Organization a Must in Ex-Marine’s Office : Profile: Longtime secretary to O.C. Supervisor Thomas F. Riley plans her time and environment with precision.

When your boss is a retired Marine Corps officer, the key to success is to run the office with military precision.

Barbara M. Rier, longtime secretary to Orange County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, says it doesn’t hurt, either, that she is a compulsive list maker and self-styled efficiency expert.

“I’m very organized by nature,” Rier said.

“Indispensable” is the word Riley uses to describe her. The 81-year-old supervisor, who retired from the Marine Corps as a general and is leaving the Board of Supervisors this year after 20 years of service, suggests that his secretary’s organizational skills match his own.

Her secret, Rier says, is using her time wisely. She rises at 5 a.m. and is in the office by 7--the only way to be ready for the challenges of the day.

As the person who receives most visitors to Riley’s office on the fifth floor of the Hall of Administration in Santa Ana, Rier has constant interruptions.

“You have to be able to have the phone ringing, have someone (waiting) in the office and a staff member coming to my desk. You have to do everything at once,” she said.

To stay organized, Rier keeps a “to do” list attached to her desk calendar. A separate list keeps track of her personal appointments, which range from attending the opera to bodybuilding sessions that keep her looking younger than her 47 years.

Except for her telephones and calendars, though, Rier’s desktop is clear, sending a subtle message of efficiency to people who drop in.

The way to maintain order, she says, is to have a place for everything and not to let clutter accumulate. She keeps items that she uses frequently--paper clips, scissors, rubber bands--at arm’s length. To snare a rubber band, for example, she simply reaches over to the credenza.

Office supplies that are used less frequently are stored farther away.

Rier confesses that she occasionally crams papers into desk drawers during particularly busy moments. But she sets things straight in a matter of days, if not hours, she says.

And she thrives on the bustle: “I work better under pressure.”