6 Great Tips for Delegating Tasks

Sometimes, choosing which tasks to delegate is tricky business. Here are some guidelines to help you get started:

1. Recognize your weaknesses. We all have one or two of them. You may be able to technically handle the work, but could someone else do it better, or faster than you? Even if it takes a bit of training time, outsourcing to a dependable virtual assistant will ultimately make your life easier, and it will save you time and energy in the long run.

2. Assess the time-wasters. There are things that need to be done, but perhaps your time could be put to better use by giving certain tasks away. A good virtual assistant may be able to find a more efficient or effective system for dealing with those tasks, too. Remember, a virtual assistant works with many people in a variety of capacities, and a second set of eyes can be really useful for gaining new insight or bringing forth new ideas.

3. Grouping similar tasks together. Your virtual assistant should be able to speed through a group of similar tasks more quickly than with disconnected items. For example, if you need some research done and some related phone calls made, this would be a perfect pairing to hand off to your virtual assistant.

4. Knock the little tasks off your desk. A lot of small items can end up derailing an afternoon, keeping you from growing your business or getting into a project that requires times and your full concentration.

5. Don't be shy. A good virtual assistant enjoys the work and will be happy to help with the smallest things or those things that you may consider to be undesirable tasks. A true professional won't bat an eyelid.

6. Rinse and repeat. Once your virtual assistant has handled the work once, doing it again will be a breeze. And you'll be able to get to the things you'd rather be doing.