. . . it’s just that I usually don’t have the creativity or energy to do so after working or even on my days off.
“Why not?” you ask.
Well, this afternoon and evening I worked on five different blog posts as part of my responsibilities for one of my clients. That includes formatting, proofing, editing when necessary, inserting images, composing lead-in “teasers,” SEO and so on.
Yes, folks, I’m blog-faced.
So, you see, by the time I wrap up a day’s work doing that or even close out a “typical” day at 10 PM or so, I’m spent.
Your next question is, “What’s in a typical day?”
A typical day in the life of this virtual assistant may include, in no particular order:
- Reconciling bank accounts
- Tracking and enrolling students using a variety of programs/platforms
- Developing/updating procedures
- Processing/composing/responding to emails of various natures
- Preparing reports
- Skype with client
- Special projects, most recently background administrative assistance with a conference
- Updating web analytics
- Data input/revision on two different CRM platforms
- Google Docs
- Google Sheets
- Web research
- Spreadsheet creation and maintenance
- Using Adobe in document conversion, editing, combination of files, upload, etc..
- Uploading documents to platforms
- Phone meetings with client
- MailChimp
- Various task management/sharing platforms
- Blog work – not just the posts
- Maintenance of various databases and systems (if I named ‘em all it would take a while)
- Social media – maintenance, development, reporting, posting
- Communicating with vendors on behalf of my client
- Keeping my clients on track towards achievement of their tasks, goals and projects
I usually have about a gazillion tabs open in Windows on my laptop.
Oh heck, I know I’m leaving out things, but I think that gives you the flavor of what my work day may look like.
Yes, that can be in one day. Yep. Indeed. Cool, eh?
Whew!
No complaints at all, mind you. My days are varied at a lively pace and, while many of my responsibilities are now routine, there are daily “brain exercises” in problem solving, creativity, procedural development and the like to keep my gray cells happily ticking over. I have been exposed to so many new programs, platforms, apps, etc. over the past several months . . . it’s great! I have learned, and am still learning, so many new things.
That being said, I like the weekends, especially Sunday. I’m off Tuesday/Wednesday and my clients are off on Saturday/Sunday. There may be some interaction with either or both of them on Saturday now and then, but Sunday is usually a quiet day in that regard. It’s a great time for me to catch up or work on projects which I find easier to tackle with “quiet time,” such as the blog posts today.
I’m fortunate to provide services to two great clients who are flexible, who expect results but who in no way apply any stress, are willing to delegate (and sometimes eager, even - apparently they think I’m trainable – haha!), patient with my questions, and who I enjoy on both a professional and personal level.
So I look up and it’s 10:30 PM. Egads. Just about time for me to take a shower before Dave gets off work and heads home at about 11 PM.
By the time my work day starts to wind down, I’m just done, as in stick a fork in me done. All I want to do is step away from my desk and laptop, and let my brain veg out a bit, spend a bit of time with Dave when he gets home while we both wind down and then toddle off to blankies and wee doggie.
So there you have it, a bit of “Why I Don’t Blog Much These Days.”
Thanks for stopping by! Ya’ll be safe out there, okay? It’s a crazy world we live in.
