Hire a Virtual Assistant
Last week, I talked about giving yourself the gift of downtime for the holidays. And what better way to offload some tasks and free up your time than to hire an assistant?
I’m not talking about a personal assistant, though: I’m talking about a virtual one. Of course, virtual assistants, or VAs, are real people – but they work remotely, they’re available 24/7 via phone and e-mail, and they’re very affordable. Sound tempting? Here’s how to get started.
Pick a provider
My friend Brian Wong turned me on to TimeSvr, which offers a monthly, all-inclusive package that buys you unlimited “basic tasks” like phone calls, reminders, and reservations. Their VAs can also be trained to do custom tasks for you, and you can even request to have the same individual continue to work with you.
Use them wisely
VAs are perfect for simple, repetitive, or unskilled tasks that nevertheless occupy a lot of your time – Google searches, restaurant reservations, product recommendations, travel arrangements, data entry, and the like. But don’t expect them to produce perfectly written copy (especially if their first language isn’t English), and don’t use them for projects that require multiple approvals or a lot of over-the-shoulder supervision. In other words, you’ll still have to keep some tasks in-house.
Communicate clearly
Your VA is only as useful as the set of instructions that you give him or her. Especially if they are working overseas, it’s critical to be as clear and direct as possible and to minimize the back-and-forth time – otherwise, you’ll only be adding to your workload. With TimeSvr, you can phone or even Skype your VA, but if you use e-mail, then you have a written record to go back to.
Set it and forget it
If you’re like me, incomplete tasks tend to occupy a lot of your thoughts, so why not offload them for a while and focus on things you can finish? Once you do give them your instructions and deadlines, you can forget about it for a while – and therein the biggest the value of this kind of service.
Don’t go overboard
That being said, my advice would be not to go overboard and delegate everything. You still need some degree of control over your workflow, otherwise you’ll just end up worrying and waiting for everything to come back. Save some tasks for yourself and you’ll feel more involved.
Of course, you could hire a personal assistant, but that’s not a terribly cost-effective approach if they’re doing unskilled tasks and you don’t need them by your side all day. Instead, put a VA in your pocket and spend more time specializing in your trade – it’s good economics, and it’s good for your health.
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