Asking someone to manage your diary might be one of the best business decisions you ever make. It means better time-management, less opportunity for double-booking and makes a real difference to how you can grow your business. So how could moving to a virtual assistant diary management service help you?
In this article:
- The hassle of diary organising
- How can virtual assistant diary management help?
- 10 quick tips for efficient virtual assistant diary management
- Effective diary management
- What does using a diary management service mean for you?
The hassle of diary organising
You might be surprised at how much time is wasted over the course of a working week on arranging and re-arranging appointments. Just think back to your last full week of work and consider the number of emails and phone calls you engaged in simply to make or change appointments in your diary. It may be a normal part of your daily routine at the moment, but imagine what else you could do if that time was free for business development or client meetings.
Well, that change is perfectly possible if you ask an expert to help. By outsourcing your diary management to a virtual assistant, you not only make your diary process more efficient; you release time in every working day where you can be more productive on behalf of your business.
How can virtual assistant diary management help?
Diary management is a critical function, which can be outsourced to a virtual assistant easily and cost-effectively. Outsourcing enables busy professionals to efficiently organise their schedules, appointments, and commitments. By hiring expert virtual assistants to help you manage your diary, you can make sure that your time is allocated effectively, meetings are scheduled without conflicts, and deadlines are met.
Effective virtual assistant diary management not only makes the most of your time but also improves productivity by minimising distractions and ensuring a well-structured working day. A good virtual assistant anticipates needs, coordinates time zones, and handles last-minute changes, making them an invaluable asset for anyone juggling a demanding workload. Your virtual assistant essentially provides a seamless diary service that keeps pace with the flexible nature of today’s office-based and remote working business environment.
There are a number of things to think of when you’re considering a virtual assistant diary management service. Of course, you’ll want to know that they have the organisational skills to help you keep on top of your appointments, but they should also be familiar with calendar software – such as G-Suite, Office 365 and other calendar applications. This means that your diary is always up to date, whichever device you’re using, and that your diary is linked to other essential applications – like Google Maps – when needed.
Using a virtual assistant to support your diary management leads to improved work-life balance, reduced stress levels, and a better experience for anyone booking time with you.
10 quick tips for efficient virtual assistant diary management
Being an efficient virtual assistant in terms of diary management is about much more than making appointments. A good VA can transform a haphazard schedule into a streamlined, productivity-boosting calendar that helps you to focus on the things that matter. This could be strategically colour-coding appointments, or making the most of the features that cloud-based calendars offer. Ask them to take control of prioritising your week’s appointments, and updating your CRM or customer system to make sure that your latest meetings are reflected in your files.
Remember, the objective here is not simply for your virtual assistant to manage your diary – it’s to master your time, giving you a balance that improves both your professional efficiency and personal wellbeing. By referring this vital aspect of your everyday routine to a virtual assistant, you’re unlocking more hours of your day to focus on high-value activities that fuel your success.
With that in mind, here are our top ten tips for great diary management:
1. Prioritise tasks by urgency and importance: Begin each day by identifying the tasks that are critical and need immediate attention, distinguishing them from less urgent ones.
2. Allocate time slots for different activities: Schedule fixed blocks of time for specific tasks, such as answering emails or engaging in deep work, to manage your day effectively.
3. Limit time spent on meetings: Whenever possible, keep meetings short and to-the-point. If it can be done via email, opt for that instead of a lengthy discussion.
4. Set realistic goals: Ensure that the goals you set for each day or week are achievable to avoid unnecessary stress and time overruns.
5. Use technology to your advantage: Employ diary management software or apps to keep your schedule organised and send you timely reminders for important deadlines.
6. Say no when necessary: Politely decline tasks or projects that do not fit into your schedule or align with your priorities to maintain control of your time.
7. Review your diary regularly: Take time each evening or at the end of the week to review your commitments and adjust as needed for better time management.
8. Plan for interruptions: Expect that disruptions will occur and factor in additional time in your schedule as a buffer to accommodate unforeseen delays.
9. Delegate tasks: Share responsibilities with colleagues or team members when appropriate to ensure that your workload is manageable.
10. Reflect on your productivity: At the end of each day or week, assess how effective you were in managing your time and consider what changes could be made for future improvement.
Effective diary management
Following on from the importance of these tips to manage your time well, it’s vital to recognise the advantages that a virtual assistant can bring to the table. The benefits of outsourcing your diary management to a virtual assistant are many – as any entrepreneur or small business owner who’s doing it will tell you. The trick is to find a virtual assistant team that gives you the support you need.
To get the most out of outsourcing your diary organising, spend some time finding the right virtual assistant to work with. There are many options, and we would recommend considering the following:
- Can the virtual assistant business offer continued support, even if your allocated VA is off sick or on holiday?
- Do the virtual assistants you work with have a good working knowledge of calendar software, integrations and organisation?
- Does the virtual assistant business have suitable security in place, especially if you are sharing passwords to calendar software? Is it Cyber Essentials certified, for example? Do they use two-factor authentication, or keep your passwords secure and encrypted?
- Do you have a clear idea of costs and commitments?
- Does the virtual assistant business have the flexibility to grow with you, or take on additional tasks as your business becomes more successful?
Take your time to choose your virtual assistant diary management service carefully. You need to be completely confident in the business you choose to work for – especially when you are trusting them to organise your daily schedule.
What does using a virtual assistant diary management service mean for you?
Using a virtual assistant diary management service means you have taken a positive step towards regaining control of your working – and personal – life. Maintaining an organised, streamlined and integrated diary transforms the way you think about time management, and relieves you of a significant burden.
What will this look like for you?
- Accurate diary entries – some business owners manage two or three separate diaries, one at their desktop, one on their phone and often still a paper-based calendar. This produces a lot of opportunity for mistakes and double-bookings, meaning you could end up at a meeting that’s already been cancelled, or discover at the last minute that you can’t be in two places at once. Putting someone in charge of your diary means accurate diary entries that you can rely on.
- A single calendar – there are a number of cloud-based calendar apps, such as G-Suite and Office 365 options, which allow you to synchronise your diary at any time. Access the calendar from your phone, tablet or desktop and have all the information you need at your fingertips – from location to things to take with you. Many people use Google Calendar, Office 365 applications or the Apple calendar, and there are also other apps and task management system available that easily integrate with these. These online diary management apps allow you to schedule meetings with a group of people quickly and easily, and as soon as you update something on one device, it registers everywhere else. All you have to do is give access to your virtual assistant or diary planner, and they can manage everything for you.
- Retain control – a good diary contains everything you need to make your daily life manageable and efficient. So you need to retain some control. That means that you can add anything that prevents appointments from being made when you don’t need them – so if you want to leave the office at 3pm every Thursday so you can pick the kids up from school, it’s permanently in the diary. Similarly, if you are arranging private appointments, such as a hospital visit, you can add this privately to your diary and all your assistant can see is that the time is blocked out. This gives you the best of both worlds – someone mananging the nitty gritty of your diary, without losing control yourself.
- Greater efficiency – don’t stop at adding appointments; get your diary organiser or virtual assistant to help you prepare for meetings too. They can put board packs together, create presentations, book travel and accommodation and type up transcripts of meeting minutes. You’ll become more efficient and your business will look and feel smarter to your clients.
Time to make a change?
If you can see the benefits of investing in virtual assistant diary management so that you can work more effectively on your business, or would like to learn more about outsourcing to a virtual pa, feel free to call us on 0800 994 9016 or use our contact form in the menu above.