Why waste your precious time working on tasks, which are definitely not your forte when you can delegate or invest your money on a product or service which will free up your time? You can then focus on the more important areas in your work and your life.

Debbie's Story

Debbie was the Director of her own computer company, employing four staff.

Debbie had a hectic lifestyle. She worked long hours, had three children and a husband to organise and on top of that was in the middle of a major renovation of her own home. To make matters even worse, she was also studying for a Bachelor of Computer Science!

No wonder she was stressed out!

Here was a situation where she had overburdened herself unnecessarily. She had far too much going on in her life and something was about snap!

Debbie was unable to sleep properly with all the worry and strain of juggling everything and had neglected her own self in the process.

Debbie looked tired and haggard when I first met her. She was 15 kg overweight and looked at least 10 years older than she really was. She had lost touch with what was really important to her. Debbie was trying to be superwoman!

She had taken on far too much and was forced to review her lifestyle (or lack of it) or she would either have a nervous breakdown or die in the process.

The Solutions

In working with my clients I always get them to write down all the activities and responsibilities they are currently involved in, both at work and home.

By writing them down you can clearly see what is really important and what isn't. You can also see where you fill up your day with unnecessary activity.

With Debbie there were many areas where she could free up her time to give her the time for herself as the number one priority and get some sanity back into her life.

Before Adding, Look at Subtracting

I suggested to Debbie that she needed to look at which activities and responsibilities she could defer, delete, delegate or outsource.

This is what she chose to do:

Defer her Computer Science Degree

Organise a building company to project manage her home renovation. Up until that time she had been organising the whole project on her own!

Hire a babysitter with a car who could pick her kids up from school and run them around to their activities. The babysitter would also cook the dinner and do other light domestic duties.

Utilise her bookkeeper much more by delegating to her basic administration tasks, which she was very capable of doing. Her bookkeeper was only employed three days a week and was delighted to work an extra day assisting Debbie with other tasks.

Attend her local gym at 6.00 a.m. three mornings a week and once on the weekend. She also sought advice on her diet.

Within four weeks you could see the change in Debbie. She was more confident now that she has taken control of her situation. Her life was getting back on track!

The Final Word

It's really easy not to invest money in yourself.

Do you spend money on your car, your computer, your business, your home and other 'things' in your life?

Are you not worthy enough to invest in yourself? Is the price you pay for neglecting yourself really worth it?

What can you defer, delete, delegate or outsource so that you can have more time for living your life?

Lorraine Pirihi, principal of The Office Organiser (http://www.office-organiser.com.au) is Australia's Personal Productivity Coach

Lorraine specialises in working with businesspeople showing them how to dramatically boost their productivity, reduce the stress and the mess in their lives and have more time for enjoying their life.

We Offer a Broad Range of Services and Products including:

• Coaching for small business owners and professionals

• Keynote presentations and workshops

• Books, CD's, DVD's and on-line learning programs

Take action today! Contact Lorraine to discuss your specific needs at lorraine@office-organiser.com.au