By now, the question of whether or not you should offload tasks to an assistant should be a no-brainer.

Whether you want to reclaim your evenings and spend more valuable time with your family or simply feel less stressed and more in control of your work each day, offloading tasks is the key to making it possible.

But let’s be honest: letting go isn’t always as easy as it sounds.

Many of us hit a wall before we even start.

The truth is, delegation doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Especially when you’re so deeply involved in every aspect of your business. But as your responsibilities grow, so does the importance of letting go.

So, let’s get started. What’s been stopping you from handing over tasks—and enjoying the freedom that comes with it?

Whether it’s uncertainty, perfectionism, or feeling trapped by time constraints, here’s how you can overcome these common roadblocks and get moving in the right direction.

"I don’t know what to offload"

For many founders, it's not that they don’t want to, but because they simply don’t know where to begin.

When you’ve been responsible for so much for so long, figuring out which tasks you can—and should—offload to an assistant is often more challenging than you expected. It’s like sorting through a cluttered garage—how do you choose what to let go of when everything feels important?

Solution: Try the 'Six Ts' method

If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in choice paralysis, staring at your current workload with no idea what to hand off, you’re not alone. That’s where the ‘Six Ts’ comes in.

For the uninitiated, the 'Six Ts' is a simple, practical technique designed to help you identify exactly what to offload—and why.

Take a close look at all the tasks you have to tackle on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. If any of them fit into the following six categories, this usually means that they can (and should!) be handled by an assistant:

• Tiny: These are the small, seemingly insignificant tasks that sneakily eat up your day. They’re rarely important or urgent, but they disrupt your focus. For example, registering for a conference, adding it to your calendar, and booking a hotel and flight might only take a few minutes each. But together? They can seriously add up.
  
  
• Tedious: If a task is straightforward but monotonous, it’s likely not the best use of your time. These are things that others can handle just as well, if not better. For example, manually inputting a 100-item list into a spreadsheet, color-coding it, or updating KPIs in a presentation deck.
  
  
• Teachable: Ask yourself: Does this task truly require your expertise, or could someone else do it if they had clear instructions? If it’s teachable, it’s offloadable.
  
  
• Time-consuming: Some tasks are a lot more time-intensive than others. Due to their complexity or importance, they may not be suitable to hand off entirely. However, there may be different elements of the task that could be offloaded to save time and help you stay focused on the parts that do need your skills and expertise.
  
  
• Terrible at: We all have tasks that don't quite align with our strengths! These are the ones that take you far longer to do than a skilled person would, and despite your best efforts, the result often isn’t great.
  
  
• Time-sensitive: It’s impossible to do everything at once. Sometimes, it’s necessary to offload tasks if they've been sitting on the back burner and won’t get done unless you have some help.

Solution: Use our To-Do List Optimizer

As a founder, having the right tools at your disposal can make all the difference. That’s why we created our 'to-do list optimizer'—to take the guesswork out of offloading tasks.

All you need to do is enter your regular task list into the optimizer tool, and it will clearly show you which tasks should stay in your remit and which can be handled by an assistant. You might be surprised at how much (or how little!) of your workload actually needs to be done by you!

Solution: Ask your assistant

If you have a virtual assistant, you're already one step ahead in boosting your productivity. But are you truly leveraging their full potential? Beyond the tasks you’ve already assigned, your assistant might have skills you haven’t tapped into yet. From preparing eye-catching presentations and conducting detailed research to managing your social media presence, their expertise can help streamline more areas of your work.

Schedule a quick conversation to dig a little deeper into their strengths, past experiences, any skills they’re eager to use, and their availability—you might be surprised at how much more they can take off your plate.

See: What Else Can Your Virtual Assistant Do?

"I don’t have time"

We've all been there. When your schedule is already packed and your to-do list is a mile long, the thought of adding anything else onto your plate is enough to make your head spin. So when it comes to writing out instructions, organizing a handover, or onboarding a new assistant, it's tempting to think it'd be quicker and easier to power through and do the task yourself.

But think about it: if you feel you don’t have time to offload tasks, this is the clearest sign that you need to.

Solution: Use our Task Ideas Wizard

This is another area where the right tools can make life a whole lot easier.

We know that the process of handing over tasks can often feel like another tedious, time-consuming task in itself, so we created our Task Ideas Wizard to make it as quick and easy as possible.

Here’s how it works:

1. Personalized task recommendations Answer a few simple questions about your workload, and the wizard will provide you with personalized task suggestions tailored to your unique needs.
2. Ready-to-use instructions Once you’ve chosen your task, the wizard goes a step further by creating comprehensive instructions for your assistant. No need to spend extra time figuring out how to explain what needs to be done—it’s all prepared for you!

"No one else would do it as well as me"

You’ve probably heard (or even said) it before: “If you want something done properly, do it yourself.”

For the perfectionists among us, the idea of handing over a task—even a routine or time-consuming one—feels risky. The fear that no one else could match your standards, understand the nuances, or care as much about the outcome as you do is what keeps so many people from trusting others to handle tasks on their behalf.

It’s natural to feel protective of your work, especially if you’ve already invested so much time, effort, and passion into it. However, this mindset is a recipe for overwork, burnout, and missed opportunities to focus on what truly matters. No one can do everything alone, and trying to is neither sustainable nor effective.

Solution: Follow the 70% rule

This rule states that if someone can complete a task at least 70% as well as you, you should offload it.

This way, you can rest assured that tasks will always be handled at a solid, acceptable level, even if there’s a slight dip in performance compared to your personal standards. The most important thing to remember is that 30% trade-off will do more to benefit your business in the long run than if you continued to do everything yourself exactly the way you like it.

Why?

Because success in business isn’t about perfection from any one individual. It’s about allocating time, energy, and resources where they will have the greatest impact.

Think of it this way: you’re not lowering the bar—you’re raising the potential of your entire business.

As LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman wisely said, “No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy is, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team.”

Solution: Reframe your "What ifs"

It’s easy to get caught in a loop of worrying about what could go wrong, but have you ever stopped to wonder about what could go right?

Instead of asking, “What if they don't do it as well as I'd do it?” try asking yourself:

• “What if they do it better than I could?”
• “What if this turns out even better than I expected?”

Shifting your mindset to focus on potential benefits rather than risks can be a game-changer. Because let’s be honest: you might be a brilliant content writer, a top-notch customer service guru, or an exceptional strategist, for example, but it’s unlikely you’d excel equally at all three. And that’s okay—because you don't have to!

As a founder, there are some things that do need your unique skills and expertise at their highest level, tasks that could not or should not be done by anyone else. But for all those tasks that aren't your strong suit, you’re more likely to see far better results when they’re handled by someone more skilled and experienced—even if it's not the exact way you're used to doing them.

Remember, you’re not replacing yourself; you’re creating space to do what you do best: leading and growing your business.

What’s the bottom line?

Despite the well-known benefits of delegation, letting go of tasks is often much easier said than done—especially for founders.

If you’ve spent years wearing every hat and shouldering every responsibility, the idea of handing things over can feel anywhere from mildly uncomfortable to downright impossible.

It’s natural to feel this way, but here's the thing: the longer you hold onto everything, the more you and your business risk in the long run.

So, if doing everything yourself has been a particularly tough habit to kick, the solutions in this guide could be exactly what you need to start moving forward.

Why not give it a try today?

Need a top-notch assistant to take care of your tasks?

Look no further than Time etc.

Since 2007, we've been dedicated to helping founders create the space they need for what matters most, by matching them with the best virtual assistants for their business's admin.

We understand just how busy you are, so we’ll take care of everything—from finding your ideal assistant to managing the day-to-day details. You’ll save up to three to six weeks of recruitment time, reduce traditional hiring costs by up to 90%, and enjoy the freedom to focus on what matters most.

Ready to get started?

Speak to our expert team, and we’ll handle the rest!

And don't forget, you can answer a few quick questions to get personalized task recommendations tailored to your needs—and enjoy $150 off your first month of virtual assistant support!