With the rise of modern smart phones and tablets, we are continually connected to our work and family. There is a positive side to this, such as a mother being able to connect with her son who is travelling the world on his gap year, yet the negative side of this easy connectivity means that even when we leave the office, our work life stays with us in our pockets. So unless you make the effort to disconnect, you’ll always be connected.
With the loss of snail mail (old fashioned paper post), emails gave rise to a boom of communication. Emails can be sent with a few words (or just a picture), and spam or junk has become a serious inbox management issue. Emails are sent within seconds and if a reply isn’t within the hour (or indeed within the minute), relationships can be frayed and business deals can be lost.
But how do you stay on top of your inbox management without losing sight of what is important – your family, your lifestyle, your targets or your drive towards new ideas and innovation? Hire a personal assistant and use these handy tips to get your inbox to zero so you can boost your productivity.
1. Let go of Your Inbox
It’s hard to let go. Every time you hear a ping or your phone vibrates, we know that someone is trying to reach us. Yes, it might just be another email about the latest holiday deals, but our tendency is to rush to read and reply. However, if you spend all day being reactive, you’ll never be proactive. You need to learn to let go and hand your inbox management over to a personal assistant.
If you spend all day being reactive, you'll never be proactive. Click To TweetThe first step to handing over control of your inbox to someone else can be scary and daunting, but in the long run, you’ll get more time to focus on new projects or the things that make you happy. So turn off your email alerts, switch off your phone at night and learn to let go with the comforting knowledge that your inbox management is being looked after.
2. “What Do You Know About Gold, Moneypenny?”
The famous quote that James Bond said to his assistant, Moneypenny, sums up our point number 2. Behind every great leader, CEO, busy family, entrepreneur or indeed a secret spy, is an organised and efficient personal assistant. They have as much knowledge as their principal but are able to effortlessly deal with tasks at hand to allow their secret agent boss to do their job. Moneypenny isn’t calling James during a car race to ask if she can reschedule his doctors appointment, no, she is just getting it done.
Hiring a personal assistant (finding your own Moneypenny) is the key to making your gold. It will give you time to focus on your own important tasks, freeing up your focus to save the world.
3. Honesty is Key
Once you’ve found a fabulous assistant, make sure you are honest with them. Your diary will be better managed and your personal needs met if you are true to them. For example, you may have a secret lucky tie that you wear at meetings when you need to close the deal, tell them this so it becomes their job to ensure that you’ve got it dry cleaned and ready for each important meeting.
The more honesty you show, the more your assistant will respect you and go beyond and above their duties to satisfy your ‘quirky’ needs. By hiring that wonderful personal assistant, you are achieving a more open calendar, so they can work to minimise your commitments and maximise your free time.
4. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
High powered business men and women, busy families and individuals, will often travel. In fact, most CEOs and entrepreneurs will spend around 80% of their time traveling. Although this travel time might seem like a welcome distraction and a chance to deal with your inbox management, it is valuable time that could be spent doing other more important projects.
Your personal assistant will be managing your travel itineraries, flights, hotel reservations, dietary requirements and restaurant bookings. All these confirmation emails and calendar entries will be managed by your personal assistant.
It’s a difficult decision, but one that once made will open your eyes to the benefit of productivity both in family and business life. Would you like to know more about hiring a personal assistant? We’d love to hear from you to discuss your needs and see how best we can help you.