How to automate your virtual assistant

For solopreneurs, aspiring business owners, and side hustlers, there are always going to be too many tasks on your to do list every day. Hiring a virtual assistant or expanding your team can be a great way to increase your capacity and help you get more done, but it might not be a financial option for you at the moment.

Using IFTTT, you can easily create systems and workflows that help you manage your workload. Automation can make it possible to simplify your tasks, eliminate many of the manual and repetitive elements of your day, and give you back essential time that you need to accomplish your goals.

IFTTT works as a quick, cost efficient, and easy low code alternative to other tools that can be complicated and time consuming to set up. What’s more, you have the ability to manage multiple accounts, create as many workflows as you want, and be completely in control of your data.

Calendar management

Syncing your calendars, creating custom notifications for specific events, and putting time on your schedule for upcoming tasks are all easy ways to stay organized. Some of the most important elements of time management include keeping your calendar up to date, carving out time for the things that you want to get done, and prioritizing conflicting events. A virtual assistant is generally responsible for staying on top of these things, letting you know what is coming up over the next week, and making sure you are prepared for upcoming events. There are Applets that make it easy to do many of the same things.

You can create an automation that syncs your Google Calendar to your iOS Calendar, or add an event to your week anytime you have a new assignment. Additionally, the note widget on your phone or your voice assistant makes it remarkably easy to quickly add an event to your calendar while also sending you an email that you can review later as a reminder.

To-do tracking

Having your projects organized and staying on top of due dates is a big part of managing your time. Virtual assistants can be helpful in organizing your upcoming tasks, keeping your timelines aligned, and making sure you are communicating with the involved parties along the way. Building those tasks and timelines into your to-do list with IFTTT makes it easy to stay organized, get projects done on time, and keep things organized.

Notifications and reminders

Too many notifications across different platforms can be overwhelming and unhelpful. Streamline the information that is coming your way by determining which notifications are most important to you at different times of the day or the week. You can use filter code to specify when you want certain notifications to be sent and skip the action at times they are not necessary.

You can also choose to receive your notifications or reminders in certain apps, on specific devices, or have them sent to a dedicated inbox.

Media mentions and social listening

You can’t be everywhere all the time and spending hours scrolling through social feeds is time consuming and often overwhelming. Take advantage of triggers from Reddit, Twitter, and even RSS feeds from other sites that can help you get tailored updates when your brand or company is mentioned online. Chime in on the conversation or use it as an opportunity to generate feedback from your valued audience. By directing your mentions and social notifications to a specific Slack channel or into an email digest can make them more manageable, keep them in one place, and allow you to read through them when it is convenient for you.

Aggregate all of your mentions or online conversations in a spreadsheet so that you can refer back to the sentiment and constructive pieces of feedback that you receive over time. This can be a great way to put positive words in one place or reference for suggestions when you are working on your next campaign.

Trend reports and news

Staying up to date with the latest online trends, topics of conversation, and advances in your field is a huge part of being an entrepreneur. Having an understanding of what is happening in your field makes it possible for you to pivot, get involved in trending conversations, and react to news as it is published.

However, similar to spending your time tracking media mentions, keeping up with trends can be time consuming and can present an information overload. Identify a few key sources that you trust and want to use as your news source.

Sharing your content on social media

Of course, it is important to post consistently across the platforms that your audience visits most frequently. Creating individual pieces that target certain segments of your key demographic is important, but there are often instances where one element is relevant to many groups. In the cases where you want to cross-promote a video on social media while also sharing it in a blog, you can do it in one easy step with IFTTT. With our wide variety of services available to use, you can quickly create Applets that connect different social platforms and allow you to share your messages from one to the other.

Data and reporting

Tracking the data and touchpoints that make a difference in your life and business is an important way to determine if you are on track. Whether you are prepping for a race in your spare time, tracking your meditation routine, or want to track the emails you get, you can automate it all with IFTTT. You can make notes on the go, send all of your social posts to a spreadsheet to track every word you publish, or track recent phone calls. However you use IFTTT to automate your spreadsheets, you can make sure you have reliable records to review at a later point.

A popular way to track your expenses is to use the camera widget on your phone and have the photo uploaded to a cloud storage service or note app of your choice. This can make it simple to retain digital copies of your invoices and return to them later on. Your future self will thank you for keeping track of everything and having it in one easy-to-find digital location.

Explore

Want to do even more with IFTTT and weather? Explore the possibilities and create powerful experiences by making your own Applets. Get started!