Common Mistakes – To Outsource Life
To outsource life, one must understand why you would want to outsource life. Outsource the things in your life you do not want to do, you put off constantly, or the things that pile up due to time constraints. By outsourcing this life you leave time for the good life you want. To outsource life many common mistakes are made. Let us review a few of these mistakes when you outsource life.
A common mistake you might make before you begin to outsource is hiring an assistant without the skills you know you will be needing. It will not help to outsource life, especially the one you want to outsource if it takes longer to get them to a point they can do the tasks you need. This will be frustrating and fruitless.
A very common mistake made when you outsource life to a virtual assistant is that you assume the assistant knows as much about the task you are requesting to be done as yourself. Big mistake! Make your instructions for the task you want to outsource detailed, simple and understandable to a child. Simple, simple, simple. I cannot say it enough.
When you outsource tasks to be accomplished assume your assistant has no skills. You will need to explain everything, each step in detail in simple English. This is especially true if you outsource to an assistant from a foreign country. What is a basic skill to you may not be to the foreign assistant.
Another mistake made when you outsource is that you need to know how to delegate tasks. Most of us understand how to delegate to ourselves but to others we may not be as comfortable. Before you begin to delegate, define what you need done and establish its importance. By doing this, you will eliminate unimportant tasks or duties that are inefficient. Remember if you delegate unimportant or poorly defined tasks it costs you money. A goal to outsource life is to get processes and tasks streamlined, more efficient, while freeing up your time.
When delegating your outsourcing, instructions need to be laid out very clearly with all the decision points explained. Points like the type of results you expect, the format of documents, due dates, response rates to you, etc should be specified in advance so that the assistant knows from beginning to ending what the process is.
To outsource life you need to be informed of progress on a regular basis. What that regular basis is will be your decision. However, communicate this expectation to your assistant very clearly. Do not assume since you have not heard from your assistant that “silence is golden”. This silence can be an indicator that your assistant may be clueless as to how to even ask questions about the task you have communicated. The thing you do not want to happen is for the due date to arrive and your assistant has not done anything you have requested.
Ask the assistant you outsource tasks to to contact you within say 6 hours of beginning the task to assure they are doing what you are expecting. This is a cautionary follow up but a good one to follow until you know your assistant can meet your expectations satisfactorily. Encourage your assistant to ask for better directions if you are not giving them.
To outsource life tasks you do not enjoy completing or do not have time for is the best way to get the life you really want. The goal to outsource life is for you to be free to focus on bigger and better things. By outsourcing life you can live the ideal lifestyle you crave. Outsource life to make a better life!
