Staying organized and optimizing time help Virtual Assistants tackle massive to-do lists and multiple clients. We’ve gathered our top productivity tips for Virtual Assistants to try out and see what helps you improve your workflow!
#1 - Choose a project management app and utilize it consistently
When you have multiple tasks and projects to keep track of, everything is easier when you stay organized. There are tons of different project management apps out there, but our favorite here at 360Tasker is Asana. Other notable options include Trello and Teamwork. It’s advised to adapt to your client’s current project management system if they have one so you can provide extra transparency and increased opportunity for collaboration between you and your client throughout the project.
#2 - Ask questions early and often
If you aren’t clear on any element of a project, ask your client for guidance right away. You’ll spend less time waiting around for answers or trying to figure it out on your own. Always make sure to set clear deliverables, steps and timelines for each project as soon as you receive them.
#3 - Tackle your most important tasks early
One of the best ways to mentally reduce your workload is to triage your tasks, or rank them in order of importance and/or deadline. Typically, we recommend to prioritize and focus on your three most important tasks first each day, and then only thinking about or working on the non-mission-critical tasks if there is time remaining in your workday.
#4 - Focus in bursts
Humans can only focus for short periods of time before we need to take a break to maximize productivity and attention. The Pomodoro Technique recommends uninterrupted bursts of 25 minutes focusing on a single task (or 2-3 quick tasks you choose ahead of time) followed by a short 5-minute break before repeating the cycle 4 times. At each 4-cycle interval, a longer 15-minute restorative break is recommended to keep yourself fresh, alert and effective.
#5 - Batch your tasks
Batching is a popular productivity hack that is essentially grouping similar tasks together. For example, if you’re writing social media posts for a client, instead of writing one, creating a graphic, and scheduling it, you write 5, then create 5 graphics, then schedule out all 5 posts. Batching reduces task switching, which kills productivity as huge time waster. Batching keeps you focused on one task repetitively, which gives your brain a little break.
#6 - Use your bookmarks
Use your browser’s bookmark feature to create a folder for each client and then add their website, apps, project management hub, social media sites, etc as bookmarks so when you’re working on a client business everything is quick and easy to find.
#7 - Keep track of logins with a password app
Virtual Assistants often need to manage several different account logins to assist their clients on various tasks like email inbox management or social media marketing. Since it is unsafe to keep, for example, a word document or note of all your passwords, you can keep client (and personal) logins in a safe shared place like 1Password or LastPass. Not only is your client’s data safe, it’s also easier to access and quicker to login to sites with the browser extension that allows you to auto-fill usernames and passwords. Never have to go through the process of forgetting your password and resetting the account again!
We hope these tips help you become more organized, confident and focused as you build your career as a Virtual Assistant.
Interested in joining 360Tasker as a Virtual Assistant? Apply today to join our team on the VA application page!
360Tasker offers flexible solutions for businesses and entrepreneurs to maximize productivity and reduce internal costs. Check out our full list of services and pricing here.
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