Not posh enough for a PA?

Recently, I had to run a friend home during the day so that she could collect something. When we walked in to her typical suburban home, we ran straight into the cleaner, who was on her way out. After the cleaner had gone, my friend told me that she and her husband had taken on a cleaner because neither of them had the time to keep the house to the standard they preferred it to be, and that the £60 they paid out each month was more than worth it. The time it saved them, and the result of a lovely, clean house, added more than £60 worth of quality to their lives.

This episode gave me pause for thought. Not so long ago, it was thought that only rich people had cleaners, that all the rest of us poor sods had to sort everything out ourselves. Now, things have changed dramatically. With most households consisting of two breadwinners, and perhaps a child or three, the world is now full of very busy people.

As people begin to put a value on their own personal time, the idea of having outside help is more and more commonplace. Those that engage as-needed help realise that with the hours the cleaner/dog walker/personal assistant can give them, they could be doing something far more profitable - be that on an emotional or professional level.

The term 'personal assistant' seems to conjure up two very distinct images. On one hand, you have the executive PA, someone who looks after all the needs of his or her boss, from travel to gift buying and all necessary secretarial tasks. On the other hand, you have the image of the PA to Madonna, or Katie Price - long suffering arrangers and re-arrangers of every last travel, personal and professional detail. These two distinct 'PA pictures' have one thing in common - they are both associated with some degree of wealth.

Fortunately, having a lot of money is no longer a prerequisite for having a PA. An ad hoc PA can handle a multitude of tasks for you, thus freeing you up for the finer things of life or work. For £15-£20 an hour, a freelance assistant can run your errands, update your business Twitter and Facebook accounts, book travel or dining reservations, type letters, do research, buy and wrap a special gift - the list is endless, and is simply down to whatever you might need on any given day.

You may only need a PA a few hours a month or week, or for several days in a row. Thus is the beauty of an ad hoc, self-employed PA. With the gift of time given to you by your ad hoc PA, you could be doing something that brings you more money, spending more time with your family, or brainstorming about your business or marketing plan.

Time is precious! An ad hoc PA can put more hours in your day so you can focus on other things. What a small price to pay to improve your own quality of life and personal effectiveness!

Your Ad Hoc PA provides personal outsourcing services in and around Portsmouth. Please visit my website to learn more.