Need Some Help Organising Your Business and Personal Life?

Personal and business lives are often not straightforward, and at times can become a little bit untidy. We can all do with a bit of help now and again to get things organised and back to the way we want. Nowadays, support has never been as readily available, and there are a host of online tools and applications that can help you keep track of your business and personal lives. 

In fact, there are so many organiser apps available that you might struggle to decide which are the best ones for your situation. This brief article aims to introduce some of the best apps to organise your life and hopefully help you choose the right ones.

Asana. Asana is a web and mobile app used by businesses and organisations to help their teams manage their workflows and improve productivity. The app comes with a good pedigree in productivity, having been developed by Dustin Moskovitz (co-founder of Facebook) and former Google engineer Justin Rosenstein. They both worked on productivity in their former roles, so this app can surely help you with that.

Dashlane. This is a cross-platform password management tool that operates on a subscription basis. It is compatible with macOS, iOS, Windows, and Android operating systems. You can use the app for free with the option to pay for upgrades.

Dropbox. Dropbox is a file hosting service offering cloud-based storage for photos, documents, and other digital files.

Evernote. Evernote provides a note-taking, organisation, and task-management application. You can create notes in text, image audio, or drawing formats. These notes can be tagged, edited, exported, annotated, and searched. 

Google Trips. Google Trips allows users to plan their trips along two thousand miles of UK river paths. You can plan your trip to consider crossing bridges, locks, towpaths, and riverside refreshments.

Habitica. This is an online open-source task-management app. The app is structured like a role-playing game, which sets it apart from other task-management tools.

Hootsuite. This tool allows you to manage your various social media on a single platform. You use the system via a user-dashboard, enabling you to integrate your Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube feeds. 

Lastpass. This is a free password manager application, enabling you to encrypt and store your passwords online. The basic system is free to use, and various plugins can be accessed through a premium subscription. 

Sortly. Here is a straightforward asset and inventory tracking application. It enables you to track various items and their associated data, including condition, price, quantity, description, etc.

Trello. This one is an online Kanban-style list-making and organising application. Like a basic project-management app, it allows you to track what is being done, by whom, and at what stage.

Wunderlist. This is an online task-management app that allows you to create lists and manage tasks from your smartphone. 

Hopefully, using one, some, or all of these handy tools will help you and your business stay more organised. Still struggling with organising your business? Give us a call at Virtual PA Services: 0161 507 0656

What’s the Difference Between an Executive Assistant and a Personal Assistant?

The roles of executive assistants and personal assistants often get confused, with many people unaware of the differences between these two key positions. One reason people do not understand the difference is that both the executive assistant and the personal assistant require a very similar set of skills.

This short article aims to detail both the personal assistant and the executive assistant's roles, thereby highlighting the differences between the two.

The Role of the Personal Assistant

A personal assistant can work for anyone that requires their skills. Typical individuals who often need a personal assistant are successful actors, sportspeople, entrepreneurs, and other high net-worth people.

The main reason why these people need a personal assistant is that they are so successful in what they do; all their time is taken up doing it. It means they do not have time to fully organize their personal lives and need someone to assist them.

A personal assistant (PA) will be embedded in their employer's personal life, arranging their travel, meetings, social activities, and even errands such as shopping. The PA has to be ready to deal with no-notice changes to their employer's plans and anticipate what the employer wants.

PAs will also provide administrative support to their employers, such as renewing personal and household documentation. PAs are also expected to attend meetings with their employers and take notes or minutes as required.

Skills required by the PA include excellent written and verbal communication, attention to detail, and organizational skills.

The Role of the Executive Assistant

Whereas the PA generally works for an individual, the executive assistant (EA) works for senior management within a business or corporation. A successful EA will have a firm understanding of what their senior manager's job entails and what the business' goals are.

Like the PA, the EA is responsible for organizing their boss' appointments and meetings. Unlike the PA, they tend to have an active role in such meetings, prepare presentations, analyse data, follow up on actions from the meeting, etc. EAs will often be responsible for delivering projects, and they may even have their staff in larger organizations.

EAs tend to have a higher level of responsibility than PAs, and their role is based around the organization rather than the individual. For instance, if a CEO were to leave the organization, the EA would still be employed by that organization. Of course, there needs to be an excellent working relationship between the EA and the executive officer, so the EA may also be 'poached' if the CEO were to move companies.

Summary

The roles of the personal assistant and executive assistant are often confused. Although there is overlap in what they both do, and similar skillsets are required for each, there are key differences. Hopefully, this article will have established these differences, and you now appreciate the different nature of these two essential roles.