A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

Ever wondered what a VA does all day? Then today is your lucky day! Granted, what I do as a virtual assistant will be extremely different from what another one does, based solely on the fact that we all have different clients with different responsibilities. But I have discovered that having a routine every day that I keep to helps me get more done and make sure that my day is structured in a way that keeps me engaged all day because that 2 o'clock slump is real when you are only steps away from your couch!

4:30 AM

YES I KNOW I AM A CRAZY PERSON. But even if I wanted to sleep later, I simply can't. My conscious stirs away about 4:15 and every day I try to go back to sleep and every day I give up at 4:30 and roll out of bed and head to the coffee pot.

However, between 4:30 and 6:45 or so, nobody else is awake, and nobody is "bothering" me, so I am able to get a great deal of my every-day tasks done before the rest of my day really even starts. I answer a lot of emails within that two hour span and I do this mundane stuff first thing in the morning because then it is done for the entire day and I can move on to focusing on the more fun stuff for the day!

7-9 AM

I get dressed, take Jett to school, and make breakfast. I usually have a protein bar and a peanut butter banana protein shake first thing in the morning because after I get back from taking Jett, I usually take an hour to go for a walk and I need that extra shot of protein to keep me going! :) I walk about 5 miles and it is so important because I quite literally spend the rest of my day in my chair and I don't move much!

9-10 AM

I take a shower, straighten up the house, start on dinner, and make sure any house related things get done, like unloading the dishwasher or switching out a load of laundry. It is so important for me to take a shower, get ready, dressed, made up, etc. every day because otherwise I would literally live in my pajamas all day every day and that would just be bad.

10 AM - 4 PM

This is when I really get down to the "work" of the day and concentrate on getting projects done. I might stop for a quick lunch at 12ish, if I don't get distracted, but this six hour stretch is a marathon of graphic design, blog post editing, project management, and social networking. Sometimes I'm still fascinated that part of my job involves being an active participant on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. :)

4 PM

I've found that one key element of making sure I'm most productive and that I retain a healthy balance between work and home is having a stopping time every day. At 4PM, no matter where I am in a project or task, I stop. Knowing I have a time deadline every day helps me stay productive during the day because I don't like to leave anything unfinished so I work harder to get it done if that deadline is approaching. After that I finish up dinner as much as I can before I head out to get Jett.

My day is pretty similar every day and I try to take Fridays off when I can to enjoy a day off with my husband! It took me a couple of years to work out this schedule and perfect it so that I felt productive, efficient, and balanced for the duration of my day!