T I M E M A N A G E M E N T
seem silly, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad idea. See if
the list helps you; just don’t let anybody else see it.
Which leads us to those tasks that should be done—but not
by you.
Make a list of those tasks you now perform but which you feel
should be done by someone else. Reasons for putting tasks on this
list include:
- I lack the authority to do it right.
- I lack the skill, information, or tools to do it right.
- If I do it, other tasks with higher priorities don’t get done.
This list does not, unfortunately, include:- “I don’t want to,” or
- “I don’t like to,” or even
- “It’s not in my job description” (although this point probably
should become the subject of a future planning discussion with
your supervisor).
Delegating, Swapping, and Letting Go
Once you determine that someone else should be doing a job you’re
now performing, you have three options for getting someone else
to do it.
1. Delegating
A lot of folks are fortunate enough to have someone else to
answer the phone for them, thus absorbing the interruptions and, of
course, screening callers. Some folks have other folks to open and
sort their mail for them, too, and make the coffee, and fill out all
those stupid forms and a lot of other less-than-glamorous tasks.