Hiring an executive assistant (EA) to delegate work tasks and life admin to has long been something reserved for celebrities and Fortune 500 executives. But that belief might now be changing, as rank-and-file workers decide they, too, want a taste of the EA experience.
As Callum Borchers wrote earlier this month in The Wall Street Journal, more workers outside the C-suite are finding assistants—virtual, in person, or AI, and sometimes just for a couple of hours a month—to help with everything from booking bouncy castles to managing work calendars.
Nowadays, everyone’s schedules are packed right down to the last minute. Plus, labor has never been easier to offload thanks to artificial intelligence and a globalized network. So it could be argued that what was once considered a luxury is now more accessible.
For repetitive tasks or errands, it makes sense for some people to hire a helping hand for the price of $50 or $60 an hour—or even cheaper if you enlist the services of AI. And while there’s only so much someone who isn’t employed by your company can do for you when it comes to work matters, there’s still plenty they can do otherwise that could help your work-life balance.
Make no mistake: Hiring someone to do work for you is a luxury. But depending on your circumstances and situation, and if you can swing the financials, it may make sense to at least explore options. Here are some signs you might need the extra help:
You are drowning in repetitive tasks
If you don’t have a virtual or executive assistant, then the assistant is you. Repetitive tasks—screening emails, scheduling meetings, and planning travel logistics—can quickly eat up your time. When it gets to the point that they consume a full workday or more each week, it’s time to offload.
Log your activities for a week and, after getting a detailed picture of where your hours are actually going, outsource and delegate the tasks that are slowing you down work-wise. For example, Fyxer AI can help tackle your inbox and keep on top of email follow-ups. And as the WSJ story points out, an AI assistant like Ohai can take on some of the mental load at home.
You are dropping the ball
If you find yourself double-booking meetings, never reaching the bottom of your inbox, or working late just to keep up, it often means you’re trying to do too much alone.
Outsourcing even 5 to 10 hours a week of admin can make a world of difference to both your professional capabilities and personal stress levels. Getting your own assistant helps keep you organized and accountable. Even one-off services like Taskrabbit, Angi, or Thumbtack could ease the burden when you feel yourself losing focus.
You can make the investment
Hiring your own EA, even part-time, is a financial investment. But it could also be an investment in your future. If you’re so bogged down by daily tasks that you can’t think bigger picture, pursue new clients, or focus on creative work—it might be time to hire help.
If the return on that investment is there, it could be worth it. A good assistant, brought on board at the right time, could more than pay for themselves by giving you back hours in the day you can redirect towards growing personally or professionally. Research has shown effective delegation allows business leaders to earn up to 20% more, while companies led by CEOs who were good delegators achieved better business growth compared to companies whose CEOs delegated less.
Besides, if your workload means you are letting things slip—losing a client or project could cost more than hiring the assistant in the first place.