Why executive assistants need specialized productivity apps
Executive assistants coordinate schedules that would make normal people's heads explode. Back-to-back meetings across time zones, last-minute changes from executives who don't check their calendar, and requests coming from every direction. One scheduling mistake and you've created a chain reaction of rescheduling that costs hours.
The apps you use determine whether you're in control of the chaos or drowning in it. Email tools that let you process messages in seconds instead of minutes. Calendar apps that actually show conflicts before they happen. Task managers that help you juggle fifteen priorities without losing track of what matters. These aren't nice-to-haves. They're essential for doing the job well.
This stack is built specifically for the EA workflow. Managing multiple calendars, coordinating across teams, handling confidential information, and staying on top of tasks that range from booking travel to preparing board meeting materials. These tools work together to give you the control and visibility you need to keep your executive running smoothly.
Why Executive Assistants Need a Productivity Stack
The unique challenges of supporting executives
Generic productivity apps assume you're managing your own work. As an EA, you're managing someone else's work, which is fundamentally different. You need to see their calendar, their priorities, and their commitments, often while also managing your own tasks and supporting other team members.
The right EA stack provides this visibility while keeping you organized. You need calendar tools that handle multiple executives if you support more than one. Email management that processes high volumes quickly. Task systems that distinguish between your work and your executive's priorities. Scheduling tools that protect your executive's time from meeting overload.
These apps also need to work well with delegation. Your executive needs to hand you tasks easily. Your team needs to see what's coming without accessing everything. The tool stack has to support this kind of coordinated work instead of assuming you're working solo.
Most importantly, these tools need to be reliable. When you're booking a meeting with a board member or scheduling travel for a critical event, the app crashing or losing data isn't acceptable. The tools in this stack are proven, stable, and trusted by EAs supporting executives at major companies.
Sunsama
Daily planning that prevents overwhelm
Sunsama is a daily planner designed around time blocking and mindful task management. For executive assistants juggling multiple responsibilities, Sunsama helps you plan realistic days instead of maintaining impossible task lists that create stress without providing clarity.
The daily planning ritual forces you to review your tasks each morning and schedule them onto your calendar. This prevents the common EA problem of having 30 things on your list with no clear plan for when you'll actually do them. Sunsama makes you commit to when tasks will happen, which surfaces whether you're overcommitted before your day starts.
Sunsama integrates with tools like Gmail, Slack, and Notion, pulling tasks from those sources into your daily plan. That email from your executive asking you to book travel becomes a task automatically. The Slack message about preparing the board deck shows up in your plan. This consolidation means you're not constantly checking five different places to know what needs doing. Compare with Sunsama alternatives.
The time tracking feature helps you understand where your time actually goes. You might think you spend 30 minutes on travel booking, but it's actually 90 minutes when you include research and follow-ups. This data helps you estimate tasks more accurately and set realistic expectations with your executive.
Sunsama also includes a shutdown ritual that helps you review what got done and move unfinished tasks to tomorrow. For EAs who struggle with work-life boundaries because there's always one more thing to do, this creates a clear end to your workday instead of leaving loose ends that stress you out all evening.
The calm, intentional interface is designed to reduce overwhelm rather than add to it. No aggressive notifications or gamification. Just a clean space to plan your day and execute on priorities. Some EAs use Sunsama for both their own tasks and to track what their executive needs to do, creating visibility across both workloads.
Sunsama is $20/month, which is reasonable for a tool that helps you stay organized and reduces stress. The daily planning and time tracking features pay for themselves in reduced context switching and better focus. Most EAs who try it end up keeping it because the structured approach genuinely helps manage complex workloads.
Morgen Calendar
Managing multiple calendars without chaos
Morgen consolidates multiple calendars into one unified view. Most executive assistants manage at least two calendars - their own and their executive's, sometimes more if they support multiple leaders or coordinate team calendars. Morgen shows everything in one place instead of forcing you to toggle between tabs.
The scheduling links feature lets you create booking pages for your executive without constant back-and-forth emails. Someone wants time with your executive, you send the Morgen link with appropriate time slots available, they book directly. Morgen checks all connected calendars before confirming, preventing double-bookings across personal and work calendars.
Time zone support is critical for EAs coordinating with international teams or executives who travel frequently. Morgen shows what time it is for participants in different zones and prevents the classic mistake of scheduling a 7 AM call for someone in Asia. The interface makes time zones visible during scheduling instead of requiring mental math. See Morgen vs Google Calendar.
Morgen's task integration pulls to-dos from apps like Todoist and shows them alongside calendar events. You see both what's scheduled and what needs doing, which helps you find time blocks to actually complete tasks instead of just attending meetings all day. Some EAs use this to block focus time for their own work.
The calendar analytics show how time is being spent. Your executive thinks they have time for strategy work, but analytics show they're in 35 hours of meetings weekly. This data helps you make the case for declining meetings or consolidating calls. Visibility into time allocation helps protect your executive's calendar from meeting bloat.
Morgen integrates with Google Calendar, Outlook, and Apple Calendar, covering the major platforms. The syncing is reliable, which matters when you're managing high-stakes scheduling. A sync failure that creates a double-booking with a board member is not acceptable.
The free tier is genuinely functional for individual EAs, and paid plans add features like unlimited scheduling links and advanced integrations. Most EAs can start with the free version and upgrade only if they need additional capabilities. This makes Morgen accessible even if your company has budget constraints.
Motion
AI scheduling for complex workloads
Motion uses AI to automatically schedule tasks onto your calendar. For executive assistants managing both their own work and their executive's priorities, Motion helps ensure everything gets done instead of tasks sitting on lists that never shrink.
The AI looks at your calendar, your task list, and your deadlines, then figures out when you should work on what. You have three hours tomorrow between meetings. Motion schedules your highest-priority tasks into those slots. A meeting gets canceled and suddenly you have 30 minutes free. Motion automatically moves a quick task into that gap.
This automatic rescheduling is particularly useful when your executive's schedule changes constantly. When a meeting moves, Motion adjusts all your planned work around the new time automatically. You're not manually reorganizing your day every time something shifts, which happens about five times daily for most EAs. For alternatives, see Motion alternatives.
Motion also handles task dependencies and deadlines intelligently. If the board deck is due Friday and requires 4 hours of work, Motion schedules that work across the week leading up to the deadline. It won't let you procrastinate until Thursday afternoon, which prevents the stress of last-minute crunches.
The calendar booking feature integrates scheduling directly with your task management. When someone books time with your executive, Motion accounts for that meeting when scheduling your work. It understands that you need prep time before important calls and buffer time after long meetings.
For EAs coordinating team tasks, Motion supports assigning work to others and tracking progress. You can see what's on your executive's plate, what you're handling, and what's assigned to other team members. This visibility helps you coordinate work without constant status update meetings.
Motion is $34/month, which is premium pricing. But it's replacing both a project manager and a calendar tool, and the time saved from automatic scheduling compounds quickly. EAs who stick with Motion usually say it's because they stopped having to think about when to work on things. The AI handles it, and that mental load reduction is worth the cost.
Notion
The EA knowledge base
Notion serves as the central knowledge base for many EA operations. Meeting agendas, contact databases, travel preferences, recurring task checklists, project documentation. All of this lives in Notion instead of scattered across documents, emails, and sticky notes on your desk.
The database features let you build custom systems for EA work. Create a contacts database with relationship notes, communication history, and assistant contact info. Build a travel tracker with preferred hotels, airline preferences, and TSA numbers. Maintain a meeting prep database that tracks what materials your executive needs for different types of calls.
Notion templates help standardize recurring work. Your executive has a monthly board meeting that requires the same prep every time. Create a template with the checklist of materials needed, and copy it each month. This ensures nothing gets forgotten and reduces the mental load of remembering every step.
The collaboration features work well when you're coordinating with other assistants or team members. You can create shared pages for projects, leave comments for others, and track who's handling what. Some EA teams use Notion as their shared workspace, documenting processes and sharing knowledge about how things work. For more ideas, see productivity apps for designers.
Notion AI helps generate content faster. Draft a meeting agenda based on rough notes. Summarize a long document into talking points for your executive. Extract action items from meeting notes. The AI isn't perfect, but it speeds up document preparation significantly.
The flexibility is both Notion's strength and its complexity. You can build almost anything, but that means you need to think about structure. Start with simple pages and databases, then expand as you figure out what you actually need. Don't spend three days building the perfect system before using it.
Notion has a generous free tier, and paid plans add features like unlimited file uploads and advanced permissions. Most EAs can use the free version until they hit storage limits or need to control access to sensitive information more carefully.
Calendly
Scheduling without the email chains
Calendly eliminates the email tennis that wastes hours every week. Instead of sending five messages back and forth trying to find a meeting time, you send your Calendly link and people book directly. This is essential for EAs who coordinate dozens of meetings weekly.
The buffer time settings prevent back-to-back scheduling. Your executive needs 15 minutes between meetings to prep for the next call or just catch their breath. Calendly enforces those buffers automatically instead of relying on you to manually block time around every meeting.
Calendly checks multiple calendars before showing availability. Your executive has a personal dentist appointment that conflicts with a proposed meeting time. Calendly won't show that slot as available, preventing double-bookings. This works across Google, Outlook, and other calendar platforms.
The custom questions feature lets you gather context before meetings. You can ask about meeting purpose, topics to cover, or any prep materials that should be reviewed. This information helps you prepare your executive and makes the meeting more productive.
Team scheduling features help coordinate meetings that involve multiple people from your organization. Someone wants to meet with your executive and two other team members. Calendly finds times that work for everyone instead of you manually cross-referencing three calendars.
Calendly integrations send meeting data to your other tools. When someone books time, it can create a record in your CRM, send a Slack notification, or trigger other workflows. This automation reduces manual data entry and keeps systems synced. For more options, see calendar apps for sales teams.
The free tier works for basic scheduling needs, and paid plans add team features, multiple event types, and advanced customization. For EAs managing complex scheduling across multiple executives or teams, the paid tier usually makes sense. The time saved from reduced coordination emails pays for the subscription quickly.
Superhuman
Email at executive assistant speed
Superhuman turns email processing from a time drain into something fast enough that you can actually stay on top of your inbox. Executive assistants often manage both their own email and their executive's inbox, which means processing 100+ messages daily. Superhuman makes that volume manageable.
The keyboard shortcuts become muscle memory after about a week. Archive messages instantly. Snooze emails to exactly when you need to see them again. Split emails into tasks without leaving your inbox. The entire interface is designed around moving through messages quickly without missing anything important.
Superhuman's split inbox automatically filters important messages from notifications. The email from your executive's investor stays visible while calendar invites and automated updates get moved aside. This prevents you from missing critical messages buried under 40 automated emails.
Read receipts show when your executive opens messages you've drafted on their behalf. This matters when you're coordinating time-sensitive responses or following up on important requests. You know when they've seen it and when you need to send a reminder.
Snippets save massive amounts of time on templated responses. Meeting confirmation emails, travel booking confirmations, standard replies to common requests. Most EAs send the same 10-15 messages repeatedly with slight variations. Superhuman makes those instant through text expansion shortcuts.
The reminder feature surfaces emails that didn't get responses. You sent a request to someone three days ago and they haven't replied. Superhuman reminds you to follow up, which prevents things from falling through the cracks when you're managing multiple threads.
Superhuman costs $30/month, which feels expensive. But calculate the time value. If you spend 90 minutes daily on email and Superhuman cuts that to 60 minutes, you've bought back 30 minutes every day. For an EA managing both their inbox and their executive's, that time savings compounds significantly.
Some companies reimburse Superhuman as a business expense for EAs because the productivity gain is obvious. If your company won't cover it, you need to decide whether buying back 2-3 hours weekly is worth $30 out of pocket. Most EAs who try it end up keeping it.
Loom
Video that replaces meetings and long emails
Loom lets you record quick video messages instead of writing long emails or scheduling meetings. For executive assistants, this becomes useful in several scenarios. Record a quick status update for your executive instead of writing paragraphs. Show someone how to do something instead of writing step-by-step instructions. Share context about a project asynchronously.
The screen recording feature helps with handoffs and training. You need to show a backup EA how your executive's calendar system works. Instead of scheduling a training call or writing detailed documentation, you record a 5-minute Loom walking through the process. They can watch it on their schedule and reference it later.
Loom also helps communicate with vendors and external partners. Instead of emailing back and forth about what you need for an event, record a quick video explaining the requirements while showing examples. This reduces misunderstandings and saves time on clarification emails.
Some EAs use Loom for communicating with their executives when explaining complex topics. Instead of writing a long email about calendar options for next month, record a quick walkthrough showing the different scenarios. Your executive watches on their schedule and can see exactly what you mean.
The async nature of Loom helps when you're coordinating across time zones. Leave a video update for team members in different regions instead of trying to find a meeting time that works for everyone. They watch when they start their day, and work continues without delays.
Loom analytics show whether people actually watched your videos. If you send a training video and someone doesn't watch it, you know they might need a different format or a reminder. This engagement data helps ensure communication actually lands.
The free tier has limitations on video length and storage, and paid plans unlock unlimited recording. For EAs who use video regularly, the paid tier makes sense. The time saved from replacing meetings and reducing email volume generates clear ROI. Most EAs end up using Loom for 3-5 videos weekly once they get comfortable with it.
How These Tools Work Together
Building an integrated EA workflow
These tools create a complete EA workflow when connected properly. Start your day in Sunsama, planning your tasks and time-blocking your calendar. Morgen shows your executive's full schedule across all calendars, preventing scheduling conflicts before they happen.
Motion has already scheduled your priority work into available time slots, automatically adjusting as meetings shift. Calendly handles incoming meeting requests without requiring you to manually check availability and send options. People book directly and meetings appear on the calendar. For more workflows, see consultant essential software.
Superhuman lets you process email at speed, using snippets for common responses and read receipts to track important messages. Notion holds all your knowledge - contact info, travel preferences, meeting prep templates. You reference it throughout the day without hunting through old emails.
Loom replaces some of your meetings and long explanatory emails with quick video messages. When your executive's schedule changes dramatically, you record a 2-minute Loom explaining the new structure instead of typing paragraphs.
The key is connecting these tools through integrations. Link Sunsama to your email and calendar. Connect Motion to all calendar sources. Set up Calendly with proper buffer times and calendar checking. This initial setup takes an afternoon, but it eliminates hours of manual work every week.
Some EAs choose between Motion and Sunsama based on whether they prefer AI automation or manual planning. Both work well, but they serve different work styles. Motion handles scheduling automatically while Sunsama requires daily planning rituals. Try both if you're not sure which fits your workflow better.
The complete stack costs approximately $100-150 monthly. That investment buys you back hours every week through faster email, automated scheduling, reduced coordination overhead, and better organization. For most EAs, the time savings are worth significantly more than the subscription costs.
Building your executive assistant app stack
Executive assistant work requires managing complexity that would overwhelm most people. The right app stack doesn't eliminate the complexity, but it gives you the tools to handle it without constant stress and missed details. Fast email processing, smart calendar management, organized task tracking, and async communication tools all contribute to better EA operations.
Start with the core tools based on your biggest pain points. If scheduling is chaos, begin with Morgen and Calendly. If email overwhelms you, add Superhuman. If task management is the issue, try Sunsama or Motion. Build your stack incrementally based on what actually helps instead of trying to adopt eight new tools simultaneously.
The total investment in a complete EA productivity stack is real, but so is the value. When you're managing an executive's calendar, time, and priorities effectively, you're directly contributing to their success and the company's performance. The apps that help you do that job better are worth the cost.