The art of letting go: A successful multi-hyphenate’s guide to smart delegation

“I was a quintessential victim of hustle culture, because I firmly believed I could do it all and I should do it all,” says Hitha Palepu .?

As the mother of two, a CEO, angel investor, speaker and author of two books, including “We're Speaking: The Life Lessons of Kamala Harris: How to Use Your Voice, Be Assertive, and Own Your Story ,” Palepu is used to having a lot on her plate. But at one point it became too much. After taking a hard look at her time and realizing she could delegate a lot of what was taking it up, Palepu found a way to live and work “with greater intention, focus and purpose.”?

The revelation came after she took on yet another project — creating a platform to help nonprofits fundraise, with the goal of having it ready by GivingTuesday — which meant she was on her computer all through Thanksgiving weekend, rather than being present with the family she’d traveled across the country to spend time with.

When it launched, the effort she’d spent all that valuable time on only ended up collecting a handful of donations. Palepu recalled, “I felt awful. I also felt like I was failing at home. I wasn't the mom I had wanted to be and I wasn't the daughter, niece, cousin I wanted to be to my incredible family who had gathered on that day to celebrate. I really knew that something had to change, and that day I realized that I literally can't do it all and I shouldn't try to do it all.”

A few years later when her father asked her to step into the CEO role at his pharmaceutical company, she says, “I approached it much differently. Rather than jumping in and immediately doing, I took a step back to really learn how the team was working. It became clear to me that there was a lot on my plate before that could be better done by my team members.”

For Palepu, “Doing it all is a narrative that I think many of us have been force-fed and assumed is how we all should work and live. It's what I've come to reject fully.”

“In order to stop doing it all,” she advises, “you need to know how you're spending your time.” Palepu performs what she calls “time audits” on a regular basis. “Grab a spreadsheet or use your Google Calendar, and every 15 minutes quickly log what you spent that 15 minutes doing. When you review the days, highlight the things that make sense to you and give you value, cross out the ones that don't, and adjust accordingly to design your ideal days and try to stick to those ideal schedules as much as possible.”

“I'm still very much a multihyphenate, but I'm a much more thoughtful, intentional one,” Palepu says. “I let go of my inner control freak, and that changed everything.”

Do you have tips for managing time and figuring out what can be delegated to others? Share them with us in the comments!

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