Do This Simple Exercise and Work LESS
If you’re overwhelmed at work, at home, or both, there’s a good chance you’re not delegating enough. And if that’s the case, it may be because you,
A) don’t know what or to whom to delegate
B) don’t know how to delegate smoothly, and/or
C) maybe you just haven’t calculated the massive benefits of delegation.
In Crusher™TV Episode 111: 5 Secrets to Delegating Work (So You Can Work Less), I dove into all three of these areas.
Crusher™TV Episode 111: How to Delegate Work So YOU Can Work LESS
But in this post, I want to focus in on one of those how-to-delegate secrets: How to Delegate Work Online.
Knowing How to Delegate: A Critical Survival Skill
Delegating is of course a critical survival skill in the corporate world – but also in our own small businesses, and even in running our households. There’s a reason why all successful people delegate like crazy.
It allows us to focus on the tasks and projects that really power us forward and upward. Yet delegation is a tricky skill nobody ever really teaches you. Not in school, or even on the job.
O
ne of the reasons I floundered in my first six years as a corporate executive, despite hard work and long hours, was that I didn’t know how to delegate. Every year I’d get a positive review — but not the promotion. Because, as my bosses would say, “Alan, we can’t put more people under you, because the ones that are, don’t have anything to do. You’re doing it ALL!” And needless to say, my team was miserable.
But over the years, I learned the real reasons I wasn’t delegating, the ideal tasks I should be delegating, and those secrets to delegating smoothly and effectively.
The Huge Benefits of Delegating Work
Imagine if you had significantly more time and less stress in your workdays. If you had more spaciousness to focus solely on those important tasks and projects you never used to have enough time for, because you were always so busy with the constant barrage of other, less meaningful stuff. Behold the Power of Delegation!
Whether in the corporate world, in our own small businesses — and even in running our households — delegation is a perfect example of what corporate consultant Rory Vaden calls, a “time multiplier” —
What we delegate today creates more time for us tomorrow. Then more the next day. And the next…and just keeps on multiplying.
Now I’m sure you’d like to multiply your time. But maybe you’ve tried to delegate some things in the past, and just created more work and frustration.
Don’t give up. Here’s an easy, powerful delegation solution…
How to Delegate Work by “Wasting” Money Online
As I mentioned, in Crusher™TV Episode 111, I shared 5 Secrets to Delegating Work so You Can Work Less, and Secret #5 was to “Waste” Money Online. I’ll explain…
The key to this secret is an exercise from author and human guinea pig Tim Ferriss, who says, “I’m always looking for something I can spend money on that gives me more free time.”
In fact, he speaks of looking for ways he can “waste” money to improve his quality of life by experimenting with delegation. Sounds like poor money management, but it’s not. Done right, he says, “it’s trading pennies for dollars.”
And the best way to experiment with your money is online – at sites like Task Rabbit, Fiverr and Upwork.
What kinds of tasks might you delegate online? The possibilities are virtually limitless. Which itself makes it difficult to know what to delegate online. So here’s an exercise Ferriss recommends:
1. Pretend you have $1000 a month available to “waste” online to improve your quality of life (even if that’s unrealistic — just play along).
2. Think about anything and everything you could delegate online, set a timer and make a list. Don’t edit – just write anything that comes to mind.
3. Then, from that list, identify one or two things you could “waste” a little money experimenting with. (It doesn’t have to be the entire $1,000/mo.)
And here’s a bonus: Recent research at Cornell found that, “People who spent money to buy themselves time, such as by outsourcing disliked tasks, reported greater overall life satisfaction.”
When you can break down your barriers to delegation, identify what to delegate, and then how to delegate those tasks, you not only can de-stress and work less, but you’re more able to focus on what you do best!
More Secrets for How to Delegate Work So You Can Work Less
Want four more powerful secrets for how to delegate work (online or in-person — at the office or at home)? I dedicated an episode of Crusher™TV to the 5 Secrets to Delegating Work (So You Can Work Less).
Click the image below to watch the Episode Preview.
Each Crusher™TV Episode is a well-researched “mini-masterclass” of evidence-based solutions on a specific productivity topic.
Description: Overwhelmed at work or home? There’s a 90% chance you’re not delegating enough. And that’s because you A) don’t know what/to whom to delegate, B) don’t know how to delegate smoothly, and/or C) haven’t calculated the massive benefits. I’ll show you all three.
Bless!
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Alan P. Brown, an internationally recognized Productivity Coach, TEDx Speaker and #1 Best Selling Author of Zen and the Art of Productivity: 27 Easy Ways to Have More Time, Earn More Money and Live Happier is the host of Crusher™TV, where he and his Guest Experts share simple ways to accomplish more in less time with less stress. Follow Alan on Twitter and on Facebook.
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