Professional Email Alternatives for Scheduling

This 1 simple email tip saves me so much time and frustration 😄 Schrödinger's calendar is one of my biggest pet peeves. You know, when you're emailing back and forth to schedule a meeting and you ask something like, "Are you available on Tuesday in the range of 9:00am to 12:00pm EST?" So you block off that time in your calendar, waiting for a response, and those 3 hours in your schedule remain in a state of superposition - you're simultaneously available and unavailable. Available because you technically don't have any meetings yet, but also unavailable because you're holding that slot as you suggested. You don't know for sure until your email is observed and the other person gets back to you with their response. Hopefully something like, "Yes, let's do 10:00am EST on Tuesday." But you could easily hear something like, "Sorry, Tuesday is fully booked for me. How's your schedule on Wednesday or Thursday?" In which case the back-and-forth emailing continues. Gross 🤮 I know I'm being dramatic, it just really annoys me. My tip to avoid this nonsense? Use an automated scheduling tool! There are a few popular options out there, but my personal choice is Calendly. This post isn't sponsored or anything. I just genuinely like the tool 😄 Makes my work life so much easier by reducing back-and-forth emails when scheduling meetings. All I have to say is, "Here's a link to my calendar, please book a call at a time that's convenient for you." So easy! Are you using an automated scheduling tool like this? If so, which one? If not, would you be interested in trying? Let me know in the comments 👇 #productivity #meetings #scheduling

The Ultimate Scheduling Hack to Streamline Your VA Workflow Was it just me or is managing your own schedule as a VA feeling like herding cats. Between client calls, project deadlines, and personal time, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But here’s my little secret: Automate your availability and give clients the power to book themselves. Here’s How to Make Scheduling a Breeze: 1. Use an Automated Booking Tool Tools like Calendly, Acuity, or Doodle let clients book a time that works for them based on your preset availability. No more back-and-forth emails, just one link. 2. Set Clear Time Blocks Dedicate specific days or hours for client meetings, and make that clear in your booking settings. Maybe it’s Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-2. Consistency keeps you from scrambling. 3. Sync Your Calendars Whether it’s Google Calendar, Outlook, or Apple, make sure all your calendars sync with your booking tool. No double-booking, no stress. Why This Works: Clients appreciate the simplicity and efficiency of booking themselves. You maintain control over your schedule without the constant negotiation. Plus, it sets a professional tone from the start. And because I said so, no JK.. VA OG Tip: Add a buffer time between appointments (like 15 minutes) to breathe, reset, and prepare for the next call or make notes. It keeps you from feeling rushed and gives you a mental break. Stop letting your calendar control you. Automate don’t procrastinate! Ready for more life-saving hacks? Follow me for more VA tips! Monica ✌🏼❤️

CSMs - are you taking advantage of free technology to help you with streamlining your daily tasks? If not, you should be. You probably have heard of these, but were waiting for your manager or the company to release them to you. Let me give you some advice: "Don't wait for permission. Ask for forgiveness." There are a bunch of available tools that can be game-changers when it comes to improving your own personal productivity, and you shouldn't need to a corporate sanction to use them. They are easy to use and you can get started in minutes. Even if you decide to upgrade to the paid versions and have to shell out a couple bucks per month personally, the cost to you might be well worth the recovered time and reduced stress. Here are three you could start with today: Calendly - Stop wasting cycles going back and forth with customers to figure out everyone's availability for a call. Calendly simplifies the scheduling process by integrating to your calendar and then allowing the recipient to select the available time that also works for them. Massive time-saver and intuitive to use for both parties. Loom - Easily record up to five minute videos of yourself to send to your customers when delivering important asynchronous information. By making your communications interactive and visual, you're going to get better engagement by standing out from the many text-block emails that are filling their inbox. Clockify - I started tracking all my time using Clockify and quickly became addicted. I was able to see not just HOW I was spending my time, but also WHEN I was spending my time. This allowed me to do a better job of "mega-batching" tasks to avoid the exhausting mental switching costs of bouncing around from project to project. Clockify will also give you incredible data to bring to your manager during one-on-one's (or perhaps your next performance review) to show them (to the minute) exactly how much time certain clients and tasks consume. That's gold. Which tools do you personally use that you'd add to this list? #customersuccess #freemium #productivity #customersuccessmanagement