Frog' principle, attributed to Brian Tracy, advises executive assistants to: