The last couple of days, I have been reflecting on having a full versus overfull plate. Being full, achieving a goal or overcoming a challenge gives us a sense of accomplishment and deep satisfaction. When this fullness becomes overfull, we need to either take things off our plate or think of how to get the same amount of tasks done differently. Often this differently means delegating.

Why don’t we delegate? Usually it’s because of five factors: Time, No one to delegate to, Money, Competence, Trust, Time:

We say we don’t have the time to show someone else how to do what we know how to do. This is a myopic perspective. Teaching someone today will give you much more time in the future. And often we overestimate how much time it will take to teach or coach. You time is money and if you invest it wisely, it grows giving you time back.

No one to delegate to: This depends upon how you think of delegation – we have resources in other people everywhere whether it’s an employee, spouse, co-worker, an intern, friend, or we hire someone. I challenge you to think of how you can think of delegating more creatively.

Money: Sometimes you have to pay someone to do some things for you. What is it worth to you in terms of your time and potential to earn more money? Sometimes this time is just psychic time, knowing you don’t have to worry about that task so you can focus on something else more important.

Competence & Trust: These two sometimes go together and they are ultimately about control. You need to give up control and trust that someone else has the competence. They might not do it exactly how you do it but unless that’s really necessary then just focus on getting it done in their way.Delegating frees you up to focus on what you do best, and must do, to achieve the success you desire.

For example, for twenty five years I have had someone come clean my house – even when I said I couldn’t afford it. It’s not just because I’m allergic to dust, but it’s because I didn’t want to spend my time and focus on that task. I would much rather forgo a night out to dinner or cut somewhere else. Sure, there have been times when I have varied how often I have this service – every 1, 2 or 3 weeks – but it’s worth every dime to not only clean up my physical space but psychic as well – it’s one less thing I have to think about and do.

Where can you free up and lighten your load to stay focused on what really matters to you?