A Typical Day of a Virtual Assistant

I often get asked what I do as a virtual assistant.  Many people are mystified about the whole “work from home” situation and more often than not, people say “I could never do that.”  It’s true, this isn’t for everyone. You really have to be able to multitask and be aware of everything that’s going on.
​
The title of this blog is a bit of a misnomer.  There really isn’t a “typical” day for a virtual assistant, but I thought I’d share my day with you so you can kind of get a behind the scenes tour of what happens.

6am-7am
I’m up, doing the morning family routine.  Breakfast, lunch, coffee!, and making sure my son is out the door for another day of school.

7am-7:30am
Most of the time I declare this sliver of the day “Mom time.”  I sip some coffee, play a game on my ipad, watch some TV and just wake up.

7:30am-9am
This is my planning time.  I go through emails. Read, respond, write.  I determine what it is I need to accomplish for the day.  I write down my To Do list. I review social media and try to reach out or respond to people.  It’s important to remain connected and in conversation with people, even if it isn’t always about work.

9am-12pm
This starts the meat of my day.  Based on client needs, I jump in and get to work.  I have a lot of daily scheduled tasks, but there are plenty of ad hoc things that occur, so I could be working on 3-4 different projects during this time.

No, I don’t work on them all at one time. :)  But I have a solid understanding of each task so  prioritize and then attack. This is my best time of the day.  I’m energized and feel the most focused so I really get the most work done right now.

12pm-2pm
After spending too much time in front of a screen, I walk away.  If I need to get out and get groceries or run errands, now is a great time to do it.  Grab some lunch, throw in a load of laundry, get out of the house. Just some general “me” time again.  Of course, if I’ve got a huge workload, this doesn’t happen. I’ll take 30 minutes for lunch and maybe a quick trip out if I’ve run out of something I need for dinner.  Otherwise, it’s just more work, rotating between clients.

2pm-4pm
This is really the worst time of day for me.  I’m tired. My brain is usually at its foggiest, so unless there’s something critical or an emergency task pops up, I don’t do much.  And I think that’s key for anyone. You have to recognize the low points in your day and take breaks then so that you’re energized and ready for the rest of the day.

4pm-6pm
This is the dinner block.  Of course, while I’m prepping dinner, if there is client work to be done, I’m doing it.  But that’s one great thing about working from home. I can work and make dinner at the same time!

6pm-8pm
Dealer’s Choice!  I might finish up some client work.  Most often I’m doing YGF work - reading articles, learning more about SEO or Ads, catching up on social media, writing blogs - whatever I feel like doing.  And sometimes it’s just hanging out at home relaxing with the family.

8pm-onward
This is almost always just family/me time.  Watch TV, play a game, go see the high school football game.  Just down time. Of course, if the rest of the family is busy doing their own things, I might jump on the laptop and squeeze in some extra work.  It really depends on the workload and how I’m feeling.

That’s a “typical” day for me.  Sort of. Every day is different, and when workloads change, the schedule changes.  And that’s why you have to be flexible about it. There are no typical days. Some days I start work at 7am and end at 7pm with just enough time to make some dinner.  Other days I’m free to leave the house and go out to lunch with my mom.
​
You just never know what each day will bring in the life of a virtual assistant! :)