Doing it all yourself is no way to grow.

How often do you:

-End your day with outstanding to-do items?

-Work on weekends

-Work after the kids are in bed

-Carry to-do items not just to the next day, but the next week as well?

My guess is, you do all of this more than you admit (it’s ok, we all sometimes do!) But its when this becomes the rule, not the exception, that it’s concerning. Because ultimately, what happens is:

-You’re tired, and so your day ends, you’re exhausted, and you know work is mounting.

-Weekends are a time to rejuvenate, and you’re not giving yourself that time. This is when you take a step away and believe me, everyone needs it.

-When your kids are in bed, is when you’re likely taking time to yourself, catching up on your self-care, or enjoying time with your partner. Don’t sacrifice your self-care or partner for emails.

-If you’re continually carrying tasks over, then you’re not likely giving everything the time and attention it needs.

So what do you do? Here are our top 5 tips:

1. What do you dislike doing, and would be better off reassigning to a team member or outsourcing? Don’t just look for items you dislike, but also things you don’t know how to do. Get those off your plate.

2. Outsourcing is great for when you’re overwhelmed, but don’t look for the cheapest solution (I’m all about cost-effectiveness, don’t get me wrong!), but look for strategic partners. Is this a solution provider that you can keep on retainer, is easy to reach, responsive, and wants to support you? If so, look beyond price and focus on a relationship, it will serve you better over time.

3. Set up different email accounts for various items in your life. I have one strictly personal email account, that’s where teachers email me progress notes on the kids, receipts for personal purchases, upcoming sales, and promotions. I check this account in the morning, clear it out, and then no more distractions. I have another account that is for general business inquiries, business renewals/subscriptions, or LinkedIn notifications. This I check twice a day, in the morning and the evening.

4. Get real about your distractions. When I’m working I use Chrome, all of my personal distractions go on another browser, that way I don’t see the tabs in my favorites and lose an hour watching funny cat videos (we’ve all been there). The “do not disturb” feature on your phone isn’t just for bedtime, invest in a business line (not your cellphone) for work calls, and put your phone on do not disturb during your focus times. I have favorites set up so important calls can get through, and people will leave messages so that you won’t miss anything.

5. Lastly, my best tip, and what works best for me is time blocking. I organize my week in blocks, so I’m not randomly jumping from task to task. It takes a lot of discipline to get started, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be glad you did. Most importantly however, I block meal times as well, and even when working from home, I plan a proper lunch. You can’t think on an empty stomach; eat properly, and stay hydrated.

What if, after all of this, you find that you still can’t get it all done?

I strongly suggest, at this point, that you look at hiring, either in-house or virtually, a personal assistant or project manager. Many entrepreneurs and small business owners get stuck on outsourcing because, as much as they’ve outsourced tasks, they’ve added the responsibility of managing the projects. A project manager can take the management role off your hands, only bringing necessary items to your attention. They may also be able to take on other tasks like technical support, customer service, someone to help keep you accountable, or a sounding board to help problem solve.

Letting go of aspects of your business is difficult, but is necessary to grow. 

We’d love to hear from you! When did you realize that you were at your tipping point? What do you wish you did earlier? For me, the most significant change I made was bringing on a team member to handle just accounts; she manages the paperwork, contracts, invoices, all of the little details that were keeping me in the weeds, which let me focus on client development. I should have done it a lot earlier, but now I couldn’t do it without her!

By Peggy Murrah, Founder of PMA Web Services