This guide covers the work that often sits with an Executive Assistant, Personal Assistant or coordinator: managing busy days, keeping track of commitments, preparing people properly and making sure somebody else can find the context when they need it.
It is also for anyone doing that work under a different title. Start with the section that is most useful to you today.
The plays in this guide help with five questions:
Today: What needs attention now?
Context: Where can I find the information around the work?
Follow-through: What has been promised, delegated or left waiting?
Preparation: What does my executive need before the next meeting or decision?
Continuity: Can somebody else pick this up if I am not available?
How each play works
Each play starts with a familiar situation. It then shows one way you can set it up in Humble, what may be useful to check and what becomes easier.
These are patterns, not rules. Adapt them to the person or people you support and the way your organisation already works.
How every play works in Humble
A few simple principles appear throughout the guide:
One clear next action:turn a conversation or request into something specific enough to complete.
One clear owner:make it visible who is responsible for the next step.
Dates where they help:add a deadline when timing matters. Avoid dates that create noise without helping anyone act.
Context attached:connect the task or note to the relevant person, meeting, project, webpage or document.
A small tag vocabulary:use only the tags that repeatedly help you find something.
Private until you choose to share:keep your own working context private and share only what another person needs.
Chapter 02~6 min read · three plays
Today
What needs attention now?
This section helps you see the shape of the day, decide what needs attention and keep deadlines from becoming another thing to remember.
The plays in this section
See the day across more than one calendar.
Separate what needs attention now from what can wait.
Keep deadlines visible alongside the day.
Play 1: See the day across more than one calendar
The situation
You are switching between your calendar, your executive's calendar and possibly several others. It is difficult to see what the day actually looks like without checking each one separately.
One way to set this up in Humble
A broad orientation view of Humble's home screen shows where this fits alongside the rest of the day.
Screenshot needed
Your day in one view: Humble's home screen with navigation, notes, Progress, calendar and tasks together.
Your day in one view
Notes, meetings, tasks and recent progress together.
Navigation. Move between notes, tasks, tags, progress and contacts.
Notes. Capture what matters while the context is fresh.
Progress. See meetings, notes and completed work in date order.
Calendar. Keep today's schedule in view.
Tasks. Organise work into Now, Next and Later.
Contacts. Find the people connected to tasks and notes.
You can connect the calendars you need to work with.
Humble brings the events into the same daily schedule you use for your own day.
You can review the schedule alongside the tasks that need attention.
If you support more than one person, you can keep their work associated with the relevant person or context.
Check this
At the beginning of the day, it may help to look for:
Meetings that need preparation.
Clashes or travel time that need attention.
Tasks that must be completed before a meeting.
Follow-ups promised earlier in the week.
What changes: you can understand the day from one starting point instead of rebuilding it across several calendars and lists.
Play 2: Separate what needs attention now from what can wait
The situation
Your list contains urgent requests, small admin tasks, longer pieces of work and things that may not matter until next week. When they all appear together, everything competes for attention.
One way to set this up in Humble
Now
The small number of things that genuinely need attention today.
Next
Work that is approaching but does not need to interrupt the current task.
Later
Useful commitments that do not yet need space in the day.
Check this
A short review at the beginning and end of the day can help keep Now realistic.
The useful question is: If only a few things move today, which ones protect the rest of the day or week?
What changes: your task list becomes a guide to attention rather than another source of pressure.
Play 3: Keep deadlines visible alongside the day
The situation
A task has a deadline, but remembering to check a separate list becomes another task in itself.
One way to set this up in Humble
You can add a deadline to any task where timing matters.
Tasks due today appear in your daily view, with upcoming work shown underneath.
Connect the document, booking or source needed to complete the task.
Where another person owns the action, you can assign it to them while keeping the deadline and context together.
Check this
Alongside today's calendar, you can review:
Due today.
Coming up next.
Overdue work that still matters.
Tasks waiting for somebody else.
What changes: deadlines become part of the daily picture instead of something you have to remember to look for.
Chapter 03~7 min read · three plays
Context
Where can I find the information around the work?
This section helps you capture information while it is fresh and find it again without searching through several tools.
The plays in this section
Take your own notes while you are on the call.
Keep project information together.
Add context from the webpage where you found it.
Play 4: Take your own notes while you are on the call
The situation
An AI note-taker can capture a transcript or summary, but it does not always capture what stood out to you. Writing your own notes can also help you listen, think and decide what matters while the conversation is happening.
One way to set this up in Humble
Before the call
In Humble's browser settings, choose Open Humble on new tabs, so it appears whenever you open a new tab in a supported Chromium browser.
During the call
Join Google Meet or another video call, open a new tab, and use your browser's split-view option to keep the call on one side and Humble on the other while you write.
After the call
Connect the note to the relevant person, meeting or project, and create a follow-up task if something needs to happen next.
Screenshot needed
Humble open beside a video call using the browser's split-view feature.
In Humble's browser settings, you can choose Open Humble on new tabs. Humble will then appear whenever you open a new tab in a supported Chromium browser.
When you join a Google Meet or another video call, open a new tab and use your browser's split-view option.
Keep the call on one side and Humble on the other. You can add notes while you listen without moving between windows.
Connect the note to the relevant person, meeting or project. If something needs to happen afterwards, you can create the task and keep it with the note.
This can work alongside an AI note-taker rather than replacing it. The AI can keep the fuller record while your own notes capture what felt important, what you are thinking and what you need to do next.
Check this
You do not need to create another transcript. It may be more useful to capture:
Was anything decided?
What stood out to you?
What changed your understanding?
Is there a question you want to return to?
Did anybody make a commitment?
Does anything need a follow-up action?
What changes: you keep a record of your own thinking as well as the meeting, with the follow-up and context already connected.
Play 5: Keep project information together
The situation
The notes for a board pack, event, client or trip are spread across emails, documents and personal reminders. Finding the latest detail depends on remembering where it was saved.
One way to set this up in Humble
A single project tag keeps the notes, tasks, source documents and people around a piece of work connected, the same "connect a note to anything" relationship Humble uses everywhere else:
Q3 pricing follow-upShare
Call with Sam — discussed renewal terms and the timeline for the Q3 pricing update.
Today, 2:14pm
Add tagAdd relationship
Related to
Pricing page
humbleai.com/pricing — the public pricing page Sam was reviewing during the call.
Linked 2 days ago
Follow up
Send Sam the updated proposal and confirm renewal terms before end of week.
Due in 2 days
#QAShared with Alex +1 other
Sam Torres
Sales lead at Acme Co, and main contact for the Q3 renewal conversation.
Acme Co · Sales
acme-inc.com
linkedin.com/in/samtorres
Hover over or tap a circle to see what's connected
You can use a stable project tag such as #Q3BoardPack, #LeadershipOffsite or #BerlinTrip.
Apply it to the notes and tasks that belong to the same piece of work.
Keep source documents where they already live and connect them to the relevant tasks or notes.
Filter by the project tag when you need to see the full picture or prepare a handover.
Check this
A project view is most useful when it answers:
What has already happened?
What still needs to happen?
Who owns the next step?
Which documents or confirmations matter?
What changes: the project has one connected thread without requiring another document to maintain.
Play 6: Add context from the webpage where you found it
The situation
You find a useful detail on a supplier page, booking confirmation, LinkedIn profile or another website. Copying it into a separate system loses the connection to the original page.
One way to set this up in Humble
Screenshot needed
The Humble browser extension adding a note from a webpage, with the source link kept attached.
Find useful information.
While you are on the webpage, you can use the Humble browser extension to add a note. It is saved with a link back to that page.
Keep the source link, so you do not have to remember where it came from.
Add the relevant person, project or tag if it will help you find the note later.
If there is a follow-up, you can create a task with the source attached.
Check this
You might use this for:
Supplier information.
Travel and booking details.
A person you are researching before a meeting.
A venue, restaurant or service being considered.
A webpage that supports a later decision.
What changes: the detail and its source stay together, so you do not have to remember where you originally found it.
Chapter 04~8 min read · three plays
Follow-through
What has been promised, delegated or left waiting?
This section helps turn conversations into visible actions and makes it easier to see where a follow-up is actually needed.
The plays in this section
Turn a request into a clear next action.
Share a task or track it privately.
Keep the source attached when work is handed over.
Play 7: Turn a request into a clear next action
The situation
Requests arrive in meetings, messages and passing conversations. They are easy to remember in the moment and easy to lose once the next request arrives.
One way to set this up in Humble
You can turn the request into a task with a clear outcome.
Assign the next action to the person responsible.
Add a deadline where the timing matters.
Connect the message, meeting, note or document that explains the request.
Vague
Follow up with the supplier.
Clear
Confirm the revised delivery date with the supplier by Thursday.
Action: confirm the revised delivery date.
Outcome: a confirmed date the team can plan around.
Person or owner: the supplier, with you tracking it.
Timing: by Thursday.
Supporting context: the original order or conversation, connected to the task.
Check this
The useful question is: Would another person understand what needs to happen without asking me?
What changes: requests become work that can be understood and completed without relying on memory.
Play 8: Share a task or track it privately
The situation
Sometimes another person needs to see and complete a task. At other times, you only want to record that the task relates to them. Humble lets you choose between those two situations.
One way to set this up in Humble
Does the other person need to see or complete the task?
Yes
Assign it. Select Who's doing this? on the task, search for the person or enter their email address the first time, and assign it. It appears in their Humble task list, and completion appears in your Progress timeline.
No
Add a relationship. Choose the person from the searchable contacts list and link them to the task for your own organisation and filtering. The person does not see the task and it does not appear in their task list.
Assign a task vs add a relationship
Comparing what happens with each choice
Assign a task
Add a relationship
Does the person see it?
Yes
No
Does it appear in their task list?
Yes
No
Can they complete it?
Yes
No
Does completion appear in your Progress timeline?
Yes
Not applicable
Can you filter your work by the person?
Yes
Yes
Best used when
They need to act
You are tracking private context
Assigning and linking are different
Assign the task when the person needs to see it or complete it.
Add a relationship when you want to connect the person for your own organisation and filtering. Linking a person does not share the task with them.
The email only needs to be entered the first time. Humble then adds the person to contacts so they can be searched for later.
Screenshot needed
"Who's doing this?": searching for or adding a person by email.
Screenshot needed
The saved contact appearing in search, and adding a link or relationship.
Check this
Before choosing, it may help to ask:
Does this person need to act on the task?
Do they need to see its details or attachments?
Am I sharing work, or only recording who it relates to?
Would a private relationship be enough?
What changes: shared tasks can move without repeated status messages, while private relationships still let you find the work by person without giving them visibility.
Play 9: Keep the source attached when work is handed over
The situation
A task is delegated, but the person receiving it still needs to ask where the document is, what was agreed or why the task matters.
One way to set this up in Humble
You can attach the relevant Google Doc, spreadsheet, slide deck, webpage or note to the task.
Include the expected outcome in the task wording.
Add the deadline and owner.
Where useful, connect the task to the wider project or person.
Check this: before handing something over
Is the outcome clear?
Is the latest source attached?
Is the timing visible?
Can the person see whom or what this relates to?
What changes: more work can move without a second round of messages to reconstruct the context.
Chapter 05~7 min read · three plays
Preparation
What does my executive need before the next meeting or decision?
This section helps bring together the people, history and open actions that can improve a meeting or decision.
The plays in this section
Catch up before a meeting without searching everywhere.
Create a short meeting brief when it matters.
Keep decisions and follow-ups connected after the meeting.
Play 10: Catch up before a meeting without searching everywhere
The situation
A meeting is approaching, but the previous notes, tasks and conversations are spread across several places.
One way to set this up in Humble
The Progress timeline brings connected history together in date order:
You can save material decisions as notes connected to the meeting or project.
Turn follow-ups into separate tasks with clear owners.
Add deadlines where timing matters.
Connect the people and source documents needed for the next step.
Check this: before closing the meeting context
What was decided?
What needs to happen next?
Who owns each action?
What should be remembered before the next conversation?
What changes: the meeting leaves behind usable context and owned actions rather than another set of notes to interpret later.
Chapter 06~7 min read · three plays
Continuity
Can somebody else pick this up if I am not available?
This section helps make important work easier to cover without exposing everything or creating a second system purely for handovers.
The plays in this section
Make a project easier for somebody else to pick up.
Keep a simple handover view.
Choose what stays private and what gets shared.
Play 13: Make a project easier for somebody else to pick up
The situation
You know where everything is because you built the system around the work. If you are away, somebody else has to ask you or search through your files to understand it.
One way to set this up in Humble
Can somebody pick this up?
Current position: the notes and tasks associated with the same project tag or shared space.
Open actions and owners: made visible rather than left implicit.
Important context: a short note for anything that would not be obvious to another person.
Latest source material: connected rather than duplicated.
You can keep the notes and tasks associated with the same project tag or shared space.
Connect the latest source documents rather than duplicating them.
Make the open actions and owners visible.
Add a short note for anything that would not be obvious to another person.
Check this
A useful test is: Could somebody understand the current position, next actions and important context without calling me?
You do not need to document every detail. Focus on what would otherwise stop the work.
What changes: cover becomes easier because the working context already exists around the project.
Play 14: Keep a simple handover view
The situation
Preparing for leave means creating a separate handover document that is out of date almost as soon as it is written.
One way to set this up in Humble
You can filter the work by project, person, deadline or owner.
Bring together what is active, what is waiting and what is due while you are away.
Add a short handover note only for context that cannot be understood from the work itself.
Share the relevant view or project context with the person covering.
Check this: a practical handover view might include
What needs attention while you are away.
What is waiting for somebody else.
Important dates and meetings.
Decisions that may be needed.
Where the relevant source documents live.
What changes: the handover is built from the current work instead of becoming a second version of it.
Play 15: Choose what stays private and what gets shared
The situation
You need a private place to think and organise, but some tasks and context need to be visible to your executive or another person.
One way to set this up in Humble
Keep private
Your own notes and tasks, which remain private by default.
Share the resulting action
The task or outcome another person needs, without your surrounding working notes.
Share the relevant task, note or space
What another person needs for the work they are involved in, chosen by you.
Your own notes and tasks can remain private by default.
You choose which task, note, calendar connection or project context to share.
Share only what another person needs for the work they are involved in.
Keep private working notes separate from shared instructions or decisions.
Check this: before sharing
Does this person need the whole note or only the resulting action?
Is any private working context included unnecessarily?
Will sharing this make the next step clearer?
Can the person already access the linked source?
What changes: you can collaborate without turning your whole personal working system into a shared workspace.
Chapter 07~3 min read
The Executive and Personal Assistant operating rhythm
The plays become most useful when they support a simple rhythm. The example below is a starting point rather than a fixed schedule.
Start of day: see the shape of the day
You might review:
Today's meetings across the calendars you support.
Tasks due today.
Meetings that need preparation.
Work that depends on somebody else.
The small number of tasks in Now.
Before an important meeting: bring the context together
It may help to check:
The person, company or project context.
Previous notes and meetings.
Open actions and promises.
Documents the executive needs.
The outcome required from the meeting.
During the day: capture close to the source
A useful detail becomes a note.
A request becomes a task.
A promise gets an owner.
Timing becomes a deadline where needed.
A useful document or webpage stays connected to the work.
End of day: close the open loops
A short review might ask:
What moved today?
What did not happen?
What needs to move to Next or Later?
What am I waiting for?
What needs preparation tomorrow?
Before leave or cover: make the active work findable
You can review:
Work due while you are away.
Meetings and deadlines that need attention.
Items waiting for a response or decision.
Projects another person may need to pick up.
Private context that should not be included in the handover.
Chapter 08~4 min read
How to organise this in Humble
There is no single correct setup. The structure below is a useful starting point for keeping the system simple and findable.
What goes where
When you have…
A useful place for it
Something somebody needs to do
Task
The person responsible for the next action
Assignee
Timing that matters
Deadline
A choice about immediate attention
Now / Next / Later
Something worth remembering
Note
A longer meeting brief or body of context
Page or connected source document
A document, booking or webpage
Keep it at the source and connect it
A person you support or work with
Person context
A project or recurring responsibility
Tag and/or shared space
Something another person needs
Share the relevant task, note or space
Your own working context
Keep it private unless you choose to share it
Useful spaces
Depending on your role, a small number of shared spaces might include:
Leadership
Board preparation
Events
Travel
Major Client X
You do not need a space for every topic. Create one when several people genuinely need the same context.
For work tied to a company quarter, always include the year.
Never use #Q1 or #Q4 on their own. Otherwise current work and older work will become mixed together when the quarter returns next year.
Tags are useful when they repeatedly help you find or review something. If you do not expect to use the view again, you may not need the tag.
Naming conventions
Tasks: start with a verb and make the outcome clear.
Meeting briefs: Meeting brief: [person or meeting], [date].
Decisions: Decision: [topic], [date].
Trips: use one stable trip name across the notes, tasks and confirmations.
Projects: use one stable name across the shared space, tag and source documents where practical.
Chapter 09~2 min read · 30 min to do
The 30-minute Executive and Personal Assistant setup
You can use this checklist to create a useful first version in half an hour. It does not need to include everything before it becomes valuable.
0–5 minutesConnect the calendars you need and review today's schedule.You’ll have: One place to start the day.
5–10 minutesAdd the tasks that genuinely need attention and organise them into Now, Next and Later.You’ll have: A clearer view of current priorities.
10–15 minutesAdd deadlines and owners to the most important open actions.You’ll have: Commitments that are easier to follow through.
15–20 minutesConnect the notes, documents or webpages needed for those actions.You’ll have: The context needed to complete the work.
20–25 minutesCreate the minimum tags or spaces for the main people and projects you support.You’ll have: A simple way to find related work again.
25–30 minutesChoose a short start-of-day and end-of-day review.You’ll have: A repeatable rhythm that keeps the system useful.
The end state
You should be able to answer:
What needs attention today?
What is coming next?
What am I waiting for?
What does my executive need before the next meeting?
Can somebody else find the context if I am not available?
What is private, and what have I chosen to share?
You bring the judgement, discretion and understanding of the people you support. Humble keeps the tasks, notes, meetings, people and source material around the work connected.
See how it works in Humble
The plays in this guide use features available in Humble today.
See how Humble keeps your tasks, notes, people and the context around them connected.
This guide is adapted from Humble's existing guidance for Executive Assistants, Personal Assistants and coordinators. It is written by the Humble team based on the work the product supports today.
It is a practical guide to one way of working, not an independent or definitive account of the role. Every assistant, executive and organisation works differently, so use the parts that are helpful and adapt them to your context.
The guide describes Humble as of September 2026. Some product details may change over time.
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