Recent research has revealed that women are less likely to request an extension to meet a deadline at work than their male counterparts. Instead, they will put in the extra hours needed to complete a project, and, over time, this can make them more vulnerable to burnout. As well as not feeling guilty about asking for more time to complete tasks, finding the right balance at work means establishing boundaries so that you don’t take on more than you can handle.
Sharing the workload by delegating time-consuming tasks or outsourcing to specialists not only makes your work life more manageable but, when you are managing or working within a team, it can result in the timely completion of higher quality projects, benefiting the company as a whole.
Outsourcing Specialist Work
Even in a large company, there are many good reasons to look elsewhere for specialist advice and expertise. If they don’t already have the required skills, training staff to take on work such as accounting or IT can be time-consuming and expensive. As well as being more cost-effective, outsourcing this type of work allows you to focus on core business while a more experienced external provider handles these other tasks necessary for the success and growth of your company. In addition, for a specialist task such as marketing, outsourcing ensures a higher standard of work whether the job covers every aspect of your strategy or individual elements such as web design or SEO.
Automating Time-Consuming Tasks
From chatbots providing customer service to robotics in manufacturing, artificial intelligence is increasingly being used by a range of companies in order to improve efficiency at work. In a law office, legal research, contract analysis and document management are mundane and time-consuming tasks that take lawyers away from other more important high-value work. It has been estimated that AI can handle 23% of lawyers’ work, and, when it comes to analyzing contracts, automated technology is not only quicker but also more accurate. Wherever you work, implementing more digital tools to undertake monotonous but essential tasks can improve performance and increase productivity.
Delegating Everyday Activities
Of course, many essential daily tasks such as checking emails or dealing with complaints need a human touch, but these activities can still encroach on your valuable time. As a manager, delegating tasks not only frees up space in your day but may also be better undertaken by someone more qualified in your team. Even if this isn’t the case, being allocated a new task or project can be an important learning experience for employees. In addition, it can also demonstrate that you trust your staff and value their hard work, which in turn improves the morale and performance of your team.
While it may be tempting to work longer hours in order to handle more tasks and meet unrealistic deadlines, delegating work can do more than simply free up your time. By sharing tasks and projects, you can make better use of outside specialist expertise, help your employees to learn new skills and improve the overall productivity of your team.
