Productive is Not the Same as Busy

When you’re a Virtual Assistant (especially if you work from home), it’s easy to get distracted from work and wonder by 5 p.m. where the day went. That happened to me more than once when I first started.

Read on for tips on beating the wasted day syndrome!

If you want to run a successful VA business, you’ll need to be deliberate in your planning and productive with your time. Once it becomes routine, you’ll be able to do this with ease.

Here are some tips for getting started:

1. Block your calendar. On Friday, as you close up for the week, take some time and look at the upcoming week. Schedule the work you already know you need to do and decide which days and what hours you’ll be at your desk. Look to see how much more work you can produce so that you can promise accurate turnaround times as more work comes in.
   
   
2. Prioritize your tasks. As you review the work you need to get done, make sure that the deadlines are front, center and accounted for and that you have what you need to do the work. If you need to renegotiate a deadline with a client, now is the time to do it (before the deadline has passed). Prioritize what you want to do to work on your business as well. If it’s not scheduled, it’s difficult to get done when you’re busy.
   
   
3. Batch your work. Work on one thing at a time when at all possible. In my case, I focus on one client at a time and finish everything I have outstanding for them in one sitting. I get great satisfaction from knowing that a client’s work is all tied up and finished – even if it’s just for a day or two.
   
   
4. Stay focused. Take short breaks if you need to, but stick to the hours and tasks you committed to when you made your plan for the week. If you find yourself on Facebook or browsing on Amazon, stop what you’re doing, take a deep breath, and get back to business.
   
   

With some practice, you’ll get great at this and enjoy it as much as I do.  Remember, productive and busy are not necessarily the same thing!

If you’re not already a member of our Facebook Group, The Virtual Assistant Connection, and would like to join, here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevaconnection/