Deadlines are always present. Sometimes, it can be daunting if a big project is concerned, while at times, it could be disregarded easily. Why? This is due to the fact you do not even notice that you are facing a deadline since the task concerned is small. An e-mail that has to be sent within the day is already subjected to a deadline.

There are many reasons why you could have missed a deadline. As a virtual assistant, you tend to take care of a handful of tasks simultaneously. This results to you making poor decisions on which activity to prioritize. Another reason could be incomplete instructions, leading to incorrect output. Thus, you have to repeat the work.

Of course, the ever common reason for missing a deadline is lacking reminders. Virtual assistants may be known to be organized and well-versed in calendar management, but they are not resistant to mistakes. Thus, they could also be overwhelmed with work on hand, giving them the reason to plan things out poorly for themselves.

If you are a virtual assistant, there are so many ways (which are totally simple), that could keep you from missing a deadline aside from the conventional planning of your daily routine. Here are a few that could help:

Use your calendar. This is a pretty simple solution. Your calendar could be anywhere – your PC or laptop, your e-mail server, or even your smartphone. Use any of them or even all of those calendar applications you got to schedule whatever has to be done within a day or for the entire week. Set the notifications not only through pop-ups (which are easy to miss), but activate the e-mail reminders as well.

Task list may not be that friendly for a forgetful person. Yes, there could be task list feature on your calendar applications, but it will not be that useful all along. Scheduling your tasks with date and time is best done if you do not want to miss anything. Task list requires you to check a certain activity that is not done or the contrary every now and then. This will only take much of your time.

Sticky notes are still powerful. “Medieval” as it may seem, but sticky notes could still be helpful for you to keep deadlines met. The sticky notes pertained here are not the ones on your PC, but the papers itself. You can use these to keep yourself posted on what to do next. Put them near your eyesight or on your computer monitor.

Set those alarms. There will be days that you will not know what should be done next due to the influx of things to accomplish. This is when you will likely obliterate that even your calendar reminders would not be noticeable on your end, causing you to overlook them. Alarms are not simply deterrents to missed deadlines but wake-up calls as well, especially if you are on a night shift work. In truth, due to fatigue, one could easily snooze when working.

Keep double-checking a habit. If you do not want to repeat your work, double-check it. You should not rush into submitting an output unless you are certain there are no errors. There may be cases that you would still commit a mistake, but checking your work more than once will make it minimal and easy to rectify.

By following the mentioned tips, you would now have a better reason to become better at work. You do not have to attend a performance training to get the hang of your work without missing a deadline. Most of the time, it is about disciplining yourself using the resources available, such as what has been explained above.