Heading off for a long weekend or a longer vacation is exciting (and healthy!), but if your time away is really going to be stress-free and enjoyable, you’ll need to delegate. It’s the only way to fully disconnect from work and make the most of your vacation.

Today’s tip: start delegating work now. Your people will learn exactly what they need to do while you’re still in the office, so they won’t interrupt you when you’re out of the office.

And there’s an added bonus, even if you’re not planning a vacation any time soon. People who delegate effectively can generate 20-50% more revenue than people who do it all themselves. 

Most lawyers only bill for about 30% of their work day. The rest of the day is filled with admin and all those little things that “just take 30 seconds.” But those “30 seconds” add up quickly and keep us from focusing on higher value-adding work.

If you’re doing work yourself that someone else can do for less, you’re losing money. It's a mindset shift for many lawyers, but to grow your business without burning out, you need to start delegating.

The stumbling block for many lawyers is deciding what to delegate.

We recommend the Delegation Quadrant. There’s one up on the wall of my office right now, as we plan a new allocation of work here at Gimbal.

The Delegation Quadrant is an easy way to categorize all the work you do, and then use those categories to decide what to delegate. We’ve written about it here before. 

Basically, you have what we call a Post-It Party. As you work this week, write down all the tasks you’re doing. Put each one on a separate sticky note, and then toss it up on the wall into one of four categories:

1. stuff you have to keep because you, alone, have the expertise or authority
2. stuff someone else could do and you really don’t like doing
3. stuff someone else could do, but that you like to do (although you may not be very good at it)
4. stuff you should just stop doing altogether

Everything in Categories 2 and 3 is something you should delegate.

Your action item this week is to pick one thing out of Category 2 and find a way to delegate it. Teach someone on your team how to do it. Outsource it. Find a way to automate it.

Why start with category 2? Because delegation isn’t going to be perfect the first time, and you’re going to be tempted to take the task back and do it yourself. If it’s something you really despise doing, you’ll be less likely to take it back.

Keep your focus on things you can delegate NOW so you have someone already trained and capable before the summer vacation season.

But I can hear you say, “I can do it faster myself…” Maybe. But if it’s something you do repeatedly, delegate. The “I’m faster” myth is just one of the 5 myths about delegation that hold many entrepreneurs back.

Get our free guide, 5 Myths About Delegation, and learn more.