How to Hire a Personal Assistant and Delegate Tasks Strategically
Episode 588: Show Notes
When we first began to consider that we may need personal assistants, we discovered that we had some unexpected, and somewhat complicated, reservations. While the extra help would certainly have been welcome, we had a tough time justifying the hire in our minds. Hiring an assistant brought up an unexpected amount of mind junk, from outdated notions around a woman’s role in the house to Emylee’s very personal experience of her mom and nana owning a cleaning business, and it just seemed impossible to align the hire with our values. Add to that the terrible depictions of personal assistants that you saw in movies like The Devil Wears Prada, where PAs were always repeatedly degraded by their bosses, and the idea of hiring a personal assistant could easily make you feel like a monster.
It took us months and years to finally process and overcome these limiting beliefs and ultimately make one of the best decisions of our careers! Not only was hiring a personal assistant much more affordable and manageable than we expected, but we hadn’t anticipated the amount of freedom, peace of mind, and brain space it would give us! No matter where you are in your career, hiring a personal assistant is likely a much more achievable goal than you realize. In this episode, we break down how we chose to get a personal assistant, the process we used to prioritize our needs and reflect on how our personal assistants impacted our lives. So let’s dive in!
Listen on your favorite podcast player
How To Strategically Hire a Personal Assistant and What Tasks to Delegate
When we first decided to hire a personal assistant we had a tough time visualizing exactly what that would look like and what would even be helpful. The first thing we had to do was identify the things that were holding space in our brains that were actually preventing us from doing our job as well or efficiently as we could, and also what was keeping us from living a less stressed out life in general. One effective exercise we used to determine our current needs was by making a list of all the helpful things that would create more space and ease in our lives. We also recognized that there was no shame in these needs changing over time, especially if you have kids! The tasks we were able to delegate to a personal assistant have made such a tremendous difference in our lives, even though we each have very different needs. For Emylee, it has meant having the house cleaned more regularly, and getting much-needed support with her many projects that were a frustrating 99% done. And for Abagail having a personal assistant has helped her with the responsibilities that come with being a full-time carer for their 94-year-old grandmother and the logistics of moving all of her belongings. One thing that both Abagail and Emylee have in common is a deep appreciation for the extra help when it comes to laundry!
The Result We Saw in Our Business Once We Started Working With a PA
One of the great things about having a personal assistant is having them prepare things for you that might normally put you off from doing a task. Like chopping all your vegetables before cooking or buying the groceries you need to stop you from ordering take-out. These seemingly small things can make such a huge difference to your day and how smoothly things run. And this can have a knock-on effect on your business and work life. Previously when your day might have gotten derailed at home, it would result in the same thing happening at work. With a personal assistant, not only is your personal day less likely to get derailed, but if it does, you have the capacity to delegate overflow to your PA leaving you to deal with your back-to-back meetings and business commitments. The same is true for having a self-sufficient team at work. Just because your day gets derailed, doesn’t mean the whole business needs to go off course!
How To Integrate a PA Into Your Life
Integrating a PA into your life can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! You can start a lot sooner and a lot smaller than you might have imagined. Just because you want to hire a personal assistant doesn’t mean you need to hire that person seven days a week. You could have someone come in for a couple of hours on a half-day, or a full day for one day a week. Consider just for a moment what that could look like for you. And you can start with something as simple as that to see if it's something you want to grow in. Once you start to incorporate it into your life you’ll be able to observe how it shows up for you, often in ways that you didn’t anticipate, and that you couldn’t have predicted without having experienced it! Armed with these insights, figuring out how to make it work will become much more of a priority. Lists are also a great way to organize and figure out what you need from your PA. And feel free to experiment with integrating a PA into your routine! What might work one week won’t necessarily suit the next, and your needs will inevitably evolve and change over time. Another great hack for incorporating a PA conveniently and affordably is sharing them with a friend, neighbor, or co-worker. That way the assistant will gain more stacked hours and you can feel more comfortable starting minimally and affordably!
Quote This
This is literally about having them focus on your life things so that you can serve in other ways.
Highlights
How To Strategically Hire a Personal Assistant and What Tasks to Delegate [0:01:52]
The Result We Saw in Our Business Once We Started Working With a PA [0:22:23]
How To Integrate a PA Into Your Life [0:26:06]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
Personal Assistant, Support, Service Providers, Hiring, Delegating
