Have you ever just been frustrated with the situation that you find yourself in?
I couldn’t even put my finger on exactly what was making me wake up crying and desperate to get back under the duvet.
Technically I was in a good place; I was leading an HR Department of 67, implementing a new system and creating efficiencies, bidding to win more work for the team and pregnant with my first child.
I should have been happy but I had spread myself too thin, all the deadlines were looming and I didn’t know where to start.
I kept saying YES when I should have said NO or LATER.
Have you ever been there? You start a project and think I should not be doing this. This is definitely not the best use of my time.
I wasn’t delegating properly because I’d made a fundamental mistake. I believed that if it was my responsibility, I had to do the work – even if it killed me!
I knew that I had to start training others and allowing them to grow, stretch and use their talents to the fullest. I was doing too much of everything and not enough of the important things.
Have you ever been there?
I stopped saying yes to everything and started to take the time to assess what I should be doing and what things could be delegated to others.
I was helped by reading a book called The Best Yes by Lisa TerKeurst, which talks about the 4 questions that you should ask before you say Yes to something:
Do I have the capacity physically? Do you have the time? Can you fit it into your workload?
Do I have the capacity financially? Is there a cost?, Would it cost you if you didn’t complete it? Can you afford to delegate the task?
Do I have the capacity spiritually? Is this something that goes against your core values? Will it cause an inner conflict?
Do I have the capacity emotionally? Can your mental health bear the load of another task?
Now when I get asked to do something, I almost always say I need to check my schedule and will get back to you, unless its an easy Yes or No. It gives me time to check myself and reign in my inner people-pleasing tendencies.
In these times where we are more accessible than ever with all the remote working technology, it can feel harder to say I don’t have time or I have other plans. We have to own our No.
If this new normal has you feeling stretched and stressed, take a step back and assess your To-Do list using the questions above and let me know what you are going to delegate or ditch going forward.