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Longtime readers know I have a fraught relationship with delegation.

I know I should delegate to leverage my time.

But I have a hard time letting go.

I’d think things like:

• “If I have to stay involved, I’ll just do it myself.”
• “I shouldn’t need to check in to be sure safety lessons are being completed.”

But then I came across an interesting perspective from time management expert Laura Vanderkam:

“When you outsource a task that would otherwise fall to you, and that actually needs to get done, you won’t be able to let it go completely. You will need to have some level of involvement. It will just be way, way less involvement than when you were handling the task directly.”

Reading her words completely reframed things for me.

I thought I was doing something wrong. Now I realize it’s normal and necessary to stay involved, even after I delegate something.

Knowing this, I’ve stopped resenting the need to check in and tweak things.

Now, instead of trying to fully “let go,” I keep delegated tasks on my to-do list. I also set a reminder to check in on their progress.

The result? I still stay connected, but I spend way less time managing tasks.

And I’ve freed up time to focus on the things that can’t be delegated.