Major sources of stress can come from a task list that appears to be overwhelming (whether it is written down, or just in your head). That list could have too many items for the amount of time allocated. It could have pieces of work that are not in your skillset (which adds even more stress by trying to figure things out). And it could have jobs that you really don’t like to do, so you end up procrastinating over them (which ripples into time-wasting and maybe negatively affects your psyche).

I’ve been guilty of ALL of those!

So, what do we do about it? … offload, delegate, outsource!

Offload is like delegating, however I tend to think of delegation in the workplace, and “offload” more on a personal level.  For example – in the home, with chores that can be shared.  Another example is with social and sporting groups, with planning and actioning certain tasks (find that person who likes to bake, or the one who likes to get creative with posters). When my daughter was little she thought a fluffy duster was fun, so I showed her how it works and got her doing the dusting! For less co-operative attitudes, perhaps try to offer a trade-off or incentive.

There is much to discuss on delegation, but I found a really great article already well written on the subject, check it out here…https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/careers/soft-skills/delegating/

Recently I’ve been experimenting with outsourcing with little bits here and there, but now I’m going all in and handing over a whole lot of tasks that I’ve been struggling with. Just making the decision to do that was a huge relief! I’ll update on the outcome in a couple months.

Some of the points to be prepared for when outsourcing – yes, you will need to research for potential people/companies, then interview a few of them; and yes, you may find that it didn’t turn out as well as you like, meaning going thru the process again; yes there will be time used for instruction/training/explanation; and of course it will cost money. But it may turn out to be the best thing ever! I used to think that I couldn’t afford to outsource, however I learned the long and hard way that it was actually costing me money by not outsourcing! (because the desired results were not achieved with me trying to do it with little or no help). When money is tight, perhaps there could be some kind of contra-arrangement, or trade-swap (try thinking outside of the box for how it could be implemented). So, the upside – your time and energy will be put to better use elsewhere – like profit making tasks, or just improved work/life balance for you.

Can you think of where you could either: offload, delegate or outsource?