Are you exhausted and overwhelmed? Do you want more time and energy to focus on what matters? My mission is to help you equip and empower your assistant (or hire the right assistant), so you can accomplish your goals without burning out. Getting more out of your assistant will free up time and energy for you to focus on doing what you love.
I’ll be using this blog to share tips and tricks I’ve learned from my 8+ years as an Executive Assistant to help you do more in less time! You can also hire me as a Coach, or if you don’t have an assistant, I can help you find one. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to sign up to get future posts via email!
Raise your hand if…
Sometimes my boys (ages 2 and 4) are a bit rebellious and/or obnoxious at the dinner table, so I will playfully shout, “Raise your hand if you love mama! Raise your hand if you are eating dinner!” and other random directives to distract them from whatever was going on (but mainly because it was driving their mom and me crazy). It’s often quite an effective way to get them to stop what they’re doing and think.
Now lets look at your situation… you’re an Executive, CEO, Entrepreneur, Pastor, Small business owner, or some other high capacity leader in a high-stress environment. You’re running around with inbox notifications buzzing in your pocket, on your laptop, iPad, Fitbit, Apple Watch, etc, and your travel itineraries (or lack thereof) look like they were put together by your 3 year old who hasn’t quite learned how to color between the lines. So I say to you:
Raise your hand if you’re exhausted and overwhelmed!
Raise your hand if you’re tired of emails and meetings!
Raise your hand if you dread going to work most days!
Raise your hand if you’re ready to accomplish your goals without burning out!
Now that I’ve gotten your attention… eat your broccoli while I introduce myself and let you know why I started Go Burrows, LLC. 🙂
Hello! My name is Jeremy Burrows.
Well, technically my name is William Jeremiah Burrows, but my parents (God bless them) decided to call me Jeremy from the get go. The bankers and DMV clerks always do a double take when I sign “Jeremy Burrows,” so I’m not so sure my folks realized this minor inconvenience would follow me all of my adult life. Or maybe they did…
Anyways, I was an Executive Assistant for 8+ years, maybe more. I lost track of time during the early years as a single, guitar playing, hot-pocket and milkshake eating young man with no sense of time. I’ve been assistant to 3 very different bosses, and learned a lot from each of them. In my years as an assistant, I saw so much chaos and stress, but also witnessed lots of success.
Do something… but don’t do everything.
One constant theme throughout my time as an assistant was my bosses’ constant desire to do more and be more. I’m not saying the desire to do more and be more is inherently bad. In fact, I think it’s necessary for success. However, I think far too often our desire to produce ends up not producing anything but exhaustion, lack of clarity, and ultimately burnout.
Unfortunately, many of you are on your way to burnout, or perhaps you have already reached a point of exhaustion. Wherever you are on the continuum, don’t lose hope. You can simplify your work and personal life, reduce stress, and free up your time and energy — without giving up your dreams of accomplishing your goals. How? Empower your assistant. Don’t have one? Hire one!
You need your assistant and your assistant needs you.
I believe an experienced assistant is the key to accomplishing your goals without burning out. That said, you can have a rockstar assistant but if you’re not equipping and empowering him/her to take more ownership and be more of a leader, you aren’t going to get very far. If you keep giving your assistant small, insignificant tasks that don’t challenge them, don’t be surprised if they don’t step up their game. On the other hand, if you assign the biggest tasks and complex projects to your assistant without any support or vision, they might burnout themselves, or give up before they do. My point is simply this: you need your assistant and your assistant needs you.
Some of you have an assistant, but honestly need to get a new one. Some of you don’t have an assistant, but don’t worry – I am going to do my best to help you hire the right one.
My goal is to help as many of you – Executives, CEOs, Pastors, Entrepreneurs (and your assistants!) – accomplish your goals without burning out. Thanks for reading and be sure to sign up for my email list so you don’t miss a post!
