What to Delegate to an Executive Assistant: 60 Tasks and a 3-Step Framework

Most founders who hire an executive assistant hand over too little, too slowly. They delegate the easy things (booking a flight, sorting a few emails) and keep everything else, so the assistant is underused and the founder stays overloaded.

This guide gives you a three-step framework for deciding what to delegate, a list of 60 tasks grouped by area, and a simple way to hand work over without losing control.

The 3-Step Delegation Framework

Step 1: Audit your time for one week

Log what you do in 30-minute blocks for a week. Your calendar and sent email will fill in most of it. Then put each activity into one of three groups:

Only you: work that needs your judgment, relationships or authority, such as fundraising conversations, key hires, product direction and company strategy
You, for now: work you're good at that someone else could learn, such as first-round candidate screens or drafting investor updates
Anyone capable: work that follows a process, such as scheduling, research, reporting, bookings and follow-ups

Step 2: Rank what's delegatable

For everything in the "anyone capable" and "you, for now" groups, score two things from 1 to 5:

Time: how many hours it takes each week
Drain: how much it breaks your focus or energy

Add the scores and start delegating from the top. High-time, high-drain tasks give you the biggest return first, even if they're not the easiest to hand over.

Step 3: Hand over properly

For each task:

Show it once. A five-minute screen recording of you doing the task beats a long written document.
Define "done." What does a good result look like, and when is it due?
Set the level of authority. Should they do it and tell you, draft it for your approval, or just do it?
Agree a check-in. Daily at first, then weekly once the task runs smoothly.

The level of authority matters most. Being explicit about it is what lets an assistant move quickly without you worrying they'll overstep.

60 Tasks to Delegate to an Executive Assistant

Calendar and scheduling

- Scheduling and rescheduling meetings

- Coordinating meetings across time zones

- Blocking time for deep work and protecting it

- Adding buffers between calls

- Declining or redirecting meetings that don't need you

- Sending agendas and video links ahead of meetings

- Managing recurring meetings such as one-to-ones and board meetings

- Planning your week ahead each Friday

Email and communications

- Sorting your inbox by priority every day

- Replying to routine emails in your voice

- Drafting replies to sensitive emails for your approval

- Unsubscribing from newsletters and noise

- Chasing people who haven't replied

- Managing a shared inbox such as info@ or hello@

- Sending thank-you notes and follow-ups after meetings

- Keeping a list of your commitments and who you owe replies to

Meetings

- Preparing briefs on who you're meeting and why

- Collecting pre-reads and documents

- Taking notes and recording action items

- Sending follow-up emails with next steps

- Tracking actions from meetings until they're done

- Organising team meetings, offsites and events

Investors and board

- Scheduling investor meetings and board meetings

- Maintaining your investor CRM or pipeline sheet

- Drafting monthly investor updates from your notes and numbers

- Collecting signatures and documents

- Preparing board packs and sending them on time

- Tracking investor follow-ups and introductions

Hiring and team

- Posting job adverts

- Screening applications against your criteria

- Scheduling interviews and sending confirmations

- Sending rejection and offer emails

- Preparing onboarding checklists and accounts for new hires

- Organising team celebrations and gifts

Operations and projects

- Researching and comparing vendors and tools

- Managing vendor contracts and renewals

- Setting up and maintaining standard processes (SOPs)

- Updating the CRM and keeping data clean

- Preparing weekly or monthly reports

- Coordinating projects and tracking deadlines

- Managing subscriptions and software licences

Sales and marketing support

- Researching prospects and building lead lists

- Preparing call briefs before sales meetings

- Scheduling demos and follow-ups

- Formatting presentations and proposals

- Scheduling social posts you've approved

- Managing event and conference logistics

Finance admin

- Collecting receipts and submitting expense reports

- Chasing unpaid invoices

- Preparing invoices for your approval

- Organising documents for your accountant

- Tracking recurring payments and renewals

Travel

- Booking flights, hotels and ground transport

- Building detailed itineraries

- Handling visas and travel documents

- Rebooking when plans change

Personal admin

- Booking appointments (doctor, dentist, car service)

- Managing personal bills and renewals

- Buying gifts and remembering important dates

- Coordinating home repairs and deliveries

- Planning personal travel and events

What You Should Never Delegate

Some work stays with you, however good your assistant is:

Company vision and strategy. An assistant can prepare the inputs; the direction is yours.
Final hiring decisions, especially for senior roles.
Your most important relationships: key investors, customers and partners need to hear from you directly.
Difficult conversations: feedback, performance problems and letting people go.
Decisions that commit significant money or legal obligations, beyond limits you've agreed in advance.

A good assistant still makes all of these easier by preparing briefings, scheduling the conversations and following up afterwards.

Common Delegation Mistakes

Delegating only the easy tasks. The biggest time savings come from complex but repeatable work like investor updates, hiring coordination and reporting, not from one-off errands.

Skipping the handover. Thirty minutes of explanation up front saves dozens of hours later. Without it, you'll spend that time correcting work instead.

Taking tasks back after the first mistake. New assistants need a learning curve. Correct the process, not the person, and give it a few repetitions before judging.

Not saying how much authority they have. "Handle this" means different things to different people. Say whether you want a draft, a decision or just a heads-up.

Delegating without access. An assistant can't manage your calendar without calendar access, or your inbox without inbox access. Set up permissions on day one. Our 7-day onboarding plan includes a full access checklist.

Where to Start

If you're starting from zero, hand over these five first. They're frequent, easy to check and free the most time:

Calendar management
Inbox sorting and routine replies
Meeting preparation and follow-ups
Travel and expenses
A weekly report you currently compile yourself

Once those run smoothly, usually within two to four weeks, move on to investor coordination, hiring logistics and projects.

Not sure you have enough to hand over yet? Run the 15-minute test to estimate how many hours a week you could delegate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tasks should I delegate to an executive assistant first?

Start with calendar management, inbox sorting, meeting preparation and follow-ups, travel and expenses, and one recurring report. These are frequent, low-risk and quick to check, so they build trust fast.

What should a CEO not delegate?

Company strategy, final decisions on key hires, the most important investor and customer relationships, difficult conversations with the team, and decisions that commit significant money beyond agreed limits.

How do I delegate to an executive assistant without losing control?

Be explicit about authority for each task (draft for approval, act and report, or act independently), set a daily check-in at first, and use shared task lists so you can see progress without asking.

How long does it take to delegate effectively?

Most founders hand over their core calendar, inbox and meeting work within two to four weeks, then move on to bigger projects. The first week of handover takes the most time.

Can I delegate personal tasks to an executive assistant?

Yes, if you agree it up front. Many founders delegate appointments, bills, travel and gifts, which frees up evenings and weekends as well as work hours.

If you'd like help working out what to hand over first, book a call and we'll build the list with you.