Being a VA (or an EA/PA) you need to be an organised individual.  You need to ensure that everything is in order otherwise your clients (or bosses) might end up at the wrong meetings, with the wrong papers, the wrong people on the wrong day at the wrong times! 

As a VA, you will have several clients.  Therefore, the requirement to be organised is somewhat heightened.  You wouldn’t get very far if you sent one client to a meeting that was scheduled for another organisation or sent out the meeting notes on behalf of another client.  I know that all sounds a bit drastic, but if you were disorganised with papers all messed up, it could be a possibility.

There are a few things that I do to keep organised.

Lists

I’ve mentioned lists before, but this is a great way to keep organised.  I have a running list, split out into clients to make it even clearer, that I add to and cross off, and re-write regularly to keep neat and tidy and to keep me on top of actions and tasks.

Notebooks

It may seem obvious, but I use a separate notebook per client.  It ensures anything written down (notes from a conversation / meeting / action points) for one client is in the same place and not lost amongst notes made for another client.

Colour code

I also colour code things.  I pick the brand colour from the client, then use this colour to filter though everything for that client, such as other notebooks (which have coloured paper edges and coloured elastic), and plastic wallets with have coloured edge strips.  I also have the icon on the client’s Google profile on my desktop in the same colour.  So, when I’m working on that client, I know that everything I pick up in that one colour relates to that particular client.

Diary

Whether you use an electronic calendar or a paper planner – it’s imperative that you use something to keep track of your commitments.  I use a paper planner as it’s very easy to see at a glance what’s what at any given time without changing what I’m looking at on the screen.  Don’t get me wrong, I certainly use an electronic calendar for all client meetings, internal and external, otherwise no-one will have a clue what’s going on, but I use the paper version to keep me organised and aware of upcoming meetings I need to attend.

When you spin so many plates and have so many balls in the air all at the same time, you do have to have things in place to ensure everything gets done / sorted / actioned because if you’re not organised things will get missed, not actioned, and client tasks and requirements will soon become out of control.

However, it’s not just for work that I like to be organised.  If we’re going away, I like to ensure that everything is organised and in order well in advance.  And if I’m organising an event, I go the extra mile to ensure that every i is dotted and every t is crossed to make the event a success.

Are you an organised person??  If not, do you need help to be a little more organised?  If you do, get in touch to see how I can help you get a little more organised and, in turn, more in control.