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Have it all. Don't do it all.

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Quick Spin:

• How successful people unlock more time
• 6 Steps To Mastering the Art of Delegation

This edition of Life's a Game is brought to you by Athena - the leading source for a full-time dedicated assistant who receive world-class delegation coaching. It's the service I've been using for my EA for the past 15 months.

♟️ MY TURN:

In case you missed it, last year I had a breakthrough.

“We all have the same 24 hours in a day”

That’s a lie.

I realized the most successful people I know are freeing themselves up to do the most important work. They are turning 24 hours into 48.

They are creating time.

And then I asked the most powerful question you can ask yourself:

Why not me?

So I decided to try an EA for the last year.

And I've unlocked the next level in the game of life.

• Less time on work emails.
• Less time on scheduling.
• Less time reading school whatsapps, Class Dojo and emails
• Less time talking about things we should do
• Less time on rituals (things that happen over and over again)

Instead I have more time:

• doing the most important work (that no one else can do)
• more time for networking
• more time for enjoying my kids
• more time for date nights

Today I’m going to teach you my 6 steps to mastering the art of delegation.

For the last year I've been working with my EA from Athena - The company staffing EAs to some of the most powerful companies like Stripe, Sequoia Capital, Marriott and many creators you know.

Why?

Because delegation leads to greater success

A 2015 Gallup study of 143 CEOs on the Inc. 500 list showed that companies run by executives who effectively delegate grow faster, generate more revenue, and create more jobs.

So why do we hesitate?

Any concerns about delegation activate the “emotional immune system,” which tries to ward off feelings of fear, overwhelm, loss of control, and disappointment.

We are wired to avoid possible negative feelings or outcomes.

Here are the top reasons we struggle to delegate 👇

1. Perfectionism: we hesitate to delegate for fear that others won't meet their expectations.
2. Lack of Trust: Delegation requires trusting others to handle tasks competently.
3. Need for Control: We fear losing control or feeling powerless if they delegate responsibilities to others.
4. Fear of Failure: Delegating involves some level of risk. Fear of failure can deter individuals from delegating tasks.
5. Time Investment: It may seem faster to handle tasks independently rather than taking the time to explain, supervise, and follow up on delegated tasks.
6. Perceived Lack of Resources: Individuals may believe that they lack the the resources to delegate tasks.
7. “Shoulding” - I should be the one doing this.

And yet……these are the same people drowning in work emails, school emails, forgetting deadlines, running late to meetings, and feeling resentful about how little time they have for the things that actually light them up.

So how do we get past it?

Keep reading.

My 6 Steps for Better Delegation

#1 Mission First

The first step is knowing your mission.

My external mission: To help a million people create space for all their roles in life via my book, newsletter, community, courses and social content.
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My internal mission: To spend more time doing things I love with my kids and partner and myself.

So I always ask myself......
​does the thing I’m working on get me closer to my goals?

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​#2 The 70% Rule

Could someone else do the thing 70% as well as me? If so, then delegate.

Let’s run through some examples:

• Writing the newsletter? No. Keep.
• Turning my newsletter into social content? Yes. Delegate.
• Publishing my newsletter on Yahoo and LinkedIn? Yes. Delegate.
• Responding to emails about podcast requests and meetings? Yes. Delegate.
• Sending out calendar invitations? Yes. Delegate.
• Booking doctor’s appointments? Yes. Delegate.
• Writing my next book? No. Keep.
• Researching independent bookstores for my book launch? Yes. Delegate.
• Itemizing my expenses for tax purposes? Yes. Delegate.
• Updating my P&L to reduce operating expenses? Yes. Delegate.
• Taking a sales call? No. Keep.

I was doing ALL of these things before.

But using the 70% rule you can start to see how I am freeing up my days to focus on the most important things for my business which unlocks faster growth!

#3 Ask Eisenhower

The Eisenhower Matrix is a way to organize tasks by urgency and importance, so you can effectively prioritize your most important work.

To-do lists actually hold you back. You rush to check something off and it’s usually the thing you can get done quickly.

But meaningful, deep work takes time.

I now stay in the Not Urgent - Important matrix as much as possible and delegate the urgent tasks as much as possible. I also ask my VA to be on the lookout for things we need to delete.

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​#4 Clarify responsibilities and boundaries

In the beginning I created a breakdown of the Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Annual tasks I do regularly.

I described the desired results in detail.

This included setting clear expectations about the outcome (“what it is”), how the task fits into the bigger picture (“why we’re doing it”), and criteria for measuring success (“what it should look like when done well”).

I also gave them a full rundown of how I think. What frustrates me. What gives me energy. How I think about travel, meetings, content creation.

If you want to learn how to create this, check out this free one hour workshop. ​

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​#5 Spend Time to Save Time

The next rule of delegation is about onboarding.

We get antsy to give something to someone to “figure it out”.

But by spending time sharing your POV, you actually save time correcting them in the long run.

I spent two full weeks, 4-5 hours a day meeting with them and talking through the tasks and the process I currently use and where I’m open to improvements or a new approach.

​Athena actually provides a dedicated operations manager to oversee your EA and share best practices among other EAs. I was surprised at how much I learned from them!

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​#6 Establish Checkpoints

Lastly - the art of delegation is about creating reliable checkpoints.

They send me a daily update on what was accomplished and where they need my attention. We meet weekly to review all the things they need from me in case I didn’t get to the email and every month we will do a retro of what’s working and what’s not.

This creates a rhythm for feedback and replies to keep things moving and limit opportunities for mistakes or miscommunication.

The results?

• More time with your family?
• Hit your workout goal?
• Write that book?
• Start that project?

Two final reminders:

• Control your calendar or someone else will.
• Deep work > Admin Work

And if you’ve ever been curious about:

• Is now the right time for an assistant?
• Do I deserve one?
• Do I have enough to delegate?

Check out this free 1 hour training on how to have it all but not do it all.

If you are interested in finally getting help, you can get $2000 off your first month with Athena with this link.

Also, if you are in South Florida, NY or NJ and want to check out ChefPost, click here and use my code AmandaVIP for a discount. This is the service I started using to have a Chef come to my home to meal prep for the family (and I'm now saving money on groceries and takeout!!).

113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205
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