A few weeks ago, one of our clients started forwarding his Virtual Assistant, Tammi, the invoices and emails that needed filing. He didn’t write instructions or build a checklist first. He just hit forward whenever one of those emails landed in his inbox.
Tammi took it from there. She set up a new filing system for his invoice emails and keeps them archived, so anything he needs later is easy to find. His inbox stays clear, and he has one person who knows where all of it lives. Most of that happened simply because he stopped deciding, one message at a time, whether something was worth handing off.
I’ve been matching Virtual Assistants with business owners since 2008, and if someone asked me what the clients who get the most out of their assistant have in common, this habit is the first thing I’d point to. When they aren’t sure whether something is Virtual Assistant work, they forward it anyway.
Why “Is This VA Work?” Stalls So Many Business Owners
Most people who hire a Virtual Assistant start with a short list. Calendar, inbox, some data entry, maybe social media. That’s a good place to begin, and our guide to what tasks a Virtual Assistant can do walks through the usual ones in detail.
What happens is that the list gets handled within a few weeks, and then the owner goes back to doing the rest themselves. New emails and requests get a quick mental test. Could my assistant handle this? Would it take longer to explain than to just do it? Is it too small to bother with? Most of the time the answer feels like “it’s probably easier if I do it,” so the email stays put.
That test costs more than it seems to. It only takes a few seconds, but you run it dozens of times a day, and the result is that your assistant only sees the work you were already sure about. Your Virtual Assistant never gets the chance to show you what else they can take off your plate, and you keep paying for support while doing a BIG part of the work yourself.
What Happens When You Forward It Anyway
Your Virtual Assistant Learns Your Business Faster
A forwarded email carries a lot of context with it. Your assistant sees who your vendors are, how your clients write to you, which invoices come in monthly and which are one-time charges, and who you answer right away versus who can wait a day. A good assistant picks up those patterns much faster from real email than from a written list of duties, and after a month or two they start handling things before you think to send them.
The Small Things Stop Piling Up
Filing one invoice takes about two minutes, which is why it’s so easy to keep doing it yourself. The math looks different over a year (two minutes an invoice, forty invoices a month, twelve months…) and that’s one small task. Add receipts, scheduling requests, vendor follow-ups and the “can you send me that file again” emails, and you’re looking at hours a month that could go to clients, sales or a night off.
You Learn What to Delegate by Watching What Comes Back Done
You don’t need to know in advance whether something is Virtual Assistant work. If a task needs your judgment, a good assistant will tell you and ask the right questions. The rest comes back handled. After a few weeks of this, your pile of “I’m not sure” gets much smaller, because you’ve seen firsthand what your assistant can take care of.
If you’re still deciding whether this kind of support makes sense for your business, our Virtual Assistant services page explains how our U.S.-based assistants work with clients day to day.
How to Build the Forwarding Habit
Start With One Kind of Email
Pick one category that lands in your inbox weekly, such as invoices, receipts, scheduling requests or vendor emails, and forward all of it to your assistant for two weeks without filtering. One category is easy to remember, and it gives your assistant enough volume to set up a real process.
Add a Short Note When It Helps
A few words go a long way: “file this,” “pay by Friday,” “let me know if this needs me.” A note isn’t required, though. A forward with no note is fine, and your assistant will ask if something is unclear. The goal is to get the email out of your inbox, so don’t let writing the perfect instruction become the new reason you hold onto it.
Let Your Assistant Set Up the System
Our client didn’t design Tammi’s filing system. She built it after seeing what was coming in. Let your Virtual Assistant propose how to organize the work, then react to it. You’ll get a better system, and you’ll spend your time reviewing instead of building.
Keep a Short Weekly Check-In
Fifteen minutes a week is usually enough to go over what came in, what got handled and what needs you. That’s also where you’ll spot the next category to start forwarding. We’ve written more about check-ins and feedback that help your assistant do their best work if you want to set that rhythm up well.
Decide Up Front What Stays With You
Some things belong with leadership, such as payroll decisions, sensitive personnel issues and negotiations with key clients. Tell your assistant what those are once, so you can forward freely without second-guessing. It also helps to know who you’re forwarding to. Our Virtual Assistants are U.S.-based W-2 employees, and we offer HIPAA-compliant support, which is why so many attorneys and healthcare practices are comfortable sending us their inbox.
What Gets in the Way
When I talk with business owners who aren’t forwarding much, the reasons are usually the same. Some feel it’s faster to do it themselves, which is true for one email, but a year of them adds up quickly. Some don’t want to “bother” their assistant with small things, even though small things are exactly what an assistant is there for. And some just aren’t used to letting go of the details, which makes complete sense if you’ve been running everything yourself for years. We wrote about why delegating is so hard for business owners and how to work through it.
The more you send, the more your Virtual Assistant learns, and the more they can take off your plate. That has held true across 18 years of matching assistants with clients.
FAQs
How do I delegate email to a Virtual Assistant?
The simplest way is to forward emails you want handled, with a short note if there’s a deadline or a preference. Many clients also give their assistant direct access to their inbox once they’re comfortable, so the assistant can sort, file and answer routine messages without waiting for a forward.
What if I’m not sure a task is something my Virtual Assistant can handle?
Send it anyway and let your assistant tell you. A good Virtual Assistant will either take care of it, ask you a clarifying question, or let you know it needs your judgment. That’s how you find out what else you can hand off.
How long does it take a Virtual Assistant to learn my business?
It depends on how much you send them. Clients who forward work regularly from the start usually find their assistant handling things without being asked within the first month or two, because the assistant is learning from real work instead of a job description.
Do I need to write instructions before I delegate something?
No. For routine work, a forwarded email and a few words is usually enough, and your assistant can document the process as they go. Save detailed instructions for tasks where the steps matter, like billing or anything client-facing.
What shouldn’t I forward to my Virtual Assistant?
Keep strategy, major financial decisions and sensitive personnel matters with leadership. Tell your assistant up front what falls into that group, and forward the rest freely.
What Could You Forward Today?
Take a look at your inbox right now and pick one thing you could send to someone else today. If you don’t have someone to send it to yet, tell us about your business and we’ll match you with a U.S.-based Virtual Assistant who can start taking it off your plate.
