How can a Virtual Assistant deal with Procrastination?

“Procrastination is the thief of time.” - Edward Young (1683-1765)

We all have been willing victims of procrastination at one time or another and may still be from time to time.

Virtual Assistants are no exceptions.

Procrastination: the act of putting off doing things

As one blogger puts it, procrastination is like dealing with a 7-headed dragon.

 It's not enough that you cut off its head because it will just regrow and multiply.

Just like if you don't deal with problems or finish a task right away and keep putting it off  for the next day and the next, your difficulties will regrow and multiply.

The only way to deal with it is to treat its neck with fire just like what they do in ancient times according to legends.

In real life, you have to look for the source or the reasons why you're procrastinating and start from there.

Here are the common causes of procrastination that I've come up with.   
 
Feeling Overwhelmed - A virtual assistant may have miscalculated and taken on too many projects at once or she may have many things on her plate at the moment and will be swamped with work that he or she will feel overburdened.

She may feel frustrated and discouraged and will resort to delaying tactics.
 
Fear -We may feel that our skills and knowledge are not up to the task at hand and we're afraid to deliver a less than perfect output and embarrass ourselves and disappoint our client.

We may even fear success and think that if our client likes our work, we'll be handed more tasks and responsibilities.    
 
Expecting Perfection - This is somehow connected to fear of failure. We set such high standards for ourselves and when we fail to meet those goals, we feel disheartened and it may dampen our enthusiasm.  
 
Unpleasant task - We may feel uncomfortable doing a task and rather than tackle it or inform our client, we put it off for as long as possible and turn to more pleasant activities like updating our Facebook status or tweeting, turning on the TV, surfing the net, making personal phone calls, checking emails and hanging out with friends and family.
 
Overestimating the Time - Some of us have unrealistic expectations of how long it will take us to finish a task and we tend to leave it to the last minute not allowing for interruptions, unexpected snags and the degree of difficulty that it involves.

Before you know it, it's the end of the working week and you find yourself rushing to finish the job resulting in a sloppy job.    

Lack of Energy - You may be feeling tired after a night out partying with friends or staying up late watching reruns of your favorite movies.  
 
Busy - It's great to be working at home and be with our loved ones but they can also be a source of distraction to us not to mention the basket of laundry or the piles of dirty dishes that we feel needs our immediate attention. 

It really isn't a comfortable feeling when something is nagging at the back of our minds.

If you find yourself playing catch up all the time, then it's time to take action.

Being stressed out and pressured for time is not an ideal situation and can actually harm us in the long run.

What We Can Do
One common advice that I got from reading tips is to

1. Break down the task in smaller pieces.- With this method, the task won't seem like a huge undertaking anymore. Each accomplished step will slowly build your confidence and help you get the momentum that you need.

2. F.O.C.U.S. - I got this from Laughs Heal.com and it stands for:
        

    Finalize - visualizing the finished product or end result      

    Objectives - micro planning or setting goals within a reasonable time frame  
          Write it down. Writing your goals on paper or on a notepad in you PC make them seem more real.
          Make that smart phone work for you. There are apps that will remind you of tasks to be done.

    Can't - eliminating this word from your vocabulary and replacing it with the word "can"       

    U or You - thinking of ways you can remove yourself from negative situations           

    Self-talk - thinking positively and encouraging yourself

3. The Where - Try to work in a productive environment where there are no constant comings or goings, where there's some privacy, and there are no toys on the floor or clutter to distract you.

4. The When - Know the best time when you are feeling more alert and when you can be more focused and productive.

5. Just do it! - according to Nike.

Reward yourself 

For every small success like finishing an article out of the 10 that you have to do, you can have that scoop of ice cream or that bar of chocolate that you've been craving for since last week.

Just don't overdo it or you'll gain weight or have diabetes.

Do not expect a quick fix. Procrastination is a habit formed over time and it also takes time to break a habit.

Here's a video from YouTube that I found funny and illustrates some examples of procrastination.

Can A Virtual Assistant Work Without His or Her Own Computer?

Can he? Can she? Can I?

I don't know about him or her or you but ever since my PC gave its last dying breath after giving me all its got and complaining every other day on its last days, I've been working from an internet cafe in our village.

It's a good thing that I can run the Odesk Team Application from a USB flash drive so I can still track time.

I'm also fortunate that I was able to find clients who have given me flexible hours to work so I don't have to be online at certain hours of the day.

The internet cafe is only walking distance from our house, the owner is a friend, and it's open from 9 in the morning until 12 midnight. There are even days, like Friday and Saturday, when it's open for 24 hours to accommodate students who have no school the following day.

What are the drawbacks?

Well, for one, I can't work in my PJ's anymore.

I used to wake up early, like 5 am, and go straight to the computer, without even visiting the bathroom first.

Now, I have to wait for the shop to open before I can start work.

Then, I have to deal with distractions like noise and loud music. Although I don't really mind the music. In fact, I welcome it since it blocks the noise of the D.O.T.A. players.

I can't choose who sits next to me. So even if that person smells like vinegar or fish sauce, I can't do anything except grin and bear it or change place if there's one free. 

It's not cheap renting a PC compared to a subscription to an internet service provider since I am paying by the hour. Half of what I get from my online gigs goes to paying for the use of PC and internet.

I have to make full use of every hour since I'm on a limited budget.

Unlike before when I can study my collection of tutorials at my own time and pace, now I have to squeeze them in during work days. Or wait for Friday or Saturday night when the shop is open for its overnight hours and I can stay up late until the wee hours of the morning.

If the owner decides to close shop for the day due to maintenance or repairs, I can't do anything about it. If I want to have some work done for that day, then I'll have to find another internet cafe.

I'm totally dependent on the shop's opening, operating, and closing hours.

With all these roadblocks in my way, you'd think I would just like to forget about working as a virtual assistant. After all, what's the use of working from home if I don't have my own computer, right?

But, strangely enough, it's made me even more determined to succeed in my chosen profession. I see this as only just a test to see how determined and committed I am. 

I can't prevent unfortunate things from happening but I can control my reactions to them.

I can choose how to respond.

I can find ways.

It may not be an ideal situation but until I can save enough to buy a new computer, I'll make the best of it and still contrive to deliver excellent work to my clients.

So for the meantime, I'll continue to frequent my internet cafe cum office and just charge all these to experience as part of the exciting though unpredictable life of a virtual assistant.

Introducing a new social networking site: Google Plus

     I was surfing the net and I came across this article that did a review on Google's new social networking tool, Google Plus.

     I was like, "what?", "really?", "amazing!", "why didn't I hear of this before?".

     At first I thought the article was referring to the Google Plus +1 button which Google rolled out just recently, but upon reading further I found out it was really about a Google social network similar to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.
   
     The article mentioned that this tool was secretly developed by Google but many people already predicted that they will be rolling out something like this since Google Buzz was not successful.

     At the moment, it is only available by invite to a small group of people who are selected to help test it.

     Based on the screenshots that I've seen, the site looks cool and clean.

     One unique feature I like about it is it's way of letting users create circles where we can add family and friends. We can add them to specific circles like circle of best friends, circle of acquaintances, circle of co-workers, circle of neighbors, circle of virtual assistant friends, and many more. Adding a friend to a circle is as easy as dragging him or her to the circle of your choice.

      This tool is not yet available to everyone but it has already whetted my appetite. I can't wait to check this out and be part of a circle!

Sharing the Love with CommentLuv

     I came across commentLuv in my part-time work as a blog commenter.

     One of the client's instructions is to only comment on blogs that have commentLuv installed. At first I wondered why. Then I finally
understood as I continue to read articles about its good points.

     What is CommentLuv?

     CommentLuv is a plugin for WordPress and Blogger.com blogs.

     A plugin is a piece of software that adds certain functionality to a larger software application.

     How does commentLuv work?

     Well, here's my understanding based on the articles I've read about it.

     When the plugin is enabled on your blog, whenever someone leaves a comment and fills all the details in the comment form that includes the name, email, and URL, the plugin automatically pulls the latest post title from the commenter's blog or site and displays it as a clickable link below the comment. Not only that, there will also be a drop down arrow beside the link and the commenter can choose from several of his latest posts the most relevant to the blog that he's commenting on. So if other readers see the link and are interested, they'll be able to click on the link and visit the commenter's blog or site.

      I got interested enough that I decided to install commentLuv on my blog. I believe using this plugin is a great way to show your love and appreciation to your readers who care enough about your posts and articles and take time out from their busy schedules to leave a comment or feedback by also providing them a way to show visibility for their work. You and your readers will both benefit because you'll be attracting more visitors to your blog and they'll be getting traffic to their blogs.

      Isn't this a nice way to share love on the blogosphere? I commend the creator for thinking of this.




    

Now Showing: Google Plus One +1

     Google recently released its new feature, the Google +1 button as an answer to Facebook's Like button.
  
     For those using the blogger platform like me, the button is automatically installed to their blog. But if you have a self-hosted Wordpress blog, you'll have to go to Google's +1 code page to get the code.

     Once you're on the code page, you can make selections for the button size, select a language (although it says there that currently only  English is available) and to count / no count on the button. There are two snippets of code: one for your blog's header, and the other for where you want the button to show up on your posts.

But what does this button do, you might ask?

     Well, when you surf the web or shop online and you find something you like like helpful tips from an article or blogpost or an ad on a website and you want to recommend it to your friends, just click on this +1 button and you will let others know about it anywhere on the web. But first you will  need a public Google profile before you can use this feature. Likewise, if you're the one searching for something on Google, you'll be able to see which comes recommended by your friends.

     Also, by displaying this button on your blog or site, you're allowing your visitors to give your site their stamp of approval and the more popular your blog is, the more it shows up on Google's search page.

How will this button affect bloggers and website owners?

     There are rumors that this button will be replacing Google Page Rank, although they're just that, rumors. But in the meantime, showing Google that your blog is popular by having many plusses may affect the SERP ( Search Engine Results Page).
     There are concerns that many will try to game the system just like buying Facebook likes but let's hope Google has worked out a method to catch these cheats.

     Now, with these new feature, not only will people be asking others to like them on Facebook but also to +1 them with Google.

4 Mouth Watering ways I can spend my first odesk earnings

     Take a look at this screenshot.

     That's my very first odesk earnings! And that's equivalent to 4 hours of work. Not bad, huh?

     Now, I'm contemplating on how I should use this money. I can think of several but here are for me the top mouth watering ways:

1. Treat myself to a coke float from McDonald's. I'm sooo dying to have one. Ok, I'm gonna treat my kids too.

2. Buy a half-gallon of Selecta Ice Cream Hershey's Kisses that Carmina Villaroel and her family are promoting on TV. ( Do they get a year's supply, I wonder?) That should be enough for five of us at home.

3. Summer is over according to PAG-ASA and I have yet to make my Chowking halo-halo-with-1 scoop-ice cream dream into reality.

4. Why don't I just satisfy my craving for a piece, ok 2 pieces of grilled spicy and juicy pork chops?

     On second thoughts, maybe I should just put this amount to good use and save it to pay for my internet.
  
     What do you think?

From Zero to Heroine

It wasn't that long ago, I was one of the newbies in odesk looking for my first freelance job.

     Everyday without fail, I will look through the jobs posted for virtual assistants, personal assistants, administrative work and data entry. By now, I've already learned how to spot and ignore posts that are scams and these are cancelled by odesk.
     I remember the feeling of anticipation everytime I log-in to odesk to see whether I've been picked for an interview, and disappointed that I was not.
     I visit the community forums often to read and sometimes participate in the discussion threads. And I see the same uncertainty felt by fellow odesk newbies, the same question that runs through our minds.
     When will we get that first elusive odesk job?
     But now, I've crossed the bridge. I'm on the other side. Because, two weeks ago, I was hired as a virtual assistant! It's only for 4 hours a week doing blog commenting, but for me, it's a start and I'm so thrilled!
     It was also a pleasant surprise for being unexpected. I didn't have all the skills the client was looking for but I sent my application anyway. After all, what's the worst that could happen? And when I checked odesk again, I was already hired. Isn't that something?!
     I'd like to think that it's all because of me but I know and I believe that it's because of God's grace.
     In His eyes, I deserve to be a heroine.