A virtual assistant is a person who works remotely to assist you with tasks or undertakings. We’ve all heard about personal assistants, however thanks to advances in technology such as video chat, documents shared as well as artificial intelligence and messaging applications, a lot of the tasks that previously required close proximity are now able to be completed from any location and even from other countries.
After working with several virtual assistants and experiencing the benefits for myself I believe that all should attempt to incorporate one into their daily lives. As doctors, the majority of us aren’t used to having assistants every day in this way, but there are numerous reasons why we should think about it. Assistants aren’t only for celebrities and business owners.
Free Up Time
As a professional who is busy, the primary reason I’ve come across the reason to employ an virtual assistant is to help you reduce the work load and free up your time. If you’re like my wife and I trying to balance the roles of doctor husband, wife mother, father and friend and everything else you’re juggling to do. . . It’s not easy, but it’s an opportunity.
Add in “busy-work” things that have to be accomplished in the morning, and your day seems to not have enough time. It is important to think about ways to create more space in our lives and this is a great method.
Get your mind off the slack
The main thing is to concentrate on the things that you are interested in or can help your side ventures or business grow. A lot of time and energy is spent and depleted by routine tasks that could be transferred to other people. The focus should be on fun and thinking on the higher level essential to expand your business. Virtual assistants help you accomplish this more efficiently by taking those mundane tasks off your hands.
Speed up the process of getting tasks done
Let’s face it, you might not be the best in arranging travel plans, keeping track of your books or creating slide shows or presentation (I am not). However, there are those who do this regularly and are able to do it far faster than you will ever be able to.
You can delegate tasks you Do Not Enjoy
Are you aware how difficult it is to complete some tasks or projects because you’re not enjoying doing it? You’ll give up halfway through and not think about it. Consider the items you have on your list which you’ve put off months, weeks or even for years. You can bet it’s because you don’t like doing.
Personally, I don’t like doing managing my bookkeeping. If I could get rid of a little of it and feel nothing but profound relief. There are people who you are able to hire to help take the burden off your to-do list and perform it with smiles on their faces.
The disadvantages of hiring a virtual Assistant
It’s expensive
It can (accurately) the case that a great VA will eventually be able to pay for itself however, there is obviously, a price associated with it. There is no way to be working on a salary.
All you have to do is do an analysis of the cost-benefit ratio and consider the efficiency you can increase, not the money you’ll lose. “Time can be money” as the old saying goes to be true. Consider, how much time is it worth?
Training
I prefer things to be done in a specific way, and this is true for everybody. Only you can determine the way you’d like things to be done It takes time to show anyone what’s going on in your head. It might take a while before the assistant can operate to produce acceptable results. However, as time has passed you’ll be amazed at how well-synchronized you’ll get.
I have the same process when I teach residents. Everyone wants to learn in their own style. It takes a lot of experience to master how to effectively communicate and with time, people become very adept at understanding the message you’re trying to communicate to them. We’ve all been through it.
Must Let Go of some control
Look, I get it. Your a perfectionist habitual to doing things your way. I’ve felt it a few times, and it’s hard to let this attitude go. As with the other fields (if it’s not even more) doctors have “superhero condition,” where we feel as though we can manage everything and do it exceptionally well.
We’re conditioned to believe that when we need something perfect, we need to do the task ourselves. When you have a virtual assistant, you’ll have to let go of that control. And it’s not easy. It could also be beneficial.
Trust is a challenge and takes Time
It takes some time to believe anyone, especially when they are dealing with sensitive information. It might take a while to figure out the degree to which you can trust this person online. You’ll be relying on them for something , and for some people the procedure of building trust can take longer than others.
Are VAs only for Business owners? Do you think it is worth it for Physicians?
I think the hiring of a virtual medical assistant is an option for anyone looking to make time for themselves and believes in the worth of hiring someone else to complete the task regardless of their profession. Paying someone for their services on a regular basis, regardless of whether you know it or not: you pay an CPA to complete your taxes or someone to wash your car, a person to prepare your meals or cook your food, etc. A VA is not much different from the other options, except that their services directly impact your efficiency and peace of mind.
As a physician, I believe the value of our work is very high. And what is the sliver of time we have is more important. Are you willing to use your time doing activities that you do not enjoy? Yes, a virtual assistant is can be beneficial for those who want to be able to do things they enjoy.
If you’re running an extra-curricular business or side hustle isn’t difficult to figure out how you can integrate into a VA into. Are you in need of someone to oversee your schedule, take phone calls, and so on? A virtual assistant could be of help. Many businesses already have some kind of assistant (if there is at least one) So outsourcing is an easy decision.
Shouldn’t It Be Better To just hire an in-person assistant?
It really is dependent on your requirements. Do you need someone who can actually drive and run to your destinations for you? Do you own an enterprise that requires an extensive amount of packing and sending offs? Perhaps you require someone to visit your home or office to assist you with these issues.
Actually, most things that can be considered time-saving in our daily lives could be automated or online ordering online. It is therefore cheaper to employ an individual who can be accessed online.
What are the specific tasks an VA Do?
Plenty! Not just, but also including:
Organizing spreadsheets
Create presentations
Editing the writing
Purchase presents, order items
You can order your groceries
Email Management
Files can be organized
Keep photos organized
Social Media posts
Reservations for Flights and Hotels
Transcribe
Online Research
and many More…
How Much Time Will You Recover?
This is contingent on how much time is spent on other activities. The simplest tasks only require a few minutes. However, when they’re added up, particularly over a period of time and a week, it could result in an enormous amount of time.
To give you an notion how much time shopping on Amazon helped you save? You may are spending more than you have to sometimes but it’s likely to save hundreds of hours every week, not having to hop in our cars take a trip to the store and walk through the aisles, stand at the counter and return. You might not have realized just how the amount of time this technology will someday help you save until you actually used it.
The same is true of an assistant virtual. Once you are employing a VA you begin to realize the amount of time you spend every week doing tasks that can simply be outsourced and simplified and made simpler.
Personally, having assistants regularly can save me between 5 and 10 hours each week. What can be you doing with an additional hour of your day?
How Much is a Virtual Assistant?
It varies quite a bit. It’s based on:
If you’re paying per job, per hour, or in the hour, or by
Skills required to carry out the job
Experiences of the VA
The country of origin of the VA
Conclusion: Employ an assistant virtual
If the issue hasn’t been clarified at this point I would highly suggest that you hire an assistant via virtual. We’re all familiar with accomplishing things as a team, but especially in the event that we want to get it done in a timely manner. Since we’re constrained by time that the only thing we do is filling up our time with chores that we don’t like doing or aren’t very good at, or really shouldn’t be doing in the first place.
It could be the first step to determine whether it is worth hiring a. I’d suggest taking an inventory of the similar tasks you have in your own life:
Things you don’t like doing
The tasks you’re working on could be accomplished by another person (likely quicker and more efficient)
Things you shouldn’t be performing
Check that list and determine how much time you’re putting into the things you need to do daily as well as weekly and monthly. If that’s more than one hour per week, you should look at hiring someone to handle it. In the simplest sense, that’s 52 hours per year that you can free to spend doing the things you like.
Personally, it’s altered the way I live my life on an annual and weekly basis. Certain tasks, like paperwork or online research are completed instead of being a part of my list of things to do. My attention is spent on things which add a lot of worth to my life. My time is spent doing things I love, such as being in my home with family members, attending sports and working on side business.
Consider ways to make your life easier and look into the possibility of hiring an assistant virtual. Maybe you’ll be able get back some of the precious time you think you’ve wasted.