So far, the private messages I've received and the postings have an interesting theme: everybody who has responded so far would prefer to spend the extra time, not on work but on outside activities. The list includes more study of history, more study of human behavior, more time on the golf course, more charitable or public service work, more vacations with family.
Although this is not a scientific sampling, the responses suggest that many advisors don't feel that they need to spend additional hours on work-related activities.
My point in asking the question is that most advisors have too much on their plates, and don't seem to delegate very effectively because, well, nobody could do what you do nearly as well as you do it. I might buy that argument if you're talking about sitting down with clients and helping them reorganize their lives for the better, but the assertion starts to break down if you're scanning, or filling out paperwork, or scheduling the client meetings yourself.
But if there isn't any pain, or any really enticing alternative, you'll probably keep doing those menial activities forever; you have no real motivation to go through the short-term pain of training somebody else to do what you now do almost by rote. So I was hoping to gather a list of activities that you really wish you could get around to, either business-related (starting a marketing program or adding client services) or personal (more time on the golf course or family vacations)--things that would be attractive enough to start you thinking about what activities you want to delegate off your desk.
But there might be another way to get to the same place. Could you list two or three activities that you're doing now, that you know in your heart that you really shouldn't be doing, that is taking time away from things you could be doing more effectively--or more enjoyably.
Two or three things you feel you need to get off your desk, and/or two or three things you would really like to do with extra time. The more of these we put on a list, the more benefit we can all get from 1) realizing we aren't alone in needing to delegate, and 2) recognizing in the lists that others provide some of the things that we might spend our time on with more enjoyment or productivity.
What do you think?
For more on planning, client service, practice management and marketing, or to join the Inside Information community, contact Bob Veres at Bob@BobVeres.com or go to www.bobveres.com.
