How to Reach Beyond Your "Zone of Genius"

Last month, Laura was featured on Smack Happy’s Videocast where she discussed figuring out what to delegate in a small business. And then once you have decided what needs to be delegated, she talked about creating a system to fulfill those tasks. The full videocast can be found here.
Look at your to-do list:

The first question Laura wants you to ask is which of these tasks are transferable for someone else to complete? A thorough study of your to-do list will yield items that can easily be passed on to someone else. The second question is when examining your list is which items are outside my “zone of genius?” Which tasks are you less comfortable with? Yes, you can complete all of the tasks. But perhaps there is one or two that really trips you up and requires more time because it is not your favorite. For example, some people are not good with numbers, so they look for someone else who does not mind crunching numbers for invoices or billing. Same with email management. Maybe your inbox causes you anxiety. This is a task that can be managed by someone else.

Get it out of your head and on paper:

You have the to-do list, now start creating a system around your tasks. Tasks are more delegatable if they are a part of a larger system. Think about what is needed to fulfill the task and how long it should take.

Going from one hat to another:

One way to instantly systemize your small business, is to organize your work week in sections. Therefore, you will not be jumping from one thing to another throughout your day. Assign certain times of the day for email or even a day of the week for email communication. Or block out hours that are specifically for phone calls. Whatever the task, assign it a set time each day or week and adhere to your schedule. Then these tasks can be easily delegated to someone else, because you have already determined the timeline for them.

Systemize:

Once you have examined your to-do list, broken it down further and assigned times for certain tasks, you have already started building a system. You are tackling little pieces of your work at a time and that is what a system does. To formalize the system for a certain task, you should keep the following components in mind. Every successful system has all three:

Trigger- The cause that sets a system into action. For example, responding to client inquiries can be a trigger. Just look at your To-Do list and you will find plenty of triggers.
Tools- What is needed to complete the task. It can be software, rules etc. Using the example above, the tool needed would a phone or computer.
Action-The steps to complete the task. Once you set these out, they are repeatable and easily taken over by someone else.

We invite you to listen to the Laura’s entire videocast here. And for other helpful tips on building systems, visit www.freedom-makers.com. Freedom Makers offers virtual assistants who can take over the items on your to-do list that are out of your “zone of genius.”