Time Saving Tips

Quick Virtual Assistant Tips

Posted by Laurie on Nov 3, 2009 in Time Saving Tips, virtual legal assistance | Comments Off

There are so many things to learn when you are starting a new business, and there are some things I really wish I had known when I started my virtual legal assistant business!

Whether you aspire to be a virtual assistant or you or thinking about working with a virtual assistant, I thought I’d share some quick tips I’ve learned and would have benefited from implementing sooner:

1. Be clear from the beginning on your preferred method and hours of contact (applies to both client and VA).
2. Discuss the “finicky” things right off the bat: font type, font size, paragraph justification, etc. – they might seem like small things but getting them right early can ease your working relationship.
3. If you have a concern over anything, do not wait to mention it to the other party. Sooner said, sooner fixed; don’t hope it will just magically resolve itself!
4. Be very, very clear about deadlines.
5. Read every email or communique from your client CAREFULLY. Check for attachments immediately, even if you don’t need to do the work right away.
6. Spend a few minutes each week, for each client, thinking of ways you can improve the service you provide or find new items you can assist with.

I can tell you, from experience, that it is hard to make mistakes and feel for even a moment that you may have let your client down or let yourself down. But we are all human and we are bound to have moments of imperfection. Be honest with your client if you feel you should have done something better. Offer a discount or some other small token if necessary. Thank your clients for being understanding and remember when they have issues crop up that they are just like you and don’t take criticism personally. Just do better the next time!

Value of Legal Dictation

Posted by Laurie on Oct 19, 2009 in Legal Practice, Time Saving Tips | 1 comment

I have had plenty of experience with transcribing documents, especially prior to starting my virtual legal assistant business, when I worked in a number of law offices. Dictation was standard for the majority of lawyers I worked with, as it was accepted that it was a more valuable use of time for the lawyer to quickly speak their instructions than to type their own materials up.

In my very last law office, I noticed a trend toward lawyers who didn’t know how to use dictation machines or who didn’t feel they provided much value. These lawyers often simply sent instructions by email or typed up the body of work they needed done and had their assistant simply format it properly. It was a very busy office and I think the lawyers felt more comfortable as the emails were easy to identify and re-send if their assistant was unavailable and another assistant had to take over the task. Pretty common sadly in a place where there were usually 3 or 4 lawyers to each assistant.

Recently though, I’ve discovered the wonderful combined benefits for digital transcription. I had never worked in an office that used anything other than old-fashioned micro-cassettes for dictation. And up until now, the majority of my clients have communicated with me via email and my online work space, always with written instructions, rather than oral. Digital dictation is an incredible improvement over cassettes! I should have known, since Andrea Cannavina of LegalTypist uses it almost exclusively in her virtual legal assistant business and she knows what she’s talking about!

Thanks to a new client though, I’ve recently begun to work with the digital transcription software from Express Scribe and it is so easy to use! My client just provides me the dictation (via email or upload to my secure workspace) and I’m ready to go. Each email is clearly labeled with pertinent info and it’s very quick for the lawyer – for example, I did an Affidavit for a client yesterday. It took him just over 3 minutes to dictate everything he needed to.  Then I transcribed the body of the document and properly set it up according to required format. The lawyer can say “put a backer on that” and it takes a few seconds, but it would take much longer for him to set up said backer himself, much easier to have me do that and free up his time for more directly client-related responsibilities.

Why is it faster to dictate than to type? Well, for starters the average “speaking” words per minute rate is 120-150 words per minute. For most people, that means they speak much faster than they could type. And of course as I mentioned earlier, you may be able to speak an instruction, but the work involved in performing the task can take much longer. If you dictate “please proofread entire document – all 70 pages” that won’t take long, but actually proofreading may take a fair bit of time. It’s probably a good idea to truly evaluate your typing speed, versus the speed an assistant may have, to determine who should be typing up your documents and correspondence.

An additional benefit of dictating, is that a lawyer can dictate from anywhere, regardless of if they have access to their computer or the internet. You can dictate while commuting to work, from your home office or from your vacation if needed (not recommended though!)

Need more info? Check out this post at The Greatest American Lawyer for a breakdown of some of the benefits of digital dictation for lawyers or The Advantages of Digital Dictation from Law Practice Today. And if you want digital dictation software check out Express Dictate.

Time Tracking Tool

Posted by Laurie on Sep 1, 2009 in Legal Practice, Time Saving Tips, virtual legal assistance | 2 comments

I was recently given the opportunity to review Chrometa, and the review is now up over at Alyssa Gregory’s Small Business Idea Generator blog. You may note that it is a “sponsored” review, simply because Chrometa gave Alyssa (who then gave me) one full license for Chrometa in exchange for the press. The review is 100% my honest opinion though – so please take a look at it!

I am pointing the review out on my blog, though I have no obligation to do so, because I truly believe Chrometa is a tool that can help lawyers and virtual legal assistants who charge clients on an hourly basis. It’s a handy addition to my arsenal and I think you would find it to be the same!

Time Blocking Tip

Posted by Laurie on Aug 27, 2009 in Time Saving Tips, work life balance | Comments Off

I love summer, but I have to tell you how glad I am that the school vacation part of it is almost over! Besides, fall colors are so pretty, it’s a great season to look forward to. This summer, my multi-tasking abilities were definitely put to the test and my biggest tip for getting everything done: time blocking.

photo credit: wwarby

That’s because while I say I “multi-task”, there are times when too many things going on at once just means you do everything poorly. So I may multi-task when I get a sandwich for the 7 year old, while starting dishes and listening to a story from the 4 year old, I don’t think multi-tasking while actually doing client work is effective.

There are multiple ways to use time-blocking in your work, whether your are a virtual assistant, a lawyer or even a student. I like the suggestions over at Croll Organizing, because it is similar to how I manage my day.  Meredith of Yellow Highlighter VA has a good method as well.

I personally spend time on my email first thing in the am, then I pick a project and spend dedicated time on it. Then I take a Twitter break, then another work project, etc. Of course I also block in time for fun with the kids – today we walked to the park!

I like to use the timer on my stove for measuring time blocks, the kids then know when the buzzer sounds that it is the end of work time for that block and they can have my attention. Doesn’t help much with the toddler yet – but at least the older two get it!

Gmail plus Calendar and Docs

Posted by Laurie on Nov 11, 2008 in Time Saving Tips, virtual assistance | Comments Off

I’m a little late in learning this but I thought I’d share anyway – I doubt I’m the only one who doesn’t catch things instantly!

So, I use Gmail for my catchall email account.  The email for my virtual assistant business is through my host (laurie AT halosecretarialservices DOT com) but is all forwarded to my Gmail account.  I simply find Gmail to be easy to access and easy to work with. It also then gives me the option of chat and use in my iGoogle homepage.

Today I realized that I can fully integrate my google calendar and docs into my Gmail left sidebar – wow! So much easier than having to open a separate tab. I simply went into my gmail settings, clicked on labs and then enabled both google calendar and docs to show up! I also moved my chat and labels to the right side bar to make everything more visible.

Now I can see my schedule and plan my daily tasks much more efficiently. I always schedule time for client tasks and my own marketing plans in my google calendar, with popup reminders, which definitely increases my productivity. And the more organized I am, the more time I have to devote to my clients’s needs!

Hope this helps you other virtual assistants and other business owners!

Tuesday Time Tip

Posted by Laurie on Oct 28, 2008 in Inspiration, Time Saving Tips | Comments Off

This week I’d like to suggest that if you need to save time, and realize that even a few minutes here and there really adds up – try this:

Do things at off-peak hours

Going to the bank at 2pm often is much quicker than going at opening or at lunch time.  Going to the grocery store just after lunch on a weekday or first thing on a Sunday morning is much less time consuming than going on a Saturday afternoon. Commute times can be slashed if you can leave much earlier or later than the general population.

These are just a few simple suggestions, but many of your regular activities involve more time than you realize simply because of when you do them.  Maybe you can’t adjust them all, but any flexibility you use to allow you to complete tasks or errands at off-peak times will improve both your efficiency and your attitude (after all nothing is as frustrating as wasting time!!)

Hope that this helps a little – take care!!