This year I made one of the best decisions, not just for my business, but for me. I hired my own PA. I’m going to share how a PA can help with work-life balance, as well as tips, hacks, and tech that can help you get even more from hiring a PA.
Restoring your work-life balance
A 2023 study found that work-life balance was the most important factor for UK workers when choosing an employer. Let that sink in – UK workers value their time over salaries, promotions, company profile, work activities and all other aspects of a job.
However, even as I write this, I know that many people I work with will think this doesn’t apply to them. They’re busy business owners, entrepreneurs or law firm partners. Work-life balance is something for their employees, not for them. Well, that’s simply not true. We ALL need work-life balance, we all need time off, and we all need help from time to time. That’s why I hired a PA, because I was falling into all those traps, I was running my business, looking after my team, but neglecting my work-life balance.
Why hire a PA or Virtual Assistant (VA)?
A recent survey by Zirtual found that 67% of people hired a VA to save time. I can attest to that. However, there are benefits I couldn’t have predicted. I now have someone to bounce ideas off, someone who knows me and my business and can offer solutions to problems.
A PA can also make a big difference to wellbeing. That same survey found that 32% of people hire a VA to reduce stress and 28% to improve their work-life balance.
What can a PA or VA help with?
There are endless possibilities! A good PA or VA is detail-oriented, thorough and adaptable – and those skills are perfect for learning how to execute new tasks to a high standard. However, here are some of the tasks my PA helps with:
- Client onboarding
- Invoicing
- Social media
- Organising travel
- Diary management
- Lifestyle tasks
But…“I can do all those things myself (for free).”
This is one of the main reasons I hear as to why people don’t hire a PA.
This is partly true. You could do the tasks above yourself. You could also wash clothes yourself by hand, fix your own car, or sell your house without an estate agent. These are all things you could do, and they’re probably cheaper than using a machine or an expert. But they’re also time-consuming and difficult.
One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves when we run a business is that our time is free. We make the mistake of thinking we are an endless zero-cost resource to our business. But we’re not!
Reminder 1: Your time has a monetary value
Every hour you spend on admin has a cost, it’s time you’re not spending on fee-earning work. If your hourly rate is higher than a PA or VAs, it’s financially a better option to outsource that work.
Reminder 2: Your time has a personal and well-being value
Returning to work-life balance, yes, you can do everything yourself. But you really shouldn’t. If you act like a free resource to your business, you’ll soon discover the real cost – burnout, exhaustion, unhappiness, and stress.
The detail: how working with a PA saves time
Here are three quick examples of how I’ve saved time by working with a PA and the tech that helps with this.
- Invoicing – I have a wide client base and a team of associates. Collating team invoices, generating client invoices, sorting time reports and filling out my finance sheet used to take me most of a day, now my PA Emma handles it. I just have to check and send them when she’s finished.
- Social media – I know how important posting regularly is for my business. However, creating content is time-consuming and not one of my favourite tasks. Now I have a call at the start of each month to brainstorm ideas. My PA creates the content in Canva and puts it all into Click-Up. I just go in and review/approve and then they load everything into my scheduler.
- Lifestyle tasks – Let’s not forget the life element of work-life balance. A PA can definitely help with that. My PA has helped with:
- Finding me a cleaner
- Researching AirBnB options for holidays
- Gift ideas (especially useful around Christmas)
Asana is a great tool for helping me to assign all these tasks to my PA and track progress.
How to get the best out of working with your PA
Finally, here are my top tips for working with a PA:
- Communication is key. Monthly catch-ups are great and help you build a relationship. However, you need ways to keep in touch day-to-day. I find Slack and WhatsApp invaluable – a good voice note can save a lot of time.
- Give clear and concise instructions – don’t expect your PA to know everything from day one.
- Have strong processes in place. Documentation is essential for those times when you need your PA to be able to carry out tasks in your absence.
- Be appreciative – Share your gratitude and thank your PA for all the help they provide.
- Finally, ask for feedback – it’s a two-way relationship and you’ll learn a lot from your PA about how to work more efficiently and effectively.
Is it time you hired your own PA or VA?
If you’re struggling with your work-life balance our VAs can help. We’re experienced in the legal sector and also support professionals in other industries. Discover our services, or book a call to find out how we can help you.
