by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Apr 24, 2014 | Organization, Productivity, Time Management
How many times have you thought that you need more hours in your day or an extra pair of hands? You know the feeling, looking at your desk, your calendar, your Smartphone, your inbox…. Ugh, it is overflowing with things that need your attention. You can’t torch it. You can’t ignore it, but you can implement a few systems and processes to help you better manage the overwhelm and chaos, moving you to increase your productivity.
For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned. – Anonymous
The Notorious To Do list
The first step toward success is to be cognizant of the level of disturbances which you allow into your day. It could revolve around the daily notifications you receive regarding text messages, emails, news alerts, phone calls or any other immediate interruption that diverts your focus from the task at hand.
- Are you able to turn off or lower the volume of the notifications?
- Can you schedule 3-4 times throughout the day to review/respond to emails?
- Do you need to respond immediately to each byte of data that crosses your desk or your Smartphone?
Tips
- Prioritize and set deadlines.
- Know which projects require the most time and your undivided attention.
- Create your boundaries for working hours and “publicize” them.
- Tune out distractions.
- Stay on task.
Is Your Inbox Abundant with Clutter?
In 2011, it is estimated that there were 3.146 billion email accounts and 2.8 million emails sent and received every day. Wow!
Email has become the most predominant mode of office communications whether it is a quick hello or dissemination of corporate materials, contracts, projects and data. It is a necessity that we cannot live without.
Some inboxes can look like a nightmare of messages and To Dos if not properly maintained or left unchecked for an extended period of time. We are all busy working and managing the flow of information and business operations that it can just become an inconvenience to take the time to delete, file, schedule or otherwise take some form of action with each email. If you continually shy away from inbox management, it not only becomes unruly like a bad hair day, but it fosters a lack of productivity and organization. Who can afford that?
Have you ever spent wasted minutes or hours feverishly searching for an email that contains an important document? It becomes a frustrating unproductive endeavor that is a gross misuse of your valuable time AND time is money.
PING!! A new email is awaiting your attention.
- Schedule time to check your email at various intervals
- Make sure you have appropriate folders and filters for filing.
- Is it urgent?
- Can it be completed in 2-3 mins?
- Can you flag it to read later?
- Have you set up rules/alerts
- Delete it if it isn’t necessary and won’t add any value.
- If there is an attachment, download it and save it in the appropriate document folder
- Forward it with instructions to your virtual assistant
- If it is an appointment, drag it to your calendar
- Have separate email addresses for personal and business use
My Documents
You are inundated with digital paper that requires action and filing. Creating folders is a simple task to ensure your documents are organized and easily found. It can prove very time consuming if you have to scroll through one larger receptacle looking for a needed document. Sure, you can do a broad search but when proper file management is established, you can save a great deal of time and aggravation. Let your digital filing system mirror a physical filing system.
Tips:
- Create folders and sub-folders
- Use short names
- Be diligent about filing
- Separate current and completed works
- Archive older, unneeded documents – store in a separate folder, USB or cloud storage
- Create shortcuts or links to documents you use more consistently. Maintaining a single copy ensures you are always using the most current version.
- Delete unnecessary files
- Create shortcuts of your most used documents and save them on your desktop.
- If you routinely share documents with a group, consider using Google Docs, Teambox, Dropbox or another online sharing tool for collaborating.
- Save your data and make sure you always back up your computer
Taking the time to organize and streamline your office operations, even if it is just your email and documents, will help to increase your efficiency and productivity – which saves you time and money. The less time you must spend rummaging through folders and emails, the more time you have to devote to the your vital business operations and daily procedures.
Have a time and place for everything, and do everything in its time and place, and you will not only accomplish more, but have far more leisure than those who are always hurrying. – Tryon Edwards
Make organization a habit, not a one hit wonder. Get into a rhythm everyday and stick with it, just like you would with any lifestyle habit.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Apr 22, 2014 | Delegation, Entrepreneur, Small Business
Entrepreneur, solo-preneur, small business owner; while each comes with its own clarifying distinctions, one quality remains significant, the opportunities to build and scale your business are better performed with a team.
Your team is available to listen, brainstorm, collaborate, build, generate, troubleshoot or otherwise help you to achieve your dreams a little faster than if you remain a single entity.
“As the business owner, your time is extremely valuable, and you should be focusing on the items that only you can do! If you have the resources, consider hiring a virtual assistant to take care of these administrative tasks that are holding you back”. Brett Relander
Scale Your Business Beyond Yourself with Jason T. Wiser and Rebekah Radice highlights the benefits and value of partnering with a virtual assistant to effectively grow and manage your business.
This isn’t anything new to you, nor is it rocket science. Partnering with a virtual assistant is a simple solution to enable you to expand your company more cost effectively than hiring an in-house team. Where else can you find an entrepreneurial spirit that doesn’t cost you insurances, benefits, office space, training, taxes or supplies? Think of how much that alone will save you on a yearly basis.
However, the world has changed, you don’t need to hire a regular full-time or part-time employee. You can leverage a virtual assistant (VA) for a fraction of the cost. Time Management Ninja
You only have so much time in your day; when you leverage the power and expertise of a virtual assistant, you have just added more hours to work ON your business. More hours to engage with your audience, clients and prospects. Toss the tedious and time consuming to do more of the work you love. The real core and guts of your company.
You can’t do everything that you need to do on your own. It’s impossible. There are not enough hours in a day. And as a business owner, your main focus should be on your clients and customers, how to obtain more of them and networking so you have a growing list of leads to nurture and eventually convert to future clients and customers. M. Shannon Hernandez
Why fill your day with menial administrative and day to day operations that gnaw on your precious time? If it doesn’t produce revenue, consider delegating it.
Can you afford to be buried in;
- Social media management
- Content curation
- Scheduling posts
- Editing and proofing your blog
- Optimizing blog posts
- Drafting content
- Calendaring and appointments
- E-newsletters
- Brand monitoring
- WordPress updates
- Image search/creation
- Daily business management
These are just 12 of the necessary business “nuisances” that you may be doing on your own but don’t generate any income for you. So could they actually undermine your hard work and efforts?
Consider this, each time you are involved in one of these tasks, how many times do you encounter some sort of distraction or roadblock? Are you sidetracked? Does something else come up, like a software or tech issue, and you end up spending even more time on the project which means less time ON your business, building relationships and speaking with clients?
Honestly! Is this the MOST productive use of your time?
In a recent online survey of more than 460 small business owners, proprietors and CEOs, 63% said that they spend 1-5 hours on social media every week. The rest are spending much more, with some business owners spending 21+ hours a week on social media alone – that’s HALF of the normal working week – how are they getting anything else done? Chris Ducker.
Ready! Set! GROW!
Let’s hear your thoughts on building a remote team and taking your business to the next level.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Apr 17, 2014 | Entrepreneur, Productivity, Small Business, Time Management
Entrepreneurs are always strapped for time! You need more. Want more. Gotta have it but you need to realize the value of your time and how to best use every second, all 86,400 of them.
You can learn to maximize your productivity and feel like a rock star. I’m not talking about just being busy as that isn’t efficient. There is a difference between just using up some time, watching the hours tick by, and truly cranking out some real work that has an impact.
There’s always plenty of tips and tools you can enlist but it really comes down to you and what you are willing to do to best leverage your time, output and true success.
It is a choice. Everyone has the exact same amount of time in their day so it is about how you invest in it. Invest in you.
Achieve your goals and master your To Do list and projects for your greatest accomplishments or merely float through the day, kinda hoping things magically get done. Don’t operate your business like it’s in Disney Land.
You all need some downtime, nap time, and some time, BUT, don’t expect to realize winning results without a plan, focus, and dedication. It just doesn’t happen. Simple as that.
Victory comes at a cost.
Pay it or concede.
Productivity Simplicity
- Determine what is most important: in your day, in your life, in your business. That’s what you need to be doing.
- Make a plan: to achieve these important tasks and milestones. List out action steps.
- Priorities: have them. Understand them. Commit to them.
- Allow time for diversions: it always happens. A sink hole or you are somehow sidetracked but with proper planning, you are prepared.
- Set realistic timelines: if you don’t, you may be scrambling and only half finishing your lists or not putting in 100%. If you can’t give it your all, then it is half ass. Do you want that??
- Tick tock: don’t be ruled by the clock. It doesn’t tell you if you are being more efficient and productive. Your output does. 9-5 doesn’t mean anything if you are just “busy.”
- Create your goals: this helps to keep you on target daily, weekly, monthly. Revisit your list and revise as needed.
- Eliminate your distractions: there is nothing worse than the ping of a notification, TV, phone, etc that will detract your focus. Tune out and turn off. It’s okay. You won’t lose anything but you have everything to gain. Be in the moment and nowhere else.
- Don’t multi-task: it really does impede your productivity, decrease your brainpower, and limits your true attention to get one thing right. Put the emphasis on one project, one task at a time.
- Ask yourself, “how or does this serve my goals?” If something doesn’t really serve you, then STOP!
- Be accountable: yes, your day and how you manage your time is up to you. Own it. Do it.
- Timers: they work! Set a timer for 30 minutes that you will devote to the time on task. Don’t stop. Don’t stray. Just do it. At the end of those 30, take a 5-minute break and then hit it again.
- Break the chains: don’t be a prisoner to your email. Check it at set intervals.
- Review time: every night, review your day, and set your goals/action steps for the following day.
- Sing ME ME: yes, you must give back to yourself and establish a healthy work-life balance. Schedule in a time that is away from work; away from must do’s and have some fun. Refresh and refocus. Your brain needs it.
Michael LeBoeuf: “Waste your money and you’re only out of money, but waste your time and you’ve lost a part of your life.”
There are posts every day about what the most productive people do, 5 minutes to increase your productivity, how the top 10 entrepreneurs get things done, 30-second productivity boost; the list is endless but no matter what the post suggests, it is up to you to find and implement the tips and tools that you will use. The ones that resonate the most to help you increase your efficiency, work-life balance, time management, and productivity. Unless you are ready for a change, to kick it up to rock star status, then all of the recommendations are worthless.
You choose the productivity hacks that work for YOU.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Apr 15, 2014 | Entrepreneur, Marketing, Small Business, Social Media
As you have read countless times, social media is about relationship marketing, engagement and making authentic connections. Real-time conversations with real people, doing and wanting real things. Your audience is not a conveyer belt digesting your content. They want and need genuine dialog and interactions.
Yes, it is all extremely time-consuming; eating many hours of your day, but with a mix of “healthy” automation and personal engagement, you can feel the success of this medium.
I am not against automation; however, when you choose to merely schedule all of your posts, without any time for personal communications, you are missing out on tremendous opportunities to meet and network with your global community. I love automation tools for content search and scheduling posts because they help save a lot of time and energy, which there is so little of. Populating your content ahead of time frees up your hours for the “social” in media.
With proper use of social media automation, you can make your time spent on your social media online marketing as productive and profitable as possible. business.com blog
Don’t set it and forget it.
Auto DMs? I can say they are a pet peeve of mine. We just met seconds ago and knowing nothing, you are asking me to click on a link, buy something, join you on a different network or download your product? It’s not going to happen. I had one follower who offered me a free massage when I purchase five, but I highly doubt flying to California is a viable option. If you choose to send a DM to welcome a new follower, then make it personal not robotic. You may get unfollowed.
You are a social being, act like it. Think about your behavior and mannerisms at a cocktail party or networking event. Do you shake hands, immediately hand out your business card and ask for the sale? I don’t think so.
- You ENGAGE in conversation.
- You ask questions.
- You share valuable information.
- You exchange in mutual dialog.
Practice the same online.
Take the time to get to know your followers, their interests, their pain points, their passions…. Human beings enjoy real conversations versus sterile robotic machines.
Review your Twitter stream. Is it just links and tweets or do you engage? Sure, automate some content, but keep it real. Reply to tweets and retweets. Share the love of your follower’s content. Review profiles and websites – discuss them, ask questions.
What does your Facebook page look like? When someone likes or replies to your post, don’t ignore it. They took the time to comment. They are interested in your page. Respond. People love to talk to people, to their favorite brands and pages; stand out from those who don’t engage. Be the brand that you want to buy from.
Whatever various platforms you choose to deploy, humanize your networking with real interactions.
Simple as that.
Have a presence.
Be remarkable and continue to nurture your audience with rich dialog and connections.
Social Automation Tips
- Evaluate your needs and goals to pick a tool that works best for you. Examples: Buffer, Do Share, Hootsuite, IFTTT, Zapier
- Understand when to automate and when to engage.
- Monitor your tools and automated posts.
- Automate your RSS feeds as well as those in your network.
- Schedule non-urgent posts like favorite quotes and tips.
- Don’t schedule the exact same content across all of your platforms. Keep it fresh.
- Don’t overschedule and drown your audience. Too much of anything is a bad thing.
- Update your channels daily with current news and trends. Mix it up a bit.
Once all of that is done, you will have saved yourself a few hours to engage with your audience, creating deeper connections and meaningful relationships.
Social automation is a great time-saver but don’t overdo it. You’ve got real people enjoying real conversations, with real needs. Exceed their expectations.
Be SOCIAL. Don’t do social.
Bring human resources to the table where the opportunity for real social media engagement exists, and use computers to make all else more efficient. Just be sure the quality meets high standards and builds audience. Adam Stetzer
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Apr 10, 2014 | Communication, Social Media
The digital landscape is abundant with incredible industry thought leaders sharing the knowledge and best practices in social media. The circle of influencers crest the lists of who to follow and how to engage them.
- You admire them.
- You follow them.
- You learn from them.
- You implement their suggestions.
- You share and comment on their posts.
- You believe it is a mutual give and take to build deep relationships and connections.
Social media is BEING social not doing social. Right? It isn’t an automated robotic act of verbal diarrhea to gain and maintain a following. You will surely lose if that is your strategy. You are dealing with real live human beings behind the keystrokes. While we are a push button society, get things done, do it fast; building relationships is a one on one personal endeavor and no amount of sterile replies or automated apps will generate authentic connections.
If your job is content and social media marketing then try to live as a good example of a digital citizen. Christian Vanek
Get real. Be real.
BUT, how does the little guy fair in this vast sea of legendary experts? Is it like swimming with the sharks or do you have the same opportunity to engage in unpretentious dialog?
Are you able to be noticed or shuffled amongst the minnows until you become one of the bigger swimmers?
You will find that many will respond in kind, a quick thank you but there isn’t always an extensive amount of back and forth. Maybe more courtesy replies if you will.
“I firmly believe that respect is a lot more important, and a lot greater, than popularity.” Julius Erving
Your challenge may be to continue prompting the conversations to further deepen your experience and connection with your esteemed colleagues. Have the empowering discussions, becoming more educated and learning from “the best” in the industry. It helps you and your business.
- Be engaging
- Add value
- Ask questions
- Share other people’s content
- Express gratitude
- Be a giver
- Make introductions
- Connect within your community
- Emulate those who inspire you
- Remember to always respond to others
What happens when there is no reply? (Don’t take it personally!)
The Social Disconnect
Does that influence your impression of the individual or impact your level of engagement?
It seems like it would be a dichotomy.
How do these respected professionals write and talk about the essence of social media and relationship marketing, yet they don’t put forth the same? Shouldn’t their actions back up their words? Like Daniel Newman said: Social Media Pundits (Mostly) Suck At Engagement
The problem is the proclamation of engagement as a key part of success in social media. If you think about it when it comes to this group that talks engagement but doesn’t really do it, it starts to just sound like a bunch of kumbayya stuff and not at all like a real strategy. Almost like a “Wag The Dog” strategy for the small circle of elite that want to keep you looking left while they are building their empires on the right.
