Have you ever wondered just what your VA gets up to when they’re not beavering away for you? It’s easy to imagine them sitting at their desk (rather like a robot), waiting to be assigned their next task, but the reality is really very different.
We asked one of our VAs to capture their day (anonymously), so you can see what really goes on behind the scenes!
7am My alarm goes off and I only hit snooze once, before getting up and hitting the shower. I’m currently working across four clients for VA Agency, so I like to take a little time before starting each morning to set myself up for the day. This means brewing a pot of coffee, a quick tidy up of my desk, and a glance at the news headlines. I’m quite strict with myself about working from home, so I’m always properly dressed, and I never have the TV on during my working hours.
8am I log in for my first client. They do a lot of overseas work and many of their clients are based 3-5 hours ahead of the UK, so the start of my day is the middle of theirs! After checking any emails that have come in I get to work on one of my current projects, restructuring and automating their work processes using SmartSheet, which is basically a clever version of ExCel (well, it is the way I use it).
9.15am Daily check-in with Client #1. This involves a status report on the SmartSheet project, a quick 5 minutes with their inbox (they hate doing it!), and a look at the company calendar at the day ahead. After hanging up I check in with the marketing manager: almost the entire team is virtual and part-time so it’s rare that our working times coincide! We agree on some marketing copy for me to send out to a new customer.
10am Time for Client #2. This is a more involved role – I’ve been working for them for a long time and feel like part of the furniture! Today I’m splitting my time between two jobs: raising and sending out invoices from their database (which uses FileMaker Pro) and updating their website to reflect some new product offerings.
1pm Lunchbreak. Although working virtually means I can set my own timetable, I still stick to a fairly traditional lunchtime! It’s really important to me that I get some fresh air every day, so I take a walk around the block.
2pm I log in for my third client, who has asked me to research some competitors. This is the kind of task that it’s easy to spend way too much time on, so I started using the Pomodoro Technique about a year ago. This is a time-management method that breaks your time down into 25-minute segments and has helped my productivity no end.
3.18pm I’m in the middle of writing a blog for Client #3 when another client calls me continuously until I answer. This has become a real problem over recent weeks – they’ve started to ring me most days outside of their allotted time, and they’ve even started sending me WhatsApp voice notes on a weekend. I find this quite upsetting as it shows a lack of respect for my time (and my other clients), and it completely disrupts my concentration, meaning I’m less productive for whoever I’m working for at the time. This call was for something that absolutely could have waited until my next log-in, so I put in a call to Amanda to arrange a 3-way call between us all. I really enjoy working for them, so am keen to resolve the issue before it becomes too problematic.
3.30pm I log back in for Client #3 and finish their blog. One of the things I love about being a VA is the variety of work I get to do. I’ve got a very low boredom threshold, so being able to choose my work hours for a mixed bag of clients means things are never dull!
4pm Time for a break. 4pm is traditionally when I lose all motivation, and I used to power through with coffee and biscuits, which is about as healthy as it sounds! Now I use this hour to either do a bit of yoga, go for a short run, or even do a bit of housework (I’m a big fan of procrastination vacuuming).
5pm Logging in for my final client of the day. They’ve asked me to produce some new marketing material using Canva, which is a relatively new piece of software to me, but one that I’ve picked up quickly – it’s really intuitive and simple to use. Also, I’m finally putting my Graphic Design GCSE to good use! We have a quick catch up over Zoom and go through the new documents, before taking a look at our joint to-do list. Early in our working relationship we implemented a traffic light/status system, so I know what’s urgent. It’s a shared file so both of us can log-in at any time to see where we’re up to on all of our tasks.
7pm I log off for Client #4 and make a quick to-do list for the next day, before shutting down my laptop for the day. I’m really strict with myself about finishing on time (unless it’s for an exceptional reason), otherwise there’s a temptation to work until everything’s done, which is a recipe for burn-out!
It’s a long day, but a rewarding one – I might occasionally feel like I’m spinning plates but never to the point of overwhelm. I have a great relationship with my clients, and for any small problems I’m fully supported by Amanda. What more could I ask for?!