Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts

Delegate Don't Dump


Delegation is a great way to increase your productivity and achieve more, especially if you have limited time available.

By delegating you handover or outsource tasks that someone else is better qualified, more skilled or can do quicker than you.

However, there is a tendency to 'dump' tasks rather than delegate. These are more likely to be the urgent tasks, you've left to the last minute or possibly, for a similar reason had 'dumped' on you.

Think about the following points when you delegate or handover work to someone else.

What is the task being delegated? Work this out before you delegate a task. Give as much detail as needed and be clear and specific. Don't assume they know or you'll set them up for failure from the start and waste time when you don't get the outcome you want or expect. Confirm they understand what's expected.

Why is this task important? How does it fit into existing objectives and outcomes. What is it's priority and importance compared with anything else they might have planned.

When does this need to be done by? Give them a date, time when you need this task completed by or milestones reached. Allow plenty of notice so the person can plan it into their schedule.

How will it be done? What systems, processes, actions are required to complete the task and in what way. What resources do they need? Avoid being too prescriptive or seeing only 'one way' to do the task. There may be better ways if you allow some flexibility and creativity and focus on the end result not the specific method of achieving it.

Who is going to do this task? Do they have the time and skills to complete it in the time available. Are they the right person for the job?

Keep these in mind and you'll successfully delegate more of your tasks and free up more of your time.


Find Time For Your Business Speaking


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Look out for the Bonus Offer - book your free session.

BLAB: Best Practice For Meetings

Organising and managing your time around meetings. (A few technical glitches but hopefully you get the gist and a few useful tips).


Charity cycle ride from Brighton to Paris for the Blind Veterans.

Unlocking the UK's Daily Savings Time (Workfront.com)

Additional tips for meetings:


Get in touch if you want to chat about your own challenges and issues.

No Shows And Missed Meetings

Now I know life gets in the way and we can't always allow for the unexpected.

It's frustrating when people take the time and effort to book, register or sign-up for sessions, seminars and workshops and just don't turn up. Whether it's free or they've paid upfront.

You're left wondering what happened. How long to wait before you give up or go and do something else.

What is it? Disorganisation, poor planning or over commitment?

What would make you miss an appointment, you've committed to, whether it was intentional or not?

When you make arrangements to meet someone or be somewhere - other people have made time in their day for you.

If you need to change your plans, let them know at the first and earliest opportunity. People will understand, sometimes it's unavoidable or you have a genuine reason for not showing up or missing a meeting.

Be honest. Respect their time so they can make other arrangements, change bookings, make adjustments or have time to do something else.

There's no excuse for not turning up and not letting someone know?

Do you find you're always saying yes to things and then for whatever reason you're not able to attend or have to let people down at the last minute? Or perhaps you simply forget because it's not written down or you just have too much on. It happens.

Be more realistic with your time. Plan ahead. Don't say "yes" or agree to a meeting when what you actually mean is "probably not". Better to make a tentative arrangement and confirm nearer the time than over commit or double book.

Don't get a reputation for being dis-organised or unreliable.

Unlock Your Daily Savings Time

New report: Unlock the UK’s Daily Savings Time - UK workers lose hours every day on inefficiency, but what if they could get that time back?

As a result of poor time and work management, UK businesses lose literally millions of pounds per year. This only gets worse as the digital workspace becomes more complex and cluttered. Fortunately, there are ways to reverse this trend. In this ebook, time-savings expert Clare Evans provides invaluable tips to get your team’s time back, including:
  • Which productivity-killers are most costly to your team
  • How to reduce the number of time-devouring meetings your team attends 
  • How to ensure that your team’s time is focused on the most value-generating activities


Download and read the report - Unlock the UK's Daily Savings Time (Workfront Inc.)

Are you good busy or bad busy?


One of the first things I frequently hear from clients, when we check-in at the beginning of a session, is they’re busy.  I ask whether it's ‘good busy’ or ‘bad busy’?  "What’s the difference?" they ask.

Good busy is when you’re focused on doing good work, being productive, working on high priority tasks, have plenty of clients and customers to work with and you’re not wasting time on less important tasks.

You feel the buzz of being busy, you’re motivated and in the flow.  Nothing phases you and everything gets managed, prioritised and slotted in.  You get to the end of the day with a sense of accomplishment when you see how much you’ve done.

Bad busy is when you’re ‘too’ busy.  Too much to do, too many people making demands on your time, rushing around from one thing to the next and not being particularly productive in the process.

You feel disorganised, overwhelmed and you’re chasing your tail. You’re pressured into working late and giving up your weekends to get everything done, you’re constantly trying to catch up and feeling stressed.

Which one are you?

Find out how you can be more Good Busy and less Bad Busy - get in touch and arrange a time for a free chat.


Real Solutions For Your Biggest Challenges - 50% off (Black Friday Weekend Only)


You've probably noticed how some people are able to get more done than others?
  • Are you struggling to find time in your twenty-four hours, seven days a week to get everything done without losing sleep, feeling overwhelmed and out of control?
  • Are you missing out on time with family and friends because of the hours you work or do you just feel you’re busy being busy?
  • You know you could be so much more productive if only you could manage your never ending list of tasks and projects or to work better with the people around you?
What if you could clear your to-do list and get twice as much done in a day as you normally do?

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  • Create an action plan to move you forward
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This weekend ONLY, I’m offering a 60 minute coaching session over the phone or on Skype, anywhere in the world, with an email summary and follow-up after the call.

This Black Friday Offer of just £57 ($86) is available from NOW and ends on Monday November 30th (or when all the available session slots are filled) save over 50% on a the normal cost of a one-off session.

Are you ready to get inspired and motivated?  Just click here to reserve your slot and then I’ll send you a link to schedule a time for your session or Get In Touch to arrange a time.


Grow Your Business - A Day To Make Ideas Happen

Growth

Last week I attended my local Chamber's annual event The Brighton Summit.  This year's theme was Growing Your Business - A Day to Make Ideas Happen.

It was a jam-packed event, full of inspiring talks and workshops from businesses both local and national, all aimed at helping you to grow your business.

After an inspiring key note talk from Nikki Gatenby of Propellernet, a facilitated group session provide all attendees with the opportunity to discuss challenges, share ideas and look for support and inspiration to take back to their own business.

There were a few common themes coming up during this session.
  • Day-to-day busyness makes it difficult to grow;
  • TIME;
  • goal-setting;
  • planning;
  • staff/people management
  • good work/life balance - self and employees
Many of the usual challenges for businesses both large and small.


Lunch with a difference (not a sandwich in sight) was followed by an afternoon of inspiring and informative workshop sessions.  Too many to choose from and I would have loved to have gone along to more of them.  A mix of practical tools, tips, ideas and inspiration for your business.

Several of the discussions revolved around if you love your business then work/life balance isn't as important - do you agree?  There were inspiring stories from people who had grown their business through passion, persistence and good old fashioned hard work.

If you want to grow your business you need to know what you're working towards and it's not always about money.  In fact it's rarely about money.  Nikki's talk focused on the importance of dreams and how at Propellernet they incorporate many of their teams dreams into their work.  No wonder they're consistently voted one of the best places to work.

"If you can dream it, do it"

Jim Duffy from Entrepreneurial Spark closed the event with a very motivational talk from on and off the stage about the amazing things that the businesses they work with are doing and how important mindset and behaviour is to success.

"Everyone has it in them to be a success given the right situation and support."

I loved the way there were boxes of apples and pears from @FinandFarm to help yourself to during the breaks.  A healthy networking breakfast. Juices from @youjuice at the mid-morning break.  A very healthy lunch from @SpadeandSpoon. Delicious tea-time treats from @RaiseBakery.  So much more inventive than the usual standard sandwiches.


If you attended the Summit, make sure all those moments of inspiration and action haven't got lost as soon as you got back to the office.

Take time to jot down the ideas you want to put into action.  What can you change that will make a real difference to you and your business?

Commit to taking action.  If you came away with ideas, tips, a list of 'to-dos', add them to your daily, weekly, monthly action list.

Plan the time to make them happen.

Set aside time for creativity and growth.  Book a day a month to get out of the office, away from your desk and think about your business strategically - make ideas happen.

Delegate - as soon as you can.  You can't do everything, so having prioritised what's important, delegate anything that isn't core to your business or only you can do to someone else.

People.  Have the right team on board who will help grow your business and who you can confidently delegate or outsource to.

Get help.  Team up with a peer group, business mentor or coach.  Take time out to get away from the day-to-day, to motivate, inspire and challenge you.  To keep you focused and on track even when the going gets tough.

Don't know how you'll find the time ... get in touch for a free chat.

English: Seedling Deutsch: Sämling (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sitting at your desk all day is bad for your health


We spend 65-75% of our day seated and stationary according to a recent survey.  Not just at work but again when we get home and collapse in-front of the TV for the evening.

Even as someone who works from home, I spend much of my day either on the phone or at the computer ... working with clients or writing blogs and articles.

It's one of the reasons, with a more sedentary and stressful lifestyle, obesity is increasing and all the diseases associated with lack of exercise and a poor diet are affecting people earlier and earlier in their lives.  We might be living longer but are we living into a healthy old age?

Now you have another reason to get up from your desk and move around.  It's important to take regular breaks at work - not just for health reasons but it will also improve your productivity and increase your energy.

While not all of us can invest in the new sit/stand desks, you can do something to ensure you get up more often and don't spend all your day seated.  As well as making sure your desk, chair and computer are positioned correctly:

- Go and get a glass of water or a drink every hour or after completing a task.  Consciously take a break.
- Don't spend your lunch hour at your desk - get up and take a walk outside (weather permitting).
- Get up from your desk and go and talk to a nearby colleague rather than send them an email.
- Stand up when you're on the phone.
- Use the stairs rather than the lift/elevator.
- Walk don't drive - walk or cycle to and from work or at least for those shorter journeys.
- Go for a walk or get some exercise after work to physically and mentally switch from
- Get yourself a pedometer and see how many steps you actually walk in a day and do what you can to increase it bit by bit.
- Start yoga, tai chi or pilates as a way to get the body gently moving if you're not

If you spend most of your working day seated in an office or in meetings.  Take what opportunities you can to balance the hours you spend seated with being more active and getting exercise - either in your lunch-time, evening or at the weekends.

Could offices change from sitting to standing? (BBC News)

Networking Tips: #40 So you want to start a networking group?

Are you thinking about starting up a networking group?

Don't!

Not unless you're prepared to put in the time and effort to make it successful.

Many people start a networking group thinking it will give them a ready made audience for their products and services.

This is rarely the case.  They will see you as the 'meeting organiser' and while you're busy running the group, meeting and greeting, writing out name badges, you don't actually get much time to network.  People are busy chatting to everyone else but you.

Even if it's a free event and you do a minimum amount of 'running the meeting', you still need to send out emails and updates, advertise the group, find new people to come along, get the meeting venue ready, follow-up afterwards etc.

Running a networking group can take up as much time as running your own business.  I've spoken to several meeting organisers who've realised this and then given up after a couple of years.

I had to regularly update my list of local and national groups with all the new groups that were and still are starting up each year and removing those that were no longer active.

If you want to start your own networking group - you need to think:
  • What's your objective for running a networking group?
  • How much time and effort will you able to give it?
  • Who's your target audience - for the network, for your business?
  • Where and how often will you hold the meetings?
  • Will it be a business or social group?
If you want to run it as a business in it's own right and make money from it, that's one thing but you might find you've bitten off more than you can manage trying to run it alongside your existing business.

Image courtesy of [Ambro] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Extreme ways to deal with email!

Going away on holiday and you dread returning to thousands of emails in your Inbox?

Are you receiving hundreds of emails on a daily basis?

If you don't have the luxury of having someone else manage your email for you while you're away, here are a few of the more extreme ways I’ve heard senior execs and CEOs have been known to deal with their email:
  • Delete ALL emails that arrived when they were on holiday and start with a fresh Inbox on their return. Request any urgent emails be resent after they return.  It’s amazing how people will often solve their own problems if there’s no other option.  State in your Out of Office message that this is what you intend to do.
  • Only respond to the first 10 emails in their Inbox! A bit hit and miss but the same approach as above - anything urgent gets re-sent, delegated or they’ll get a follow-up phone call if action or approval is still required.
  • Move ALL emails received while on holiday into a ‘Backlog’ folder and deal with them separately.
  • Block or switch off email while they're away.
  • Delete any emails that don't have a clear purpose in the subject or aren’t directly addressed to the recipient.
  • Delete their Inbox every morning.
Some of these methods may be a little extreme but they do show that email doesn't have to be the monster it sometimes becomes and sometimes we can place too much importance on it.

Some of these might work for you.  What other extreme or not so extreme methods do you have for dealing with your Inbox.

Of course if you already have a good email practice in place, your incoming emails will already have been sorted, organised and filtered so you'll have less to deal with when you return.

Related articles:
Manage your email while on holiday
Too much email?

Image courtesy of [digitalart] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net



I'm working late are you?

CandleLight-0275
Occasionally I receive an email sent either very early in the morning or late at night (nothing to do with different timezones).

What does this say about the person's working patterns or workload?

In many organisations, there's an expectation that if other people are working late, then perhaps I should be too.  These people are quite likely to expect a response or will make a call outside 'normal working hours'.

It's great to have the flexibility of working at a time that suits you.  However, if you're spending a lot of time working late or having to get up early to either get ahead, catch-up or clear a backlog, this will impact your productivity and stress levels.

The pressure of today's economy means more and more people are working later and later in to the evening and over the weekend.  If you work late or you see your boss working late, an expectation is set with your team.  You extend the working day way beyond normal office hours and can end up exchanging emails and even phone calls with colleagues at silly o'clock.

If you want to work flexibly - that's one thing but respect other people's time and don't expect them to be keeping the same hours as you.  Even if you're the boss - lead by example.

Keep your work and communication with others to 'office hours'.

What can you do to redress the boundaries and avoid burning the candle at both ends?

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bad habit: cancelling meetings at short notice

English: HCCH 4F Meeting Room
I recently had a meeting cancelled on me at short notice. Usually this isn't a problem but unfortunately I was already on my way travelling up to London, so only found out when I got there after a two and a half hour journey. 

Two attendees had phoned at very short notice (two hours before the meeting was due to start) making our objective for all of us to meet face to face for the first meeting of the year fairly redundant.

Another person was in a similar position having also travelled in to London. 

There will always be unexpected or unplanned events or reasons for short notice cancellation - sickness, family, accidents, unavoidable traffic or travel delays.

When you agree to attend a meeting you're committing your time and the time of others.  You set an expectation that you will be there.  Respect other people's time.

If you have to cancel - give plenty of notice.  Just because you don't have far to travel, isn’t always the case for everyone.

Don't commit to a meeting you know you won't be able to make.  Too many times people say 'yes' and agree to a meeting without really thinking it through.  Only realising too late that they have another meeting immediately before or after, they have other commitments at that time, they're working on a project so won't be able to attend. 

If something else comes up - say you're already committed.

Look ahead. If you thought you'd be able to make it when the meeting was first booked but then realise that you have other commitments or other priorities come up - rearrange ... in good time.

If your disorganisation, lack of planning or overcommitment means you can't make the meeting - make sure it doesn't happen again.

How would you feel if you turned up for a meeting and found it had been cancelled but no one had let you know?

On the plus side - I was able to write a couple of articles and respond to a few emails on the train journey there and back. 

If you'd like to address some of your time habits - take a look at the 90-Day Habit Mastery Programme.


(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

7 Great Reasons to Work from Home

English: Rush hour, Liverpool Street

Whether you work from home on a permanent or part-time basis, you run your own business or you usually work in an office, there are great reasons for it:

1. You can work flexibly.  You're not tied to the 9-5 and you can plan your day around other non-work activities.

2. You can get up early or work late if you want to.  If you're an early bird or a night owl - start and finish your work day at a time that suits you and work at times when you're at your peak.

3. You don't need to shop when everyone else does - evenings and weekends.

4. You can create your own workspace - especially if you have a home office away from the noise and distractions of an open-plan office.

5. You avoid the congestion, stress and frustration of the daily rush-hour commute.

6. You can get away from the endless office interruptions - the 'have you got a minute' moments, the water cooler discussions.

7. You'll probably get a lot more done without the distractions of ringing phones, email and loud conversations.

You might even find time to exercise and take a lunch break while having a more productive day.


English: Rush hour, Liverpool Street (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bartering Your Services

Drawings illustrative of Captain Cook's First ...
Be wary of requests to trade or barter your services.  While it can seem like a good way to get goods or services without spending cash - think carefully.

- Is it really something you want or is useful for you and your business?

- Would you be prepared to pay for it anyway?  There's no point in trading for a product or service you'll never use or don't want.

- Make sure it's a like for like trade and of equal value.

- Be very clear about exactly what they're getting.

People take liberties when they think they're getting something for 'free' and will often push for more.

Make it clear this is a one-off or only applies to this transaction.  Any further work is a separate transaction and requires full payment.  If you've already given away or traded your services once - they may well expect a discount for anything else.

Does the person offering the trade actually value what you do or are they just after a freebie?  If they can't afford you normally, they won't value what you do and are more likely to end up being difficult to work with, quibble over price and ask for more.

One of the businesses I'm working with recently fell foul of this.  They agreed to a trade of equal value.

  • What they got wasn't actually worth it for their business.
  • What they offered was accepted and agreed. But the additional work they took on was changed several times and last minute changes and additions were even made on the day.

Needless to say a discount was also 'assumed' and they were left chasing payment.  Fortunately they've now been paid for most of the work but are still waiting for payment for the additional work completed on the day.

P.S. Be aware of the tax implications of bartering your services.

'Maori bartering a crayfish' (Photo credit: The British Library)

The Right To Flexible Working

flexible storage

From June this year all employees in the UK (who've been employed for 6 months) can now request flexible working.

Just because they can, doesn't mean they will or that it will suit every employee or business.  Don't panic - this could be great for your business.

Flexible working allows people to work in a different way:

  • reduced working hours - either permanently or temporarily
  • compressed hours - contracted hours in fewer (longer) days
  • park time working
  • overtime - to cover peaks in demand
  • working from home - full-time, part-time, occasional
  • job-share
  • different start/end times (flexitime)

You can attract the right people for your business - not everyone wants to work a standard 9-5, five days a week or your business might not need full-time staff.

You'll have a more productive, motivated and loyal workforce if people are able to work hours that fit around their lifestyle or other commitments - childcare, carer, life changes, study etc.

Saves time for travel and commuting which can be quite significant for many people.

Having a flexible working environment in your business could enable you to extend your business hours outside a standard working day by having staff who start early or finish later in the day.  Good for businesses with overseas customers or providers, as they can cover a broader timezone.

Reduces overtime and overhead costs, potentially freeing up office space or reducing the need for expansion.

You build a level of trust with your employees.  Once you've got over the idea they'll be sitting around watching daytime TV, they'll actually get a lot more done if they're working flexibly from home, away from the everyday distractions and interruptions in the office.

What you need to consider:

  • additional costs involved
  • reorganise, managing the existing workload
  • recruiting temporary or agency staff
  • skills and potential within the business
  • impact on quality and performance

Consider the needs of the business and your staff member before making a decision on whether flexible working is appropriate.

Useful resources:

The Right To Request Flexible Working (ACAS Guide)
Code of Practice (ACAS Guide)
Liberating or isolating - working from home
The benefits of flexible working

flexible (Photo credit: darkmatter)

And now it's Wimbledon

English: Wimbledon Championships
I might not have been glued to the World Cup but now Wimbledon is on - I have something to watch.

There's potentially more of an impact to office productivity, because the games are on during the working day.

Here's how I organise my time when I can, so that I can watch a few my favourite players.
  • Schedule my lunch break to catch up on the closing stages of a match.  The early ones will just be finishing and the later ones just starting.
  • Take frequent breaks.  This is something you should be doing anyway - you'll actually be more productive if you do - now you have an excuse.  See who's playing, who's still in, who's out.
  • Deal with emails or social media while watching a particularly good game.  These are potentially good tasks for multi-tasking, as they don't necessarily require focused concentration.  You can quickly clear and sort your email - flagging those that need more time or a measured response for later.
  • Be selective - I don't need to watch ALL the games to get involved and enjoy Wimbledon.  I rarely watch the women's games - too much grunting and shrieking just puts me off.
  • If a game is particularly gripping and I decide to spend longer watching it - I start earlier or finish a little later, spreading the working hours across the day rather than just between 9-5.
  • If I'm away from the home office for the day, there's always the daily evening updates to catch up on the highlights of the day and of course social media will keep you posted on events as they happen.  Be selective and be aware of 
OK, so I have the luxury of working from home and can be more flexible with my working day.

What about you?  Do you manage to watch the sporting events you enjoy while ensuring work gets done and you stay productive, or do you record or watch the highlights?

And next week we have the start of the Tour de France!

English: Wimbledon Championships (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

World Cup Productivity

2014 FIFA World Cup in Brasil
2014 FIFA World Cup in Brasil (Photo credit: alobos Life)
England may be out of the 2014 World Cup but business goes on as usual ... or does it.

With big sporting events there's a desire to get involved and this can have a significant impact on business and productivity.

What effect have you already seen on your business in the first  two weeks of the World Cup?

Are your staff taking time off work to catch up on key games?

As most of the games are in the afternoon, evening (UK time), it might only slightly impact the working day, but are they taking time off 'sick' the following day to recover?

The buzz around the World Cup can also keep people motivated to get things done before the end of the working day, so they can be ready for the 5pm kick-off.  This might actually increase productivity if employees realise the benefit to wasting less time, so they can finish early or on time.  On average we waste about two hours a day through distractions and interruptions.

Alternatively, they may now spend more time chatting to their friends and colleagues about scores, goals, penalties, players and controversial decisions, which distracts them from work.  Keep chatter to break times - frequent breaks are fine (within reason) as you'll actually work more effectively.

It's tougher on shift-workers who may well be working when the games are on but equally they'll have the benefit of being off-shift at other times.

If you don't already, you might consider flexible working - start early, finish early.  Allowing people to finish in time to watch the games.

Treat requests for holiday time and day's off fairly.  You need to ensure there's adequate cover in the office so that phones get answered, emails are responded to and work still gets done.

What are you doing to engage your staff but keep them motivated and productive?

Do I Have To Do Everything Around Here!?

Help Wanted...
Quite often when I'm talking about delegation - I'll hear the comment "Oh, but I've got no one to delegate to" or "Everyone 'delegates' to me".  Sometimes this might be the case, there really is no one else that can do the work but quite often there are ways and means.

If you run your own business - you can still delegate or outsource tasks that you either don't want to do or aren't your main skill or area of expertise, to other people.  You don't need to employ people to do this, you can outsource the task and add people to your 'business support team'.

- A book-keeper to keep your accounts up to date.
- A virtual assistant to do some of the paperwork, invoicing or deal with emails or social media.
- An admin person or office junior to help with paperwork, filing and data entry.
- A printer for your graphic and printing requirements.
- A web designer to update your website.

Anything that costs you more to do (in real terms) than it would to pay someone else to do - can and should be outsourced.  This gives you more time to focus on the important tasks that only you can do.

This doesn't just apply in business - you might feel you're chief cook and bottle washer at home but you can delegate there too.

- Delegate tidying up and a few simple household chores (get your partner and children involved)
- Delegate some of the gardening tasks - mowing the lawn, hedge-cutting to gardening services.
- Delegate DIY tasks - you know, the one's you always put off - painting, decorating.

Even if you are the person who ends up with all the work or there really is no one else you can delegate to, it's useful to know how to delegate effectively.

Know and understand the who, what, where, when and how - ask the right questions to make sure you know what's being expected of you and to make sure the task gets done.

Related articles:

What's your time worth
Who What Where When Why and How
Help Wanted... (Photo credit: Thewmatt)

How To Double Your Hours

You’re workload is limited by the amount of hours you have available.

If you could increase the number of hours,  you could increase your productivity.  One hour of your effort achieves one hour of results.

Delegate a task and one hour of effort can achieve several hours of results.
  • You have your own skills and abilities, other people have theirs, make effective use of both.  Stick to what you’re good at and let other people do what they’re good at.
  • If you’re working long hours and have taken on too much this could be a sign that you need to delegate.
  • If you’ve exhausted your resources dealing with a particular problem – ask for help.
  • If you’re a perfectionist – ask for help before it’s too late and you get stressed out, overwhelmed trying to create a ‘perfect’ solution.
We tend to just get on and do things - keep ourselves busy, moving forward, juggling work, life, children, partners, friends and family.  Here in the UK, we’re much more likely to soldier bravely on and not admit that we could actually do with a helping hand.

You won’t be able to delegate everything.  There are always going to be certain tasks you need to keep control of or that only you can do.

You might be quite happy to let someone else help you out and do some of you work or you might have trouble letting go of parts of your workload.  Some people find it easier to delegate than others.

Delegate the right tasks, at the right time to the right people.

Image courtesy of [Salvatore Vuono] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net