Delegation isn’t a novel concept. Business executives wield its power daily to maximize results. But some parents…I daresay MANY parents…fail to execute this simple strategy where they need it most. (I did, for the longest time.) Fellow parents, we are the CEOs of our homes! And to organize and run our business (home) efficiently, we need to delegate.
EARLIER SCENARIO
Following my childhood model, I’d gather children together Saturday morning and whip up a comprehensive to-do list. Then the kids would take turns vying for their favorite (or least dismal) chores. I’d carry on with my tasks, leaving the children to slick up the house (or so I thought). Instead I’d get interrupted throughout the day. “Dad, am I done yet?” “Dad, does the kitchen look clean?” “Dad, I’m done. Come check.”
Naturally their definitions of “clean” differed vastly from mine. They’d scrub a speck or two and have me check. Then a few more and have me check again. Back and forth I went, constantly yanked in and out of the creative state of flow vital to an artist’s work.
An NSA meeting gave me the kick in the pants I needed. One of our speakers, Katharine Halpin, gave us a list of the Hierarchy of Reserves of Time. Number 7: “successful delegating think time.” Eureka! That very next Friday I set to work.
8 tips for Delegating Effectively in the Home
1. Decide what needs delegating. This step asks us to be proactive. We actually have to map out the tasks needing done. Actually it didn’t take that long: only 45-60 minutes. I roamed from room to room through the entire house writing down every single itty-bitty chore I wanted performed, from washing baseboards to cleaning toilets.
2. Chunk into short-range and long-range tasks. After writing the mammoth list I realized the kids would mutiny if I piled on too much. Yet I still wanted the entire deck swabbed–regularly. Division did the trick. In a three-tiered plan I separated each room’s tasks into (1) daily chores, (2) Saturday chores, and (3) first Saturday of the month chores. I’ll post examples tomorrow.
3. Take time to train. Effective businesses take time to train their employees, right? It makes sense we follow suit. My problem was never taking sufficient time to coach each child on their responsibilities. Now was different. Now we had a plan. One by one I showed each child their domain, be it kitchen, living room, bathrooms, or otherwise, and item by item showed them what “clean” meant.
4. Repeat. Each child swabbed their deck for a month. Then they switched. Long ago we’d switched it up weekly, but switching to monthly gave the kiddos time to dig in and take ownership of their domain.
5. Switch. Deck-swabbing gets old after a time. Since change is as good as a rest (according to the old adage) we shook things up and rotated the chores. Whoever had living room one month had kitchen the next.
6. Keep a log. We created a binder and inserted colored 2-pocket dividers. In one pocket we placed that child’s chore list. They could take out the list, run to their room, and follow the list item by item, then return and replace the list. In the back pocket we placed the kids’ goals (which we review each Sunday).
7. Expect action. I have never understood parents who say they can’t get their kids to work. Hello! Who’s the parent here? In fact, last fall our neighbor saw 4 of our boys hauling rocks into the back yard and sauntered over in surprise. ”How do you get them to work?” he inquired. ”It’s just expected in our family,” I replied. A few minutes later he brought his teenage boys across. ”Look at him,” my neighbor said, pointing to our 7-year-old. ”Look how little he is! And see, he’s hauling big rocks. I can’t even get you guys to mow the lawn!” Later, when we drove down the street, we saw his boys washing the car and tending to the yard.
8. Reward. Even though work is expected, it’s important to reward their efforts with some serious play time. Grab a donut. Run to the park. Take a bike ride. Do something FUN–together. They’ll love you for it. After all, all work and no play made Jack a psychopath. No telling what it would do to your kids.
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