Dearest Reader, Let’s go through a regular day together, shall we?
It’s 1:55 am on Wednesday.
The alarm usually goes off between 2:30 am and 2:45 am, but these days it goes off an hour early. It is the end of the month and there is so much to do. From submitting reports to strategy meetings with multiple teams, editing content worksheets, managing invoicing and payment to salary approvals, offboarding clients, and onboarding new clients. Hence my mental alarm went off at exactly 1:55 am.
To stay up, there is my audio bible learning where I look to get more details on Job’s story. Interestingly, I missed a few lessons from his story about 8 months ago. Something to note is while God approved his tests, his friends were of the opinion that Job was too stiff-necked to admit he had done something that has brought this evil upon him. Like these people were hounding him. Poor Job.
4:00 am
It is time to go out for a run. I will be back at 5:30 am and hopefully update this entry. Yes! it is safe outside.
6:00 am
Coming out of a warm shower and looking through my emails. Next, check my To-do list. I look through my emails before my to-do list in case there is something urgent from a client or a team member, I could quickly fit it into the Todo list. As of this morning, my to-do list will not be altered as the stars are aligned in my favour.
The To-do list is divided into 4 parts. Do; Important/Urgent, Schedule; important/less urgent, Delegate; less important/urgent and Delete; less urgent/less important.
Responses to important emails are scheduled to go out at 9:30 am.
6:47 am
It is 6:47 AM in the morning and I have decided for brunch it will be salads. This decision has to be made very early because I am one of those people who do not know what to eat. Need I mention that I do not eat breakfast because it makes me slow, tired, and sleepy and I was experiencing some digestive issues. There is a background story to this, hopefully, I can make an entry about it someday. I am not sure if I should make more entries while I work or finish for the day and do a recap. I will figure it out as the day goes on.
7:07 am
It’s officially time to start work for the day, but first, the playlist is switched from Lofi #2 to Hans Zimmer #2. The first thing to handle on To Do List is to send a mail to GIG Logistics requesting a goods damage claim for Client A. This mail will be scheduled for 9:00 am and I will spend the rest of this morning preparing the off-boarding process for client B. This will include mail prompts and a PDF document explaining the entire process to the client. The detail of the offboarding process will be tailored based on my work experience with client B.
11:00 am
It’s about time for brunch, and a healthy bowl of salad. Next, I am going out for a 20 minutes sunlight walk. My medical friends have made this a compulsory part of my daily routine.
11:50 am
The Playlist is switched from Hans Zimmer #2 to Coffee shop #1 and It’s time to schedule my important/less urgent tasks. After looking through my calendar, I have decided that the August budget for Client C will be done on Friday this week. I would send a reminder to my team to complete their content worksheet tomorrow, Thursday. I would approve the salary payment on Monday morning.
Moving on, less important but urgent tasks are delegated. First is sending the brand identity questionnaire for Client D to Steve so he can start designing a logo for the client’s cosmetic business. A call is then put through to Steve to give him more insight into Client D’s personality. Moving on, Guga Express is contracted to handle all pickups and deliveries for the day. Finally, there is assigning a less urgent request made by Tosin yesterday for a specific design made to Dumebi.
1:00 pm
The emails are checked at 1:00 pm. Checking for urgent requests from clients and other business partners. I have been quite lucky today. My inbox is void of urgencies. I have responded to GIG Logistics’ request for more details of the damaged goods and replied to other mails.
It’s time for quick team check-in. See if everyone is on task. I am still trying to find my rhythm with the team as it’s new. The dispatch rider arrives at 1:30 pm for pickup.
2:00 pm
It is time for a call with my lovely copywriter Halimah. My very first conversation with Halimah was her TCA discovery call on 9 February 2022. Halimah finished the Creative Advisory in May and started a paid internship with my brand in June, and to this day I always look forward to our creative calls. This should not be a surprise but every time we talk It’s a pleasant surprise. Hopefully, I will write an entry about this someday.
The call is meant to last for an hour, but we already know it will take at least two hours.
The conversation with Halimah was centered on the newsletter going out on Sunday, and we agreed on some new changes. I am proud of her, she has learned how to navigate a WordPress blog and excels at anticipating my creative needs.
4:14 pm
For the final time today, I am changing the playlist from Coffee shop #1 to Florence and the Machine #4 I am practicing some of the yoga poses I recently learned. Since I spend most part of my day sitting to ease the tension on my neck and back, yoga has become very helpful.
4:45 pm
It’s about dinner time. I will be having a bowl of pepper soup because it’s very cold in Jos and my stomach feels a bit upset since yesterday due to digestive issues. I eat dinner on or before 5 pm unless it’s a craving that needs to be satisfied. What can the righteous do?
5:50 pm
It is time to check my mail for the last time and make a to-do list for tomorrow, uncertain of what tomorrow will bring. The to-do list must be made in hopes of having a successful morrow.
Finally, here is a rundown of what happens next because a girl needs to rest. I will be on the phone with family or a friend, take a quick peek on social media, have a warm bath at 8:00 pm, and be fast asleep at 9:00 pm. Many people find this unbelievable but I can promise you that on a worn-out day, I will be asleep at 6:00 pm.
The daily life of a Virtual assistant is unpredictable, worse is a virtual assistant who dares to build a brand.
What does a day in your life look like? Tell me in the comment section.
Bye for now,
Alexis.
