Читать книгу Comfortable Chaos - Carolyn Harvey & Beth Herrild - Страница 38

When you delegate, instead of dropping the ball, you are tossing it to someone else. There’s no need to feel guilty about doing this. If you are delegating to your children, you are helping them become more self-sufficient. If you are delegating at work, you may also be enabling someone to learn new skills.

So how do you know if a task is something you should delegate or do yourself? There are two simple strategies when evaluating your to-do list. The first one is to ask yourself, Which of these things can only I do? In other words, you are looking for the tasks that require your unique skills and knowledge, and it would take significant time to train someone else. All other tasks are fair game for delegation.

The second strategy is to look for the items on your list that have been there for two or three days or longer. These are the tasks that linger on your list and are not getting started or completed. Why is this happening? Often there is an underlying reason why you are not able to check them off. It could be that you don’t really value the task or you don’t like the task. It could also be a signal that you need more information or are unsure how to proceed. Whatever the reason, make these tasks candidates for delegation. Your true energy and passion is not behind them and someone else may be better suited for the job. If you are worried that it is an unpleasant task that no one really wants, see if you can swap it with someone else’s undesirable task.

One last thought on delegation: be mindful of the delegate’s situation. At work, check to see that the new task won’t cause the employee to drop other balls. Help the employee assess his or her responsibilities to see if he or she needs to drop, redefine, or delegate other tasks. At home, make sure your family members have the tools to do the job. Delegation may take an upfront time investment, but it can free up buckets of time down the road.