Many business owners come to our Virtual Assistant firm with the same frustrating challenge: "I have so much to do and not enough time do to it."
You're already busy, so we won't make you read a lengthy blog post. Here's the short answer on how you can find your time in your day, feel less stressed & still manage to grow your business.
1.) Dump. Type it, write it or use a mind mapping tool. No matter what you have to do, get everything out of your head. Take a deep breath and drink a glass of wine if you need to - this may be a giant list.
2) Focus. What is most important for you to focus on in the next 30, 60 and 90 days? If you struggle with this step of the process, align your focus to your goals. If your goal is to launch a new website, then "write home page copy" is a higher priority than "research conferences to attend next quarter." Simply sort your list into what needs to be done sooner (30 days) rather than later (90 days).
3) Assign. Give each task a label: "I Do", "Delegate" or "Automate." Here are some examples:
- "I Do" is work that is your genius work. This is work that only you can do, like creating the vision for the company, signing paperwork or outlining a new program. Be very careful with this section of the list, making sure that nothing "sneaks in" that could be given to someone else. If there is a chance that anyone can do it faster, cheaper or better - it doesn't belong here.
- "Delegate" is work that should immediately be passed onto your Virtual Assistant. This is where the bulk of your tasks will go. A professional Virtual Assistant can handle anything. (By the way - you do have a Virtual Assistant, right? You won't grow your business by doing it all yourself.)
- "Automate" is for a task that can be easily automated through another channel. For example, bill paying should be automated through your bank, invoicing reminders can be set up through your bookkeeping system and scheduling can be automated via a service like TimeTrade.
Many business owners get stuck on this part - how to grow while doing less. If you're feeling overwhelmed, follow the above tips. As always, if our Virtual Assistant company may be of any assistance, reach out to us at hello@virtualassistusa.com.