Running your own business often requires you to wear many different hats at any given time, or at least switch which hat you are wearing on a regular basis. This is perfectly normal and comes with owning your own business but…is it the most effective use of your time?

Perhaps you aren’t very good at identifying which tasks you can delegate, are petrified of letting go or struggle with where to begin, so you end up doing nothing. Maybe you feel that you don’t have the budget to delegate and accept relatively quickly that you have no choice but to continue to do everything yourself.

Let’s start by taking an honest look at how you are spending your time.

1. Divide an A4 sheet of paper into four sections.
2. Label each section: ­ Like To Do; ­ Don’t Like To Do; ­ Need To Do; ­ Don’t Need To Do
3. During the course of a week write down all the tasks you work on, not necessarily complete, and place them in one of the above categories. * Asterisk the tasks which have taken you longer than they should have due to your lack of skills. Remember, be honest!
4. This end result will provide you with a clear picture of exactly where you are spending your time and precisely which tasks you can start to delegate.

The Like To Do and Need To Do

These tasks are typically your strengths and where you should be concentrating your efforts. They should be the majority part of your workload and how you should be spending your time. Over time by doing the tasks that fall into this category you will not be the only one who sees the benefits, your clients and contacts will too. You will have time to develop and grow your business. You will have time to focus on the areas of your business that you enjoy the most, the areas that you are good at.

Don’t Like To Do and Don’t Need To Do

These are the tasks that are waiting to be delegated. In an ideal world you should delegate this entire list but we can all relate to the fact that letting go may not be easy or come naturally. You may experience feelings of control, perfectionism and trust, all of which are perfectly understandable.

Start by identifying the tasks which are the most time consuming and contribute the least in value – financial reward. Then ask yourself, do they really need to be done? If not, delete them and move on. Don’t procrastinate. Be decisive. If these tasks are not worth your hiring someone to do then they are hardly worthy of your time either.

Next, group tasks into categories and identify the best person to take care of these tasks. Ask for recommendations from someone you trust. You may find you need assistance from a researcher, intern, virtual PA, a bookkeeper/accountant or a social media expert.

Start by delegating one or two items from this list. Once you have confidence in the person you are delegating to and are completely happy with the way in which they are delivering, over time, you can add to the amount you delegate.

Think about whether you can automate any of these tasks or can you create standard templates or use Quick Parts in Outlook so that you are not constantly reinventing the wheel.

It’s worth remembering that any time you continue to spend on these tasks is time that you are taking yourself away from growing your business. Every hour is an opportunity for you to work IN your business and not ON your business.

Finally, GOOD LUCK with not only reclaiming but also starting to enjoy the areas of your business that led you to set up in the first place.  I hope these steps play a small part in making a difference to how you currently work and manage all you have to do.

Please feel free to share in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.