One of the most time-consuming things is doing a job that you hate, or are not skilled at, and then trying to delegate that to someone else.
The delegation has many tactical pieces, but 90% of whether it is effective or not, is tied to your emotions and self-awareness.
If you struggle to prioritize your tasks, it will be difficult to properly outsource it to others. Learning to do this well can help you get more done without losing sight of what’s important.
When prioritizing tasks, one thing I like to do is look at what is due first?
Then, what can be done next, or could be ignored? What can I remove?
Break large projects into smaller, easier-to-manage steps to make them less intimidating and also give you something to be proud of when you finish.
Assess how long each task takes you. I use a timer on my phone or computer and log the time I work on a particular project. I know for example to prepare for a presentation I have given already, it will take me 3 hours to customize, develop and practice. When I plug the time in my calendar, I don’t feel overwhelmed because I have an accurate time assessment.
Once you plug these timeframes into your calendar, schedule and stick to it.
Delegating some of your tasks is not lazy and it doesn’t mean that you don’t want to do them yourself. It just means that there are certain things that only you can do and certain things others can do better than you can.
The second way to get more time back in your day is to schedule recharge and renewal times. Many tend to overlook this, but we really can’t ignore it because we’re in a state where a lot of people are facing burnout and it’s easier to prevent the burnout than try to recover. Trust me, I know.
What this looks like in real life:
If you know, you’re having a long week next week and you have a lot of back-to-back meetings, now would be the time for you to look at your calendar and see how you can plug in renewal, and renewal periods. Schedule the word RENEWAL and change the color on your calendar to signal that those are appointments or times you will rest and recharge.
Take breaks every hour to allow your brain time to gather new information, plan your next move, sort out what’s already been done and make sure you’re moving forward in the right direction.
Add things on your calendar you can look forward to. Maybe it’s a movie, a night in the backyard, dinner with a few friends, a good book with a cup of tea. Put it in your calendar now. You got this.
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