Tag: virtual work

Why You Should Set Up a Home Office

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There are lots of ways to feel like an office-based employee while working as a virtual assistant. You could start by setting up an area in your home that would serve as your office. In truth, this is a strategy for newbies to cope with their adjustment from being an office staff to a home-based worker easily. Furthermore, there are numerous benefits to consider when it comes to doing so. To give you insights on this matter right away, check out these points:

Maximum Productivity. Did you know that many could attest that setting up a specific area at home as an office helps increase productivity? According to most remote workers, there is this lack of distractions, particularly if you stop placing your computer near the living room or in the bedroom itself. It will appear like you are isolating yourself while working so that your concentration will not be divided.

If your loved ones are often within your sight, you would likely have this uncontrollable urge to check on them once in a while. In contrary, if you are alone in a certain area with minimal disturbance, you would have every reason to make the most out of your time to work.

This is also a way to separate your personal space from your professional one.

Staying Organized. Having a home office means every document or file related to your work could be found in that area. This is a smart way to stay organized. Regardless of how urgent the requirement of your client is, there will no longer be delays since you already know where to go.

Aside from your computer, your home office could also be equipped with a file cabinet or bookshelf, where all your needed materials or references could be found.

Improved Speed in Task Execution. If you could set up an office where all of your necessitated office tools and devices could be found, you would lessen the time to execute certain tasks. For instance, instead of running from one room to another simply to make a call, you could set up a telephone near your desk as well. This goes the same if you are talking about printers, scanners, fax, etc.

Professional Environment for Client Coordination. Most clients, who hire virtual assistants, prefer employees whom they can communicate with minus the disorder and homey feel. This means whenever a call (either voice or video) is initiated, they will not have issues with background noises or cluttered area to see in their monitor. If you would set up a dedicated office, you would no longer have to tell the people around you to shush simply because you are taking a call.

Avoidance of Poor Lighting. If you are used to positioning yourself anywhere at home when working, this could be a risk for your eyes. Without proper lighting, you will likely have an eye strain.

However, if you would find a way to set up a home office, you could decide carefully where to place your computer monitor. This will help you work more safely and longer.

With the points provided above, you are probably highly convinced that now is the right time to start setting up your home office.

Start enjoying your home-based lifestyle more!

Understanding the Relationship of Time and Professionalism

Understanding the Relationship of Time and Professionalism

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As a virtual assistant, you are expected to act like a professional staff or employee. Be reminded that being a home-based worker does not exempt you from behaving like a typical member of an organization. You should consider that you are only dissimilar in the aspect of your workspace.

One of the ways to maintain professionalism as a virtual assistant is to take into consideration time in various matters of your career. To explain further, given below are top pointers for you:

Meeting Deadlines. Apparently, the top thing you should consider in terms of relating time and professionalism is meeting deadlines. If you want to create a good impression to your client or employer, do not make it a habit to procrastinate. Ensure that prior to beginning a project, you have planned out the small activities relative to it without conflicts with your other activities.

Setting Appropriate Schedules. You will encounter clients, who would ask you about the best schedule for you to work. If you want the best results with regards to your performance, you should at least be available during the normal operating hours of your client’s company. This will allow for seamless coordination.

Indeed, there are already virtual assistants today that work on a flexible time, but this does not mean that this is always feasible. If your primary task is to assist your client or carry out activities alongside members of the organization, you should at least follow their schedule.

Many clients also prefer a schedule following their timezone so that they will not have a hard time reaching out to you, especially in cases of urgency.

Coordinating Professionally. If you have to touch base regarding your work or outstanding project, you should also consider time and professionalism simultaneously. How? You may do so by checking first if you could actually reach out to your employer and not just assail him or her with e-mails and messages. Always think over his or her possible commitment at the present time. For instance, you observed that every 9 A.M., he is often in a briefing with his top management members.

In the aforementioned situation, it is best to wait at least an hour or so prior to communicating with your client. Yes, leaving a message could work, but it would somehow be distracting to him. Most executives today keep their communication lines open even in meetings, but it is your professionalism that should tell you not to go overboard and take advantage of it.

Calling Respectfully. You and your client may have differences in terms of timezone, but this does not imply you can call him or her at an appropriate time on your end but the contrary on his or her end. A good example of this is calling your client during your morning hours despite knowing these are evening hours on his or her end. This is total disrespect.

There is, of course, an exemption regarding this. If your client is the one who called you first, then there is no reason for you to worry. Simply do not disturb your employer’s supposed out-of-office hours, which should at least be dedicated to his or her own or family time.

Estimating Completion Time of Tasks. As a professional virtual assistant, you should also be transparent enough when estimating the time you need to execute a certain task or project. Always provide a realistic time frame to avoid disappointments in the end. This will also help you carry out the activities more effectively. As anticipated, when things are rushed, the end result is not always considerable. Being professional does not mean you always have to impress despite being uncertain of your capacity.

With the given facts, you would already have a deeper understanding of time and professionalism. Use them efficiently when working and you will definitely not fail to maintain a good reputation as a virtual assistant.

your virtual assistance career is more than convenience

Your Virtual Assistance Career Is More Than Convenience

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You should remember that if you are a virtual assistant, this does not mean that the clients will not anticipate you to work as a typical office-based employee. Simply because you work at home, this does not imply that you have the power to everything, such as your schedule. Take note that it is best that you work alongside your client. Thus, you should follow his or her preferred schedule or the company hours. In such way, you could coordinate well with him or her while carrying out the necessary tasks daily.

Flexibility may have become common nowadays among remote workers, but it is not as friendly as it seems. Simply imagine not being able to connect with your client. Be reminded that a harmonious relationship with your employer is best done through communicating consistently. Furthermore, flexibility entails that your client will not always have that opportunity to catch up with you for urgent tasks.

If you are working as a virtual assistant, you should keep in mind that even your attendance should not be influenced by your convenience to ask for absence approval. Truth to be told, it is much easier to ask permission to leave work through written SMS or message, isn’t it? However, this does not mean that you should abuse it. Treat your work with respect and consider the requirements of your clients always.

Provided your client appointed you to work as his or her virtual assistant with a set of tasks akin to executive assistance, this only signifies that you should be present as always as possible. Why? This is due to the fact you would always coordinate in behalf of your client.

The aforementioned facts do not mean that you cannot take leaves at all. There are exceptions, for certain, such as in times of emergencies. The point of the matter is that you should never let the convenience of virtual assistance take over you.

There is growth in virtual assistance work. You should remember that if you want to grow as a better professional worker, you should act like one. Perform your duties with relentless commitment and do not ever think that a job is easily replaceable. If you will show your client that somehow, you are way too comfortable and dilly-dallying, he or she will have a concrete reason to let you go.

Do you know that even clients who hire remote workers look forward to a long-term relationship? Yes, they do, for trust is difficult to build. If you will successfully establish a good reliance from your client to your person, you could secure a stable work.

weekend ideas for a busybodied virtual assistant

Weekend Ideas for a Busybodied Virtual Assistant

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You had a very busy week for certain, which is common among virtual assistants, gig workers, or freelancers around the world. Yes, there is this convenience to stay at home or work in your pajamas, but this does not mean that you do not encounter stress or even an anxiousness-causing situation one way or the other. You are still an employee who has to deliver output to your client or employer.

Nonetheless, this does not mean that you should drown yourself with uneasiness until the weekend. Remember, you own your weekend. Thus, there is no client, work, or even pressure that should come your way. If you want to make the most out of it, the first step is to keep yourself distant from your work even for a day or two.

Why? This is due to the fact relieving your mind and body from work could help you regain your strength, vigor, mental alertness, and even immunity from whatever sickness that could affect your feeble self.

There are various ways that you could make your weekend worthwhile. Given below are weekend ideas that could certainly help:

Visit a place you wanted to explore for a long time. Your life is not always about work. You should also have your me time or even a family excursion that could prove this. Try checking out the place you have wanted to visit – it may be a resort, mall, leisure park, or even a historical spot. It is somehow a means for you to reward yourself for the hard work during the past week.

Did you know that traveling could sharpen your mind, broaden your horizon, and even give you that exercise you have always missed? Well, now that you are aware of this, better plan out your next trip!

Find time to exercise. There is no doubt that physical fitness is one of the ways to a longer life. If you will concentrate on working solely, you may end up getting sick from too long sitting or stagnant lifestyle. Be reminded that your body has got to move, your muscles need revving up, and your limbs got to stretch as well.

You do not have to hit the gym as a way of doing this. You can simply check out routines you could do at home. By doing so, you would not regret it for you are not simply keeping your health in check, but also preparing yourself for the week ahead wisely.

Read a book. For some, this is totally insipid, but they are totally missing the heap of benefits reading can provide. Besides the fact you could expand your creativity and knowledge about lots of things, reading could also prevent your mind from lingering into your job-concerned worries.

Plus, books give you the sense of isolation, which is very helpful if you want to spend your weekend at home instead of venturing outside. While you are being transported to another realm, reading a book could maintain your cognitive stimulation. Furthermore, you could even broaden your vocabulary, which, of course, would help you in a lot of ways other than at work.

Join volunteering or charitable programs. If you are a person who prefers to feel fulfilled during your free time, you should try finding out about volunteering programs near your place. You could join an upcoming blood donation cause, whether you are the one to donate or the person to assist those who will. Alternatively, feeding programs or even awareness seminars could also work for you.

This will not simply give you the opportunity to help, but you could also improve your social skills. You have always been at home, so mingling with people in the flesh would certainly be a helpful factor for life.

Try out new recipes for yourself or your family. During the weekdays, it is anticipated that you would have limited time to take care of the cooking for yourself or your family. The tendency is, you buy from fast food chains or consume processed items. This could be deadly, if it ensues. Hence, to counterbalance your diet, you should try out healthy recipes to cook during the weekend.

The weekend is your chance to hone your cooking skills (if you are totally enthusiastic about kitchen work) and supply your body with the nutrients it needs. This could also be a bonding time for your family. Encourage them to join you so that despite being at home, you could find a way to spend the day fruitfully.

You should try out the aforementioned ideas if you want to make your weekend worthwhile. Do not simply snooze all day. According to Dr. Michael Breus, too much sleep could lead to health risks, such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cognitive problems. Instead, make your weekend as helpful as possible for your mind and body.

 

Virtual Work: Its Bright Future Seems Evident Now

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If you have been aware of virtual work around a decade ago, you would think that it is nothing but a scam. Truth to be told, there are definitely a lot of offers online, which would lure you into doing some work in exchange with nothing. Many freelancers have definitely experienced loss during their initial year of working from home. Nonetheless, this does not signify what remote work really is – easier means of earning money. You just have to find the right job offer and you can find yourself getting a wage way higher than what your typical office job can give.

As time passed, more people came to appreciate the essence of remote work, not only freelancers but companies in need of staff as well. This is in conjunction with the advancement in technology. With more tools or software applications around making virtual work easier, it became more manageable for companies to take in online freelancers.

Simply imagine having employees that do not require your office space and will not even put you in tax jeopardy. This is indeed gold for many firms!

It has been predicted before that soon enough, almost every company will consider taking in home-based employees. If not, they would actually let their people work from home from time to time. Alas! It just occurred in the Philippines recently.

The President of the Republic of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has signed the law, Republic Act No. 1165 termed as Telecommuting Act, which provides the staff of private companies the privilege of working from home.

Under the said law, telecommuting refers to an arrangement wherein as an employee, you are allowed to use computer technologies and telecommunication at home as replacement to your typical office. It would be highly advantageous to the companies concerned as well. Why? This is due to the fact that they will not be required to even take care of the telecommuting arrangements.

Indeed, in the aforementioned setup, employees would still be mandated to report to the main office whenever necessary. Still, this is a big leap for virtual work in the Philippines.

There is more to look forward to in the near future. Simply consider the rise of more technologies for improved remote work. There are more conference and collaboration tools available today, either free or paid, which any company can integrate into their operations. These are applications that make remote work much easier. This only implies that the door for employee coordination regardless of the distance is wide open now.

According to HR Technologist’s exclusive interview to the CEO and Founder of Topia, Brynne Kennedy, the workforce will see more involvement of remove work and gig workers. Additionally, Kennedy even quoted “An effective talent mobility program and infrastructure will continue to be very important for companies to succeed in the future of work!”

With the undeniably mass acceptance to remote work, there are definitely more opportunities that await virtual assistants, freelancers, or gig workers like you. For certain, there is more means for you to be proud of being an online worker, which somehow been rebuffed before. Take pride in your work for definitely, you chose wisely to be part of the ever-evolving virtual work industry.