How to Do What You Do Best and Delegate the Rest

You know you’re doing too much. You feel scatterbrained and like you’re always forgetting something. You’re exhausted but feel like you must keep going because if you don’t do it, who will? And quite honestly, you don’t feel appreciated for everything you do.

Does any of that sound true? Yeah, I bet it does. I know it's been true for me. Been there. Done that. Grabbed a bottle of wine on the way out. I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be this way. 

One of the most common obstacles people face when trying to make a career transition is finding the time to do it. Here’s a secret: It’s not a matter of time. It’s a matter of priorities. We make the time for the things that are most important to us. If your career transition is a top priority, you’ll find the time. If it isn’t, you’ll find an excuse. Either choice is fine. It’s fine if making a career change is a top priority and you’re really going after it. It’s also fine if it’s not a top priority right now, and you have to take it slower or put it on the back burner. Whichever stage you’re at, keep reading!

Despite all the things that you manage to get done in a day, you’re not Superwoman! Not only can’t you do everything but you shouldn’t try to do everything. Doing the latter will only leave you exhausted, unfulfilled, and let’s be honest, more than a little annoyed and frustrated at those you feel should be helping out more. Sound familiar? Yeah, I thought so.

Listen, I know what I’m talking about. I have infant twin boys, 2 dogs, a husband, a household to run, a full-time job, AND a coaching business. It can be and often is overwhelming. I tried to do everything myself even though I physically couldn't because I was recovering from a difficult childbirth experience and multiple surgeries. I'm not going to lie. It was probably the dumbest thing that I've done in my life. I finally had to get a grip and accept that there was no shame in asking for help.

So, I made a list of all the things that I do on a daily and weekly basis. I then separated the tasks into things that I needed to do, things that others can do, and things that didn’t really need to be done. I gotta tell you it was really hard taking things out of the first category and putting them into the other 2 categories. I mean, everything had to be done, right? WRONG! Nope! There were things I had to do like work my day job. There were things I could delegate to others like housework and childcare. And there were things I had to let go like making sure that every thing was clutter-free. In the end, my husband picked up some of the household tasks, my mom agreed to help take care of the boys, and I made room in my budget to hire a part-time Virtual Assistance and Social Media Manager.

Obviously, your life won’t perfectly mirror mine. Maybe you can't afford to hire outside help right now.  Maybe you don’t have a partner. Maybe you live somewhere that doesn’t have grocery pick-up. All that’s fine. You simply have to make some adjustments to fit your situation. Here are some suggestions:

• Have older kids make dinner and require them to also clean up after themselves. Alternatively, if you have more than one child, have one cook and the other do the cleanup. Cooking is an important life skill and it’s good for kids to learn how to do it. Making them clean up after themselves makes them more conscious of the mess they make. 
• If you don’t have a partner, choose one or two days to batch cook for the week. When I was single, I cooked for the week on Sunday and then added small salads during the week so that I’d have something freshly made to eat. 
• Order your groceries online and have them delivered or pick them up at the store at a time of your choosing. A lot of grocery stores still aren’t charging for pick-up services.
• Have someone else gather and take out the trash. 
• Teach other members of your household how to do laundry, if they don’t already know how to do it, and have them do their own laundry. 

These are just some suggestions. I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. What’s worked for you?

• Choose what you do best and delegate the rest!
• Delegating tasks that aren't necessary for YOU to do will free up time for you to work on your other priorities, like your career transition
• Resist the temptation to just do it yourself because it’ll get done faster if you do it. That may be but not doing it at all is even faster than doing it yourself. Also, it’s important that everyone and everything doesn’t rely on you.
• Make a list of all the things that you do. Then choose which things MUST be done by you, which things can be delegated to others, and which things are unnecessary and can be let go.

P.S. If you’d like help on how to take the first step in your career transition, I can help! You can get your free Tyche Career Change Roadmap here.