Delegating for Your Mental Health
Any entrepreneur knows that tasks can pile up quickly. Whether you have ten meetings in one day or a stack of paperwork to fill out, the time it takes to work through each task can add up to an insurmountable amount of time. While many entrepreneurs suffer in silence as they work until 7pm, 9pm, or 1am, life should not continue this way for more than a few days. Overworking can lead to burnout, or it can trigger mental illnesses one already has. Add in the lack of sleep, rushed meals, and social isolation and it is no surprise that entrepreneurs often experience negative mental health. So, what is the answer to this problem? It’s simple: delegation. To help set you and your business up for success, think through the benefits and considerations of delegating some of your tasks.
Benefits
The first and most obvious benefit of delegation is more free time. If an entrepreneur can get rid of “busy work” tasks, like data entry, low-level meetings, and customer support, they can focus on the tasks that really require their attention. This means that these tasks can be completed faster and more thoroughly, which ultimately could allow entrepreneurs to end work at a reasonable hour.
Another benefit of delegation is better work. Although it can be tempting to flatter yourself by thinking you would complete each task better than anyone else, the truth is that you have strengths in some areas and weaknesses in others. Entrepreneurs would do well to bring on someone to help in areas they have little experience in, such as HR, accounting, and legal work. Doing so can ensure that important tasks are handled by professionals, cutting back on the time it takes to complete them and freeing up your time to work on what you are great at.
Considerations
While delegating can seem like a no-brainer, there are a few considerations you should remember. The first is money. If you cannot afford to hire someone to do extraneous work full-time, you may need to consider hiring on a part-time basis, or even hiring someone for one-time work. This could mean hiring a lawyer to complete one set of legal documents, rather than paying a retainer.
Another large consideration is the workload of your staff. If you have a staff member who requires a full 40 hours to complete their work, you should not delegate tasks out to them. It can be easy to forget just how much time tasks take to complete when you are no longer the one completing them. Be sure to check in with your employees to ensure they are not overwhelmed.
Entrepreneurs should not sacrifice their mental health by spending too much time at work. It is a dangerous precedent to set, particularly as the impact of negative mental health will seep into all areas of the workplace. Instead, consider what is necessary to allow yourself some additional free time, and do what you can to make it work.