How long is your task list? If you’re a small business owner, your answer is probably ‘too long!’. Your task list refers to the tasks you are responsible for on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. These may include inbox management, chasing invoices, creating content for your social media and blog channels, scheduling meetings, updating your calendar… see what we mean? Long! And having to juggle that many responsibilities consistently can quickly become overwhelming. Without an intentional approach to task management, you run the risk of burnout, inefficiency, and diminished business performance. Small business stress at its finest!
One effective strategy you can employ if this is the case for you is working to declutter your task list. Specifically automating, delegating, or eliminating non-essential activities. Let’s take a look into how this could work for you…
The Cost of an Overloaded Task List
An overloaded task list doesn’t just cost you time, it’s also a huge drain on our cognitive resources, or, as we like to call it, brain power. The more tasks you’re required to do, the less energy and thought you can give each of those tasks. According to research, task overload can lead to decision fatigue, reducing the quality of choices made throughout the day. If you’re also responsible for critical decisions, this mental fatigue can lead to poor outcomes. Not ideal when you’re trying to grow and develop your small business. So, what can we do about it?
Automating Routine Tasks
Automation is one of the most effective ways to reduce the number of tasks on your list. Many repetitive or time-consuming tasks – like invoicing, email responses, appointment scheduling, and social media posting – can be handled by automation tools. Quality isn’t sacrificed – it simply means you don’t have to spend your time doing them on a regular basis.
And automation isn’t just about saving time. It can also work wonders for accuracy and consistency. Rushing through tasks like invoicing can lead to errors, and running out of time for it altogether can result in late payments. Using accounting software and automating these tasks instead can help minimise errors, reduce late payments, and maintain steady cash flow. The same goes for tasks like content marketing. Automating social media posts or email marketing campaigns ensures that customer engagement continues to be a priority without these tasks eating into your time.
According to be a report by McKinsey, nearly 60% of all occupations have at least 30% of tasks that can be automated – so if you can, do!
Delegating to Free Up Mental Bandwidth
Delegation is another key component of decluttering your task list. That isn’t to say you can dump it and run (no matter how much you might want to!), but it does mean you can hand some of it off to experts in small business support. Not every task on your to-do list needs to be completed by you specifically. Especially not those low-value tasks that need doing but aren’t necessarily revenue generating. Like admin, for example. Administrative based tasks like inbox management or filing or data entry are all necessary parts of running your business, but they’re not active. They’re not contributing to business development or growth, and therefore shouldn’t be pulling as much of your attention as they probably do. These tasks are perfect for delegating to Virtual Assistants or freelancers. Doing so removes those tasks from your to-do list, lightening your workload and reducing the stress of juggling so many tasks. And in case that wasn’t motivation enough, research shows that leaders who delegate effectively generate 300% higher revenue than those who do not – sounds like a no brainer to us!
Delegating is also great for those tasks that don’t fall within your area of expertise. Take content creation, for example. It’s vital for engaging an audience, forming customer relationships and keeping your business top of mind. But if you’re not a whiz at creating social media posts or writing blogs, it can become a bit of a chore. Outsourcing this to a specialist Virtual Assistant or freelancer not only takes it off your task list but also improves the quality of the end product. A win, win for sure.
Eliminating Non-Essential Activities
Some tasks just aren’t worth the effort, and if that’s the case, feel free to chop them right off the bottom of your task list. Poof. Gone. Good riddance. To eliminate non-essential tasks, it’s helpful to periodically review your list of tasks and keep an eye out for redundant processes and actions or non-essential commitments that consume time without producing value. For example, if you’re sending out a monthly internal newsletter that nobody reads, reassess. Is it worth the time it takes to create? Could you swap it out for something more efficient and engaging? If the elimination impact is minimal to nothing, then consider it chopped!
Streamlining your task list by removing low-impact activities leads to clearer priorities and improved overall productivity.
Small Business Support
As a small business owner, a heavy task list is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By automating, delegating, or eliminating tasks, you can streamline your workload, and thus improve productivity, efficiency and work quality overall.
If you’re looking for some small business support and feel delegation could work for you, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our fab team of Virtual Assistants.