How to manage more than one client diary and avoid overwhelm in your VA Business

Diary management and email handling are frequently the main tasks a busy entrepreneur will hire a Virtual Assistant to manage. Having more than one or two clients though, can make these staple tasks difficult to manage. This can cause a major headache for new Virtual Assistants and, unless they have the right tools in place, it will also cause stress and overwhelm.

Essential tools for diary management

When it comes to fast and efficient diary management, there are only two real tools a virtual assistant needs – Google Calendar and Outlook. Both of these programs are easy to use, can both work independently of each other. They can however, also seamlessly work together if you prefer too, so you can sync them to transfer updates to each other.

Google Calendar

Since its launch in April 2006, Google Calendar has been an invaluable tool for Virtual Assistants. Being cloud based, Google Calendar is really easy to set up, as you can install it on your PC or laptop, as well as your iPhone or Android phone too. This means both you and your client will always have an up-to-date calendar, regardless of whether you’re at home, in the office or out and about.

Your client simply needs to give you permission to access their Google calendar, via the settings button in their account, and then you can start managing their calendar for them!

Google calendar also has an option to set up and manage multiple calendars, so you can set up new calendars for your individual clients. You can then select which calendars you’d like hidden or displayed and you can customise your calendar to only show which hours and days you work too – making it super easy to create your own unique view.

Outlook

If you prefer a computer based calendar, Outlook offers similar features to Google Calendar. You can still easily manage multiple clients, by simply creating new calendars for each. You also have the option of selecting which calendars you wish to view, via a simple tick list on the left-hand side of your Outlook screen.

You can share Outlook calendars with others via email, and this gives you the option to select which date range you’d like to share with them. However, for maximum benefit, if you want to share updates on an Outlook calendar etc. on a regular basis, it’s better to both link Outlook to Google Calendar and have the information set to automatically sync, or use a cloud-based platform, such as Google Calendar.

Managing multiple client diaries doesn’t have to be stressful, if you ensure you use the tools that are available to you. Why not check out the two recommendations above and choose the option best suited to your needs.

Are you a Google Calendar or Outlook fan? Or do you prefer to use both? Why not share your experiences and advice to help other Virtual Assistants benefit, by leaving a comment in the section below?