A Day in the Life as a Virtual Executive Assistant

Days at Northern Primrose vary from VEA to VEA, however, our structure, vision and values are the same. We provide top-level administrative and operations support so our clients can focus on growing and scaling their businesses. We provide affordable solutions to clients who aren’t ready for full-time administrative support, but recognize that they need to delegate their administrative work in order to scale and grow.

As an Operations Strategist, it is my responsibility to ensure that clients’ operations are running smoothly, that junior executives are up-to-date on task details, and that we are efficient in delegation while offering solutions in a pinch.

My clients include Artists, Management Firms, Advertising Agencies, and family owned and operated businesses! Each of these clients are dear to me and we have built great relationships during my time at Northern Primrose.

Here is a snapshot of my typical day:

I operate out of Mountain Standard Time and my typical work day starts around 8:00am. But before that, I am a mom so I get up around…

6:45am: I get breakfast ready for my two children, I get them and myself ready for the day, I drop my kids off at daycare and then head back home to my home office where I wrap myself in my heated blanket and sign into work for the day;

8:00am-8:05am: Time to log in! A quick review of my email to check if clients have updated me on anything. I then send those tasks to ClickUp, our task management software, to tackle once I get into my clients’ accounts. I check in to Slack to see if there are any updates from the Northern Primrose team or if there are any questions about my client accounts from our junior executives.

8:05am-8:10am: Client #1, I do a quick check-in to their inbox – mostly spam emails.

8:10am-9:00am: Client #2, there’s nothing to action today from my Admin email. I check into the client’s email and file invoices. I run a purchase order report, update it, and send it to the client for their next scheduled meeting.

9:00am-9:10am: Client#3, I check in to their inbox and assign tasks to their team. A Slack message comes in from a junior executive who supports me on another account, so I review their message and hop into the client’s account to fix an error that occurred when running a report.

9:30am-10:15am: Client #2 and I meet for a 30 minute catch-up to discuss an upcoming project. After our meeting, I upload our Fathom recording to ClickUp, update and create new tasks that came from our meeting, and delegate them to junior assistants.

10:15am-11:00am: Client #4, I do a review of our client’s emails to ensure they are most up to date on their client correspondence. I update tasks and send a message to the client to let them know those updates and the next course of action.

11:00am-12:00pm: Client #5, I have a 30 minute meeting with my client then head into the account to complete my daily check-in tasks. I file invoices and upload them into their bookkeeping software for the accountant. I run out of time to create meeting note tasks and upload my Fathom recording to ClickUp, so I create a task for myself to do that tomorrow during the next check-in.

12:00pm-12:30pm: Lunch time!

A few Slack messages trickle in from the Northern Primrose team, so I review them and respond once I am back at my desk.

12:30pm-1:30pm: Client #6, I review my Admin email for updates, then schedule three meetings for my client and remove holds from their calendar. I send a new proposed meeting time-whoops! I sent the wrong time and date. It’s off to the NP Feedback doc for me; At Northern Primrose we share our ‘whoopsies’ in a document for the team to see. This document is reviewed and if there are consistencies between the team, we review some training in a team meeting!

1:30pm-2:00pm: Client #7, I review our Admin email for updates and check the client’s internal communication chat for any updates. It looks like we need to schedule a meeting. I create a task for the junior executive to tackle during their morning check-in tomorrow, and move into the clients inbox for an email review. I label their emails based on correspondence and file some receipts for their accountant.

2:00pm-2:05pm: Time to take a quick break and grab a snack!

2:05pm-2:30pm: Client #8, I check in to the client’s task management software and review emails. I assign emails to their team to action, file some health expense claims on their behalf and create a task for myself to check the status of the claims in a few dates so we can file the statement. I delegate tasks to junior executives to reach out to support for the client’s account as we lost access to one of their portals.

2:30pm-2:40pm: Client#2, I’m covering today for a coworker who would check in to the account at this time. I do a quick check-in to our Admin email and the client’s email; there are no action items so I complete the task and reassign them to my coworker to tackle tomorrow when they’re back online!

2:40pm-3:30pm: Client #9, I review our Admin email, confirm a meeting for the client, send out a calendar invite and update the client via Slack. I review tasks that are assigned to the client in their task management software. I start compiling a list of action items to the client on Slack, create follow up tasks in ClickUp, and delegate tasks to the junior virtual executive assistants.

3:30pm-4:30pm: Client NEW!, I attend a kickoff call for a new client who has just signed with Northern Primrose. This call was scheduled later than usual but the day and time is what worked for them. The timing is okay because I have to clock out early tomorrow to go to an appointment, so the eight hours I clock each day will even out! I quickly add their tasks and meeting notes to ClickUp to start actioning tomorrow and then confirm scheduled training sent from junior virtual executive assistant.

4:30pm-4:45pm: Client#3, I check in to their inbox and assign tasks to their team one more time before I clock out for the day.

4:45pm-4:50pm: Client #1, I do another quick check-in before I clock out for the day. It’s mostly spam emails but there is one voicemail! I review it and create a task for myself to call them back tomorrow because their timezone is 3 hours ahead of me and I want to call them during their business hours.

4:50pm-4:55pm: I do one last check of my inbox before I clock out for the day. I accept a few calendar invites and send tasks to ClickUp from client correspondence to work on tomorrow during their check-ins. I log out of Slack and clock out of QuickBooks Time, which is where we track our time.

That is what a typical day looks like for me! Some days may be scheduled with even more meetings, which means that client check-ins might be quicker and tasks will get pushed to the next day.

At Northern Primrose we block our calendars for our meetings and client check-in times so the Northern Primrose team can see where we are at at all times. This helps us determine when we can send team members messages on Slack, or when we can expect replies, especially if they are in meetings themselves! As a team, we meet once a week—every other week with our CEO, and on the alternate weeks without. We discuss our internal operations and issues collectively to get insight from the team.

Not to mention we get together once a month for a virtual happy hour where we play fun games and laugh at each other’s funny anecdotes.

Looking to join the Northern Primrose Team?

Fill out our career form HERE!