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Time Management For Dummies - Learn how To Delegate

February 20th, 2008 | | Time Management For Dummies

Okay, so no one can possibly do your job as well as you can. Or that’s what you think! Some parts of your job may be better performed or more timely carried out by someone else. Drowning in work and responsibility? Then it’s time to delegate!

Some tasks only you can do, but surely there are others that you don’t need to be doing or someone is better skilled to do them. First, look at your activity log and see what areas are taking up a large amount of your time but are low priority or low productive tasks. Can you delegate these jobs?

Jobs you should delegate include:

1. Ones that another person is more skilled at. Your co-worker has more experience in marketing than you. Let him prepare the marketing plan.

2. Ones that someone else is willing (and capable) to carry out. For example, your teenage child is keen to learn to cook. He/she can be taught to prepare at least one evening meal a week.

3. Complete jobs. Don’t let a junior have only part of a job to complete. If they are preparing a report for the first time, let them do the whole thing, rather than just collate the figures. This will give them experience and satisfaction in completing a new task.

4. Ones that aren’t cost effective for you to carry out. Don’t clean the office; hire someone else to do it. Spend your valuable time on tendering for a new project.

Jobs you shouldn’t delegate might include:

1. Ultimate control of the project, especially if you are responsible for the outcome; and

2. Ones that you are the most skilled to carry out, especially if the outcome of the job depends on that particular expertise.

Some people don’t like to delegate for a number of reasons. They don’t want to relinquish control, don’t want to find out if other workers can do things better than them or they are perfectionists - no one can do the job as well as them. For others, delegation is difficult because they don’t have the time to delegate!

Good time management will give you the time to delegate those tasks that others could be doing as well as you, while you devote your time to high priority projects. Let go and give the others a chance. Delegation will ultimately give you more time to focus on the important areas of your work and life.

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