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Time is your most valuable asset. And like all resources, investing it wisely empowers you to access more of it in the long run.

Mindful delegation is a bit like magic. It empowers busy, modern professionals to achieve more — while doing less. 

Imagine redistributing the weight of your daily responsibilities. By offloading tasks onto the capable shoulders of others, you free yourself to focus your energy on what matters most. Whether it’s time with friends, diving deeper into your passion, or actually getting a full night’s rest, mindful delegation is a powerful tool to make it happen. 

Beating the clock

Studies show that buying time, not stuff, has the power to make you happier. But, like any efficient system, it takes a bit of time upfront to free up your time for the long run. Think of it like a time investment: investing the time to establish a great system for saving time will ensure that you come out way ahead. The rewards are there.

That’s why we’ve put together some handy guidance on how to make the most of your investment.

1. Take the time to onboard effectively.

Whether you’re replacing an assistant or are getting one for the first time, the most important time you can spend is the time it takes to onboard them. Be prepared to get your new delegate familiar with your tasklist! You can’t just hire help and be done. You have to provide some guidance to help them learn how you like things done.

Taking the time to set them up right is the best (and only!) way to make sure they’re empowered to run with future tasks.

2. Establish a long-term relationship.

The longer you work with someone, the greater the gain. There will be less and less you need to explain along the way. So, make sure you’re bringing in someone you think may be able to stick around for a while. Starting over with someone new is tough!

That’s why Pursuit is as invested in maintaining a long-term relationship with you as you are with us. Consistency is where the magic happens.

3. Take a moment to explain what you need.

You hold A LOT of information in your mind. When working with someone new, you need to reveal all the goodness that lies in there. They can’t read your mind! Do what you can to give them as much information as possible so they have what they need to succeed for you.

This is one of the most challenging aspects of delegation because you can’t see how much you know —  you’re too close to it. In fact, a lot of people get stuck here. They think it takes more energy to ask someone to do a task than it takes to do the task itself. This is almost never true.

Delegating usually takes less time than expected, but it does take a moment.

4. Set expectations early and provide guidance.

Reduce the amount of back and forth by setting clear expectations early on. Make it clear what you need and by when. If you’re delegating a task with specific processes, show your delegate once and make sure they really get it. That way, they can keep running with it — and remove it from your plate for good.

5. Be prepared to answer questions.

No matter how thorough you are, you probably won’t get your new delegate absolutely everything they need to succeed. But it’s worth your time to be patient and answer their questions. If you answer them well, there will be fewer and fewer.

Here’s the thing about delegation: while it takes time and effort to build a relationship, it doesn’t take nearly as much time as doing everything yourself. And it’s a system that builds on itself: the more you delegate, the less you have to do yourself, the less explaining you do in the long run.

Delegation is a long-term game — and one so worth playing. If you go in with the expectation that all your work will magically disappear *poof* right in front of you, you’ll be disappointed. But, if you go in prepared to invest in your delegate(s), you’ll be rewarded big time.

Live a fuller life, not a busier one.

Sondra_Your Team

Sondra (she/her)

Founder + CEO

Lover of cats, breakfast, and the ocean. Dreams of sailing the world.
Self-care go-to is sleeping.