Doing More by Doing Less: Hacking Time to Work for You

Imagine what you could achieve if you had an extra two days per week to focus on your most important goals, strategic initiatives, and personal development. You could devote the time to growing your business, tackling a new hobby, or just investing it in your own growth.

Now consider wasting those two days on busy work and mundane tasks that could potentially be delegated to others. According to The Economist, knowledge workers already squander two days—a staggering 41% of their time—on tasks that bring little personal satisfaction and could easily delegated to someone else.

By learning to identify and delegate low-value tasks, you can free up a significant amount of time and mental energy to devote to the work that drives your success and fulfillment.

The Problem with "Busy Work"

Many professionals find themselves bogged down by "busy work" - the endless stream of emails, meetings, administrative tasks, and paperwork that consume their days. While these tasks may be necessary to keep things running smoothly, they often don't require the unique skills and expertise of a high-level executive or knowledge worker.

The problem with getting caught up in busy work is twofold. First, it prevents you from focusing on the high-value activities that truly move the needle for your organization and your career. When you're constantly putting out fires and dealing with minor issues, it's difficult to find the time and mental space for strategic thinking, innovation, and leadership.

Second, spending too much time on low-value tasks can lead to burnout and decreased job satisfaction. When you're not able to focus on the work that you find personally fulfilling and impactful, it's easy to lose motivation and engagement. This can lead to decreased productivity, higher stress levels, and even turnover as talented professionals seek opportunities that better align with their strengths and interests.

The Solution: Identify and Delegate Low-Value Tasks

The key to breaking free from the cycle of busy work is to proactively identify and delegate low-value tasks. By taking a strategic approach to managing your time and responsibilities, you can ensure that you're focused on the work that matters most while still ensuring that necessary tasks are completed efficiently and effectively.

Here's a step-by-step process for identifying and delegating low-value tasks:

Step 1: Track Your Time

The first step in optimizing your time is to gain a clear understanding of how you're currently spending it. For one week, track all of your work activities, including meetings, phone calls, emails, time spent on specific projects or tasks, breaks, and interruptions. Be as detailed and honest as possible, capturing everything you do throughout the day.

There are many tools available to help with time tracking, from simple spreadsheets to more advanced software programs. Find a method that works for you and commit to consistently tracking your time for the full week.

Step 2: Categorize Your Tasks

Once you have a comprehensive record of how you spent your time, the next step is to categorize each activity as either high-value or low-value work.

High-value work includes tasks that require your unique skills, expertise, and strategic perspective. These are the activities that directly contribute to your organization's success and your personal career growth. Examples of high-value work might include:

• Developing and implementing business strategies
• Making critical decisions that impact the direction of your team or organization
• Building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders
• Mentoring and developing your team members
• Contributing your expertise to high-priority projects or initiatives

Low-value work, on the other hand, includes tasks that don't fully utilize your skills and expertise and could potentially be delegated to others. These activities are often necessary for keeping things running smoothly but don't require your direct involvement. Examples of low-value work might include:

• Responding to routine emails or phone calls
• Attending meetings that aren't directly relevant to your role or priorities
• Gathering or organizing information
• Completing administrative tasks or paperwork
• Dealing with minor issues or requests that could be handled by someone else

As you categorize your tasks, be honest with yourself about which activities truly require your attention and which could be handled by others. It can be tempting to hold onto tasks out of habit or a desire for control, but delegating strategically is key to freeing up your time for higher-value work.

Step 3: Identify Opportunities for Elimination, Delegation, and Redesign

Within the low-value category, identify tasks that fall into one of these three buckets:

1. Quick kills: These are tasks that you can stop doing immediately without any negative consequences. For example, you might realize that you're attending a weekly status meeting that's no longer relevant or useful to your work. By simply removing these activities from your schedule, you can quickly free up time for more important priorities.
2. Delegation opportunities: These are tasks that need to be done but could be capably handled by someone else on your team or an outsourced resource. For example, you might delegate research tasks, data entry, or social media management to a team member or virtual assistant. By handing off these activities, you can ensure they're still completed while freeing up your own time for higher-value work.
3. Redesign opportunities: These are tasks that are important but need to be restructured or approached differently to be more efficient and effective. For example, you might streamline your sales reporting process so that you receive only the key metrics you need rather than sifting through raw data. By redesigning these tasks, you can minimize the time and effort required while still achieving the desired outcomes.

Step 4: Take Action

With your tasks categorized and opportunities for elimination, delegation, and redesign identified, it's time to take action. Start by communicating with your team about the changes you're making and why. Explain that by delegating certain tasks and streamlining others, you'll be able to focus more fully on the high-value work that drives results for the organization.

As you delegate tasks, be sure to provide clear expectations and guidance to ensure a smooth transition. Set your team members up for success by giving them the context, resources, and support they need to handle their new responsibilities effectively.

In addition to delegating to your internal team, consider outsourcing certain tasks to affordable, high-quality offshore resources. For example, Starfish connects businesses with top overseas experts starting at just $3,000 per month. By leveraging global talent, you can delegate a wide range of tasks - from administrative support to research to marketing execution - at a fraction of the cost of hiring locally.

As you eliminate, delegate, and redesign low-value tasks, be sure to monitor the impact on your workload and productivity. Regularly assess how you're spending your time and make adjustments as needed to ensure you're staying focused on your highest priorities.

The Results: More Time for High-Value Work

By proactively identifying and delegating low-value tasks, you can dramatically increase the amount of time you have available for the work that matters most. Bain & Company and Harvard Business School found that when executives ruthlessly targeted low-value tasks, they were able to:

• Reduce time spent on desk work (emails, reports, etc.) by an average of 6 hours per week
• Cut meeting time by an average of 2 hours per week
• Redirect the 8 hours saved to higher-value activities like strategizing, coaching their teams, and building external relationships

Beyond the tangible benefits of freeing up time, delegating low-value tasks can also help you develop as a leader. When you entrust others with meaningful responsibilities, you create opportunities for your team members to grow and develop new skills. By focusing your own efforts on strategic, high-level work, you can lead your team and organization to new heights of success.

Using the steps outlined above, take an honest look at how you're currently spending your time. Categorize your tasks as high-value or low-value, and identify opportunities for elimination, delegation, and redesign. Then, take action by communicating with your team, delegating tasks strategically, and leveraging affordable outsourcing solutions like Starfish as needed.

By investing in this process, you can dramatically increase the amount of time you have available for your most impactful, fulfilling work. Not only will you achieve better results for your organization, but you'll also enjoy greater job satisfaction and work-life balance in the process.