- Katy Allen has three children and runs a business.
- She has no family nearby, and her husband is a tour musician.
- She relies on home assistants for about nine hours each week.
This strong essay — to based on a conversation with Katy allenthe founder of Artistic agenda. Hasten edited for length and clarity.
For the past eight years, I have been supported The last college graduates To help me make my life happen. They are not the administrator’s grandfather or assistant – I think of each auxiliary as a “second me”, which will do with any of the tasks I can, whether it is processing the return of Amazon, leaving the laundry, or taking the car for an oil change.
I am a mother of three children who are now 11, 8 and 5. I am also a business owner and have been diagnosed with ADHD as adult. My husband is a musician who is often on the tour, and our closest family lives five hours away.
Assistance to hiring meets an important gap for me. It allows me not only to do things, but, most importantly, to close some of the mental tabs that I have constantly opened in my brain. Because of the help, I have been more successful at work and Most present with my children.
Find yourself also wishing a double body? Here’s how I made the adjustment to function smoothly.
Find the right help
I Live near a universityAnd here I found most of my helpers. Women who help me are usually students or recent college ranks. They can work for a year or two before they continue. When they do this, I usually ask them to refer to a friend who may be interested in work.
If I have to advertise, I immediately say in the ad that I am looking for a second me. I explain that they may be required to do whatever I would do (within reason – I will not make them cleanse the baths), and every day it will look different.
Automate the process
Having a helper is about all By reducing my work loadBut many of my friends worry that employment help will actually be more work. To avoid it, I automate as much as possible. My assistant works a certain schedule, usually two to three days each week for about three hours at a time. She has a key to my home and can allow herself and start working without me to give instructions. Some days I don’t even see it.
I hold a list of items (like laundry) that constantly need attention on a Google Doc. If I have time every week, add more pressing items, such as returning items to the store, receiving a birthday gift or organizing a separate home area.
Google Doc is great because my assistant can leave comments and notes, letting me know what she did and if she had problems with nothing. I can process it when I have time, rather than during my work day or when I am with the kids. I can also give a simple reaction to the document.
Trust is essential
As you can see, my helpers have a lot of access to my life. I even share another Google DOC with account information on certain accounts, like Amazon. A relationship like this only works if you can really trust the person working for you.
I’ve never had problems with an incredible helper. Once, I had a helper who was simply not a great appropriate personality. It should have felt the same because we shared the ways quite quickly, and I advertised the position again.
Start
I pay my assistant a good rate, somewhere between what I will pay for a grandfather and what I would pay for an administrator’s professional assistant. So the cost can be increased. When I started this eight years ago, I would be surprised how much I spent on help employed today. However, it makes sense because I am more productive at work.
If you are new to hire help, start small. Employ someone for ad-hoc projects or for just a few hours a month, and see if the impact on your productivity and brain space is worth devoting. For me, it has certainly been.