What a Personal Assistant Really Does (And Why It’s Not a Luxury)

When I ask people why they don’t hire a personal assistant, the most common answer is, “It will take more time to figure out what to delegate than it would to just do it myself.” 

The struggle is real! Busy professionals, creatives and families who have spent our lives keeping a hundred balls in the air get a little panicked at the thought of inviting, allowing and receiving help. What if a ball drops? What if I lose control? 

The adjustment can be a little clunky, until it clicks. 

Your PA isn’t just there to manage chaos and check off to-dos, (though you will love hearing “I’ve got this” on a regular basis). Your PA is your co-conspirator and collaborator in creating the life you want. 

Can she take on all of your low-level tasks and errands? Of course! But what if you’re like me and you love an errand? What if it invigorates you to check that box?

Letting go of 20 hours of tasks you enjoy will absolutely free up 20 hours. But letting go of 20 hours of things that drain your energy will more than double your returns. Why? Because the things that drain you in the moment are like a wet blanket, suffocating your mood, your motivation and your creativity. Delegating isn’t about arbitrary offloading, it’s about holistic time and energy management.  

But the question isn’t always about what we can or should delegate. Oftentimes, the better question is, what can my PA add to my life to make sure I’m creating a life I can’t wait to wake up in?

Maybe that means using your PA as a lifestyle assistant to plan fabulous date nights that let you and your partner just show up, enjoy the quality time and make new memories. Or maybe you need her to plan and execute a monthly dinner party or quarterly getaway so you can finally see your (also busy) friends on a regular basis. 

Maybe you’ve decided you want to tap into your creativity and play and you use your personal assistant to find and book creative, playful experiences from cooking and art classes to your new adult kickball league, or plan surprising trips to new destinations. 

As silly as that might sound, psychologists and happiness experts agree that a good life is made not just of accomplishment, but mental and physical health, strong intimate and personal relationships, the ability to commune with art, nature and aesthetics, community building and a faith or philosophy that grounds us in tough times. If you’ve been de-prioritizing the things that make life grand, it makes perfect sense for you to use your PA to collaborate on building solid pillars of happiness. 

Or perhaps you have a big goal that needs tending. 

If this is the year you’ve committed to transforming your health. Your PA can be your greatest ally, removing obstacles, setting up systems and holding you accountable to your dream. 

That might look like a big, fun pantry purge, taking over your grocery shopping or meal delivery, finding you specialists like a nutritionist, trainer or therapist, locating the best gyms or studios that fit your needs and schedule, and locking everything into your calendar so it’s non-negotiable. Your PA roots for you, troubleshoots with you and makes your priority their priority. But…

If everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. 

One way I encourage clients to step out of the chaos is to choose one to three areas of focus for each three-month “season.” Once we get clear on where we want to direct our time and attention, it’s much easier to see what can be paused, released or delegated. 

Your goals and desires change from season to season. Your long-term personal assistant is there to collaborate with you through every season, offering practical, tactical and creative support that we all need and deserve. 

Having a great PA should feel like a luxury, but in truth, it’s a necessity. We can go farther faster and have more fun doing it when we have the right human by your side. And when we take the pressure of being “the right human” off of our partners, friends and family, our relationships drastically improve. 

When I launched Wing Woman, I was determined to make it accessible, not just for the high net worth family, but for creatives, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, the busy, ambitious humans who want to build great things without sacrificing all the things that make life great.