Hiring Personal Assistant – I Wish!
I recently came across a website that promised I could “Get Paid For Blogging!” Who could resist? (I know there are purists out there who claim that blogs should never be tainted by money, but look at the advertising I’ve got planted around here – I’m not one of them. I would enjoy getting paid for my efforts every now and again!)
PayPerPost.com asked people to write about what you would pay someone else to do for you. This question fit nicely with my desire to write about hiring a personal assistant – win/win.
This past spring I did 2 freelance jobs that earned me a couple thousand dollars doing work I enjoy. That’s a pretty nice combo and makes Mrs. Go-To Guy smile. But, weeks and months after the work had been done, I still had not typed up an invoice and billed the clients (Mrs. Go-To Guy was VERY UNHAPPY about that!) I can’t even explain why I was so reluctant to sit down and make an invoice.
Mrs. Go-To Guy is an amazing woman who, rather than beat me up about my shortcomings, prefers to help me discover ways to rise above them. We talked at length about what motivated this behavior and, as best I could figure, it seemed that the interesting part of the work was over and what was left was drudgery. Since I did not need the money desperately (it felt like bonus money) there was less pressure to deal with the paperwork. So, I let it slide. This was not the result I wanted.
Eventually I got the paperwork done and billed my clients. I also started thinking about the value of hiring a part time personal assistant to handle paperwork and clerical duties. There is nothing like someone showing up and asking “what would you like me to do” to get things moving. A few years back I had a summer intern who would be waiting, every day, for an assignment. Because he was there waiting, I found the motivation to plan assignments (and we got a lot of things done!)
This strategy might fit well with my “rock in the stream” idea of content creation. If I have somebody waiting to transcribe the thoughts and notes I dictate into my voice recorder, I will be more motivated to actually record them. The outside influence of a ‘staff person’ my be the trick to improving my productivity.
PayPerPost.com told me I would Get Paid For Blogging about what I would pay someone to do for me, and I cranked out this nifty little article.
Do you think this article is horribly skewed because I was paid to write it? Is this any different that writing articles on topics that will attract profitable Adsense ads? Is Roger Ebert’s opinion compromised because movie studios pay to advertise their films in the newspapers and on the television stations that distribute his reviews? Will the Mighty Heros escape the evil clutches of The Shrinker?
And the real question on everyone’s mind… what would you pay someone to do so that you wouldn’t have to do it?
Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
The Go-To Guy!
