When to bring someone in, and for what

Delegating is often presented as the step you take once you are busy. Being busy is not a signal though. It says a lot is coming in, not that you are handing over the right thing.

Anyone who delegates without knowing what they are delegating moves the busyness around and pays for it too.

The wrong question

The question is not what you would most like to get rid of. That is usually admin, and admin is rarely where your revenue gets stuck.

The question is which work returns the most and how much of your week currently goes there. Anything taking that time away is a candidate, even work you enjoy doing yourself.

Describe it first, then hand it over

Work that exists only in your head cannot be transferred. At best you can demonstrate it, and then it costs more time than it saves.

Take one task and write down how you do it, in the order you do it, including what you watch out for. If that is hard, it is not a reason to skip it. That is exactly why it has not been handed over yet.

Start with one bounded piece

Not a role, a task. Not open ended, but for an agreed period. You learn more about working together in those weeks than in a month of thinking about it.

Work out in advance what it costs and what the time you get back is worth. If those two are close, you are delegating the wrong thing.

What you keep

Client conversations, the substantive choices and the direction. Those are the three places where your presence makes the difference. The rest is transferable in principle, even when it does not feel that way yet.

Where to start this week

Note what you do for two days, in half hour blocks. You will see for yourself which part of your week has nothing to do with your craft.