Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today I want to talk about that work life balance that we all seek as solo business owners.
Today’s Quote: The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. – Stephen Covey
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
Trying to balance your work and life as a Virtual Assistant can be challenging.
It’s an important topic for us as VAs because of the nature of what we do for our clients.
We are support professionals, which at its root means that we help people.
We are also usually the do-er in our families – keeping everything afloat on a daily basis.
We are the do-er of all things. For our family, for our clients, and for our business.
But it’s important when you are also running a business that you look after yourself too.
That’s where the balance comes in. It’s what we all say we want – but if it’s something that you are struggling with, then it’s probably YOU that is the thing you are leaving out.
I know what that’s like, I do it too – trust me, I am not giving you advice that I haven’t needed myself!
It’s challenging. But here’s the simplest advice – look after yourself the way you look after everyone else. That’s it.
I could end the episode here! But I won’t.
Let’s get into this.
The Juggling Act
Years ago when women were the homemakers, the household responsibilities fell on them. On us. Our job was to look after the stuff that the house needed, and all the people in it.
I looked up some statistics about work life balance of entrepreneurs and I was stunned to see that in one survey (ZipDo), 95% of entrepreneurs are unsure of how to achieve a healthy work life balance.
I have to say I’m not surprised by that number, but it did in fact make me stop and reread it.
It does make sense, because no one teaches us that kind of thing, do they?
So it makes perfect sense that so many of us aren’t sure how to do it.
And I do think it’s very realistic to think of VAs that aren’t sure.
One of the things that I get asked about a lot is how to manage multiple clients well – in our corporate jobs, we are usually responsible to one main ‘boss’ – even if we report to several levels of management. We still usually have one person who – if they ask us to do something – it takes precedence over everyone else’s requests.
But in our VA business, all of our clients are equal – or at least they should be – no matter how much each of them need us. So managing the requests and workloads and expectations of all of them at the same time can be challenging.
And then there’s the household stuff.
We seem to revert to housewife mode when we start working from home – at least a lot of us do.
We think it’s easy to toss in a load of laundry or run out to the grocery store, or run the carpool, in addition to doing our business stuff.
And that’s often where the problems come in.
Why we think that we can run our business and be a full time housewife is beyond me.
Here’s what I tell VAs: do your household chores when you would have done them while you working outside the home.
Go to the grocery store on Thursday evenings. Do your laundry after dinner.
And yes, slot in the odd carpool – but stop trying to do it all in the 8 hours that you are calling business hours.
Treat your business like a job and focus on it during business hours, and you will find better balance almost immediately.
The juggling act needs to be balanced in order for it to work well – and you are the juggler. You can do it!
Build a Strong Foundation
The foundation of anything is what helps it sustain over the long term.
If you truly want to be a VA and you don’t want to work outside your home anymore, then you have to create that foundation, or you will soon see yourself going back to a job.
If you are focused on the HOME of work from home, you will soon struggle to manage your time to work with clients, or do networking or marketing, or admin for your own business.
And you won’t be able to sustain your business.
Here’s the advice: communicate and get help.
Everyone in the home should be helping with the chores – that’s true whether you are working outside the home or running your VA business.
Unless you don’t earn an income, everyone should pitch in.
Make sure to set boundaries for things like office hours – let your family know that they can not disturb you at this time of the day. Focus on your work. When you are focused, you will get more done.
Time management becomes so much less of an issue when you are getting things done.
It’s when things are not getting done that we wonder where all of our time is going.
Clearly communicating the boundaries you need to get your work done is essential – and then of course holding those boundaries on a daily basis, is what makes this succeed.
And it doesn’t mean that if someone cuts themselves that you can’t stop to help them – of course there are extenuating circumstances, but if you stop every time you will run out of time in your day, so it’s important.
Leverage Technology
There are a lot of tools you can use to help you manage your workload too.
Finding ways to make your work more efficient is one of the best ways to find balance in your work and life.
One of the first things I tell entrepreneurs, our clients I mean, is to get support with 3 things: house cleaner, bookkeeper, and a VA.
I tell them that as their business gets busier, those are three things they will eventually need help with, so they should figure that out as early as possible.
It also gives you a good opportunity to do some outsourcing, fairly easy outsourcing, which can be a struggle to do sometimes.
Picking something easy like a house cleaner helps you to set parameters, set and manage expectations, and work with someone that you are paying. And you get your house cleaned! So it’s a win win.
We tell our VA clients all the time that we can give them back time and save them money. When we ourselves are doing our own outsourcing (people or technology), we have a better leg to stand on. We are outsourcing something ourselves and so we can speak to the advantages of doing so, the time we have gotten back.
Like getting our house cleaned… our housecleaner can do the bathrooms, the dusting, and vacuum carpets and floors in 2 hours. Because she starts and doesn’t stop till she is done. If we do the same thing, it takes us all day Saturday, usually because we are also doing laundry, or cleaning as we go, or doing dishes, or taking breaks to surf the ‘net, or getting distracted by Netflix or the dog next door who comes over to peek in the patio door.
If that sounds weirdly specific – these are real things that happen at my house!
So by hiring a housecleaner, our 2 hour investment is well worth it – we get someone to do something that we don’t really love doing anyway, in less time than it takes us to do it.
Technology can also be a way to outsource – a good example is a scheduling software. While it may not seem like it is difficult to book a meeting with someone over email or the phone, it is far more convenient and efficient to send them a calendar link, they choose something that works for them, and then you get a notification of the appointment time, and you both get reminders.
I use Calendly and it also connects to my Zoom account. So as soon as someone books an appointment, a Zoom meeting gets set up and a private link is generated and sent to both of us. I used to have to send an email to them to get the Zoom link to them, and even if that was automated, it is a time saver to have it all done automatically.
Other apps that I find incredibly useful as well as are Roboform for passwords, Trello for project management, Canva for graphics and handout templates, and more.
Figure out what you can use to automate things in your business and you will not only save time but you will also be more productive – and don’t forget that you can also show your clients how to do things in their business that can increase their productivity and efficiency too!
And of course we are talking about balance in today’s episode and any time that you get back can be reallocated to family – especially that housecleaning time!
But honestly, if you are seeking balance, managing your time more efficiently also makes for a happier VA – and that is what balance is all about.
And finally of course when the time is right, consider bringing on some subs or team members to help with your actual client work. Building a team the right way is easy but it does require some planning. Keep it as a consideration as you balance your work and home, and when the time is right, you’ll know!
Nurture Your Family Relationships
Finally, we can’t talk about balance without focusing on the thing we want most – our family relationships.
When a lot of VAs start their business, it has everything to do with wanting to be home more to help with the family or see the family or manage the family. While that’s always a good plan, I always have to tell new VAs that in order to have that, to be able to do that, it’s important to nurture the business.
Never forget that the business is what will allow us to build that life – so we need to set it up and run it in a way that will help us do that.
So when you are going to work from home, you want to help your family also help you nurture the business.
I don’t mean that they need to work in it, but they also need to buy in to the fact that it is the thing that is allowing you to be close by, available, and there for them – whether it’s mealtime or extra curricular activities.
So be clear on when your business hours are – when will you be working, and when will you stop?
I remember a long time ago I would sit on the couch with my laptop and putter away at admin stuff while we watched tv, my husband and I.
He made the comment a few times that ‘you work all the time’, and he wasn’t wrong.
I was doing things that I didn’t think were important enough to do during my work day, but that still needed to get done, but he could not tell the difference. I could, but he couldn’t.
He mentioned that it seemed like I was working all the time – and essentially that was cutting into his time with me.
He wasn’t wrong.
So the best thing I ever did was figure out a way to run my business – client work and all – during regular business hours. 9 to 5ish every day – if I had too much client work to get done in that time, I needed to bring in subs. If I had extra admin work I needed my own VA. And naturally I had to set my rates accordingly so I could afford to bring in that kind of help.
You can see how when you re making decisions about your business that you can do it so easily when your objective is clear.
My objective at that time was to make sure I only worked between 9 and 5. It made it super clear when something needed to change. And I haven’t looked back since.
What do your business hours look like? How is your time management? What is your family saying about your work habits?
What kind of feelings are you having about your availability or how you thoughts things would go, versus how they are going?
When you are seeking balance it’s important to really identify everything that is happening on a day to day basis, and look for the opportunities that are there to make the balance happen.
Like I say if you have too much client work, you need to bring in subs.
If you have too many school field trips, maybe you need to choose the ones you go to – or get help with your business stuff when you want to be there.
If you are losing time in your day because you are doing your groceries at 11 am, consider doing them when you used to do them when you had a job. Or do online shopping with delivery or curbside pickup, or put your partner or children in charge of grocery runs.
By the same token, if meals are taking up precious work time, consider meal planning, prepping meals for the week on the weekend, inviting the family members to assist with meals. While I love to be in the kitchen, I don’t have an hour to prepare and eat my lunch every day. So I have things in the fridge or pantry that are accessible and quick. I make soups and stews in large batches and freeze them so a nutritious and yummy lunch take 5 minutes to microwave, and 10 minutes or so to eat (away from my computer!) Planning is key with meals and so much more.
It simply is not possible (in my opinion, anyway) to run a full time business and be a full time mom and family manager, during the same 8 hour day. Time has to be managed, expectations have to be managed,
I’d love to hear what you are doing to gain balance in your life so that you can work and still enjoy the lifestyle you are building.
Our VA business should be the thing that helps us achieve that lifestyle – and we need to figure out the best way to make it all work in harmony.
Do You Need Help?
If you need help with time management or planning to build your business that supports the lifestyle you want, that’s where I come in.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I’d love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in The Virtual Circle, my monthly mastermind group, or in my Plan to Profit group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Check them out below. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
What You Need to Do Next:
Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It’s a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Click here for more tips to help you with your productivity and time management in your Virtual Assistant business.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.