TCFBO #037: Delete, De-Commit, Delegate, Defer

Read Time: 3.5 minutes

When business owners talk about wanting to be more productive what they often mean is getting more things done in less time.

But what tends to happen is that they simply end up expanding the amount of time they spend on getting things done.

And although they may accomplish more in the business, it’s often at the detriment of other priority areas of their life, such as their health and relationships.

One of the executives at an international corporation we worked at was held up as someone who was amazingly productive.

Stories would abound about how they would be up and talking with the European team when they started work, would continue through the US work day and still be working into the early hours of the night when most Americans were asleep.

After many years they eventually left the company.

Sadly, within just a few weeks of leaving, they died.

Aged 52.

Leaving behind a spouse and children.

We were in our early 30’s when that happened and 20 years on it’s still a reminder of how precious our time and life is.

So, for us, productivity is not about trying to cram more tasks into our already overflowing lives.

And it’s not about doing more in the same period of time.

Instead, it’s about focusing more of our time, energy and resources on the things that are important and valuable to us, which ultimately are those things that are aligned with or take us towards our life and business visions.

And the key to this lies in decluttering and simplifying – eliminating the unnecessary to focus on what truly matters.

Which is where the four D’s come in…

…Delete, De-commit, Delegate and Defer.

Delete

To kick off the decluttering, start by reviewing your daily, weekly and monthly activities.

What can you delete?

What doesn’t add value?

What tasks are irrelevant to your vision?

What time-consuming activities don’t align with your goals?

What habits are stealing your time and draining your energy?

What about physical clutter?

Are there things that can be removed from your workspace?

What about apps and notifications?

Are there any you can get rid of that are constantly interrupting and distracting you, taking you away from your most valuable work?

Deleting is all about making space, both physically and mentally, for you to become increasingly focused on what’s important.

So be ruthless!

De-commit

Next, reassess your commitments.

Are you part of projects that no longer serve your goals or interests?

Are there recurring meetings in your calendar that are more ritual than essential?

Are there clubs, committees and activities outside your business you feel obligated to participate in but really aren’t that important to you?

Saying “no”, or stopping doing things you’ve done for a while, can be challenging.

But it's essential if you are to redirect your energy onto the things that fully align with the visions you have for your business and your life.

Remember, every unnecessary commitment you step away from frees up time and energy for the things that truly matter.

Delegate

Delegation isn’t just about offloading work onto somebody else…that’s abdication!

It's about playing to your strengths and allowing others to do the same.

Who do you have around you who can help you?

What can they do better or more efficiently than you?

What can you outsource?

It could be administrative tasks or specific parts of a project or even entire roles within your business that you delegate.

Remember, you can “delegate” to technology too.

What repetitive tasks can be automated?

Are there areas of your business where you could utilise AI?

Let the tech take some weight off your shoulders.

Defer

Not every task needs your immediate attention.

And counter intuitively, we’ve discovered that many things have an uncanny way of resolving themselves if we just leave them alone.

So set an intention to become exceptional at assessing what’s urgent and what can wait.

There’s a framework that will help you with this here.

If you and your team adopt these four D’s – Delete, De-commit, Delegate, and Defer – you’ll not only simplify your workload, you’ll optimise.

You’ll make room to engage deeply with tasks that add real value, to think strategically rather than reactively, and to invest your time and energy in work that’s genuinely rewarding.

Let us know how you get on and we’ll see you next week.

Paul & Philly

Whenever you’re ready, there are three ways we can help you:

1. Grab a copy of Paul’s book “Backwards Planning - A Simple Method to Move You and Your Business Forward” and discover how to reverse engineer a life and business you truly love.

2. Book a facilitated “Life Vision Session” to start creating a life and business that are fully aligned with your heart’s desires. We’ll arrange a pre-session call with you to say “Hi”, explain how the Life Vision Session works and answer any questions you may have.

3. Apply to join “The Clear Focus Business Academy” to ensure your business is the most effective it can be at providing the money and lifestyle you desire. Simply drop us an email or contact us here to tell us you’re interested and we’ll send you more info.