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delegating, productivity, GTD, organizedThis is Week 46 of a Year of Living Productively

This week (and weeks prior) I tested whether delegating tasks to my family could help me get more done. Scroll to the bottom of last week’s post for more on the concept.

How Delegating Saved My Sanity This Week

  • Allowed me to really rest. I am still stunned that my children did all of the clean-up after our Thanksgiving dinner last month. I was really able to sit and relax after a busy day of cooking. No, that’s never happened before! My son who has his driver’s license ran to the grocery store for me. My second oldest put together my daughter’s new bookcase. My husband did more cooking and errands for me than he has, too. I had the kids doing a lot of Christmas tasks I normally handle myself. It was great timing, because as I mentioned last week, I’ve been a little burned out.
  • Allowed me to let things go. When I saw that the world didn’t come to an end when I delegated, I also realized that there were some things I planned on doing that just didn’t need to be done or at least not now.

How Delegating Made Me Crazy This Week

  • Made me confront my anxiety. In allowing my children to do more, I realized how uptight I get about the silliest little things. I am just sure that the kids are going to knock the glass bowl off the counter when they’re mixing ingredients or will burn themselves on the oven. I’m not sure where this is coming from, but this is a productivity series of posts, not psychoanalysis. 🙂
  • Demonstrated the need to plan ahead. If you save tasks for the last minute, you can’t afford to teach a child how to do them or even have a husband pick up the wrong things from the store. Even though I have taught my kids to do a lot, I realized that this is why I haven’t taught them to do everything I could.

Did Delegating Help Me Get More Done?

Yes.  And I received no complaints. On the contrary, everyone seemed happy to help. I think it’s possible that I am this tornado whizzing by and when I stopped long enough to teach, share responsibilities, and explain what I needed, everyone was relieved. My intention is to continue delegating because it prepares my kids for adulthood, while at the same time giving me some downtime.

**UPDATE**

Delegating is still helping me get more done. I aspire to do more in this area, because I know it’s such a powerful strategy.

The Productivity Approach I’ll Be Using for the Rest of the Year

This month I’ll be testing whether I can write an ebook in 21 days. I will be using the schedule in Steve Scott’s book, How to Write a Nonfiction eBook in 21 Days.

The concept. Many of us dream of writing a book, but we struggle to find the time. I have seen and read a number of these formulaic write-a-book-in-x-days books, but I’ve never actually tested them out. Because I want to summarize my findings over the past year in a Kindle ebook, I thought this would be a perfect test to round out the year.

I have so enjoyed writing this series, but I have more to say than the post format allows. For example, I have had a change of heart about many of the various approaches I’ve tried and also have some ideas about how to bring the best ideas together in a way that works for me. When I am back in February, I hope to have a book on Amazon for you that will share that information. The book will be free in the short-term as a thank you to my readers who have made this such a rewarding year.

If you’d like to join me this week, here’s what you do. Buy and read How to Read a Nonfiction eBook in 21 Days (It’s just $2.99 on Kindle). Do the tasks according to the schedule. I would love to hear if you have a book in February! 

To see how writing a nonfiction book in 21 Days went, click here.

Be sure to check here each week in January for a fantastic guest post. I’m very excited about the writers who have agreed to share on topics I haven’t been able to delve into.

To read the January guest posts, click here:

Why CEOs and College Students Manage Time the Same Way

How to Set Goals That Work

The Real Cure for Time Management Anxiety

How to Get Things Done Regardless of Your App or System

Roles & Goals: Lessons in Productivity from the 7 Habits

Previous Week’s Tests

A Year of Living Productively

Week 1: Paper To-Do List

Week 2: Covey’s Quadrants

Week 3: Routines

Week 4: Paper Planner

Week 5: SMEMA

Week 6: Guilt Hour

Week 7: Envision Ideal Day

Week 8: Do it Tomorrow

Week 9: Pomodoro

Week 10: Time Warrior

Week 11: Scheduling

Week 12: The Repeat Test

Week 13: Personal Kanban

Week 14: Eat That Frog

Week 15: Vacation

Week 16: David Seah’s7:15AM Ritual

Week 17: Another Simple and Effective Method

Week 18: Daily/Weekly/Monthly To-Do List

Week 19: Ultimate Time Management System

Week 20: Getting Things Done

Week 21: Time Blocking

Week 22: Morning Ritual

Week 23: Beat the Week

Week 24: Productivity Ritual

Week 25: Make it Happen in 10 Minutes

Week 26: Focus & Relief List

Week 27: Accountability Chart

Week 28: Limiting Choices

Week 29: Zen to Done

Week 30: Heatmapping

Week 31: Gamification

Week 32: The 12 Week Year

Week 33: David Seah’s Ten for Ten

Week 34: David Seah’s Emergent Task Planner

Week 35: Steve Kamb’s Do It Now

Week 36: Rising Early

Week 37: Computer Shortcuts

Week 38: Interrupter’s Log

Week 39: Project Management

Week 40: Little and Often

Week 41: Problem Solving Approach

Week 42: Inbox Zero

Week 43: Resistance List

Week 44: Time Tracking

Week 45: No To-Do List