Do it! Delegate it! or Ditch it!

Our time is limited, yet we are all guilty of trying to squeeze 36 hours into 24.

To stay competitive in today’s digital world you need to be able to be efficient and productive with the 24 hours that you are granted each day.

The truth is we all have the same amount of time in a day: 24 hours or 1,440 minutes. In fact, you have exactly the same amount of time that was given to Helen Keller, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein. How you choose to spend your time is what will set you apart from everyone else. There are 24 hours in a day, let’s say you sleep the average 8 hours, it leaves you with 16 productive hours to accomplish things that need to be done at home and at work. The question is how productive are you in those 16 hours?

A recent Harvard Business Review Study found that on average, workers spend around 41% of their time on tasks that “offer little personal satisfaction and could be handled competently by others, aka OUTSOURCED!  Let’s do the math, that’s almost half of our available time each day spent on mundane and unproductive tasks that don’t move the needle forward. Can you imagine what you could accomplish with twice the amount of time in your day?

There are many ways to shave a few minutes off of your day, but if you really want to free up time in your day you need to prioritize and get on top of this said list.

We take this approach with our clients. Do it. Delegate it. Or Ditch it. 

Sure “To-Do” lists can help you stay organized and on-task, we all make them, but the trick is to be efficient with them. Instead of writing things down on a piece of paper that often gets buried on your desk, try entering them as note on your smart phone or directly into your calendar. Also, consider putting a deadline or a due date on them.

Get real about  how you spend your time throughout the day. How many hours are being robbed by distractions, interruptions and mundane tasks that someone else could take off your plate? It’s important to resist the temptation to focus on the cost of getting someone else to do the work, and to focus instead of the cost ofnot i.e. the money you’re losing in the business because you’re not focusing on what will bring in the income. Or the physical and emotional cost of lost time with your family. Really examine which is costing you more and decide to find a way to delegate it or just ditch it.

Depending on where you live consider enlisting the services of a personal assistant, virtual assistant or a concierge. This way, they’ll not just take the to-dos off your plate—they give you the freedom to create your I WANT LIST.

Identify the tasks/projects that require your involvement and those that don’t. Those to-do lists can often get in the way of all the living that’s out there. Isn’t a few hundred dollars a week worth it for your sanity? ( depending on the size of your list that is )

Virtual Assistants are everywhere and their  job is to make yours easier! It’s all the luxury of an Executive Assistant, without the full-time salary. This service is generally geared towards busy professionals and entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses faster by enabling them to delegate strategic tasks to their own VPA.

Here are a few other personal outsourcing companies that are making waves and could save you when your short on time.

Balance InStyle – A monthly virtual subscription allows you access to dedicated Ottawa based virtual personal assistants starting from $159/month. This starter plan is a great way to get introduced to the wonderful world of outsourcing. Now you, and/or your entire staff can outsource all your time sinking tasks with one call. Freeing you up to focus on business while at business. So long as it’s legal, moral and ethical you can consider it done!

Wonder – Helps people get their questions answered through effective research. Finding the right information is time consuming.  Outsource it, and move on with your day. Pricing for Wonder is based on the number of questions you want to be solved – $39.99 a month will get you 5 responses, $99.99 will get you 15, and the bulk package is $299.99 for 50 requests a month.

Upwork – Allows you to quickly find top freelancers with a variety of skills. The beauty of this service is that you can start your job in hours, not weeks. Get a shortlist of skilled freelancers instantly and interview favourites online and hire with the click of a button. You pay by the project so fees vary.

Some key things to remember when delegating or outsourcing. Even though you’re hiring because you are short on time, invest at the beginning. Share your company’s motto, it’s vision, branding, and ethics. The same is true when hiring for personal support. Share your immediate goals for hiring them.

Remember: People like to please. Your potential Fairy God-Mother, Sanity Saver and real life Genie in a Bottle need to understand the vital role that they play in helping you succeed – spend a little extra time at the start and fully understand their skill sets. I can’t stress how important this is as they likely will allow you to tick off multiple items with just one call or email.

I remember last year we were hired to plan a wedding for a client. They had gotten to know us over the years and not only did they know that we knew how to plan, execute and throw AMAZING parties, but they learnt that we were licensed wedding officiants too, so not only were we the wedding planners, we also performed the ceremony. You will be amazed at what you can learn about someone by just taking an interest and asking!

To your success!