How to Delegate Tasks Efficiently

Do you find it difficult to delegate tasks?

If your to-do list is getting longer, you are distracted by your business’ admin, and you don’t have enough time to connect with your clients and grow your empire…

You should delegate!

Give those admin tasks to someone else to do. Wouldn’t that take a weight off your shoulders? Free up your time to progress with what gets you excited about your business?

And yet… something holds you back.

Business owners can sometimes struggle with delegating or outsourcing. Here are some reasons why this could be the case.

1. Afraid of losing control

If you haven’t delegated tasks before, losing control may seem like a big problem. You have worked hard to build up your business to where it is now. If you hand over some of the responsibilities to someone else, you may feel as though you will lose control.

2. Trust issue

As with number 1, it can feel daunting to hand over responsibility to someone from outside of your business. Will they take care of the tasks in hand as well as you do? Which takes us on to…

3. Feel you can do the job better yourself.

We are all a little guilty of this – thinking we are the only ones who can do the job just the way we want it done.

But this won’t help lighten your load. You can’t grow your business by doing everything yourself.

4. Not sure what to delegate.

It feels like too much work trying to figure out what you can delegate to someone else. ( Don’t worry I have something to help you with this 😊)

5. Money

You may worry whether paying for someone else to do the work will be as cost-effective as completing the job yourself. If you are running your own business, I would imagine your hourly rate is much higher than a VA would charge, for example.

When you free up your time to concentrate on growing your business you will be earning your hourly rate rather than spending that time doing tasks that won’t grow your business.

Don’t let these doubts get in the way!

By getting past these issues, you can move into easing your workload so you can concentrate on the heart and soul of your business.

Outsourcing the tasks that you personally don’t need to be spending your valuable time on will help you and your business in the following way:

• Reduce overwhelm.
• Let you focus on what you do best.
• Productivity will increase.
• The workflow will improve.
• Is necessary for the growth of your business.

How to Delegate Tasks Effectively

In order to delegate tasks effectively, you first need to identify what can be delegated.

This may be obvious, but it isn’t always; you know you are struggling to get everything done, but not sure what could be done by someone else. 

If you need to help in figuring out what to outsource, I have two great resources to get you started.

Download my FREE Business Owner’s Guide on what to Delegate, and my 25 Things you can Outsource Now! 

Once you know what tasks you can delegate you can look for someone who has the relative skills. It may be that you will need more than one person.

Do your research, make sure the person is a good fit for you and your business. Then, when you start work with them, don’t micromanage – that is just a waste of your time and theirs. Make sure you mentally give them your trust in their ability to do the tasks you’ve set them.

Good communication is key to an effective working relationship with your VA, and here are my top 5 tips on how to create that. 

1. Give clear and concise directions.

It is important that your VA understands exactly what your needs are. Be sure to explain what you need and why you need it. Leave no room for guesswork. Give directions and a reasonable deadline. 

2. Empower your Virtual Assistant.

Be sure that your VA has the resources, training, passwords, etc. to get the job done. Be ready to answer any questions they might have regarding the task and encourage the open communication.

3. Appreciate hard work and give feedback.

If you’re pleased with the work your assistant has provided, let them know! If it’s lacking in any way, it’s important to communicate this so they can work to get you the right results. This also allows your VA to assess the mistakes or shortcomings to improve in future tasking.

4. Expect Mistakes.

Mistakes are a part of growth and development. While they are not optimal, they are inevitable. Give your VA constructive feedback on the mistake. 

5. Don’t Over-Delegate.

When you start experiencing the power of delegation and how relieving it can be, it’s important to remember not to over-delegate. Send tasks in waves so that you’re not overwhelming your VA. They will appreciate it!

Then let them take the tasks away and enjoy the valuable time delegating will give back to you!