5 ms·

Part time executive assistant even if you’re not an executive. Do you have reverse ADHD? I don’t know what the name for it is. Some people get deeply focused

Part time executive assistant even if you’re not an executive. Do you have reverse ADHD? I don’t know what the name for it is. Some people get deeply focused on a small group of things, and are less productive when they have to do mundane or administrative things. It’s not about being lazy or spoiled, somehow defocusing hurts the momentum or intensity of higher priority things. It might not be as expensive as you think. I was surprised to find how many smart, organized, reliable people there are interested in part-time work they can do 80-90%+ remotely for reasonable pay. I don’t mention pay first. I ask what they would feel good about, then decide if it’s worth it to me. The reasoning is if someone takes an offer but secretly thinks it’s unfair it has less chance of working out well over time. Last person said $15/hr. I made a counter offer of $20 because after the interview it still felt like a deal. The amount of hours per week can just depend on what you need, and their schedule. They might have other part time work. 10 to 20 hours a week can be filled pretty easily with random things that grant you a lot of freedom. I think the benefit partially depends on how you like to work and prioritize your time. But for some people, as in my case it’s worth every penny.

ekerstein 6y ago
Could you give some examples of the work you find most useful to outsource to your assistant? Do you have them log into any of your accounts, and if so, how do you handle security/passwords?
- WhitneyLand 6y ago
  One example is I moved to a new place and the thought of getting all the utilities turned on and set up really made me cringe. They were able to handle every single bit of it, and I didn’t have to devote a second to distraction. It was bliss. Another example was when I bought a car. What a nightmare of wasted time. Filling up paperwork, contracts, getting insurance quotes and signing up for it... Didn’t have to do more than 10% of it. It even can help with technical support for technical people. When my home Internet stopped working, I took a few minutes to troubleshoot just enough to confirm the issue wasn’t on my side. Then I luxuriously asked, “would you mind opening a support ticket and handling a blitz of inane questions Until the point that they get real about it”? Wanted to change cellular service for four lines. Think about how much total time that actually takes. It can be a crime of inefficiency. Regarding credentials, great question. The reality is a lot of what someone can potentially be helpful with today will raise the issue. I chose to take the risk and let them have access to credentials they needed. To get comfortable with this required the interview, some due diligence on their history, and best intuition about trust. Of course, different credentials have different risks. What’s the worst someone could hurt me with credentials to my ISP account? Not much, unless they were seriously targeting me for attack as a skilled hacker. And of course hopefully most of us are not still doing things like using the same weak password across accounts, or not practicing basic security hygiene.

ekerstein 6y ago

Could you give some examples of the work you find most useful to outsource to your assistant? Do you have them log into any of your accounts, and if so, how do you handle security/passwords?

WhitneyLand 6y ago
One example is I moved to a new place and the thought of getting all the utilities turned on and set up really made me cringe. They were able to handle every single bit of it, and I didn’t have to devote a second to distraction. It was bliss. Another example was when I bought a car. What a nightmare of wasted time. Filling up paperwork, contracts, getting insurance quotes and signing up for it... Didn’t have to do more than 10% of it. It even can help with technical support for technical people. When my home Internet stopped working, I took a few minutes to troubleshoot just enough to confirm the issue wasn’t on my side. Then I luxuriously asked, “would you mind opening a support ticket and handling a blitz of inane questions Until the point that they get real about it”? Wanted to change cellular service for four lines. Think about how much total time that actually takes. It can be a crime of inefficiency. Regarding credentials, great question. The reality is a lot of what someone can potentially be helpful with today will raise the issue. I chose to take the risk and let them have access to credentials they needed. To get comfortable with this required the interview, some due diligence on their history, and best intuition about trust. Of course, different credentials have different risks. What’s the worst someone could hurt me with credentials to my ISP account? Not much, unless they were seriously targeting me for attack as a skilled hacker. And of course hopefully most of us are not still doing things like using the same weak password across accounts, or not practicing basic security hygiene.