Sunday, April 14, 2013

Trish Donmall owns Conor's Admin Services.
Here she chats about running her business AND having children.

A Day in The Life of a Virtual Assistant with Children
 
I often hear people say that they want to work from home to spend more time with their children, then when they do they are discouraged as the “extra” time they have at home doesn't always turn into more family time. I know there are quite a few out there that will relate to this.
 


 
Before we get into my typical day let me tell you a bit about me first. I am a working VA that started with one part-time client 11 years ago while working a full-time job. I have now been working from my house for the past 9 years full time. I have three darling daughters aged 9, 6 and 2. While the elder two are at school in Grade 3 and 1 respectively, I have the 2-year-old at home with me (I must be nuts).

 

My general day starts with getting my daughters up and ready for school. During which time if I’m lucky I manage to get that most important first cup of coffee for the day in. After the school run its home and down to work. With the help of Disney Junior and Dora the Explorer I usually manage to get a couple of hours of work done between playtime with my 2-year-old (enforced playtime as deemed appropriate by my daughter if she thinks I'm working too hard). Depending on the day of the week depends on the afternoon school collection routine but its usually fun as school doesn't finish at the same time for my daughters. So I stop work to go fetch my Grade 1, then its home and time for lunch. After lunch its usually time to go and fetch my Grade 3. Then home again, and homework and playtime. This obviously includes reading for both of my school going children so work time in the afternoon is often interrupted unless its urgent. Then its time to get supper ready, which means the help of at least one of my children as my two eldest have cooking classes once a fortnight at school and so are always very keen to help. After supper, its time to sit and relax and watch some TV before the bath and bed routine. Finally when all my girls are asleep, usually by 8, its time for a quick and quiet cup of coffee before tackling any of the work that is outstanding from the day and getting ready for the next day.

 

There are some days when I try and work out how I have achieved so little on my To Do List but then those are usually the days when school commitments are high.

 

Deadlines are deadlines and its not the clients problem if you have an issues or problems so if necessary late nights or early mornings can be called for.

 

For those that think working at home compared to working in an office is a piece of cake I do beg to differ. I find I now work harder and longer by the time I throw the school commitments into the mix. Having said that though I wouldn't change any of it for all the tea in China. I love my work and I love my family.

 

Trish Donmall


trishdonmall@gmail.com

Conors Admin Services offers transcription, typing and services to small, micro and medium enterprises, large corporations as well as to individuals.

We specialise in the medical transcription field, but also offer general and legal transcription/typing services.
If you are spending too much time in your office doing the administration to run your business then we could help you.

We offer a range of services that will assist in the running of your business, that will allow you the time you need to grow and expand your business.

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