When you’re focused on driving revenue, and wearing multiple hats like creating content, running payroll, ordering inventory, meeting with potential strategic partners, your emotional and physical bandwidth inevitably atrophy. As your to-do list continues to mount, it’s easy enough to miss deadlines, drop balls and even lose a client or two. If all of this task-juggling goes unchecked, your business is likely to sag, or it might stagnate altogether!
Here are some unique ways to alleviate your workload by employing the simple EADOR method.
Eliminate – Automate – Delegate – Outsource – Refer
Before you dig in, you’ll want to complete 4 actions to optimize the benefits of employing the EODOR approach.
1. Typically, we’ve all got one game-changing task we’ve been longing to tackle such as hiring a new employee, writing an eBook, creating a partnership, generating social media content, etc. Whatever the task is, name it out loud and write down exactly what you’d do to implement it if you were to reclaim some extra hours in your weekly schedule.
2. Next, estimate how much time you’d need to allocate for completing this task, and write that down as well.
Note: Making use of these extra hours will require discipline. You’ll want to hold this appropriated time sacred, and dedicate your efforts solely to the identified task.
3. Make a bullet-point list of every job-related activity you currently perform on a weekly basis—in detail. For example, conducting prospecting meetings, onboarding clients, invoicing clients, attending board meetings, etc. Be sure to also include mundane items, such as responding to emails and phone calls, ordering inventory, posting on social media, scheduling clients, driving to work, processing payroll, etc.
By diving deep into this process, you might be shocked to discover the crazy number of tasks that are eating up inordinate amounts of your time, day after day, week by week.
4. Now comb over your task list to determine if any items could be reallocated, using the EADOR process:
Eliminate
Are there any items no longer worthy of your full attention, time, and effort—enough so that you can eliminate them right off the bat? For example, if you attend 6 networking functions each month, can you drop at least one of them? Could you pare down some of your volunteer hours?
If you are convinced there’s absolutely nothing that could be eliminated from your list, take the eliminator challenge to put that notion to the test.
Automate
Usually, there are more than a few items on our weekly task lists that could be automated (for free) and would save a fair bit of time—perhaps even a few extra hours every week. Activating auto-response on your email is a prime example. This simple feature can inform people to expect a response from you within 48 hours—thus, giving you the freedom to prioritize your replies (vs. sitting in front of your computer, trapped, responding to each email, one by one).
Additionally, to ensure that high priority emails find their way to you, your automated system can direct people to an “emergency only” means of contacting you.
Another great time-saving tool is the automated calendar software. This cuts down on the constant flurry of back-and-forth correspondences when trying to coordinate schedules and meeting times with staff or clients. (Here’s one I suggest.)
If you use social media to promote your business, and you have the ability to create your posts in advance, try using a post scheduler feature. This hack gives you the ability to schedule the automatic release of your media posts—(days, weeks, or even months in advance). Facebook has this feature built-in, but there are other automation services (e.g. Postcron) that post across multiple platforms; however, these sites usually charge a fee. I recommend consulting a social media expert to help you choose the most effective platform for your specific business needs.
Delegate
This may seem like a no-brainer, but it can be challenging to let go of important tasks you’ve always handled yourself—even if you’ve got reliable staff on board. Does the thought of delegation make you feel uneasy? Perhaps you could train a few select team members ahead of time (i.e. not in the 11th hour) to improve their proficiency for upcoming endeavors. (If you can’t afford an assistant, or don’t have any staff, we’ve got more options for you further down this list.)
Another way to successfully delegate is to identify which tasks do not require your expertise or talent—such as setting up appointments, responding to non-critical emails, or culling through research data. It’s worth exploring the possibility of passing such activities along to capable team members who are willing and available to help you.
Outsource
Obviously, hiring a local vender (such as a graphic designer or a temp) are viable solutions for delegation when you don’t have available staff. But sometimes, geography and/or having the available funds can limit your choices. Thanks to online service like Upwork, you can cost-effectively search for a freelancer—nationally and internationally.
When considering this option, identify tasks you don’t need to do, don’t want to do, or that would be better suited for someone more qualified. You can use this treasure trove (Upwork) to find all manner of occupations: transcribers, videographers, graphic artists, you name it.
These new platforms can also handle your project flow and serve as a means of securing dialogue with contractors. You can even have RFP’s (Requests For Proposals) from multiple vendors, and select which ones are best-suited for your particular needs.
In that vein, VA’s (virtual assistants) can be a godsend when it comes to taking on dreaded tasks like scheduling meetings and making travel arrangements. Some even have advanced credentials and are capable of handling more complex tasks such as project management, billing, and bookkeeping. (These highly prized individuals can be found by utilizing some of the search functions on LinkedIn)
Refer
This activity specifically pertains to individuals who interact with clients. If your schedule is maxed out, or if you happen to encounter someone who is simply not a good fit for your business, consider referring them to trusted colleagues. In some cases, it is not uncommon to receive a referral fee for your time and effort. I encourage you to use good judgment when entering into these arrangements, and to investigate the appropriateness of the individuals involved. Over time, these strategic partnerships often grow into fruitful, reciprocal referral relationships.
I’m sure by now you have identified a few time-sucking and attention-demanding tasks that could find their way into one or more of the categories listed above. If not, go back to each item and ask the following question: “Why am I holding onto this particular task, and what would I need to change in order to feel good about moving it off my plate?”
Finally, identify which action on your EADOR list is the easiest to complete and start with that one item. Be sure to allocate an appropriate amount of time, and mark it in your calendar.
Breaking free of the “I have to do it all myself” mindset can be challenging, to say the least. For most people, the resistance to letting go of control (in this context) usually stems from a personal sense of responsibility for your product, service, and/or your company. I, myself, had to let go of overseeing and managing the quality of everything connected to our business. When I finally did let go, and implemented a few of the strategies I’ve shared with you in this article, I reclaimed a huge chunk of my most valuable asset: TIME!
