If you are like most people, you have a lot on your plate. Chances are you are busy and have a to-do list a mile long. One secret of successfully managing time is being able to delegate tasks properly. Choosing the right person for the right task is a valuable tool in getting stuff done in record time!
Whether it’s at home or work, you can benefit from learning the art of delegation:
Lose control. One thing holding many of us controlling types back from delegating is the fear that it won’t get done right. “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself!” Remember that old saying? But, if you take the time to educate someone on how to do a task properly, it pays off in the long run.
Show your spouse and kids how to do household chores correctly, and give step-by-step guides at your workplace. Follow up with lots of positive reinforcement and only constructive criticism. Think, “It helped me out so much last week when you handled those tasks, feel free to step in whenever you can,” not “Can’t you do more around here?”
Decide what to delegate. Deciding which tasks to do yourself and which to hand over can be tricky, but starting with the chores that you are bad at, and like the least, is a good place to start. It’s not that you are dumping all the grunt work on someone else, because we all have to do chores we don’t like, but delegating things we aren’t good at can be a good use of time.
For example, if you are starting a cake decorating business, you may be super good at running a bakery. You may, however, be really bad at working with computers and have no idea how to create a website on your own. Web development may be something you should consider delegating. A virtual assistant may be able to create a nice website for you in a few days at 10-15 dollars per hour. It may take you weeks, or even months, to learn how to create the same website yourself. You could have created a lot of cakes (doing something you are good at) in that amount of time.
This holds true at your house. If your 13 year old is great at setting up the electronics, then let them!
Don’t get me wrong, learning how to do new things is a great way to help keep our minds sharp. But, unless it’s something that interests you and you have an interest in learning about, let someone else do it!
Brandi Hamrick
