I'm Darleen Harris. Inbox, calendar, spreadsheets and files — organised, on time, and off your desk.
I trained as a Fine Arts graduate and spent years in advertising and graphic design, producing work to brief and to deadline. That's where I learned version control, client feedback rounds, and why a sensible file structure matters at five o'clock on a Friday.
Today I work in a busy customer-facing service role — fast, front-line work where accuracy matters, queues do not wait, and staying calm and friendly through a long shift is the whole job. Hundreds of small problems solved politely, every week.
Now I'm bringing both together as Handled, built on the two things every business owner actually wants from support: nothing gets missed, and you don't have to chase me.
Let's be straightforward: I haven't held a paid VA role yet. I'd rather you hear that from me than wonder about it.
What I do have is fifteen years of doing this work under other names — for a service desk, for a studio, and for my own family. The tasks on a VA job description are tasks I already do, every week, with real consequences if I get them wrong.
A busy service counter is customer service with no script and no delay. Complaints, payment failures, confused customers — resolved politely, accurately, and quickly.
From the service deskI run the family's administration: coordinating professionals across several organisations, booking and tracking appointments, preparing for formal meetings and following up on what was agreed. Records kept straight, deadlines met, nothing dropped.
From family administrationYears of studio work to brief and to deadline. Version control, client feedback rounds, and a low tolerance for a messy file structure or a sloppy layout.
From design & advertisingThree completed certifications in virtual assistance, AI tools and social media management — plus ongoing self-study in n8n automation and the Google Workspace stack.
From training, 2026These are the day-to-day tasks I take off your desk — reliably, and without needing to be reminded twice.
Triage, labels and filters, drafted replies for your approval, follow-ups tracked. You open your inbox and only see what needs you.
Booking, rescheduling, reminders, buffer time and travel gaps. Invitations that carry the right details so nobody turns up confused.
Clean, consistent Google Sheets: trackers, contact lists, expense logs, simple formulas and tidy formatting. Accurate first time, checked twice.
A Google Drive structure that makes sense to a human: clear folder logic, sensible naming, sharing permissions set correctly, version confusion gone.
Front-line replies in your voice: order queries, complaints handled with patience, refunds and escalations logged. Trained daily on a real service desk.
Connecting the tools you already use so routine steps happen on their own — form to sheet, sheet to email, alerts when something needs a person.
Learning now · n8nFour tools I use confidently, one I'm actively learning, and a design background I still put to work on documents and decks.
How I use AI. For drafting, summarising and research — never as a substitute for checking. Everything that goes out has been read by me.
I don't put client information into any tool without your say-so, and I work to whatever policy you already have. If you'd rather I didn't use these tools at all on your work, that's a fine answer and I'll follow it.
I work fully remotely and flexibly. What I commit to is the work landing when you need it — deadlines and response times agreed up front, and kept. The exact shape of the week is something we settle together.
I fit the work around your deadlines rather than a fixed clock. Happy to agree a set schedule if you'd prefer one.
Response times and deadlines agreed at the start, so you always know when to expect something back.
UK-based, working with clients internationally. Async-friendly.
Fully remote roles, part-time or full-time, plus freelance clients.
Tell me what's piling up — the inbox, the calendar, the spreadsheet you keep meaning to fix. I'll tell you honestly how I'd handle it.