https://www.facebook.com/109070800858731/

Vilma Kaz. Virtual Assistant, Varena (2026)

16/11/2020

There are so many different tools/apps to help you out with your email, but you have to choose those, that are right for you. Download one or two apps to try and it out and pick the one that is easiest for you to work with.

19. When you’re in the middle of something, use Boomerang to temporarily pause your inbox.

I started using Boomerang as a read receipt tracker and also use it frequently as a message snoozer, either to snooze an incoming message for a later time or to schedule send a message at a later time/date. This keeps me from getting overwhelmed or distracted when I’m in the middle of something else.

How to do it: To try Boomerang, go to the Boomerang site and click “add this to your Gmail.” From there, you can play around with different “Inbox Pause” settings; you can keep your inbox from receiving emails for indefinite amounts of time, make exceptions for people whose emails you want to receive even when your inbox is paused, schedule periods throughout the day for your inbox to be paused or unpaused, and set up an auto-response for times when your inbox is paused.

The only down site- it works only on Gmail.

20. Use Boomerang, MixMax, or Streak to temporarily hide an email from your inbox and bring it back when you need it.

Since a major part of my job is communicating via email, it is helpful to have a tool like Boomerang that will allow me to have messages returned to my inbox if there is no reply. And since I often have to send messages on a certain day or at a certain time, I can compose them early and have them sent when I am ready. All of this is available for free, up to a certain number, which I have rarely reached.

Note: This is slightly different from the “pause inbox” feature outlined in #19. When your inbox is paused, no emails come through. When you make use of the Boomerang function, you’re hiding specific messages you’ve already received as you see fit.

MixMax is similar to Boomerang, it’s incredibly easy to send automated personalised emails, even in sequences, to contacts, as well as setting up meetings on calendars.

Strak is great for Gmail too. It has a simple download & installation process, efficient integration with Google (Gmail), time utilization: snippets and shortcuts, effective email tracking.

22. Use Sortd to set reminders for things you need to follow-up on.

Sortd lets me set follow-up reminders for myself, and honestly, the reminders are so key. Half the reason my emails used to be unread is that I told myself I’d just deal with them later—but the reminders force me to actually deal with them later. It works on Gmail only.

23. Use a URL saver like Evernote to keep track of articles you want to read without cluttering your inbox.

My friends and I like to email each other trending articles, but the truth is, we rarely have time to read them right away. So I use Evernote’s Web Clipper, which is a simple browser extension, to save the full article to a reading list I can skim when I have a cup of tea. It keeps my inbox clean and saves me from having a bunch of unnecessary tabs open.

24. Use Todoist or Asana instead of using your Inbox as a glorified to-do list.

I check my email twice a day: in the morning, and then again in the evening. For items that require action at some point in the future, I create a task with Todoist, a plugin that works for both Outlook and Gmail. What’s nice is that Todoist lets you click on a task and see the exact email that inspired it.

25. Play around with other built-in time-savers, like custom shortcuts and canned responses.

For maximum email efficiency, take advantage of things like custom shortcuts and canned responses.

How to do it: To access these built-in Gmail features, open your inbox, click the gear icon in the top right corner, and select “settings” from the dropdown menu. Scan the top menu until you see “labs,” click it, and browse the available options. “Custom shortcuts” allows you to set up keyboard shortcuts, so you can organize emails without having to use your mouse. “Canned responses” lets you create templated responses for things you frequently say in email replies, so you don’t have to type them out later.

03/11/2020

Moving on with those never-ending emails… GENERAL MAINTENANCE: Now make it a lifestyle!

11. Or use Sortd, an app that lets you build and view multiple inboxes as side-by-side lists.
I love Sortd, a free app that works within Gmail. It lets me sort emails by categories like ‘to do,’ ‘in progress,’ and ‘done’—though you can create custom labels for any categories you want.

12. Keep things from piling up by checking your email throughout the day.

Any time I open my phone (probably once an hour), I go ahead and check all the unread email notifications I have. Delete what you can, archive what you can, reply to what you can, and star anything you need a little more time to respond to.

13. Use downtime to your advantage—it’s the perfect time to check your email.

Whenever I’m standing in line, waiting for someone, or sitting on the subway, I check my email. It’s a great way to stay on top of things.

14. If you’d rather you and your inbox not be attached at the hip, just set up a designated time—or a few designated times—to check your email each day.

I work my email in chunks of time—first thing in the morning, before lunch, and after dinner. Handling it in chunks gives me time to work on other stuff in between without being interrupted.

15. Then carve out some time to do a deep clean of your inbox once a week.

Find a time when you don’t really have anything else to do. For me, that means Friday evenings. This keeps me from having full inbox anxiety on Monday morning; instead, I can start the week fresh.

16. Immediately respond to anything requiring only a minute of your time- Only Handle It Once.

Use the ‘one-minute rule.’ If something takes less than one minute to accomplish, try doing it right away instead of putting it off for later.

I use the Only Handle It Once method. Basically, when I read an email, I digest its contents, figure out what I need to do, and handle it immediately. It might sound intense, but honestly, it keeps me from forgetting stuff—or wasting time re-reading emails. It’s a real time-saver!

17. Flag things you can’t get around to right away—and set up some system for eventually handling them.

If I don’t have time for a long response right away, I star the email and come back to it when I have the time. If you’re on the go a lot, you can look through starred/flagged emails on the subway, while you're waiting for coffee, or whenever you’d realistically be looking at Instagram or doing something else.

I star emails that require a more thoughtful response. This serves as a reminder that I need to deal with that email sometime. If something’s really urgent—say, I need to follow-up that day—I mark it as unread, instead.

Every Friday, I make sure anything I’ve starred throughout the week has been handled so I can head into the weekend with a clean inbox.

18. Try to respond to business emails within 24 hours, and emails from family or friends within 72.

I try extremely hard to respond to business emails within 12-24 hours, and personal emails within three days. It can be tempting to ignore emails when you are swamped, but if you can't respond meaningfully within whatever parameters work for you, I really think it's better to shoot back a quick line saying ‘Hey, I'm so sorry that I don't have the time to dedicate to this right now, but I will give it my full attention tomorrow/next week/next month,’ or to offer someone a few minutes on the phone.

Easy, is in it🤓.

02/10/2020

I’m not even halfway through my email management tips, still a long way to go. Now I will touch base No 8, and 9

8. Set up as many folders as you need.

There are patterns in every person’s inbox, and it’s all about figuring out what yours are. Someone who travels twice a year just needs one travel folder, whereas someone who travels once a month might benefit from having several. Here are some of the folders I have, for reference: purchase receipts (online shopping confirmations), friends/family, travel, and work (sub-categorised by client). Segment your folders based on your personal priorities. Few examples: Needs Action/Reply, Awaiting Reply (I’m waiting for someone to respond to me), To-Do (content that I need to turn into an article, spreadsheet, etc.).

How to do it:

To set up folders in Gmail, start by opening your inbox and looking at the left sidebar menu in full. Under “categories,” you should see the commands “manage labels” and “create a new label.” “Label” is just Google’s name for “folder,” so to create a folder, just hit “create new label,” and organise from there.

To set up folders on MAC it’s easy, go on to email account that you would like to create a folder, right mouse click, select New Mailbox, type a name of your new mailbox and you are done.

9. Set up filters, so emails go straight to the folder they belong in.

Filter things so they automatically go to the appropriate folder—or to the trash—so they aren’t junking up your inbox or distracting you.

How to do it:

To set up filters in Gmail, start by opening your inbox and clicking the down arrow at the right side of the “search” box. Enter search criteria in the available boxes—email senders, email respondents, subject lines, keywords, and so on—based on what you want to filter out. Then, click “create a filter within this search.” From there, you can decide where to direct the filtered emails: straight to the trash, into a folder, etc.

Set up filters on a MAC, In the Mail app on your Mac, choose Mail -Preferences, then click Rules. To review an example of a rule, select a provided rule, then click Edit. To close the rule, click Cancel. Click Add Rule, then type a name for the rule. Indicate whether any or all of the conditions must be true for the rule to be applied to a message. Then you need to Specify the conditions. To use different header fields in conditions, choose Edit Header List from the first pop-up menu. To add your own header, click the Add button in the Message Headers window. Choose actions to perform on messages that meet the conditions. To specify multiple actions, click the Add button. When you’re done, click OK, then decide to apply rules to existing messages already in mailboxes or to new messages.
You can apply rules to existing messages later by choosing Message- Apply Rules.

It does sound a bit tricky, but ones it’s done, you don’t have to do it again and your Inbox just a few steps away from being easily managed🤓.

22/09/2020

And we are back again to check what can be easily done to deal with your unwanted emails. I know it might be boring to read my post, but trust me, ones you are on top of your emails, your life will get much better and you could be spending time reading a magazine or a great book, so stay with me:).

4. Unsubscribe from promotional emails you don’t need or want anymore.

Unwanted types of emails can end up in your inbox in all sorts of ways. For example, when you buy something online, you may have inadvertently given the company permission to send you more promotional materials, or a company may have sold your email as part of a list, paving ways for you to become spammed by marketers. So, this is what you can do:

MANUALLY UNSUBSCRIBE
Some marketing emails can be useful (who doesn’t love a discount code?) but if you’re tired of getting emails with no material use, you can elect to unsubscribe on a case-by-case basis.
Regardless of what email app you use, start by checking the bottom of an email from which you want to unsubscribe. In the small text, the sender may have offered the option to take yourself off the mailing list, with a link that says “Unsubscribe” or “Change email preferences.”
Read the email carefully, as this option may be hidden in a big block of text with link text that blends into the rest of the paragraph. Follow the link and the instructions to unsubscribe. Some emails might even instruct you to manually reply back with the subject line to request removal.

ON GMAIL
Another way to unsubscribe is to do it through your email provider. Gmail has begun recognizing marketing emails and filtering them to its Social or Promotions tabs to keep them out of your main inbox.
On the desktop, Gmail now offers an unsubscribe link at the top of most marketing emails and newsletters. Below the subject line and next to the sender information, there should be an unsubscribe link that will mark the email as spam. After clicking this, Gmail will ask you to confirm your decision. Click “Unsubscribe” again, and emails from this sender will now be rerouted to the spam inbox. This option is not yet available on Gmail’s iOS and Android apps.
Spam filtering not enough for you? If you want to make sure you never get emails from this sender again, you can also block the sender entirely. On both desktop and mobile apps, you can click the three dots on the right side of the sender’s information to open “More” options. Select “Block” to prevent emails from this particular sender from appearing from that point forward.

ON IOS MAIL
Apple’s native Mail app for iPhone and iPad also offers automatic newsletter and marketing email detection so you can unsubscribe without having to look for a specific link. If this option is available, it will show up at the top of an email when you’ve opened it. Click this link and confirm that you want to unsubscribe.
Unfortunately, you cannot block emails on the iOS Mail app since it is just a portal for accessing emails from providers like Outlook, Gmail, or Yahoo. Go to those providers directly for options on how to block specific senders.

ON MICROSOFT OUTLOOK
Similarly, Outlook offers the option to unsubscribe at the top of an opened email. Available on both desktop and mobile apps, Outlook will show you a link to unsubscribe at the top of the email above the sender information. Click this to unsubscribe and confirm.
Outlook’s mobile app does not offer the option to block individuals from sending an email. To do so, log into your account from a desktop and open an email from a sender you’d like to block. Click the dotted icon to open more options and navigate to “Block” to prevent the sender from emailing you any further.

ON YAHOO MAIL
Yahoo handles email unsubscribing a bit differently on mobile and desktop. On the mobile app, open an email and navigate to the dotted icon. Here, you can select to either unsubscribe from junk mail or mark it as spam.
The desktop version, on the other hand, does not offer to unsubscribe as an option. At the top of an opened email, you can select the spam icon next to the delete button or click the dotted icon to find the option to block the sender from emailing you.

5. Or level up and let Unsubscriber mass-unsubscribe for you.

If you have multiple emails across providers like Gmail and Outlook, it may be easier to use services that help you unsubscribe to emails than to do each sender individually. A free app like Unsubscriber offer to do this in bulk; however, you have to agree to give these businesses access to your inbox — which it may then sell to other marketers.

6. Ask to be taken off group emails that don’t apply to you.

Because it happens, and you don’t need those things cluttering your inbox.

7. And if you need to forward an email to someone else, do it right away. Then delete it!

There’s no need to keep it in your inbox if it’s not your responsibility.

So, like a home in real life, cleaning up isn’t always fun and easy, but if you put in a little elbow grease it may be worth the peace of mind of a clutter-free inbox. Good luck🙂

15/09/2020

Today's quick view of tip no 2 and 3:

2. Archive emails you’re not ready to delete just yet.

If you’re finished with an email, but you’re not sure if you’ll need it later, hit ‘archive’ instead of ‘delete. Most likely, you won’t need it again, but it’s worth it when you do. Keeping an email that you’ll eventually need can save you a lot of time later.

3. Delete newsletters and other “for pleasure” emails if they’ve been sitting in your inbox for a week or more.

Some weeks, I’m too busy to read my ‘for pleasure’ emails—blog updates, newsletters, etc. It’s tempting to hold onto these in case I ever get the chance to read them. But, if I haven’t read them after a week, it means, I will never be getting around to them, so- delete.

07/09/2020

My last post was about email management tips. Now I would like to go into more detail about every single point and help you out to have a stress free and time-consuming Inbox maintenance. Let’s talk about the first tip:

1. Start by removing anything you no longer need.

Delete anything that’s not relevant anymore, as long as you’re sure you won’t need it later.

If you think a message might be junk mail, don't open it. When you open an email that looks like junk mail, it can alert spammers that their message was received and opened from an active email account. This can lead to more junk mail. Delete any messages that look like junk mail before you open them. Then you can avoid more junk mail from spammers.
Spammers use the email image-loading feature to determine whether your email account is active. Here's how to keep images from loading automatically:
• In Mail on your Mac, choose Mail > Preferences. In the Viewing tab, deselect Load remote content in messages.

Report junk mail. Filtering junk mail at the server level is only part of the solution. You can report messages as junk in the Mail app. Then future messages from the same sender are marked as junk.
To mark a message as junk:
• On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 7 or later, open the message, tap the Flag at the bottom, then tap Move to Junk.
• On your Mac, select the message and click the Junk button in the Mail toolbar. Or you can drag the message to the Junk folder in the sidebar.

Correct false-positives. Filtering out junk mail can block a legitimate email from reaching your inbox. This is called a false-positive.
If you feel that a legitimate email message was accidentally filtered, you can mark it as not junk so that any future messages from the same sender go to your inbox:
• On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 7 or later, open the message in the Junk folder, tap the folder icon at the bottom, then tap Inbox to move the message.
• On your Mac, select the message and click the Not Junk button in the Mail toolbar. Or just drag the message to the Inbox in the sidebar.

Do those few things, and you should be well on your way to a cleaner inbox🙂.

23/08/2020

Great Email Management Tips

I’m one of those people that are crazy about their email and Inbox maintenance. I like to keep my and my client's emails nice and tidy and I’m sure I’m not alone, but not everyone likes to spend time on managing emails…

Here you will find quite a few tips on how to keep our Inbox nice and tidy and I will go about each tip in more detail in my upcoming posts, so keep an eye on it.

1. Start by removing anything you no longer need;
2. Archive emails you’re not ready to delete just yet;
3. Delete newsletters and other “for pleasure” emails if they’ve been sitting in your inbox for a week or more;
4. Unsubscribe from promotional emails you don’t need or want anymore;
5. Or level up and let Unroll. Me mass-unsubscribe for you;
6. Ask to be taken off group emails that don’t apply to you;
7. If you need to forward an email to someone else, do it right away. Then delete it!
8. Set up as many folders as you need;
9. Set up filters, so emails go straight to the folder they belong in;
10. Create multiple inboxes to further prioritise your emails;
11. Or use Sortd, an app that lets you build and view multiple inboxes as side-by-side lists;
12. Keep things from piling up by checking your email throughout the day;
13. Use downtime to your advantage—it’s the perfect time to check your email;
14. Set up a designated time—or a few designated times—to check your email each day;
15. Plane some time to do a deep clean of your inbox once a week;
16. Immediately respond to anything requiring only a minute of your time;
17. Flag things you can’t get around to straight away;
18. Try to respond to business emails within 24 hours, and emails from family or friends within 72;
19. When you’re in the middle of something, temporarily pause your inbox;
20. Temporarily hide an email from your inbox and bring it back when you need it;
21. Use apps to schedule responses to emails;
22. Set reminders for things you need to follow-up on;
23. Use Evernote to keep track of articles you want to read without cluttering your inbox;
24. Use Todoist or Asana instead of using your inbox as a glorified to-do list;
25. Play around with other built-in time-savers, like custom shortcuts and canned responses;
26. Instead of stressing about hitting zero every day, give yourself a guardrail number;
27. And don’t get so hung up on ‘inbox zero’ that you start wasting the time you’re trying to save.
28. Or just hire a Virtual Assistant to do all those things for you🙂.

14/07/2020

What are the most popular Project Management tools that Virtual Assistants and their clients use?

I know that not many people are good at Project Management as they are tired of updating spreadsheets, participating in weekly update meetings, or still using yellow sticky notes. Think about how much time is wasted!? If you have the right software tool, you could have an overview of your project at a glance. So, I will give you an overview of 5 Project Management tools that are most popular between Virtual Assistants and their clients:

1. Asana project management tool offers Tasks, projects, conversations, and dashboards. The most useful tool that this software has to offer is the ability to add custom fields and track only what is important to you. The software also offers Team Pages where ideas and conversations are shared for all to see as well as a ‘Smart Box’ where team members receive only important project updates rather than all messages back and forth. It can be integrated with a large number of other systems including GoogleDrive, DropBox, Github, MailChimp, and more.
Asana’s basic version is free, but you can sign up for a premium or an enterprise package that offers more control and support (pricing upon request).
Website: www.asana.com

2. Trello's difference from other project management tools is that it visualises an entire project in just one single view. Trello makes it possible to make cards and move them around on the ‘board’. These cards can display – for example, conversations or to-do lists, which can be placed on a board, making them accessible for any of the designated tool users.
Trello offers a free package (with unlimited boards, lists, cards, and members). It also has a business class package and an enterprise package.
Website: www.trello.com

3. Teamwork Projects is a great project management tool for the project management power user. Teamwork Projects includes all the tools you’ll need to track the development of a project. The app is quite flexible and includes various intuitive features such as Task Management, Milestones, Messaging, File Storage, Time Tracking tools, and more. Teamwork also helps project teams visualise the project using a marked calendar. File management support is accessible with DropBox, Google Drive, and Box.com.
It has a Free version and a paid version too.
Website: www.teamwork.com

4. Clickup is perfect for process and task management. You can customize your workflow, assign tasks, and add different types of dependencies for tasks. It integrates well with Slack too. Manage your sprints, manage the resources, check the workload of your team, and work together with other teams in this tool.
Cickup offers a free plan and a paid Unlimited plan or Business plan.
Website: www.clickup.com

5. Todoist is a strong, powerful task management software that can be used for small teams, individuals, and professionals to manage anything from a shopping list to major projects at work. Todoist can be a simple task manager or solid collaborative tool for teams alike. It is not over-complicated for what you need, accessible from mobile or desktop.
It has free and paid options.
Website: www.todoist.com

07/07/2020

So often we’re told to “Just trust your gut,” but what does it actually mean and more importantly, how do you do it?

Gut instinct is your immediate understanding of something; there’s no need to think it over or get another opinion—you just know. Your intuition arises as a feeling within your body that only you experience. Because the feeling is so personal, no one else can weigh in to tell you if you’re in touch with your gut instinct or not. You alone have to make the call. Because of this, trusting your intuition is the ultimate act of trusting yourself.

Your intuition is like your own personal North Star, but there are many obstructors that act as clouds dimming its light. Once you’re aware of them, you’ll better catch yourself when you’re headed in the wrong direction for the wrong reasons so you can then take the appropriate steps to realign with your intuition. Here are few examples: overthinking, prejudices & unconscious bias, a loved one’s or authority figure’s needs/wants/opinion/advice, previous trauma/abuse in childhood or when you badly want something…

So How to Cultivate Your Intuition?

Practicing the following steps will help to bring you feeling of intuition it to the forefront to guide you through important situations:

1. Slow Down & Clear Your Mind
When you’re living in a cloudy haze and rushing here and there, whether physically or mentally, you miss information. Slowing down helps you better recognise and process the information you receive, not only in your mind but also in your body.

2. Notice Sensations in Your Body
Intuition is grounded within the sensations inside of the body, so learning to recognise what’s going on within your body—i.e. what you’re feeling—is key to developing your intuition.

3. Focus on You
Ask yourself, “What do I really need here? What’s important for me?” This is one of those times when it should be all about you, so give yourself full permission to do so. If you find your focus shifting to other people and their needs, notice and purposefully return your attention back to being curious about what you need and want, because that is where you will find your intuition.

4. Take Action (or Circle Back to Step 1)
The feeling of intuition is like an ocean current navigating you toward a purposeful life. Once you discover it, you still need to jump in a boat and set sail in order to derive its full value. After you answer the question “What do I need right now?”, do something to give yourself what you need. It might be the tiniest step, but size doesn’t matter here. What’s important is that you are following your intuition.

Remember that trusting your intuition is a journey which will lead you back through these steps often as circumstances change and life continues to move onwards. With practice and frequent use, it will become more powerful and better serve its purpose—guiding you home to yourself.

29/06/2020

Are you giving away too much of yourself to your business? Is there such a thing as being a little too dedicated to what you do? Yes, and it’s understandable that you want to give your business everything you’ve got, but that doesn’t mean you should allow it to consume your entire life. Well, here are six signs that you’re giving just a little too much:

1. When There’s No Such Thing as Free Time
2. When You’re Carrying the Entire Load
3. When All of Your Goals Are Business-Related
4. When You Can’t Shut Your Mind Off
5. When You Can’t Talk About Anything Else
6. When it Impacts Your Entire Attitude

Devoting yourself to your business is admirable—but only as long as you don’t cross a line and let it overpower the entire rest of your life. If you recognise any of these signs and symptoms in your own current situation? There is a solution for that- hire a Virtual Assistant to help you with the day to day tasks and give you free time to do other things. How to find one? Just do some research, trust your gut and go for it!

Wish you luck🙂.

25/06/2020

Hello! I am Vilma, a Virtual Assistant. If you are reading this, you probably know about the VA and what they do, but here is some information about me: I work remotely, helping entrepreneurs and small businesses with the admin tasks they just don’t have time for. As a VA I am able to give my clients back the time they need to focus on what really matters, their core business activity, and finally their success.

I offer a variety of support to help you decrease your to-do list, take away your administrative tasks and earn you back the time you can invest elsewhere. Even if it simply to gain free time to spend outside of work!
Whether you need a VA for an ad hoc workload, or to become an essential part on a day-to-day basis, or maybe you need a short or long video to be edited for you or your business, I can do that too.
Please get in touch if you would like to find out more about what It can offer, I can’t wait to hear from you!
I’m here for you and your business, let’s work together!

Vilma Kaz. Virtual Assistant

16/11/2020

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22/09/2020

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