How do you rate your time management skills? Do you feel you get a lot done every day? Do you plan your day to the last detail or just “go with the flow” and deal with whatever landed on your desk/in your inbox? Whichever category you are in, it’s important that you take time to analyse what’s working for you and make adjustments where necessary.

I’m someone who’s fond of written to-do lists. I’ve got my hardcover diary where I scribble every day my lists and feel great emotional empowerment once all items on my to-do list have been ticked off. I add my meetings there too, any trivial household tasks like getting the shopping or doing the school run. In this way I know exactly how much time I’ve got between “fixed” commitments and can schedule and organise the rest of the tasks in between those.

Here are some tips from the born organisers (aka “virtual PAs”) for organising your day:

1. Write it down.
Make a list and write everything down – on paper, on computer, in Excel, on iPhone or Blackberry. It doesn’t matter where but it’s got to be written! You may be shocked, surprised and overwhelmed looking at your list of ‘to do’s’. But don’t despair – as they will all get done, if you follow the steps below. Also, don’t forget to schedule lunch in your diary, especially if you find yourself often working through your lunch break!

Another tip I’ve picked up from Nigel Botterill (UK top entrepreneur) – “this day isn’t over until tomorrow is planned”. Don’t stop the work until you’ve done the list. In this way you won’t waste time in the morning and you will be more likely to stick to your list/plan rather than changing everything because of an email that landed in the Inbox overnight. continue

Some people have 100s of messages in their mailbox – unread for weeks and months. Maybe they’ve already seen them via Blackberry or iPhone. Maybe they glanced at the subject and decided it’s not relevant. Nevertheless the ever growing Inbox becomes a source of frustration and stress. Are you really keen to tackle it, if you have only got 10 minutes and it says you have 578 unread messages?

However the problem doesn’t have to become so unmanageable. All you need to do is to employ some regular mailbox hygiene and efficiency rules and follow them daily. So we are sharing our virtual assistant’s secrets with you and offering our top tips of efficient email management:

1. Use folders: you can decide on the folder structure for your company and file emails in a way that you can easily find all communications related to your IT support queries, membership in BNI or a particular client’s project.
2. If space on your server is limited – download all relevant attachments from emails to your computer and preserve only the email message. Or even better – utilise document sharing systems like Zoho (free), SendThisFile or Basecamp and just email the link to the document in the system.
3. If you are using Outlook – you can drag and drop emails into Calendar and tasks to create reminders and diary appointments and then file the message.
4. Delete system messages straight away: Outlook diary notifications or attendance confirmations are already stored somewhere else in the system, notifications from LinkedIn or other social networks are available to read as soon as you login.
5. Unsubscribe from no longer relevant newsletters or lists . This will reduce the amount of “S.P.A.M” that you receive every day.
6. Use Rules and Alerts in Outlook – for example to automatically file emails from a particular recipient to read later (that’s what I do with Business Link newsletters).
7. Use the subject line wisely – help others understand what your message is about.
8. Apply GTD time management approach to deal with each message – see Step 2 below..

About “Get Things Done” – time management system:

Step 1: Gather up every single thing that requires action on your part: unopened mail, emails, voicemails, countertop clutter, reading materials, scary catch-all cabinets you can barely open. Make a list of those tasks, projects and items.

Step 2: Process each and every item by determining a “next-action”: the very next thing you need to do, either to resolve an issue or at least keep it moving toward completion. Many items you’ll only need to file or throw away. Some hard-and-fast rules:

Step 3: Fill in your “trusted system”. Put your action steps into categories where you can review and complete them easily. Develop the combination of calendar and written contextual (e.g. to phone, to print, at home) action lists that will work best for you. Have a separate file for projects (tasks that require more than one step), “maybe” list and “waiting for others/something” list.

Step 4: Set aside time each week to review your action lists, so that no items go uncompleted, by going through Steps 1 to 3 and reviewing your lists and calendar.

Step 5: Get Things Done: consider your context, time available, priorities. Ensure that none of the 3 kinds of activities (pre-defined activities – things already in your calendar or on your lists; work as it shows up; and defining your work – planning, scheduling, making lists, setting priorities, brainstorming) overwhelms the other two. The key pitfall is letting seemingly urgent new items distract you from planning, as well as from equally important stuff that is already in your system.

So by applying 8 steps every day and by regularly reviewing your Inbox management practices you will be able to achieve the desired Result: lean Inbox, clear Objectives, completed Action lists, information at your fingertips and a lot less stress for you next time you open your emails. And don’t forget: email management is one of the core services offered by any good Virtual Assistant.

There are three challenges we have to deal with during a meeting: dealing with conflict, keeping everyone energised and managing information.These are issues that can cause time spent in meetings to be much less productive.

After researching the issue for some time in order to make the business life of our clients more efficient – here’s some practical advice to lessen the impact:

• Talk privately with each of the individuals to plan an agenda that steers clear of hot topics;
• At the beginning establish rules agreed with everyone;
• Use large displays to record what is said in the meeting;
• Remain positive at all times, allow all contributions to be made.

People’s energy varies through the day. However energy levels may also be low due to the style of the meeting. Using the same approach over and over again will stifle a meeting e.g. endless presentations:

• Minimise presentations, set (and adhere to) time limits;
• Use wall charts to share information with blank spaces for people to complete information during the meeting;
• Change the format – sessions, group discussions, small group discussions, pairs, individual thinking time;
• Give people the opportunity to talk;
• Use energisers.

Managing information can be as much of a challenge as managing people. If we didn’t need to share or jointly create data and ideas there would be no need for getting people together at all. Getting this right can make a huge difference to the success of a meeting.

If you capture the information in real time during the meeting, it will make your meetings a lot more productive. Why?

• People can see that they have been heard. This encourages participation;
• All the information is visible together;
• Agreements are much more likely to stick to;
• Gives people an opportunity to speak up if there are still issues to resolve;
• Focuses the attention of a group and gives a focal point for discussion.

Think in advance of your follow up documentation. Having the right outputs produced after a meeting can do a lot to support the ongoing follow-up of actions afterwards. Assign someone to prepare minutes, record action points and track the completion.

So, to conclude – our Top tips for information management:

• Plan how you will manage the information before, during and after a meeting;
• Think about different ways you could handle the information;
• Minimise the use of PowerPoint;
• Maximise the use of wall charts;
• Use the group to help with recording the meeting.

Before anything else, ask yourself:  ‘why do we need a meeting?’ Once you’re clear about the actual reason for holding the meeting you have a great foundation on which to build up. Also don’t forget that meetings can be held online using webinars.

The role of the virtual assistant is so varied it’s nearly impossible to make a conclusive list of tasks – but the one thing VAs are likely to have in common is diary management for busy business owners.

Juggling the appointments of a busy executive requires diplomacy, patience, forward thinking, and a reliable and effective system. Technology has made huge advances in this area and a range of software is on the market for computers and portable devices like mobile phones. Google Calendar is easy to set up on your PC or laptop, it will automatically synchronise any changes you have made in Outlook with online version in Google. You can give your virtual assistant permission to view your Google calendar in Settings. And that’s all that’s required! If you use a Blackberry or iPhone – your device can have an uptodate diary too so you know what you need to do when you are on the move.

It’s very helpful for scheduling. A virtual assistant can view multiple clients from her calendar, can email the appointments to your business partners and customers, can add notes, links to Google Maps for location, attach documents (agenda, minutes of previous meetings, action lists). It is a user-friendly, easy to use system with good options for listing tasks, colour coding and setting alarms.

What are the benefits of letting your VA coordinate your diary?

Still in doubt? Give us a call on 0203 468 8594 to discuss your particular situation and see how we can make more time in your 24h day.

(video from one of the NLN meetings)

One key thought related to virtual assistants: number 1 – stay focussed on what you love about your business (5min onwards). There are many things that sidetrack you, that you have to do as an entrepreneur, which you won’t enjoy (admin can be one of them!). To stay inspired – remember in what areas your inspiration and passion really is, constantly remind yourself of it. Think “How do I build more of my business around the bit I love rather than what I should do or have to do?”

The answer for you can be to use a Virtual Assistant. It will allow you to outsource most of the areas you wouldn’t naturally enjoy (unless you are a virtual assistant yourself). So you will have more time for your business and less time for “should do” or “have to do”.

For those of you in London – North London Network is a networking organisation in North London (Muswell Hill and Hampstead), meetings and tasks take place every month with a networking opportunity over lunch. Members can have a short profile posted on the website – click here.