4 Simple Tips for a more Productive Virtual Assistant
However, although being a Virtual Assistant is fun, you must always remember to be accountable for the tasks delegated to you by your client. The privileges of working in the comfort of your home must not interfere with your professional work.
Here are four tips to apply so you can be a more productive Virtual Assistant.
Negotiate with clients about your working hours.
I’ve been telling to all Virtual Assistants I know never to hesitate to talk to their clients, ask, share insights, negotiate; the bottom line is to communicate freely. If the kind of tasks given to you does not require specific working hours, and after careful planning of your personal schedule then negotiate with your client. If your client said “yes” to your proposal, make sure you back your request up with better results.
Set a schedule and tell everyone about it.
Your friends knocking on your door is sure fun, however if they come on a time when you are working then their visit is becoming a distraction to your work. To be a productive Virtual Assistant do your best to not let anyone or anything (unless it’s an emergency) ruin your schedule. You can do this by letting them know about your schedule and how much committed you are in following it.
Physically prepare yourself.
You may have seen in the internet images of people working at home in their pajamas. Though you can do the same, taking a shower, exercising and eating your meals before engaging to work still is much better and will make you more alive in your work. And since all the VA tasks are being done online, it’s never healthy to be sitting and staring at the computer monitor for hours, make sure to do some stretching every 30 minutes for additional productivity.
Clean your desk (or not?)
Experts say that an average person spends 4.3 hours a week searching for something that was “just here a moment ago”. This kind of scenario adds stress and frustration to the workplace while reducing concentration and creative thinking. Although this may not apply to everyone, I would still go for a cleaner desk for two reasons;
First is a clean desk makes me focus on nothing else but the computer monitor and second I think having a clean and a well organized desk is a manifestation of my attitude as a person.
Do you have additional tips to add so that other Virtual Assistants will be more productive with their works? Share your comments below and don’t forget to LIKE, PIN, TWEET, SHARE this post.
Cheers!
Great tips, Rambo! I’m doing all of that and it’s good to know that I’m not alone in trying to organize my schedule on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. I just want to add the use of a calendar. Write down your daily tasks, what needs to be done first and time estimates. Make sure you follow your own schedule, too or else, you’ll still end up unproductive. Working from home has a lot of privileges but it’s all up to us to make ourselves productive and our clients happy! :)
Yes Roche using calendar will add to a VA’s productivity too.
Good article. All of us need to be reminded of how important it is that we effectively communicate a schedule with multiple clients, properly prepare for the work day, carve out time for work and downtime as well as organizing our work space. I also manage a VA team and if I were to add to this list it would be to document everything possible. Even phone or video conversations. This ensures that if someone is unclear about what was said or done, the documentation is there to fall back on.
Hi Lisa yes documenting everything is a must. Thanks for adding that to the list.