Michael Hyatt is an author and speaker and former President and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers. I worked a few levels under him for a few years when I was a baby graphic designer. He has many talents, but the things he enjoys doing the most are writing and speaking. He writes with a distinctive voice on his blog and in his books, and is a sought-after speaker. His very popular podcast, This Is Your Life, is the one I make sure to listen to every week.
A while back, Michael did a 2-part podcast series and a blog post on the topic of delegation titled “How to Do More of What You Love and Less of What You Don’t.”
He outlines how when he left his role as President and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers to go out on his own, he did everything himself. Which is not a bad place to start. However, he found himself overwhelmed and burned out. Of course in his former life as an executive, he was able to delegate a lot of tasks since he had a staff. But not anymore.
So he figured out what his strengths were. He identified what only he could do. Then he offloaded everything else and found people who could do those jobs instead. This accomplishes two things: it allows him to become more focused on what he does best, and allows other people to do what they do and enjoy best.
How Can an Artist Delegate?
It has me wondering how an artist might apply the same principles in their own work. How can I do the same?
When I shared the Michael Hyatt article with my wife, who sells Rodan + Fields Dermatology products, she told me she would like to get to where she can hire someone to do the laundry and put it away, do our bookkeeping, clean the house, and do some cooking while she grows her business. And in a year or two, we will get there.
Likewise, I could probably offload some tasks such as website maintenance, a bookkeeper, and a manager.
And someday I’d like to take on an apprentice, who in a traditional artist’s studio does things like stretch canvases, prepare paint, and varnish completed paintings, all while being instructed by the master artist.
There are other things that I can outsource, such as photographing artwork and preparing it for the website.
Right now I don’t have the budget or infrastructure to support these things, but this is what I aspire to.
How about you? What are some things you can delegate so you can focus on your art?