New Trusty Oak is now Nacho! Read the story

Free worksheet

Everything your new EA wishes you'd written down

The first month with an Executive Assistant is mostly guesswork on their side. This worksheet replaces the guessing with twenty minutes of writing. Fill it in below, then download the PDF and hand it over on day one.

Start filling it in

Twelve things that go wrong when nobody writes them down.

A great assistant can learn your preferences by trial and error. It just costs you a quarter to get there, and costs them the confidence to make a call without asking. The worksheet covers the twelve areas where that guessing is most expensive.

  • The basics. Hours, protected time, and what is actually on your plate.
  • Reaching me. Which channel for which urgency, and how fast you reply.
  • Systems and access. One row per tool, including what stays off limits.
  • How I like information. Headline first or full detail, and when.
  • Decisions. What they can act on alone, and what always comes back to you.
  • Calendar and inbox. What to defend, decline, handle, and always surface.
  • The people around me. Who matters, and any history worth knowing first.
  • Feedback and pet peeves. The small things that quietly erode a good match.
  • What good looks like. Your day-30 bar, written before day one.
  • First two weeks. A nine-step checklist so onboarding has an owner.

Fill it in

Your worksheet

Type straight into the sheet. Your answers save automatically in this browser, so you can close the tab and come back to it.

Executive assistant worksheet

Workingwith me

Everything my EA needs to know about how I work and what I'm handing over. Fill in what you know today, leave the rest blank, and we'll cover the gaps in the first month. Twenty minutes is enough.

Section 01

The basics

(school run, standing dinner, gym)

Example A trip to Chicago in March, a board meeting in April, and an office move I keep postponing.

Section 02

Reaching me

Use thisYou'll hear back in
Urgent
Needs an answer today
Everything else
(day, time, length)

Section 03

Systems and access

Fill in one row per tool. Anything you're not ready to hand over yet, write "later". That's a useful answer too.

ToolWhat I need help withYour accessWho sets it upBy when

Example Ramp / receipts, memos and categories on my T&E card only / assistant permissions, not full finance access / Finance team, I'll ask / end of week one

Section 04

How I like information

Example Headline first, detail underneath if I ask. One message at end of day, not six pings.

Section 05

What you can decide without me

Example Travel under $500. Declining vendor meetings. Adding missing detail to a meeting invite. Fixing an obvious admin error.

Example Canceling anything. Moving an external meeting. Sending a message that states my opinion or makes a decision.

Section 06

Calendar

Example Meetings stacked back to back, two or three long open blocks. I'd rather have one brutal morning than five fragmented days.

(one week / two weeks / a month)

Section 07

Inbox

Section 08

The people around me

NameWho they areHow to handle them

Section 09

Feedback and pet peeves

Example Tell me before I find it. I care much more about the second version than the first.

Example "Just checking in" with no ask in it. Calendar invites with no agenda.

Example I go quiet when I'm thinking. It doesn't mean anything is wrong.

Section 10

What good looks like

Section 11

Anything else

Two or three things that aren't in the job description but make working with me easier.

Example I'm terrible at names. I run late for personal things and never for client ones. My dog is in every Zoom call.

Section 12

First two weeks

TaskOwnerDone
1 Access to communication tool confirmed
2 Calendar shared with full event-management access
3 Test event created and edited
4 Next two weeks of calendar reviewed, conflicts flagged
5 Regular calendar-review routine agreed
6 Remaining tool access requested
7 Where we'll keep shared files and confirmations decided
8 First live project walked through together
9 30-day check-in booked

Almost there

Where should we send it?

We'll build your answers into a branded PDF and email it over. Rather not? You can print the sheet straight from this page instead.

We'll add you to occasional Nacho emails. Unsubscribe any time. Your answers are used to build the PDF and are not stored afterwards.

Before you start

Questions people ask.

How long does the worksheet take to fill in?
About twenty minutes. Fill in what you know today and leave the rest blank. Most people finish the gaps with their assistant over the first month, and the blanks themselves tell you where to start.
Do I need to give my email to use it?
No. The worksheet is free and fully usable in your browser, and your answers save automatically on your own device. You only enter an email if you want us to send you the finished PDF.
Where do my answers go?
They stay in your browser unless you ask us to email you the PDF. If you do, your answers are used once to build that document and are not stored on our end afterwards.
Does this only work for Executive Assistants?
It was written for a new Executive Assistant, but it works for any Virtual Assistant, Chief of Staff, or Specialist taking over your calendar, inbox, and day-to-day operations.

Ready when you are

Want the assistant to go with the worksheet?

We match you with a vetted, 100% US-based Executive Assistant, and we do the onboarding legwork with you. Talent Budgets start at $1,000 a month.