How can you do less, but get more done?

Being strategically lazy is a skill you can develop. And it has the power to transform your productivity.

And a great way to do it is using the R.A.D system: Reduce, Automate, Delegate.

So how does it work? Let’s dive in…

Reduce:

Do you find yourself with too much on your plate? 

Too many items on your to-do list, or too many projects going on at one time?

You need to reduce your workload. 

Take some time to look over all of your projects, and ask yourself: Do you really want to be involved in everything you are doing?

There’s no shame in saying no, or in backing out of something if your heart isn’t in it. This will not only save you time, but also the stress and anxiety of having too much on your plate.

As Warren Buffett famously said:  "The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything."

Automate:

In this age of technology, automation is easier than ever. Building systems to automate tasks you do all the time can dramatically increase your productivity.

If you have a task that you do all the time, think about how you can create a system to streamline and automate it.

Let’s say you run a digital marketing agency. Instead of manually onboarding new clients, have them fill out a form online with all of the onboarding questions you would normally ask them. 

Just think of the monumental amount of time you would save over the course of a year. Time that can be spent serving clients and growing your business.

Delegate:

Delegating is often thought of as something only done by the rich, but it’s easy to implement in your own life.

The first step is to sit down and work out the rough dollar value of your time. Using the example above of an agency owner, let’s say that your time is worth $50 an hour.

Now think of all the tasks that you don’t enjoy doing, that you could delegate to someone else for less than $50 an hour.

Hate doing the dishes, cleaning, and washing? Hire a cleaner to come by once or twice a week to do it for you.

Tired of grocery shopping, cooking, and planning meals? Look into a meal delivery service to take the thinking out of it (HelloFresh, for example), or hire someone to deliver pre-prepared meals to you.

Here’s the thing…

A few small changes in your life can make a huge difference to your productivity.

So take a bit of time out of your day, run your life and business through the R.A.D system, and Reduce, Automate, and Delegate.