Do you often feel as though there just are not enough hours in the day? The likelihood is that your real issue is all the tasks that you are doing that you don’t necessarily need to do. You have the same amount of hours in a day as Beyonce, but she is much better at delegating. So what should you start delegating, and how do you do it?
High-value focus
The best way to start with delegation is to make a list of all the tasks you do, and then highlight the 3-5 tasks that are of the highest value. This is what you will focus on. The second step is to let go of smaller, low-value tasks, and you can only do this by changing your way of thinking. We tend to do these lower-value tasks because we know we can do them quickly and well, but they take up a large proportion of precious time that could, and should, be spent elsewhere. Here are some areas where you should let go and delegate.
Scheduling meetings
This is a difficult one because a lot of us like to be able to control our schedule, but organizing it takes up so much of our time. Set up blocks in your calendar, with different types of activities (for example, if you don’t want three strategy meetings back to back, or you know you do your best brainstorming after lunch) in a formation that works for you. Get an executive assistant, or administrator to book in the meetings in your delegated time slots, so that you still have control but don’t have to focus on the specifics.
Research and gathering data
Before you make decisions, you will need all of the information possible to work with. Make your decision making faster and easier by delegating any reading, research, and data collecting to someone else. They can then present you with the final information and allow you to make the right decision.
Sorting through email
How much of your email inbox are things that actually need to be actioned? If you are someone who received a high volume of emails, this is something you need to delegate. Have someone sort through your emails to decide what needs to be done now, what can be saved for later, and what is not needed to be looked at at all. This will cut down your time for sorting out emails significantly.
Travel reservations
You likely don’t have a lot of time to spend looking for the cheapest, most efficient flight, and so either you spend a lot of precious time in order to get just $100 off the price, or you go for a pricier deal because you don’t have time to hunt around. An assistant should be able to find good deals, make the best possible arrangements and utilize your award programs. Let them do that while you work on generating top line growth.
Everyone’s time is precious, and the important thing is that work is being done that benefits the company as a whole. Remember that you have staff for a reason and if you never delegate to them, they will never grow or develop, and you will be stuck doing the same low-value tasks and never being able to make any real difference or change. Make an effort to let go a little and delegate more and see how much more time you have in your day!
