Shield your time with VA gatekeeper services

Hiring a virtual assistant (VA) for gatekeeper services is the ideal way to protect your time as a busy and ambitious business owner. You’ll have the right support in place to streamline your day, reduce distractions, and give you breathing room to focus on more important tasks such as strategic decision-making. 

As a team of VAs, one of the essential roles we play to support our clients is that of a gatekeeper. We work with a range of top-level executives and CEOs to shield their time and maximise their productivity.

In this blog post, we’re giving you an insight into how VA gatekeeper services work – and why they’re a huge benefit to you as a business owner. 

How does a VA act as a gatekeeper for important communications?

A gatekeeper is someone who manages who or what gains access to your time and attention. 

Traditionally, this would be a receptionist or in-house assistant. However, now more companies recognise the benefits of hiring remote workers, VA gatekeeper services are becoming more popular due to their flexibility. 

The term ‘gatekeeper’ is most commonly used in telesales communication training, where people are taught the importance of getting past the gatekeeper to access the decision-maker. It’s seen as a negative term, as it stops those salespeople from doing their job.

But when you are the decision-maker and you find yourself having unimportant conversations that don’t move the needle for your business, having a gatekeeper is essential. 

Hiring a VA for gatekeeper services means: 

• You get focused time to stay in your ‘zone of genius’ without distractions
• Your mental load will be reduced as someone else is managing your communications 
• You’ll have more time for personal pursuits as your VA will ensure work doesn’t creep into your downtime 

Their role is not just about screening calls or emails – but also prioritising, organising, and directing only the most important items to you. They act as your first line of defence, handling interruptions and fielding questions that don’t require your input. 

Let’s look at the 4 key ways a VA can act as a gatekeeper to protect your time…

1. Managing your communications

On average, company executives receive 120 emails daily, and that number can soar even higher depending on the industry and the company’s size. So having a VA offering gatekeeper services that extends to inbox management will save you hours every week. 

A VA can sort, prioritise, and flag urgent emails while filtering out low-priority or repetitive enquiries. They can redirect routine messages to other team members, ensuring projects are kept moving along, or issues dealt with in a timely manner. 

They can also respond to or hold messages from team members using messaging tools such as Slack or Teams, so you’re only interrupted when it’s truly necessary.

2. Organising your calendar

The average CEO spends 72% of their time in meetings, so it’s no wonder you rarely get time to focus on strategic tasks. When you hire a VA for gatekeeper services, they can shield your time with effective diary management methods, too. This means ensuring your calendar aligns with your priorities and that only essential meetings are scheduled.

A VA can take charge of booking meetings, coordinating appointments, and blocking out focus time on your schedule. For instance, hiring a VA as your gatekeeper means they can:

• Reschedule a low-priority meeting to make room for high-impact tasks or client calls
• Handle an unexpected meeting request by confirming its importance before booking it or suggesting alternative times that don’t disrupt your focus
• Schedule calls during a train ride or when you’re waiting at the airport so you can maximise how efficient you’re being with your time

3. Handling low-priority tasks

When you think about all the things you do in your working week, how many of those truly need your attention? Tasks such as data entry, routine admin tasks, and certain types of communication can be delegated to a VA so you free up your time for high-value activities. 

This is where the gatekeeper role extends beyond screening to actively taking on tasks on your behalf and truly lightening your load. If you’re unsure which tasks can be outsourced, start by tracking your time and making note of which low-priority things are taking up your time.

4. Prioritising your tasks (both personal and business)

Something else a VA can do is to sort tasks based on urgency, ensuring you focus on high-impact work and don’t get bogged down by minor issues. Your VA can create a daily or weekly priority list, so you always know what requires your attention without feeling overwhelmed. 

Together, you can agree on how to tackle the list: 

• Do you need focus time scheduled? 
• Can you delegate any items? 
• Do you want your VA to run through the low-priority items in a quick catch-up session every week?

When you hire a VA for gatekeeper services, they can protect your personal time, too. Imagine having someone there who ensures you don’t overbook yourself so you have enough time for those important family commitments and regular exercise classes. 

How to make the most of VA gatekeeper services

To successfully hire a VA as your gatekeeper, you need to: 

• Set clear boundaries – define what qualifies as urgent so your VA understands the types of interruptions that are okay versus those that aren’t. Over time, as they better understand you and your business, this will become second nature to them. 
• Share your goals – keep your VA informed about your goals and priorities, so they can align their gatekeeping services with your current objectives.
• Utilise digital tools – such as scheduling software, task management software, and communication apps that will allow your VA to be highly effective as your gatekeeper. 

Hire a VA as your gatekeeper to maximise your productivity

Having a VA act as your gatekeeper is incredibly beneficial: they protect your time, handle distractions, and streamline your day so you can focus on what matters most.

If you’re feeling pulled in too many directions, consider adding gatekeeper services from a VA to your support team. Get in touch to discuss how the Virtually Priceless team can protect your time, focus, and, ultimately, your productivity so you reach your full potential.