Entrepreneurs and business owners are working harder and longer than ever before, with nearly half clocking 50 hours or more each week. The drive to become more successful can get entrepreneurs and business owners caught up in the mindset that handling everything alone is better and faster. But there must be a better way if you are forgoing much-needed relaxation or neglecting your interpersonal interactions.
The good news is, there is an effective solution. Two of the best tools for getting the most done each day are automation and delegation.
But how do they differ? When do you automate and delegate to a virtual assistant?
Automation Versus Delegation
First, let us discuss the distinction between automation and delegation.
Two systems can help in simplifying the process in a business – delegation, and automation. They both allow business owners the room they need to concentrate their time and efforts on crucial and essential tasks that are necessary to maintain and grow their enterprises.
Fact: many of the daily business routines are good candidates for automation. Some operations can function more effectively when they are automated, even if you would be able to automate every time-consuming task in your day. It is far simpler to allow automation to keep track of when orders are placed, when shipments are sent, when they are delivered, and so on than it is for you to manually enter all of this information into a spreadsheet.
In addition to sales records, tasks that can be automated include automated marketing, email, and CRM management.
Automation involves simplifying processes using technology with humans setting up the process, requiring light manual effort. On the other hand, delegation is working with someone else to remove tasks off your plate. Consider hiring a virtual assistant or social media manager to create content and manage social media as a form of delegation.
Automation and delegation are best with routine and repetitive duties, projects that must be completed but are outside of areas of expertise, or tasks that need more energy than they can consistently muster. The tricky part is knowing which is best to use when you are a solopreneur with little time or money to work with.
To Automate Or Delegate?
How to know if your business requires automation or delegation? These three questions can help you identify how to efficiently run the business.
- Do you need a human to do it?
- Is the task done the same way repeatedly?
- Is the task simple yet takes time and energy to complete?
When you examine the tasks that keep your business running, some will inevitably be completed without the need for a human being. Consider the tasks you carry out that are neither required nor valuable. Decide what you no longer need to do and add it to the list of things you should get rid of.
The tasks that you leave undone on your list should be of the utmost importance. You want to finish your work as quickly as you can. Keep in mind that if you spend more time on unimportant duties, you will have less time for the more important ones.
After reducing all tasks that can be done without your involvement, decide which jobs you can automate. Automate monotonous chores especially those that do not need decision-making. Some tasks you can automate are emails, Calendly bookings, reminders, subscription payments, and data entry work that seem to eat up a lot of time each day.
Now you have crossed out tasks you can automate, your to-do is left with tasks you can delegate and chores needed for your decision-making. Delegate the tasks you feel comfortable assigning to others by going through the list. A lot of people have trouble delegating, especially control-loving perfectionists. Delegating will be simpler if you take the time to choose the appropriate people for particular jobs.
In delegation, remember this one important thing: Never hand over tasks to just anyone. Spend some time looking and researching your possible candidates. Make sure they have the abilities and mindset needed to produce the outputs you desire.
From a strategic standpoint, it is critical to ensure that efficiency is at the forefront across all individuals on your team, including yourself. At the end of the day, you know what is best for your business: avoiding the things that do not matter and giving the ones that do your all. To grow your business, concentrate on things that will generate income.
Taking advantage of our 30-minute complimentary consultation is a fantastic place to get started and discover the effective way to delegate is working with a virtual assistant.
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