When you’re feeling overwhelmed and unproductive it’s easy to look at your to-do list and feel like you’re never going to get it all done.
You may be right. YOU many not get all of these things done. Buy why do you have to be the one to get them done? Are you even the right person to do these things?
I’m betting that many of the things that you have on your list don’t really belong to you. There are things that you’ve put there for some reason or other, but did you really ask, “Am I the right person to do this?” before taking on the task yourself? It’s difficult to delegate, but it’s also difficult to admit when you need help or when you aren’t the best person for the job. But if you can do that, you’ll find that your list is made up of things that are just right for you.
Today’s tip is deceptively simple: review your to-do list and ask yourself, “Am I the right person to do this?” If the answer is “no,” then you’ll need to ask the right person if they’re willing to do the job. It’s likely that you can trim your list and create lists for other people in your organization or family.
This is a tricky area. You can create the lists, but they don’t have to accept the tasks. Getting someone to accept a task is tricky. I find that I’m most successful when I talk about tasks as part of a conversation about shared goals.
And there’s a flip side: the person you’re giving tasks to might also have tasks that really should belong to you. But that’s OK. It’s better to have a list filled with things that fit your skills and abilities and energies than things that don’t.
And you might come to an impasse. If you try to pass the to-do to the right person and they’re not willing to do it, then you have one more question to ask yourself: “Is it worth doing?” Be willing to drop tasks that aren’t right for you and aren’t critical. Just move on to things that really need to be done.
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