November 2009 - Issue 65 - www.clareevans.co.uk

Welcome to all new subscribers.

Hello ,

Like buses things come all at once. Last week was networking week. I enjoy networking and usually try to go to one or two meetings a week but last week I managed two breakfasts, two speed-networking events and one lunchtime meeting.  Some people regularly go to three breakfast meetings in a week - plus other lunch time and evening meetings!

I've also had another burst in the media. After tips in Prima, some of my tips were featured in the Times - Body & Soul, an article in the Business section of the Telegraph and finally an article in December's edition of Esquire magazine.

This month's special offer is £20 off a Time Audit Feedback session. A must for anyone who wants to improve their self-organisation or want to focus on the important things in life.

I've got a new Fan Page on Facebook - Time Management For ... Everybody where I'll also share tips and you can ask for advice, share your ideas, get updates and resources.

As usual, you can get extra news and tips from my blog www.clareevans.co.uk/blog or Follow me on Twitter and keep up-to-date automatically. You can also connect with me on Linked In or Facebook.

Enjoy the rest of this month's newsletter.

Clare

P.S. Feel free to pass this newsletter on to friends and colleagues who could do with more time in their day.

You're workload is limited by the amount of hours you have available - increase the number of hours and you increase your productivity. One hour of your effort achieves one hour of results. Delegate a task and one hour of effort can achieve several hours of results.

*  You have your own skills and abilities, other people have theirs, make effective use of both.

*  If you're working long hours and have taken on too much this could be a sign that you need to delegate.

*  If you've exhausted your resources dealing with a particular problem - ask for help.

*  If you're a perfectionist - ask for help before it's too late and you get stressed out and overwhelmed trying to create a 'perfect' solution.

You won't be able to delegate everything. There are always going to be certain tasks you need to keep control of.

You might be quite happy to let someone else help you out and do some of you work or you might have trouble letting go of parts of your workload. Some people find it easier to delegate than others.

Delegate the right tasks, at the right time to the right people.

Do Delegate:
- when you're not the best person for the job
- tasks that someone else can do faster, better and more cheaply.
- tasks you don't like doing yourself that aren't your main skill set.
- routine tasks - freeing you up for more complex, important tasks.
- jobs for which you're overqualified.
- tasks to the department who's responsibility it is.
- customer problems, queries and issues to customer services.
- any tasks for projects for which you need specialist advice.

You might think you can do it yourself but in the long run you'll save time and money if you get someone in with the skills to do the job in the first place.

Don't delegate:
- anything that is confidential. Keep personnel issues as your responsibility - hiring, firing, pay related issues, disputes.
- tasks that are critical for you to do yourself.
- to someone who clearly isn't able to do the task - you're setting both of you up for failure which will just reinforce the reason you didn't want to delegate in the first place.
- Tasks you've forgotten about that have now become urgent.

How to:
It's important to delegate correctly. Delegating is not about getting rid of tasks, dumping things on some poor unsuspecting other person.

- Plan and let them know as soon as possible.
- Delegate appropriately - experience, skills, knowledge and time.
- Be clear about what you want, when, how and why.
- Put it in writing.
- Maintain control and responsibility - follow-up and check progress.
- Set parameters - boundaries of responsibility, authority.
- Communicate regularly and provide feedback
- Say thank you.

If you run your own business you may not be able to delegate everything but there are always some tasks that can be handed to someone else.

Stick to what you're good at and let other people do what they're good at.  Delegate your time, free up some time for yourself and your business.

To find out more about mastering the art of delegation or how to reorganise your business so you can do less, email me or give me a call.  Book a free consultation if you'd like to discuss your specific situation or email me at info@clareevans.co.uk.

Until next month,