How to get the most from your PA
If you are used to working with a PA, or delegating tasks in general, you’ll be familiar with what follows, and aware that delegating gets easier and more natural with every request.
Working with an online personal assitant is perhaps a little different, since you’re very unlikely to meet, so here are a few tips on working and delegating remotely to help you along.
Take time to get to know each other.
We can help you more the more we know about you, your business or activities, and anything else you deem relevant, so it’s worth taking the time to pass it on in an email, instant messenger, or perhaps schedule a call.
We always strive to place the most appropriate assistant to the client, but if after a time you find we’ve got it wrong, we’ll work with you to better meet your expectations.
Get it out of your head.
If you have nagging tasks and worries, it’s best to get them off your mind, so you can get on with the tasks at hand.
Review your existing task list and see which can be given to someone else.
Whether it’s remembering that you’re due to make a dental appointment, or remembering to book a train, or look into legislation around something, the only way to deal with all the stuff in your head is to get it off your mind.
With your online personal assistant just an email, SMS, or form away, you can look forward to a life with less hassle and more time for concentrating on the important things
Choose the tasks they can perform most effectively.
Don’t try to give them your high-stress, high-priority, urgent tasks. It’s a recipe for further anxiety for you. Instead use your personal assistant for the longer haul, more time consuming tasks.
Make each task actionable.
People don’t “do projects”, we “do actions”.
Write down exactly what you want your PA to accomplish. Then, think through the steps that you would take to accomplish the task. Write those down as well.
To handle these ideas, thoughts, and tasks more effectively, turn each into an actionable task, such that “Oh I must make a dental appointment” becomes “Call Dr.Pullen on 0207 123 4567 and book an appointment on the next available Friday”. This will help you get it done by making it real and tangible.
Set check points.
If your task is long, or has obvious break points, you might like to ask your PA to report back to you shortly after starting to be sure that they’re doing the task as you hope.
Sometimes we think we’ve understood a task clearly, but end up getting it slightly wrong. Similarly we’ve all had experiences where we’re sure we’ve explained something clearly, only to realise later that key instructions we perhaps took for granted were missing.
So if you’re asking for a 300 row spreadsheet, consider asking them to check back with you after 20 rows; or ask them to present initial research findings to help you better direct the task.This is even more important for the first few tasks you set.
Empower action.
You can save a lot of to-and-fro and make things vastly more efficient if you consider the next steps in a task. Consider the following:
Please find me a good mechanic near my home.
Now compare that to:
Using Yelp and Yahoo, find two mechanics with decent ratings that are located within 10 minutes of my home (W14 8JJ, London).
Call them both to get quotes on having the oil changed and fixing a tire leak.
Set me up an appointment for any morning this week with the cheapest.
Set time limits.
Since your PA works on an hourly basis, it is important for you to think about the task in terms of hours. Determine the amount of time you would like to assign to the task, and communicate that when you create the task.
If you’re aware that the time you have assigned is brief, please say as such. Eg “Please spend no more than 2 hours researching this, since I’m just looking for an overview at this stage.”
If your personal assistant thinks that the time is not sufficient, they will come back to you with suggestions as to how to proceed, perhaps only doing part of the task, or suggesting how long they think the task will actually take.
Note: You may consider they spend too long on some of the tasks. Be merciful. It is sometimes hard to find out information, especially if one is unaccustomed to the subject at hand and needs to acquaint oneself as one goes. Remember that the next time you ask a similar question, they will be faster. It is not so much the time that it takes them, as the cost to you. Consider if it is still saving you YOUR time.
Set deadlines.
If you have something important due, set a date for it. This will help your assistant prioritise your tasks. It’s also worth setting the due date a few days early so you have time for follow-up tasks and comments.
No such thing as too small.
If you have a task that you think will only take you 15 minutes, yet could be explained in 5 minutes, you might be inclined to just do it yourself. But when you do 5 of those tasks it starts to add up. Even small tasks can be well worth handing off, especially the recurring ones.
Set recurring tasks.
If you find yourself doing a 5 minute task every day, such as checking orders on a website or confirming bookings, you could save half an hour every week by delegating it. These activities are ideal for your assistant to handle. Your assistant can provide summaries, filter information, and alert you to only important updates.
Be specific about the deliverables.
Your requirements and expectations are likely to vary from task to task. You can save yourself time (therefore money) by specifying the standard of work required. For example a research project could be just clippings and bullet points, or a more comprehensive document.
Make sure you are spending your additional time as you had hoped.
Think about the things you’ve always wanted to do. Want to scuba dive off the Great Barrier Reef? There are probably a dozen initial action and research items that your assistant could handle well. - 4 Hour Work Week
Most of these tips are aimed to minimise the time you spend managing your assistant and your tasks. With the right techniques and some practice, outsourcing will give you more time to focus on the things that bring you the most income and/or happiness.
Summary
You can easily remember these when writing the tasks by using a simple, and appropriate, acronym:
- S - specific, significant
- M - measurable, meaningful, motivational
- A - achievable, action-oriented
- R - realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding (for you), results-oriented
- T - time-based, timely, tangible, trackable
If you have any suggestions to add, please let us know!
Sources / see also: