Have you ever stopped to think about all the different tasks you do at work? If you break it down, you’ll probably find there are 10 to 15 things you do regularly—maybe it’s business development, marketing, writing proposals, or managing projects.
Now, ask yourself: How good are you at each of them?
If you had to rate yourself from not great to amazing, where would you land?
In this video, I want to talk about why it’s so important to focus on just a few key tasks at work—and how letting go of or delegating the rest can make a huge difference
I’m in New Zealand’s South Island, hiking the stunning Kepler Track with my wife, TK, and two close friends, Megan and Anne. This trek is special to us because we did the same hike nearly 25 years ago—before kids, when our knees were in much better shape! Let me tell you, it’s a lot harder this time around, but it’s still incredible.
But here’s the thing—I’ve been able to completely switch off from work while I’m here. No emails, no laptop, no Wi-Fi for four days. And I feel incredibly lucky to be able to do that. Not just because of where I am, but because I have an incredible team I trust to keep things running.
A mentor of mine, Taki, once gave me a piece of advice that changed everything for me. He said to look at my tasks and sort them into four categories:
Incompetent – Things I’m just not good at.
Competent – Things I can do, but not particularly well.
Excellent – Things I do really well.
Genius – The work that energises me and makes the biggest impact.
His advice? Stop doing anything you’re just competent or incompetent at. Instead, eliminate and delegate those tasks and spend most of your time in your genius zone.
At first, I resisted. I thought I had to be good at everything. But over time, I started focusing on what I really do best and surrounded myself with a team whose genius areas cover my weaknesses.
Now, I have Jilord, who’s officially my assistant but really the general manager and backbone of the business. Josh, who leads our program development. Kara and Steven, our incredible designers. And an amazing training team with Kimberley, Ces, Sue, Sandra, and others.
Because of them, I can take time off without worrying. And because I focus on what I do best, I enjoy my work even more.
So, my question to you is: Do you know where your genius zone is? Are you spending your time on what you do best, or are you stuck doing tasks that drain you?
If it’s the latter, maybe it’s time to rethink how you work. Start by figuring out what only you can do—and look at ways to delegate the rest.
You might be surprised at how much of a difference it makes.
This is this week’s Work Smarter: Live Better tip.
Hope you have a lovely day!
A bientôt,
Cyril
