How do you feel about delegation? Most of us are brought up to think that hiring someone to do something that you could do yourself is lazy, decadent, or only for the wealthy and famous. Is that how you feel? A few decades ago that thought process might have held a lot more weight.
These days, however, we are inundated with more demands on our time and attention than ever before. Caring for our homes, vehicles, and whole-selves (including our physical, mental, emotional. and spiritual needs) are just basic things that require lots of time and attention.
On top of our basic care, we have goals and ambitions that make our lives and those around us better. For many this could mean going back to school or taking classes for work, juggling demanding careers, enjoying fulfilling but time-intensive hobbies or side-projects, participating in preventative care like going to the gym, getting a massage, taking fitness classes, or working towards weight and health management efforts. Then we are have to consider the needs of others. I’ve seen clients who are balancing caregiving roles for young children and aging parents simultaneously, all while trying to spend quality time with friends and family. It can all make us feel crazy busy.
In Dr. Edward Hallowell’s book Crazy Busy he mentions delegation is key number seven of the 10 key principles to managing modern life. He states: “Delegate what you don’t like to do or are not good at if you possibly can. Your goal should be to be not independent, but rather effectively interdependent...For children and adults alike, learning how to be effectively interdependent is a major life skill.” How humbling! No man is an island—we need others to effectively manage our own lives.
With modern technology we can have our own “team” to help us do to things that we don’t like to do or are not good at. This frees up time so we can work on the projects and tasks we like and/or allows us to better use our time to do the things that take us less time or bring us more fulfillment.
If we are around people who make us feel like we are “too big for our britches,” when we hire or ask for help, then it’s time to find new friends (just kiddin'). But feel free to use this as a good humble response: “I’ve found that to care better for myself and family, I should focus on the things that I do well and that are important to me, and delegate the things that allow me to be a better [wife, mother, husband, father, business owner, daughter, son, friend, person].”
So, who’s on your team to help you be the best you? Below I’ve included a list of folks and some links that can get the ball rolling to increase your delegation efforts.
Here are a few suggestions of people to add to your “team”:
- Dog walker/pet care professional
Realizing the areas in which you can afford to do some delegation can help to improve your relationships, quality of life, health, and well-being. What’s not to love about that? Simply take a look at what you’ve currently got on your plate and determine the areas in which you can start to offload. Trust me, you can always make more money, but you can’t make more time. Time spent adding quality to your life and to those whom you love. Your whole-self will thank you!
I’d love to hear from you? What are some things you delegate to someone else? How has it benefited you?
Andrea Hancock is a professional organizer & productivity student, blogger, speaker, and educator that assists and empowers busy professionals, business owners and those experiencing major life transitions to create and maintain organizational systems that work for them personally. Andrea is also founder of Dexterous Organizing, a results-oriented professional organizing company. Book a free 15-minute Discovery Call to begin your journey to better productivity and more organizational prowess. Also visit our website at www.DexterousOrganizing.com or give us a call at (703) 606-8968.
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