What are you thankful for this week at Thanksgiving? Among the blessings I’m counting this year – one is the flexible schedule of working as a Virtual Assistant – and the 3 surprising lessons I’ve learned that come along with that flexible schedule.
Ok, let’s dive into the surprising lessons learned that come with the VA lifestyle and it’s flexible schedule.
LESSON 1: You’ll need to add some “STRUCTURE” to your flexible schedule when working with some clients as a Virtual Assistant
I thought that working at home, on my own schedule and working how I wanted meant having all the flexibility in the world.
I could start work at 10am if I wanted or 6pm. Either would work for me.
But, here’s what I learned…
Some clients need to know when to expect the work to be done.
They don’t always need to expect certain work hours from you but they DO need to know when they can expect the work to be done and returned to them.
They have a schedule to keep and your schedule will play into that.
Once I realized that it wasn’t all about me (ha), and that if I liked getting money from these clients, I needed to add some STRUCTURE to my flexible-schedule work life.
But the difference is, it’s MY STRUCTURE. I choose what I want.
Here’s what I do:
- I tell all clients that I will “touch” their work every single day. I don’t give a ‘time’ that I will do their work, I just tell them I’ll work on it daily.
- I also tell them that I require a 24-hour turn-around time. In other words, I can’t get a project from them in the afternoon and get it done by the next morning. 24 hours. (Even if I CAN turn it around super fast, I normally don’t. Otherwise, they begin to expect it and that leads to unsatisfied customer service in the future when I don’t do it that quickly.)
You can choose what works for you. That’s the joy of it. YOU choose!
LESSON 2: You’ll need to set boundaries with … your family
When I first started working from home, I was super excited about being able to talk to my family any time I wanted.
After all, I had a flexible schedule!
In the office, I had to make sure it was at an appropriate time for my grandchildren to call and for me to “ooh and ahh” over their drawings.
Now, I could do it all day long.
Whenever and however long I wanted to chat with them.
Only problem…
I struggled to get any client work done.
I was having a great time but really not doing much work.
That’s called “retired” not a Virtual Assistant😁
Here’s what I do:
- I still allow family to talk or call whenever they want. But, I have built those calls into my work schedule. I know they normally happen in the morning, so I plan my deep thought work earlier than the calls or later in the day when most of my family is busy doing other things. I basically just work my schedule around them. Which I LOVE! 💖
- If I have a “heavy” day (i.e., bigger projects, client calls, etc.), I usually shut my office door and let everyone know I need to be very focused. On these days, they don’t call or stop in on their own. They wait for me to take a break or call them. In other words, they wait for my schedule to open to sit down with them. Normally, we’ll do a lunch chat or visit on these days. But, it’s according to MY schedule
There is more flexibility with family working this way than there was in an office – FOR SURE. But, there still needs to be a few boundaries.
The thankfulness comes in that YOU will create the boundaries – not someone else!
LESSON 3: Just because you can do more With Your Day doesn’t mean you should – Multi-Tasking No’ No’s in a flexible schedule
When I first started working from home, I was thrilled with the idea that I could now do “work” things and “home” things all at the same time.
I could ‘kill two birds with one stone’.
Imagine the time I would save.
I could stop … and do a load of laundry.
Stop … and load the dishwasher.
Stop … and take the dogs for a walk.
See a pattern here?
There was a lot of stopping going on.
I seemed to get NOTHING done but couldn’t figure out why.
Until I read this article from Forbes one day about multi-tasking and realized that multi-tasking was KILLING my productivity.
Here’s what I do:
- I still like to get both “work” and “home” things done during the day. But, like boundaries with my family and clients, I set boundaries for myself. I now ONLY stop to do a load of laundry when I’m getting up to use the restroom. I don’t stop mid-project to put in a load of laundry.
- I batch my “work” items and then also batch my “home” items. When I take a break for lunch, I’ll do some laundry, load the dishwasher, and maybe take a quick walk outside. All together. That way, my brain is in the “home” mindset and I’ll get back to the “work” mindset after lunch. I feel less stressed this way and according to what I read, I’m helping my brain at the same time. Win. Win.
You can apply the multi-taking mistake to almost every area of your life – not just work and home.
Make sure you are not trying to do it all just because you can. 😘 (By the way, I have written about the inability to rest while working as a VA that goes along with this idea. You can read it here.)
I am so very thankful for my VA lifestyle and the flexible schedule I have.
And, I am so very thankful for YOU!
If I can help you learn how to work this way, please reach out. We can have a “coffee chat” and see I can help!
Also, if you haven’t received my FREE “Work as a Virtual Assistant Starter Checklist”, you can get that here.
Happy Thanksgiving!!