Virtual Personal Assistant Blog

How Virtual Assistants can help with Christmas

It is correct to assume that you may be thinking of hiring a virtual assistant for your office, particularly with the holiday season fast approaching. Consumers tend to always scramble to get things done right before Christmas despite the fact that they have the same number of days to prepare every year for the big holiday. As usual, business is going to be somewhat crazy for everyone, starting from last minute projects and assignments, to needing last minute favors and help.

Depending on your situation, you may be considering bringing
in additional help during the festive season, seeing that it never misses to
bring the same amount of stress and chaos each year. As a result, if you want
to maintain a steady routine, and keep your head above water, what choice do
you have other than securing extra help? However, rather than bringing in additional personnel, it may be much more beneficial for you to hire a virtual personal assistant.

A virtual personal assistant is an excellent alternative to
hiring extra staff members since they can work whenever you need them and do not have time limits. If you would like to save money when it comes to hiring costs and still get an extra pair of hands this holiday season, your best option
would be to bring on a virtual personal assistant to handle some of your tasks.

We can all agree that the holidays tend to be a busy time
for everyone, and we could all stand to benefit from some bit of help here and
there. Luckily, if you have a virtual personal assistant, you will be able to
handle a variety of tasks with their support.

The following are some of the ways on how a virtual personal
assistant can help with Christmas:

Brainstorming gift ideas and finding the best prices

For some people, gift-giving is one of the most stressful
aspects of the holiday season. You may like to hand out presents, but hate to
shop for them since you never quite know what to get for those closest to you.
Fortunately, there are literally dozens of online resources for the finding the
best Christmas gift. Providing your virtual personal assistant with a list of
the people you are shopping for and little bit of information about each one of
them will enable your VA to find some of the most thoughtful presents for
everyone on your list. After picking out each piece, you can have them compare
prices in different shops in order to find the best deals.

Arranging travel plans

If you intend to travel over the holidays, you should let your virtual personal assistant handle flight and hotel reservations. On the other hand, if you plan to stay with relatives, your VA can book you a relaxing and soothing getaway for when you get home.

Research for you year-end tax saving tips

Every year, there are certain tax strategies that you can take advantage of. The good thing is that your VA doesn’t have to be a financial guru to help you out. They can simply do the necessary research on various tax sites in order to find the best year-end tax breaks available. The truth is that investing in a virtual personal assistant could end up saving you huge chunks of money next year.

Ordering and mailing holiday cards

Christmas cards are a fun and exciting tradition that most
of us treasure. However, the time required to make and send them out can be a
quite much at times. As a result, instead of handling such tasks on your own
during the holiday season, you could send your VA some pictures and have them
come up with a couple of designs using built-in softwares such as TinyPrints or
Shutterfly. After they send in what they have, you can pick your favorite.

Take care of things in your absence

It is always a good idea to take a bit of time off over the holidays to be closer to your family and friends as you reflect on the years’ events and mentally prepare for the upcoming challenges. However, for some of us, it is not that easy to leave work behind, and this where a virtual personal assistant can prove to be quite handy. They can cover all your bases while you are away so that you can have peace of mind over the holidays.

Expressing gratitude on your behalf

While you are running around, trying to make everyone happy during the festive season, your best and most loyal customers may feel unappreciated more than usual. Since it is that time of year to give thanks and show appreciation, it is vital that you show your top clients how grateful you are for their loyalty to your brand.

You can even go an extra mile this year by hiring a virtual personal assistant who will send out Cards showing your appreciation. They can even include some kind of generous gesture like offering a discount. Such things will help to show your top customers that you are grateful for all your dealings throughout the year and would like your business relationship to continue and prosper.

Conclusion

We are on the cusp of the festive season, and you could have
schedules filling up, orders coming in, and your time being pulled in all
directions. Faced with such a situation, a virtual assistant can prove to be a
huge asset, not only for your sanity, but your bottom line during this busy
time of the year.

Also to consider…

If your virtual personal assistant has been providing you
with adequate help for most of the year, or they have added substantial value
to your life, you could consider paying them some kind of year-end bonus or
giving them some extra days off. After all, they would also like to be appreciated.
Such some small gestures can end up paying big dividends when it comes to
long-terms success and loyalty.

7 Innovative Ways to Reduce Your Stress

If you frequently feel stressed out by your commitments and environments, simply continue reading to discover 7 helpful tips on how to reduce your stress levels.

7 innovative ways to reduce stress:

1. Ensure that you’re not taking on too many commitments

If you’re looking to reduce stress at school or work, it may be worthwhile assessing your schedule to see whether you’ve bitten off more than you chew. As an example if you’re a college student who is struggling to balance a part time job with a heavy course load, you may benefit from reducing the amount of hours that you work and applying for scholarships to fund your tuition and living expenses. Whilst if you work a nine to five job and are given too much responsibility, you may want to consider talking to your boss or manager about your workload.

2. Consider hiring a virtual assistant handle some of your tasks

If there simply aren’t enough hours in a day to fulfill all of your day to day tasks you may be interested in seeking virtual assistance from a professional virtual assistant. A virtual assistance can make your life more manageable, by handling simple tasks such as sorting your emails, scheduling your appointments, typing up your college notes, sorting out your bills and making your travel arrangements for you.

Having a virtual assistant handle simple tasks, will free up your schedule, so that you have a chance to relax and socialize with your friends and family. As if you fail to take time out for yourself on a regular basis, you’ll just end up feeling over worked and stressed out.

3. Take time out to exercise on a regular basis

By visiting your local gym, swimming at the beach or taking your dog for a walk, your body will release endorphins which will leave you feeling happier and less stressed out. So if you’re feeling stressed out after a busy day at work or at school, it’s worth lacing up your trainers and heading out for a run. As an added benefit, the fitter you are, the better your body will cope with day to day stress.

4. Don’t be afraid to vent to a trusted confidante

Bottling up your feelings will only leave you feeling more overwhelmed and stressed than you already are. So if you’re struggling with coping with symptoms of stress, consider ringing a family member or a trusted friend, who’ll provide a comforting ear. Who knows, your confidante may have experienced similar feelings and may be able to give you helpful advice on how to handle the stress which you’re experiencing.

5. If you don’t have someone you feel comfortable confiding in, book an appointment with a counselor

Contrary to popular belief you don’t have to be crazy in order to book an appointment with a counselor. In fact, a large percentage of individuals who visit counselors book appointments in order to simply vent their problems and decrease their stress level. If you’re still at college, your college may even offer free or inexpensive on campus counseling as part of your tuition fees.

6. Remember to reward yourself for meeting your goals

Too often when individuals achieve the goals which they have set themselves, they immediately focus on their next set of goals, without taking adequate time to congratulate themselves on a job well done. So next time you reach a goal, ensure to take a break and reward yourself. As an example, you may want to treat yourself to a weekend getaway or enjoy a meal at your favorite restaurant.

7. Take a break for social media

Whilst social media was created to add value to our lives, if you find yourself feeling stressed out by maintaining social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, you may be in need from a mini break from your online life. After all, your goal should be to live a life that makes you happy, rather than projecting that you’re happy on your social media accounts.

So if you’ve noticed that you’re feeling stressed out on a regular basis, don’t feel too disheartened as by taking small actions, you’ll be able to reduce your stress levels, in no time. As an example, you may be surprised at how much stress you can off load by hiring a virtual assistant or how great you can feel after a run around your neighborhood.

Top 7 Ways a Virtual Assistant Can Improve Your Life

Mix2_8-150ppp — Business vector designed by Freepik

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your day to day schedule and would love to have more free time up your sleeve, you may want to seriously consider hiring a virtual assistant. How can hiring a virtual assistant, transform your life? By delegating personal tasks and basic business tasks to a competent virtual assistant, you’ll free up time to work on taking your business to the next level and will have more time to spend with your friends and family.

If you’re curious about the types of tasks which can be outsourced to a virtual assistant, simply continue reading to discover a variety of examples.

Examples of personal tasks and basic business tasks which can be handled by a virtual assistant:

1. Email management

If you receive dozens of emails per day, a virtual assistant can manage your inbox and can highlight important emails which you should address as soon as possible. A virtual assistant may also be able to prioritize personal emails that you receive from family members, so that they don’t get lost amongst your emails.

A virtual assistant may also be able to unsubscribe you from any email lists, that you’re no longer interested in receiving emails from. As there is nothing worse than logging into your email account and being confronted with dozens of promotional emails, from companies that you’ve only shopped with once or twice.

2. Social media management

If your business has a social media presence on websites such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter, a virtual assistant may be able to run your business’s accounts. As an example, a virtual assistant acting as a social media manager, can engage with your customers, run competitions and put up posts on behalf of your company.

You may also be tempted to hire a virtual assistant to act as your social media manager, if you’re running an international business and would like posts to be placed on your accounts around the clock. After all, you already have enough on your plate without having to worry about placing posts on Facebook and Twitter, in the middle of the night.

3. Research tasks

Virtual assistants can also be hired to conduct research on your behalf. As an example, virtual assistants can assist you with personal tasks such as finding the lowest price, on a gift for a loved one. Alternatively, virtual assistants can also help you out with business related research tasks such as finding a suitable restaurant for a business meeting or arranging transportation to and from meetings.

As an example, if you’re flying out of town for a business trip, a virtual assistant can assure that their is a shuttle or taxi cab waiting for you when you get off your flight. Better yet, a virtual assistant may also be able to find a hotel or resort, which meets all of your specifications. As an example, if you require your chosen hotel to be located within a ten minute drive of a specific conference facility, a virtual assistant can send you a list of hotels which suit.

4. Appointment management

A virtual assistant can contact clients or employees on your behalf, in order to arrange meetings that suit each individual involved. Better yet, your virtual assistant can also program your appointments into your calendar, so that you’ll be alerted about each meeting, on the day of each meeting. If for some reason you need to reschedule an appointment, a virtual assistant can also contact those involved, in order to make alternative arrangements.

5. Personal shopping

If you lead a busy life, you may be able to free up some well needed extra time by delegating menial shopping tasks to a virtual assistant. As an example, if your preferred grocery store offers an online delivery service your virtual assistant may be able to manage your orders and if necessary add items to your shopping list, on a week to week basis. As an example, if you’re planning a social get together, a virtual assistant can ensure that you’ve ordered enough food and drink to cater for everyone on your guest list.

As an alternative example, a virtual assistant can also watch your saved auctions on Ebay and can scour the internet to see whether your favorite pair of jeans are still for sale.

6. Family related tasks

Whether you need to find a reputable babysitter in a hurry or need to find a venue for your child’s birthday party, a professional virtual assistant, will be able to assist you with your family related tasks. As an example, if you need to find a new dentist for your family, a virtual assistant can research all the dental practices in your vicinity, to find out which practices have the highest reviews. Once you choose a dental practice, your virtual assistant can also handle your family’s dental bookings.

As an alternative example, if you don’t have the time to keep your house looking pristine, a virtual assistant may also be able to hire a cleaning company for you. Best of all, a virtual assistant can check potential cleaning companies references, before making a booking, as you need to be able to trust a cleaning company, before inviting their staff into your home.

7. Proofreading tasks

If you’d appreciate a second pair of eyes, in order to proof read an important document, a virtual assistant will be able to help you by carefully proofreading your document. Better yet, your virtual assistant may be able to help you with editing your document. So if you assumed that you’d have to hire a professional editor, in order to proofread a document or marketing material, think again. Most virtual assistants have a tertiary level education and have plenty of experience proofreading documents.

So if you find yourself overworked and stressed out and wish that you had more free time to spend with your family and friends, it’s certainly well worth considering hiring a virtual assistant on a trial basis. Just a word of warning, once you discover how hiring a virtual assistant can transform your life, you’ll never want to go without a virtual assistant again and may come to see a virtual assistant as a necessity not a luxury.

Spring Break: How to Take the Stress out of Planning your Spring Break

If you’re looking forward to celebrating your spring break by travelling to an exotic destination which boasts an endless array of white sand beaches but are a little overwhelmed by the prospect of organizing your dream spring break trip, continue reading to discover six tips which have been designed to make travel planning a breeze.

Six tips on planning your dream spring break:

1. Remember that the longer you stay, the cheaper your accommodation is likely to be

Whether you plan on staying at a luxurious five star beach resort, or you’re looking to rent an apartment, if you have time up your sleeve it’s well worth considering vacationing for a few weeks as most hotels, resorts and apartments offer highly discounted rates for customers who are booking an extended vacation.

2. Research each of the destinations on your short list thoroughly

By researching each of the destinations which have made your short list, you’ll be more likely to find a destination that suits the style of spring vacation that you’re looking for. As an example, if you’re a student whose looking forward to beach parties and pool parties, visiting Cancun, which is known for it’s legendary parties may be a great idea.

Whilst if you’re looking to plan a family friendly, spring break vacation you may prefer visiting Puerto Vallarta, which has a more laid back vibe. Also consider whether you’d prefer to visit a location where English is the official language such as Oahu or Maui in Hawaii, or whether you’d prefer to test out your high school Spanish in a location such as Cancun or San Jose.

If you have a busy schedule leading up to spring break you may want to consider getting a virtual assistant to help you research travel destinations.

3. Consider seeking virtual assistance

If you’re short on time but want to ensure that you’re getting the best deals possible it’s well worth hiring a virtual assistant to organize your spring break for you. A virtual assistant can take care of a variety of tasks, as an example your assistant can browse hundreds of resort reviews on websites such as Tripadvisor, to ensure that you book accommodation at a resort which boasts exceptional service and a wide array of amenities and facilities. As another example, a virtual assistant can search the websites of multiple airlines in order to find the best available deal, on your specified travel dates.

Other tasks which a virtual assistant can take care of include organizing shuttle transportation from the airport to your hotel or resort and booking tours, attractions and activities that you may be interested in, in advance of your vacation. So once you embark on your vacation, you won’t have to worry about organizing an itinerary.

4. Book your spring break well in advance

Many airlines, resorts and hotels offer unbeatable deals for early birds who book their vacation in advance. So if you’d like your vacation budget to stretch a little further, it’s definitely worth booking your flights and accommodation well in advance. Remember that it’s also worth booking your vacation in advance as spring break is a high peak travel season, so the longer you wait the higher room prices are likely to be and as many spring breaks are extremely popular, accommodation may sell out at certain resorts and hotels.

5. If you’re on a budget consider sharing a room with friends or family members

If you’re on a strict budget, why not book a twin room and split your accommodation costs with a friend or family member? Remember, that if you’re on spring break you’re likely to spend the bulk of your time exploring your destination, so you’re unlikely to spend much time in your hotel room anyway!

6. Make sure that you have an up to date passport

What’s more important than a new bathing suit and your smart phone? Your passport! Even if you’re sure that your passport is lying around somewhere, it’s well worth checking the expiration date of your passport as many countries require your passport to be valid six months after you return home.

So if you’re in the process of planning your next spring break, simply follow the six tips listed above and you’ll have your spring break planned in no time! Also take our advice and hire a virtual assistant, as they make travel planning a breeze!

Increase Productivity While Working From Home

When running a home business, you have to deal with all kinds of tasks constantly. Because of this burden, things can begin to feel overwhelming. Thankfully, there are many awesome activities you can do to break up the monotony and frustrating menial tasks you are faced with every day. To help you begin leading a more successful and happy home work life, try out these four awesome tips to increasing productivity while working from home:

1. Take Frequent Breaks
Overworking yourself may seem noble or like it will make you more successful, but it actually does more harm than good. When you fail to take frequent small breaks, your brain becomes exhausted, and your ability to focus on task effectively diminishes. Working that 30 minutes extra a day is not worth having your overall work quality fall.

2. Exercise Your Mind and Body
One of the best things you can do during breaks are small mind and body exercise. Whether you attempt yoga, a quick run, or a small relaxing nap, these sorts of body boosting techniques can help your mind become sharply focused. If you want to lead a more relaxing and successful work life, finding what mind and body boosting exercises fit your lifestyle can provide a huge boost.

3. Find Time for Social Interaction
Keeping yourself kept up in your home office day after day can have negative mental effects. Getting out there and doing business face to face when possible cannot only increase your business’s reputation, but will help your overall mood skyrocket. Nobody wants to be strapped to a chair for the entire work day, and doing so is terrible for your mental health, so start planning things you can do to make your work day a bit more social.

4. Hire a Virtual Assistant
To free up time during your workday, and get rid of the time you waste every day on menial tasks, hiring a virtual assistant is highly recommended. By hiring one assistant to help you with day-to-day work tasks, you will be able to expand the breadth of your business goals.
For quality virtual assistant services, you need go no further than OkayRelax. Their virtual assistant services pair you with a personal VA to help you lead a more successful and relaxing home work life. From administrative tasks to making dinner reservations for a well deserved after work break, your assistant will help you lead a more fulfilling life.
Here are just a few of the amazing tasks that your OkayRelax virtual assistant will help you handle:

-Time Consuming Research: Need a topic thoroughly researched, but don’t have the time to scroll through Google through hours on end? Let an OkayRelax virtual assistant take on this sometimes-frustrating burden for you. Give them a topic and then sit back while they put together a detailed and easy to understand report for your convenience.

-Administrative Tasks: Never waste time setting up meetings and transcribing audio again. With an OkayRelax virtual assistant you can simply delegate the tasks you need administrated for the night, and they will take care of the rest. That way, you will have plenty of extra time to focus on the actual needs of your clients.

-Schedule Management: Crafting your schedule week after week can take hours of annoying work. Thankfully, OkayRelax virtual assistants have plenty of experience crafting schedules for home businesses in all sorts of industries. Additionally, your personal assistant will help ensure that you never miss an important call or meeting!

-Restaurant Reservations: After work, you just want to relax with some good food, wine, and company. With an OkayRelax virtual assistant, the sometimes-complicated task of researching and booking an awesome restraint reservation will become simple. Simply tell them your tastes, budget, and the kind of atmosphere you crave, and the assistant will do the rest.

-Activity Recommendation: For healthy work breaks and after hour fun, OkayRelax virtual assistants can be an excellent source of support. Allow them to take the time out of their day to plan awesome activities for you, and you will free up tons of time to get the amount of work done you need to do to relax.

-Travel Planning: Looking to schedule an awesome vacation, or a work trip that will help you make your business skyrocket? At OkayRelax, the virtual assistants will make sure your trip goes off without a hitch. Allow them to research hotels, restaurants, activities and more that will make your trip stellar.
Now that you know all the amazing benefits to be had with an OkayRelax virtual assistant, do not hesitate to make an appointment for a free consultation today! A more relaxing and successful home workweek is just a call away!

Top 5 Ways a Virtual Personal Assistant Can Make Your Halloween Perfect

Halloween can be one of the most fun holidays there is to celebrate, as there are great festive opportunities for the whole family to get swept away in the frightful spirit. But with so many different things going on for every imaginable age group, Halloween can also be incredibly stressful to manage on your own. Luckily, if you are working parent or busy professional and you want to get the most out of the Holiday’s traditions, getting planning and logistical support is a lot easier than you might imagine. Here are 5 ways that a virtual personal assistant can help you plan your Halloween celebration

1. Search for The Right Themed Costume

Themed costumes are a big win every year on Halloween, and whether you want to dress up like your favorite character from a current T.V. show or a recognizable icon, a virtual personal assistant can help you find the perfect themed costume for you. Start off by telling your virtual assistant what theme you are going for, for example by telling them the kind name of the T.V. show that you are looking for costume ideas for. Then, give your virtual assistant some budget and style tips, and let them get to searching! Your virtual assistant will be able to return a list of potential costumes that meet your criteria, and order your favorite one.

2. Order Your Favorite Candy

Buying candy from the supermarket can be a big chore around Halloween, as stores can’t keep the most popular varieties stocked and prices tend to get more and more inflated the closer to Halloween you get. But if you have a favorite candy flavor that you’ve just got to have, and you don’t have the time to wait in lines or shop around to find your favorite, a virtual personal assistant can help. A virtual assistant can order your favorite sweets from an online retailer, helping you avoid the lines and get exactly what you want. All you have to do is let your assistant know what your sweet tooth is craving!

3. Help Coordinate and Order Your Decorations

If getting into the spirit all out and decorating your front lawn is part of the holiday fun for you, don’t worry, your virtual personal assistant can help with that too! If you don’t have exact ideas about what kinds of decorations you want, but have some vague idea of what themes or scenes you want to create, let your personal assistant know. They can research coordinated decoration ideas for you, and order a whole spread to help make your house extra spooky for the holidays. All you have to do is let your assistant know what budget they have and what kinds of things you are looking for, and they can easily do the rest.

4. Research Big Events in Your Area

If you have a hankering to get out this Halloween but don’t quite know what to do, a virtual personal assistant can be a huge aid in helping you find the perfect parties and events in your area. Just let your virtual assistant know what times you are looking for events, and how far you are willing to travel, and they can help generate a big list of all of the events going on in your area. From there, you can pick your favorite dance, parade, or party opportunities, and even have your virtual assistant purchase tickets or make reservations for you.

5. Manage Your Contacts to Keep Your Holiday Social

At its core, Halloween is a very social holiday, and your personal virtual assistant can help you make sure that you get the most social interaction that you can out of the scariest night of the year. For starters, if you have children, your virtual assistant can reach out to sitters that have worked out in the past and help coordinate child care to help you get out of the house. Since it’s such a social holiday for young people too, finding an available sitter may take quite some time, and delegating that task to your virtual assistant will let you focus on more fun things.

From there, your virtual assistant can reach out to your contacts to find the best parties and look for the best social opportunities, or even invite all of your closest friends to your place if you want to be at the center of a holiday social event. Your virtual assistant will do all the leg work for you of figuring out what your best friends will be up to, and help you plan to make sure that you can spend as much time with them as possible. No matter how you like to celebrate Halloween, a virtual personal assistant can help you get in the spirit, and make sure that you have people around you to celebrate with!