Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today I want to talk about managing your time when you bill your clients by the project or by the package.
Today’s Quote: “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” William Penn
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
If you’re moving away from hourly work and toward packages, or if you’re already doing project work for clients, this episode is going to give you practical things to think about when it comes to managing your time well and delivering excellent results.
We’ll break it all down today, including: why time management is basically a whole different ballgame with packages and projects.
We’ll talk about the most common time traps VAs fall into with this kind of work, how to shift your mindset and plan your days differently, and how your own time management directly impacts your confidence and client relationships
Then, if you’re ready to go deeper, I’ll invite you to my upcoming Workshop From Chaos to Clarity: Package Your VA Services, where we’ll actually map out your services into smart, profitable offers. And yes, we’ll talk more about managing the delivery of those, too.
Why Package and Project Work Requires New Time Habits
When you work hourly, your client tells you what they need, you track your time, and you invoice based on that time. It’s straightforward. Not necessarily the best setup for long, term business growth, but it’s easy to track and manage. The responsibility for time is shared. You just show up and log hours.
But when you move into packages or projects, it becomes a completely different story.
You’re being paid for an outcome, not for the time it takes you to get there. Or at least that’s what you should be striving for.
Which means you are in control of managing your time. That’s empowering… but it’s also a potential trap if you don’t adjust your habits and mindset to go with it.
Let me repeat that: The shift from hours to outcomes means you need a different plan for your day, your week, and even your month.
And unfortunately, most VAs don’t make this adjustment right away.
They take on packages or projects and keep trying to manage their days the same way they did with hourly clients. It doesn’t work.
We get so used to billing by the hour it can be a tough shift and that’s why we have to do some work on it before we make this change.
You can’t fly by the seat of your pants with packaged services, especially if you’re juggling more than one client.
And if you do, you may find yourself falling behind, doing work late at night or on weekends, maybe undercharging because you didn’t plan enough time or worse – burning out from all the little fires.
If this sounds familiar at all, I’m glad you’re listening to this episode.
The Time Traps of Packages and Projects
Let’s talk about the 3 biggest mistakes I see when it comes to time management in package and project work.
1 – Underestimating how long things take
When you set up a package, you think in terms of deliverables. “Write 2 blog posts.” “Design 10 social graphics.” “Set up a newsletter.” But if you don’t track how long those things take you, you might assume it’s just “an hour or two.”
Then you do the work… and realize it took 5 hours, not 2. Now your billable rate just tanked, and you’re scrambling to finish other tasks.
You’ve got to track your time for every service you offer, even when you’re not charging by the hour, so you can manage your workflow and pricing properly.
If you just guess at the time it will take you to do something you can get into a jam really easily.
I remember doing a quick estimate for work for an online conference for a client, and quoting them based on that estimate – and then things going very wrong. We had tech issues with the setup of their system, the client was not a very good communicator and we had way more back and forth communication than necessary, we needed additional meetings to clarify progress, and I ended up spending 20 hours on what I thought should be a 10 hour task.
Once I started I just kept going, without telling the client, and without making adjustments. Well, there were no adjustments to make.
Problem is when you quote a client that’s supposed to be the amount you charge them.
So when something like this happens, who pays? How does it get handled?
Hopefully you don’t make a mistake like this more than once.
I had to really look at what happened to make sure I could figure out how to fix it for future clients. I lost money on that project because I kept the estimate for the client despite things being partially their fault too.
So, for the next one, I set a number of meetings from the start. I allowed time for tech issues (and also prepared a tech SOP), I created better communication tools for the client, and I of course estimated the time a lot better.
For the next client, that same project was estimated at 15 hours – because I knew it was more than 10, but also because I had put some controls in the place to make sure that some of the things that had gone badly wouldn’t rack up the time to 20 again.
Which brings me to the second mistake:
2 – Not building in buffer time
With project work, it’s easy to fill your calendar to the brim. You think, “Okay, I’ll do this project Tuesday morning, that one Tuesday afternoon, and I’ll respond to emails in between.” But projects rarely go exactly as planned.
You need time for revisions, clarification emails, unexpected delays from tech or the client, or just your brain needing a break. Review time is another way you might look at this. Time to look over stuff to ensure it is going smoothly.
If you don’t schedule buffer time, you’ll feel like you’re always behind – even if you’re technically on track. Running from one task to another is not the way!
Back and forth and delays can make your time disappear. Unfortunately we usually don’t realize this until we get burned by it – and it’s a really important piece of our billing.
Lost time is lost billing, and we can really get behind if we don’t figure out how to get paid for it.
I remember working with a graphic artist a long time ago who offered a certain number of revisions – 2 to be exact, for a header image I needed. I thought it was strange. Why only 2?
Well because some clients will tweak things an unlimited number of times, and their pricing is set per image (or whatever) so if they go over the time they have figured for it, then they are not profitable. Capping the number of revisions is essential to running a profitable business. Same as your VA business.
Good communication and task or project management is so important so that you don’t burn all of your time clarifying or revising what has already been done.
I had a client once who wanted to ‘meet’ every day to talk about the work we were doing together. Nope, that’s not the way it goes. I work independently and you pay for the time I do the work. Collaboration doesn’t need to be done on everything. That’s the big difference between the employer employee mindset and the client and outsourced expert mindset.
It’s much more effective to have a weekly production meeting to get direction or details and then move forward with online communication for project status. You can’t work efficiently if you are always in meetings with your clients.
The quicker you get a handle on collaborating the more profitable your VA business is going to be.
3 – Mixing client work and admin tasks with no structure
Another trap is trying to fit everything into the same day without structure. You flip between writing, design, email, invoicing, meetings, and checking social media… and by the end of the day, you’re exhausted but unsure what you actually got done.
Packages and projects thrive on focused work blocks. You’ll get better results – and feel better doing it – when you batch and block your time intentionally.
Batching your work is going to be the best way for you to manage your time – and handle distractions too. I talk about focused time – buckets of time – all the time. And you guys know that when you do this, you get more done in a shorter period of time too.
If you thrive on a variety of tasks, that’s great, but you still need to focus on what you are doing and keep the hallways clear. Like if you leave one room and go across the hall to the next door, you are in the hallway for a split second. Hallways can be wasted time.
And if you are throwing your admin tasks in with client work then you are really not doing yourself any favours. Clarity in billing is key to your success.
I remember working so hard all day long and realized at the end of the day that I was billing my clients 4.5 to 6 hours a day – in fact, VAs come to me for help with this very thing.
What do we find? Task cluttering – no structure. The moment we implement some structure and shift things around so we are working more efficiently, billing goes up – wow !
There is a statistic on a MyHours post that says that tasks take 15% longer when trying to multitask. That’s because you are spending more time in those hallways that you should be. And the question gets raised again, who pays for the time in the hallways? Often no one!
Focus is important and that takes structure and also practice.
It’s okay to have a hectic day occasionally, but working like that all the time is simply bad time management.
The Shift – How to Plan Your Time Differently
Now that we know the problems, let’s talk about solutions.
Managing your time well with packages and projects comes down to two main things: systems and boundaries.
Here’s what I recommend:
Step 1: Know your average time per deliverable
Start tracking how long every single deliverable takes you – not just for one client, but across the board. How long does it take you to write a blog post (or whatever)? How much time do you need to source images, write captions, and schedule 10 posts? How many hours go into onboarding a new project client?
Once you have that info, you can build packages that are profitable and create a schedule that actually works.
You have to do it to know how long it takes you. And you have to then work within that estimate every time. Time tracking AFTER you set a package price is important too.
Step 2: Build a weekly structure that prioritizes delivery
I always suggest creating a daily or weekly rhythm where your highest, value, most focused work happens first.
When is your most focused time of day? Do detail work then.
For example:
- Early mornings = Deep client work (projects, deliverables, design, writing)
- Midday = Admin and client calls
- Late afternoons = Overflow work or long, term planning
- Fridays = Buffer time, visibility, or learning
Find your most productive times of the day or week and schedule your work accordingly.
When are you most creative? Do your writing or creative work then. It will take less time. I can not do graphics or writing in the afternoon. Well I can, but it takes longer. I get more distracted as the day goes on. But I can fire stuff out as the sun comes up. How about you?
You don’t have to follow my rhythm, but you do need one. Find yours!
Step 3: Use simple project timelines and tools
You don’t need complex software to manage packages – unless you want it. But you do need a clear workflow.
Every package should have a timeline. When does the project start? What are the milestones? What are the deadlines for those? When is delivery or review scheduled?
Use a spreadsheet, calendar, or a tool like Trello, Asana, or ClickUp to visualize your projects.
This helps you avoid overbooking yourself – and keeps clients accountable, too.
And where possible, let the client access the status of the project so they don’t have to connect with you on it. Less time communicating means more time doing the actual work.
Time Confidence = Client Confidence
Here’s the real benefit of improving your time management:
You’ll be more confident – and your clients will feel more confident in you.
When you’re delivering on time, staying organized, and not rushing… it shows. And when your packages run like clockwork, clients are more likely to stick with you, refer you, and trust you with higher level work.
On the flip side, if you’re delivering late, forgetting things, or looking frazzled, even your best client may start to doubt you.
One of the projects or packages I used to offer was virtual event management. It was a high end package and a big investment for the clients. I needed to be the expert and show them they were in good hands.
I ran meetings, I kept them up to date, and I delivered what I said I would deliver. Honestly, it was easy for me because I did know what I was doing, and taking charge of our timeline and communication was a part of what made it easy for me.
The clients have to trust you. Time isn’t just about efficiency. And a client that feels like things are getting done professionally will naturally just bug you less too.
Practice Makes Progress
Don’t expect perfection here. If you’re new to packages or project work, you’ll have a learning curve.
You will undercharge a few times, you will overbook a week or two. You will miss a deadline here and there.
That’s okay. What matters is that you’re paying attention and making adjustments as you go.
It’s a learning process and you will get better the more you do it.
Treat every package as a learning opportunity. What worked well? What felt rushed? What will you do differently next time?
You do have to assess things every time, especially in the beginning. Doing a review of each project after it’s done can help you adjust quickly.
But never forget to add in that buffer time – it can make or break your profitability.
I always used to go over my checklists after a project to make adjustments. Order of tasks, lead time for tasks, adjustments for communication, can all be done immediately after you finish something – and a little tip is to always add time, but never take it away!
Let’s circle back to today’s quote: “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” William Penn
Using your time wisely is exactly what gives you more time. Getting good at time management is the key to everything running more smoothly in your VA business.
Time management in package and project work isn’t just about being efficient – it’s about being intentional.
It’s about shifting your mindset from hours to outcomes… and then building a structure around those outcomes so you can do great work, make great money, and love your business again.
Do You Need Help?
If this episode resonated with you and you’re ready to build packages that are clear, valuable, and manageable from a time standpoint, then you’re going to love my upcoming Packages Workshop.
I’m doing a series of live monthly workshops this fall and you can join one or all of them.
The series is $397, and each workshop on its own is $129.
Last week I told you about my Marketing Workshop. It’s called Clients on Repeat: Simple VA Marketing Strategies. That’s taking place in September.
This one on Packages is called From Chaos to Clarity: Package Your VA Services. We’ll do it in October.
In this Packages workshop, we’ll walk through:
- What services to include in your packages
- How to price based on the value and your actual time
- How to structure your week so you can deliver confidently
- And how to set boundaries that protect your energy and schedule
This isn’t theory. It’s hands-on, practical support to help you stop winging it and start feeling in control.
I’ll tell you about the others in the upcoming episodes.
DM me if you want to know what’s coming up or how to register for one of these episodes. Or go to YourVAMentor.com/links to get details.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week.
I’m Tracey D’Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs. Thanks for listening. I’ll see you next time!