Most Virtual Assistants offer to help you get organised by doing tasks on your To-Do List. If I handed my To-Do List over, not only would they make a hash of many things, but I wouldn't feel any "more organised." I might have more time as a result - that's a good thing - and it's worth paying for.
If you want to feel more organised, I suggest you take a day out and clear your desk, re-organise your filing system, file stuff away, print less and work online so you can share documents easily, prioritise your work better, so the important matters get dealt with, and use tasks/reminders to make sure things happen on time ... you get the gist. And, if that isn't working, perhaps book yourself on a Time Management Course!
If you are very busy then you probably could do with some help. There are three business activities which tend to chew up a lot of time and, if they go wrong, can cause you real problems.
Email Management: the increasing amount of email we get these days not only consumes precious time, but adds to our stress levels. Just seeing it mount up - even if most of it is junk - gets the heart racing. Having someone cull junk mail, monitor urgent emails, and deal with routine responses can make a huge difference to your day and your frame of mind.
Diary Management: if you are in demand and spend a lot of time organising meetings, having someone to schedule meetings, book appointments and remind you about important events can be a lifesaver - it's the traditional PA role that has always been valuable. Not only will it save you time, but really can help you to be more organised, as well as improving your professional image.
Travel Management: if you travel a lot, you'll know just how much time it can take to find the right train, flight, hotel, car hire, etc. And getting the best deal is even more time consuming. Having someone who knows there way around travel websites, and has the contacts to sniff out deals that the public can't see, would be a great bonus ... but mainly, it could save you a huge amount of time. My blog post on our favorite travel websites has other useful information and links too.
If you ask me, these are the tasks where a Virtual PA can make a real difference, freeing up time to spend on more important work like dealing with customers or developing your business. There are lots of other ways they could help too, and I'll be exploring these over my next few posts. What would you like covered?
For more ways to help you save time, money and hassle Search This Blog or visit www.office-lifeline.co.uk
