Remember the article I posted a few days ago about the "Get CLEAR" model for business success? Step two in the process toward building your success was lightening your load by eliminating responsibilities and reprioritizing the ones you decide to keep. As I said on Monday, for me, this is a big reminder that it's okay to say NO to those who would use up your precious time and resources.
I just had to go back and see what else Sheri McConnell had to say about this particular matter, and I found another article (reprinted with permission) that I think will be of great use to over-worked Workerettes. After all, it's one thing to tell someone to lighten their load and that it's okay to decline "opportunities" that can take up your energy and time. It's another to tell folks how to recognize the signs that it is high time to begin this elimination process - and to provide them with suggestions about how to go about sorting them out and culling things from the list.
Read on to gather inspiration and hands-on advice about how to go about performing this process. Personally I love Sheri's comments about learning how to delegate, and how important it is to be willing to do so. This is so true! I can't emphasize it enough from a management perspective or from a parenting perspective. Effective delegation can make a MAJOR change in your life, at work or at home.
Know When It Is Time To Eliminate Responsibilities
Feeling stressed lately? Too many to-do’s on your to-do list? If you are doing too much for too many people, you must eliminate some of the stress in your life. Start by eliminating the responsibilities that do not directly contribute to the top three goals in your life. Many areas of your life will improve immediately. Lightening your load will benefit you by improving the quality of your health and your relationships. Reevaluate your responsibilities using a time management chart at least twice a year.
Start By Writing Down Your Goals
Before you can begin to eliminate responsibilities, you need to decide what your top three goals are. They do not need to be in order of importance. Mine are: 1) Nurture myself, 2) Spend quality time with my family, and 3) Grow my businesses.
Create Your Time Management Chart
Your chart will consist of three columns: a list of all your current responsibilities, the approximate number of hours each responsibility takes during a given month (estimate), and which of the three goals the responsibility is helping you to accomplish (if any!). You will find that many of your current responsibilities are not helping you to accomplish one of the three goals. These are the easiest to eliminate or to delegate. Learning how to delegate is important because it allows you additional time you need to focus on your three goals. You can delegate a lot: my youngest daughter folds the dish- and face-cloths in our house while her two older sisters handle the rest of the laundry. Here is a partial example of my time management chart. (Note: You can create a table with the correct number of rows and three columns in Microsoft Word under the “table” drop-down menu. Mine appears in a listing format below.)
- Column One –> Responsibility
- PTA Board
- Running my local women’s group
- Taking my children to and from soccer practices and games
- Spend 1 hour each day exercising
- Spend 6 to 8 hours, Monday thru Friday, working my businesses
- Cleaning the house/laundry and grocery shopping.
- Column Two –> Number of Hours per Month (Respectively)
- 5
- 5 - 10
- 20
- 30
- 128 - 160
- 20 - 30
- Column Three –> Goal That I Am Accomplishing, If Any (Respectively)
- Not helping me accomplish one of my 3 goals
- Not helping me accomplish one of my 3 goals
- Not helping me accomplish one of my 3 goals
- #1 – Nurture myself
- #3 – Grow my businesses
- Not helping me accomplish one of my three goals.
The Elimination Process
After reviewing my complete chart, I decided to step down from my local women’s group responsibilities and from my children’s PTA Board. I decided to delegate more household responsibilities. Completing this chart every six months allows you to assign tasks based on the new skill levels of the family. Children develop quickly and can take on more chores as they grow. Doing everything for your children doesn’t help them–if anything it hinders them in adulthood. Delegating household chores to them is a win-win for everyone. I also sat down with the other adult in my life (my husband) and convinced him to take on more responsibility. Not an easy task! I know my chart (the complete version) made it much easier for him to see where he could easily pitch in. He chose grocery shopping and driving the children to and from their events. Create your own time management chart and “take back” at least 10-15 hours of your life each month. You will be less stressed and happier. I know I was!
Sheri McConnell is the President of the National Association of Women Writers (http://www.NAWW.org). She helps women writers and entrepreneurs discover, create, and profit from their intellectual knowledge! Free reports for writers available with subscription to NAWW Weekly. Sheri lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband Seth and their four children. Contact her at naww@onebox.com or her toll free number at 866-821-5829.
Comment Preview