According to the Cambridge dictionary, the definition of the word "delegate" is:
"to give a particular job, duty, right, etc. to someone else so that they do it for you."
This sounds incredible, doesn't it? Who wouldn't want this?
I'd love to delegate my cooking, cleaning, and laundry tasks to someone else. Office tasks? Until recently, not so much. I preferred being poked in the eye over trusting anyone with my stuff.
Why?
Some of my reasons are listed below and I can bet one of my poked eyes that some of you struggle with the same thoughts:
"I don't have time to train anyone!" Training may or may not take some time depending on the learning curve involved, the complexity of the task, or the experience and skill level of the person you're training. Time spent training now will pay off down the road when you no longer need to work extra hours completing tasks that can be done by someone else. Can you afford not to take the time to train someone? What will your life look like when tasks that you dislike are done by someone else who actually wants to do them? How will it feel to focus on what you enjoy doing?
"I can't find anyone capable of doing what I do." This doesn't mean that you have to stop looking. Seek and you will find! List the most urgent tasks that need to be done -- file management? Data entry? What about proofreading, editing, and formatting? Do you need someone to make phone calls or send e-mails on your behalf? Instead of searching for someone who can do it all, find someone who can address your pain points first. What is keeping you up at night? What is tying your stomach in knots? Once you delegate your top two or three most urgent tasks to someone you're comfortable with, you'll already feel a difference. Once you start feeling that sense of peace, you'll want more of it!
"I don't feel comfortable not having total control of everything." I get it...believe me, I do. Who doesn't love to have control? How much are you actually in control of, though? If you're exhausted and overwhelmed and producing sloppy content and work that looks rushed, are you really in as much control as you think you are? Is it better to white knuckle your business (and the rest of your life as a result) and still not have total control or release some tasks and have increased serenity?
What enabled me to let go and delegate? I was stretched like a worn out elastic and ready to snap. No matter how I tried, I could not keep up or catch up and it was affecting my personal life and my physical health in the form of headaches, stomach aches, and insomnia. I had to take honest stock of what I wanted life to look like and what it actually resembled, which was a 20-shopping cart pile-up in Dollar Tree. Letting go of my pride and my need to control was like releasing a balloon full of stress and watching it drift up to the sky.
Letting go will free your hands to be filled with something better and since you're the business owner, you get to decide what that "something" is. How cool is that?
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