How to Manage Your Workload

Scenario: "Dude, all-nighters rock. If you're not doing all-nighters, you're not a true badass. Yay!" ^That's a burnout waiting to happen. You know those rough nights/weeks/months when you're pouring your heart out working like a rock star that you are. People tell you to delegate your workload, or you're going to hurt yourself. Yet, what do you continue doing? If you're like most ambitious business-builders, it probably goes a little something like this:

1. "I wish I could delegate my work..."
2. "But then...I'll have to spend more time explaining stuff to the person."
3. "Ahh...fuhgettaboutit."
4. "I'll just do the work myself!"
5. "It'll be faster anyway!"

So, you continue working, and working, and working. Then when another unexpected to-do item comes along, you add that on top of your already-long list of items you still need to do. What happens then? One of these three:

1. You get crushed under the workload (a.k.a. burnout).
2. You miss successive deadlines.
3. Your confidence level in your business drops faster than Britney-Spears'-you-know-what.

The solution? Start delegating.

Why Most People Don't Delegate

It sounds obvious, but not too many people follow the, "I-will-delegate-yay!" advice. Why? Subconsciously, we think we'll get task: _________________, done faster/better/sexier if we did it on our own. That makes sense:

1. When we want something done, we have a vision for how we want it done.
2. And of course, we could probably finish it faster than the other person, anyway.

Delegating it, then: sucks. So, we continue piling work on top of our already humongous shizzle. As you business-builders know: That pile of work seems to never, ever end. Sure, we think if we just finish: ______________, we'd be done. Yay! But, that work keeps piling. In turn, our minds, body, and soul takes a gradual beating per task. Then before you know it:

1. Missed deadlines.
2. Angry customers.
3. Morale = drainage.

How Delegating Helps Your Mind

Think of a bucket. You fill that bucket with water. That's your fuel for the day.

1. When the bucket has water = you're ready for action.
2. If you empty it = your mind: gone.

Now, every task you do -- no matter how small -- uses up some H20.

• You check company email = H20 loss.
• You interview a first-round candidate = H20 loss.
• You order products from your vendor = H20 loss.

You have a limited amount of water in your bucket a day. Doing: __________ everyday diminishes that bucket -- even if it's minimal -- daily. Those "small things" quickly combine into one huge H20 bucket waster that quickly burns your fuel. Before you know it, you've wasted half of the bucket on "everyday, small things" -- before even getting to the "real" work (i.e. work that significantly affects the bottom line). Now, do this:

• Multiply that one day by 30 days: You've lost 15 days of work per month.
• Multiply it by 365 days: You've lost 182.5 days of work per year.

Instead of bringing in $100k for your business, you're left with $50k. Instead of 10 Ferrari Enzos, your cheap behind is left with 5. A depleted bucket forces you to delay projects, work overtime on an empty bucket (and quickly burning yourself out). That destroys your morale -- draining productivity. Doing everything yourself seems tempting in the short-run; but, and here's the key: it'll destroy your fabulous potential in the long-run. As much as you possibly can:

Start delegating your shizzle like a rock star.

If you enjoyed How to Manage Your Workload, get a complimentary subscription to our freshest articles through email or through your feed reader.