How to Keep Your Client Work Organized

At the height of my Virtual Assistant business I had over 50 active clients at one time, you can imagine how much work was coming my way.

On any given day, new tasks can come to me as a result of a phone conversation, via an email request, or through the project management software system I share with my clients (like Basecamp or Teamwork).

Here’s how I do it:

1. Phone Conversations: I take notes in Evernote when speaking on the phone with clients. I keep them organized by giving each client their own note in my RocketGirl Evernote Notebook. When I talk to them on the phone, I add the newest notes to the top, so I have a running record of our conversations.
   
   I take very detailed notes for each task and add as much background information as I can. This is important because it might be a day or two before I come back to do the work, and the details help me get it right. When I get off the phone I schedule time on my calendar to do the work so it doesn’t get lost in Evernote. Then I keep working through my notes, updating as I go.
    
2. Email Inbox: Keeping your email inbox as clean as possible is a big part of successfully managing work that comes in that way. If your inbox is a mess, first get your email inbox under control. Click here to learn how. Then, as emails come in, I archive those I don’t need. This way, only emails that require my attention are in my inbox. A few times a day, I “lump” the emails by clients and respond to and fulfill their requests.
    
3. Project Management Software: I use Teamwork for client work that involves multiple steps (like sending a newsletter, for example). I also have several clients who want me to use their in-house project management systems. This can get tricky, of course, because there are lots of places I need to look! So I set up the system to send me an email whenever a new task is added. In addition, I check each system once a day, sorting by due dates and taking care of the tasks that need to be handled.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed while trying to keep everything straight as it comes pouring in. But by sticking to this system for years, I know I can trust it to keep me on track!

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/