Guilty Pleasures of a Virtual Assistant

Oh yes, we all have them. From reality TV to singing your heart out to Justin Bieber in the car, guilty pleasures are one of those things we just can’t help but love even if we pretend not to. So, confession time, here are the top three guilty pleasures of a Virtual Assistant.

1. Monotonous Data Entry

You know that pile of paperwork on the side of your desk that you’ve been putting off forever because it’s just too dull to even think about doing? I love it! For a VA, there is something hugely satisfying about entering information and data into a spreadsheet or prepopulated form. I could literally spend hours doing it. I suppose that’s why it’s one of those jobs that most people pass our way.

2. P.P.P

Policies, Processes and Procedures. Yes, yes, yes!!!

Being extremely methodical and living from a list which asks us to check the previous list to make sure we’ve done everything we were meant to means we live for the three Ps. We love to look at everything as a process and have each and every step documented so we can tick it once we’ve done it – very rewarding! This is possibly why Virtual Assistants are great at Project Management.

My favourite tool at the moment is Asana. I can literally write out a step by step for each and every process or project we do, assign it to a team member and record once it’s done. And what’s more, it can be easily duplicated each time we have a new project that comes under the same process.

For me, it’s especially rewarding to help my clients implement new PPPs. This is most common when micro or small business owners see fast growth and the ways they used to do it just don’t work anymore or they decide that for training purposes, procedures and policies should be documented.

3. Filing

Whether it be hard copies or digital, clearing up an office or desktop is a fulfilling task for a VA. Seeing everything clean and clutter free makes us feel like a winner - maybe it’s the OCD traits in us. Knowing that everything has a place, and is in that place, is of huge importance for running any business, which is why so many Virtual Assistants began as Personal Assistants to Executive Directors or as Office Managers, many having just as much of an understanding of how that business works and operates as the Directors, and in some cases more understanding.

Not quite the rock and roll confession you were expecting was it?!