This is the second in a series of articles I will be writing about Working with a Virtual Assistant.
Following Part 1 of my series of articles about Working with a Virtual Assistant, I have been very lucky to start working with a couple of new clients. After working with them for a few weeks it’s given me some interesting material for my articles.
Working to Deadlines
Until recently many of my clients have been very laid back about deadlines. The tasks they have given me have popped up in my inbox but with no set deadlines for me to get the work completed by.
Only in the last few weeks have I realised how detrimental this is to my working practices. I can of course set my own deadlines, but then in the back of my mind I think that if I don’t manage to get the work done by then the client won’t necessarily chase me up for it.
I started working with a new client a couple of weeks ago and he has been very thorough in providing me with set deadlines for tasks, and this has improved my productivity in bucket loads.
When you work with a Virtual Assistant deadlines are very important because VA’s work with many clients at the same time. Say your new virtual assistant has 10 clients, all sending tasks on a daily basis, she will need to have some idea when the tasks need to be completed so she can prioritise her working day.
Task Management Tools
In the last few months as my client base has grown I have started using a Task Management Tool again. You may or may not remember a post I wrote last year about a free task management tool called Asana.
Asana is a task management tool for teams. It can be a team of 10, or a team of 1! I use Asana as a CRM, I can keep track of my clients and enquiries as well as the tasks I need to do for them. The good thing about Asana is you can set-up different workspaces and invite others to join. My new client is now set-up on Asana and assigns tasks to me directly through the tool. I receive a notification of the task as well as the deadline and we can communicate through the individual tasks to keep emails to the bare minimum. Asana saves you time!
When you’re working with a Virtual Assistant, being organised with the tasks you set them will benefit both you and your VA, it will help your working relationship and tasks will be completed on time and with the minimum of fuss.
As well as communication (as discussed in Part 1), setting deadlines and finding a way of organising tasks are really important when you work with a Virtual Assistant, or any Freelancer!
Do you work with a virtual assistant? Are you setting deadlines?
If you don’t currently work with a virtual assistant, then why not sign-up to my mailing list to receive my free eBook ‘3 Key Benefits of Using a Virtual Assistant‘ and then get in touch for a no obligation phone call (or email) about how I can help you in your business.
