Why do it all yourself?

Many of us have got a tendency to do things by ourselves. Many times we think we do it better. So why ask another person to do it while we can do it better.

This is common especially if we have got the perfectionist mindest where we beleive that things need to be in a certain order and in a specific style. Also it includes the need to avoid mistakes and keep things according to our expectations.

According to my experience, it is satisfying to do it all yourself. You feel like you are in total control of your environment.

But then in my late thirties, I realized that doing it all yourself doesn’t actually serve us in the long run. Especially for working moms where you have responsibilities at home, at work, with kids’ school work and sometimes for your extended family too. In such a context, delegating the tasks to others becomes essential.

When we talk about delegating tasks, we need to keep in mind some points. When we delegate our responsibilities, be specific and detailed. Don’t just assign a general task without detailed explanation. For example, when I ask the maid to cook a new dish for dinner for the first time, I explain to her using pictures, videos and sometimes I show her the ingrediants she needs to use.

Another point also is to follow-up and send updates of the tasks to the person in charge. This could be annoying or uncomfortable for a person who doesn’t like to check in and follow up. But to assure the tasks assigned is done accurately, you need to send updates or modifications regarding the tasks or deadlines associated with them.

With the above points, we need to remember that sometimes even when we assign tasks to the other person, it might not necessarily come out as planned. There could be mistakes or delays or shortcomings. I remember times when I just can’t hold my patience anymore if a person just didn’t read or didn’t mind to ask when having a doubt.

At the end, delegating tasks to other people can be daunting and overwhelming especially for people with perfectionist mindset. But learning on the go, trying different techniques and lower down our expectation bar just a little bit can make the process less hard and heavy for us.