EVER WONDER . . . WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?

Have you ever jotted down every single thing that you did in a day and feel overwhelmed because of how many things you need to accomplish in just one day? What are you doing that is taking up so much of your personal or business time? Could someone else help you get these jobs done? For example, how much time did you spend for that “quick phone call with Sally?” I have wondered about these same questions in my own mind several times, and I decided to document every single thing I did for three days straight. The results were amazing and eye opening. It made me realize HOW MUCH TIME WAS WASTED –and/or—TASKS THAT I COULD DELEGATE TO SOMEONE ELSE.

When I told family and friends that I had started my own Virtual Assistant business, they would all comment with envy in their voice, “Wow, you’re so lucky work from home. You must have all the time in the world to get things done. I sure wish I was able to work from home!” Little do they know that working from home is just as hard as working out of the home in a business setting, if not more difficult.

Family and friends would continually call me throughout the day expecting me to have time to talk to them. I would have to explain to them that I had work to do and they would ask me, “What work?” I told them that I am marketing my business and working out the kinks and I could tell that they didn’t understand. I would tell them that I could call them back later in the evening, after my daughter went to bed.

I must admit that when first starting out, it was hard to stay focused because I would look around my office space and outside of the four walls and see ALL KINDS OF OTHER THINGS that I could be doing “just for a minute or two.” Well, ONE HOUR LATER I would still be “straightening up” and found it to be never ending! I knew I couldn’t let this continue, so I began timing myself on certain tasks and would schedule my day to include one or two 5‑minute breaks to just get up from my desk and stretch, and then a 20‑minute break for lunch. I ended up closing my office door so that I couldn’t see the rest of my house. What a difference that made!

So, if you find yourself in the position that I was in when working at home or in the office, time yourself for every task you do for a few days (both business and personal) and start thinking about the changes you could make. Once you see YOUR amazing results, why not give a VIRTUAL ASSISTANT ("VA") a call? The VA can help you prioritize your tasks, provide you some relief, and will be very cost effective for your business. Professional VAs have fine tuned their time management skills and bill you only for “actual minutes/hours worked” (no idle time like breaks or lunch), and you don’t have to worry about office equipment or furniture, health & dental benefits, sick or vacation pay, etc. When you work with a VA, they are your partner. YOUR SUCCESS = THEIR SUCCESS