Running a small business often feels like spinning plates. You know you shouldn’t be doing everything yourself — but deciding what to hand over can feel overwhelming. “Where do I even start?” is something I get asked a lot!
Here’s a simple framework based on my own ‘6 Steps to Effective Delegation’ that will help you work out what to keep and what to pass on — in just 10 minutes.
Step 1: List it all out
Braindump all the regular tasks you do daily, weekly, or monthly in your business. Don’t overthink it or add too much detail — just the task name is enough. If you can, note how long each task usually takes you. List it all in one single column (col 1)
Step 2: What do you love?
From that list highlight the tasks you actually enjoy doing. Copy them into a new column (col 2). Add the time they take in brackets. These are the things that bring you energy but can also drain your time.
Step 3: What do you struggle with?
Again, using the first list identify the tasks you don’t enjoy, or that you find yourself procrastinating on. Maybe they’re outside your skillset, or they drain your energy. Copy them into another column, with the time taken (col 3).
Step 4: Be honest about what you shouldn’t be doing
Just because you enjoy something doesn’t mean it should be you doing it. Highlight the tasks from Col 1 that, as the business owner, you really shouldn’t be spending time on. This could be formatting documents, chasing invoices, or scheduling social posts and they can also be from col 2 (just because you enjoy them doesn’t necessary mean you should be doing them) (col 4).
Step 5: Build your delegation list
Take all the tasks from col 3 and 4 and put them together and also be honest about col 2, there may well be things in there that take a lot of time that would be more cost effective to delegate. This is your ready-made list of tasks you could delegate to a VA or support team. Add up the time — you might be surprised how many hours you could free up.
Step 6: Take the first step
Pick one or two tasks from your delegation list and hand them over. You don’t have to do everything at once. Start small, build confidence, and enjoy the extra time to focus on the work only you can do.
Why this works
Over the years I have come to realise that the biggest barrier to outsourcing is clarity. Once you see your tasks grouped this way, it becomes obvious what only you can do — and what someone else can take on. Delegation isn’t losing control; it’s gaining back focus, time, and energy.
If you’d like help working through your own delegation list, or simply want to explore what support could look like, book a call with me. Together, we can make sure your time is spent where it matters most.
Need more time to talk things through in more depth? Book a Power Hour
