How to Reclaim Your Time and Sanity: A Step-by-Step Guide to Delegating Like a Pro

Feeling overwhelmed by your endless to-do list and struggling to balance business, family, and self-care? This episode dives into how to hire help, delegate tasks effectively, and take control of your time without losing the personal touch in your business. Discover step-by-step strategies to identify what to delegate, create clear instructions, and trust the process so you can focus on what truly matters. Perfect for busy mompreneurs ready to reclaim their sanity, be more present with their family, and grow their business with ease. Don’t just survive—thrive with practical tips that transform chaos into calm!

Dee understands how running a business can be super stressful, especially for moms. Her 1:1 coaching helps you juggle it all without sacrificing yourself or the things you love. Clients have reduced their stress by 50% and doubled their revenue after working with Dee. Schedule your call here to see how Dee can help you reclaim your time easily!

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**Disclaimer:** This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional for any mental health concerns.

Transcript

Have you ever been so overwhelmed that even looking at your to-do list made you feel like you just want to crawl back into bed? You've got emails just blowing up your inbox. Your kids need help with homework, and you still haven't followed up on those leads from last week's networking event. Oh, and let's not forget the holidays, the gifts, the decorating, the meal planning, the parties. It's enough to make you think, How am I supposed to keep up with all of this?

And maybe, just maybe, you thought, If I could just have a little help, everything would feel so much easier. But then the doubt creeps in just as quickly as the thought does. Where do I even start? What if it takes more to explain than just do it myself? What if I hire someone, and then they don't do it right? So you push that thought aside, and you tell yourself, Well, I'll figure it out later. I'll just try to power through. 

And let's be honest, how has that been working for you? Because if you ever felt like you were drowning, if you've ever felt like you were drowning in your tasks, and you still feel hesitant to ask for help, then this episode is for you.

Today, I'm going to walk you through how to take the first steps towards hiring help in a way that feels manageable and empowering. We're also going to talk about why it's so hard to let go, how to identify what the heck to delegate, and how having the right support can just completely transform your business and your life.

Welcome to the Inhale, Exhale, Success Podcast, where we help women entrepreneurs create a life they love, feel confident in their body, and build a business without burning out by equipping them with the best tools, strategies, and my proven formula every businesswoman must have. My name is Dee Medina. Let's get started and be successful together.

Hola, hola. Welcome back to another episode. I am so excited that you are here with me today because we're diving into something that so many of us struggle with, especially as women, especially as moms, and that is asking for help. Specifically, we're going to talk about how to start hiring help as a mompreneur, and especially when it feels overwhelming.

When I was prepping for the topic of this episode, I started to think that, as moms and business owners, we are constantly in the balancing act, right? Trying to keep up with everything, trying to keep everything from falling apart. Then we add in the chaos of the holidays, and it's like we've just entered into this expert level of juggling. But here's the thing, and I know that you know this as well, doing it all isn't sustainable.

Today, I'm going to walk you through how to take the first steps towards hiring help in a way that feels manageable and empowering. We're also going to talk about why it's so hard to let go, how to identify what the heck to delegate, and how having the right support can just completely transform your business and your life. So by the end of this episode, you're going to have a clear plan to lighten your load without losing control.

Can you do it? Of course, you can. You've been doing it, which is why sometimes you hesitate to actually hire some help because you might think that, Nobody's going to do it as good as me.*I want you to know that hiring help isn't giving up control. It's about you taking back your time, your energy, and your ability to focus on what really matters.

Let me tell you a little story. I have always been someone who has no problem asking for help. But when I realized that I really needed some help, it wasn't because I had some lightbulb moment where everything just became clear. It was because I felt like I was starting to drown, right? My business was growing, which was amazing. But with that growth came more emails, more calls, more scheduling, more follow-ups. And I was just trying to handle it all while still showing up for my kids as a single mom, showing up for myself, showing up for my family, showing up for my friends, keeping the house somewhat together.

When I first started my business, it was in December of '22, so I was also prepping for the holidays. And it wasn't until my youngest, who was 10 at the time, came to me with his skateboard and his helmet on and said, Mom, are we going to the park today? I froze. And I know a lot of my mamas can relate to this because we realize sometimes that we promise our kids that we're going to do something, but we get so caught up in work, in our lives, in business that by the end of the day we forget if we don't write it down. And I had promised my son earlier that we'd go, but the day got away from me. I looked at him and said, Maybe tomorrow. And, of course, the disappointment in his face, some of the comments he said, and everything just really broke me.

Later that night, after everyone was asleep, one of the things that I do for myself to kind of decompress from the day is I like to go take long drives. And in that drive, I was in my car, and I was crying. I thought, What's the point of building this business if I'm missing on moments that matter most to me? And if I'm being honest, even after that, the idea of hiring someone just felt very overwhelming because, How was I supposed to just trust someone with the parts of my business that I was working so hard to build, right? What if they didn't do it the way that I wanted? 

But then I really had to ask myself, What is the cost of not getting help? What moments with my kids am I going to miss with my family, with my friends? I was hearing all of the chatter and all of these things from other entrepreneurs around me of how much they sacrifice and all of these things, and I didn't want that to be me. So I was thinking, How much more of my mental energy is being drained from just trying to do everything on my own?

And if you're in that place right now, I want you to pause, and I want you to think about this: What's one thing that's draining your energy the most right now? Imagine if that one thing was just taken off of your plate. How would that feel?

Because when I finally took the leap, I started really small. So I started my business in December of '22, and for the year of 2023, I networked my butt off. And when I started networking and going to these events, what I decided to do was just delegate the follow-ups from my networking events. I made a list of the leads. I wrote a few email templates and gave some clear instructions. So, within a week, my assistant had handled all the follow-ups. And then, suddenly, I just had hours of my time back.

Yes, within a week, my assistant handled all those follow-ups, right? But there's a process to that, and we're going to talk about how you can start creating that kind of space in your life. 

In order for me to be able to delegate and give instructions to anybody that was going to be taking over parts of my life, I really had to see not only what a day would look like, but what a week would look like. The process that I did in order to get my time back, in order to get my life back, in order to get my business on track.

The first thing that you would need to do is write everything that you do for one week. Keep a running list of every task that you handle in your business. And I don't want you to leave anything out—whether that's emails, calls, scheduling, or social media—just every single thing that you do for your business, you need to write it down. 

At the end of the week, I want you to look at the list and ask yourself, Which one of these tasks actually require my personal touch? Now, some of you might be perfectionists, thinking, Everything requires my touch. There's nothing that anybody else can do like me. I want to have my hands in everything. But how is that working for you? 

There are some things that actually require your personal touch. For example, for me, I realized that my personal touch is in my messaging, my podcasting, and the networking events that I go to. However, everything outside of that can be delegated. If I have the clear instructions to give to somebody as to what it is I want, they're able to help me bring that vision to life. 

So, yes, everything might feel like it needs your personal touch, but if you really take the time to look at what actually matters and helps progress your life and business forward, that long list actually shortens. When you're looking at that list, I want you to highlight the ones that don't actually require you to step in. What's one task on that list that takes way too much of your time and doesn't actually need you to do it?

Now, when you're getting accustomed to hiring someone and delegating, the second thing you need to do is start small. You don't need to hire someone full-time and then just hand over your entire business. I want you to choose just one area to focus on. For me, back in 2023, it was the follow-ups from the networking events. For you, it might be managing your inbox, scheduling some calls, or just organizing some files. 

I want you to start with something that's manageable and will make a noticeable difference in your life. Because if you could delegate one thing tomorrow, what would it be? I know something just popped up in your brain right now. So start there. 

When you have the thing that you want to delegate, we're going to go into the next step, which is creating clear instructions. When you're delegating, sometimes things can go wrong, right? After working with businesswomen who have a team, it's really easy to point the finger at a team member and say, Well, they're not doing it the way that I expected them to. 

When you're delegating, I want you to think of it like teaching someone how to make your favorite recipe, okay? You have to write out the recipe for success. If you want something done in your business and you have a particular way you want it done, then you have to take the necessary time to write that out. You have to write out a step-by-step guide, or maybe, if writing isn’t your thing, you can record a quick video showing exactly how you want the task to be done. The clearer you are, the easier it will be for your hire to succeed along with you.

For example, when I handed off my network follow-ups to my assistant, she already knew the instructions because I had already taken the time to create the necessary step-by-step process. It took me less than an hour to set it up, but it saved me hours of work every single week.

So, what's one thing that you could explain to someone in five steps or less? The process I had with her was super easy to follow. I wanted her to take the information I was given by the connection—whether that was their card, their digital card, or whatever they told me—and put it into our system. Then, the second step was to follow up with that connection via email. The third step was to follow up with that connection via DM. The fourth step was to schedule a coffee date or virtual coffee date. And then the fifth step was to schedule the call to actually work together. 

With that five-step process alone, I was able to grow my business. So, what's one task that you can explain to someone else to do in five steps or less? Once you know your process and have someone else follow it, life just becomes so much simpler. 

But did it take me a little bit to get there? Yes, of course, which leads me into the final step of this: You need to trust the process.

I'm not going to lie—letting go is a little difficult, but it's absolutely necessary. I want you to be prepared for mistakes, okay? I didn't have the picture-perfect process right in the beginning. It might have taken me a week or two, maybe even three, to really fine-tune that process for my assistant. Mistakes might happen—they will happen—and that's absolutely okay. Don't make them mean anything about you. I want you to use them as opportunities to give feedback and to refine your process. 

Over time, you will find your rhythm, and the benefits will far outweigh the initial discomfort where you're thinking, Oh my gosh, this is taking too long. Oh my gosh, if they could just read my mind. Oh my gosh, if I could just get it all done. Those moments of discomfort will happen because you're human, but I guarantee you that if you take the time to do it, you will not regret it.

I want you to think about this: What's one area in your life or your business where you could just let go of control to make space for what really matters? Because on the other side of that discomfort comes the comfort you're looking for—the comfort of being with your children whenever you need to, the comfort of taking some time for yourself, the comfort of running a business you love.

This is something a lot of women ask me: How do you have the time to get in shape? How do you have the time to travel? How do you have the time to be with your family, friends, and business? Hiring help didn't just give me more time—it gave me peace of mind. It allowed me to focus on the things that only I can do, like building relationships with my clients or creating new offers, while letting someone else handle the busy work. 

That’s one thing where a lot of women get caught up—they think their busy work is meaningful work. But when you realize the difference between busy work and meaningful work, it gives you the freedom to just show up fully in your life for your kids and to be present in your own life.

Imagine what your life would look like if you had even just a little extra help. Picture yourself at the dinner table with your family, being fully present because you're not carrying the weight of a million unfinished tasks. Imagine having dinner without the phone in your hand. Imagine sitting on the couch with your partner without your laptop on your lap. Imagine going to a sporting event without checking your emails. Imagine waking up feeling excited about your day because you know the busy work is already handled. 

And because of how hard you work, you deserve that freedom. You deserve that luxury. You deserve to take time. You deserve to enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

So, I want to quickly go over what we talked about because I want you to feel ready to take action—not just inspired. Like I mentioned, the first thing you need to do is write everything you do down. This is where it all starts—awareness. For a week, I want you to write down every single task that you handle in your business. Think of it like emptying your brain onto paper, and don’t skip anything. Even the little things, like replying to DMs or scheduling appointments.

When I did this, I realized I was spending too much time on things that weren’t moving my business forward—like formatting a spreadsheet or tweaking little details that no one but me would notice. So, what’s one task on your list that is just sucking up way too much of your time?

Now, the next step is to start small. You don’t need to hire a whole team overnight. I want you to pick one task to delegate—something manageable but impactful. Again, for me, it was following up on leads from networking events. It was time-consuming but didn’t require me to do it. Once I handed that off, it freed up hours to focus on bigger goals. So, what’s one task you can hand off this week that would make your life easier?

I also want you to know that these steps are doable within your life as well. I can’t remember the last time I cleaned my kitchen. My kids all have a chore, and they’re clear on their responsibilities. My kids do their part at home, so I’m not doing everything at home as well. 

And that leads us to step three: create clear instructions. Like I said earlier, think of it like writing a recipe for your favorite dish. If someone is making it for the first time, they need all the steps spelled out. This is something I learned very early on with having kids with special needs. We need to be able to create safety for them because when they know all the steps beforehand, there’s little to no anxiety and more enthusiasm and motivation to get things done. 

Parenting and being a parent to special needs kids has really benefited my business because the way I’ve had to structure my life outside of business, I brought into my business—and it has been awesome. The way you explain something to your kid in five minutes? If you take the time to detail out the steps, you can do the same in your business. You’re able to explain things clearly and effectively to whoever you’re working with. Trust me, it will make all the difference in helping your assistants succeed. 

What’s one task you could break down today in a few steps to make it easier to hand off to somebody? You might be thinking, Oh my gosh, I can do that. I can break everything down. But when it comes to handing the work out, you might hesitate, thinking, Oh my gosh, I don’t know if I can do that. 

Which is what step four is all about, and that is trusting the process. This one is hard—I know. Letting go feels risky, especially when you’ve been doing everything yourself for so long. But here’s the thing: mistakes will happen. So, if you know that ahead of time, when they happen, it won’t be a surprise. 

This happened to me when I first started delegating. There were hiccups, there were speed bumps. But instead of panicking, I used them as opportunities to refine the process. It was also an opportunity for me to become a better communicator, which ultimately made me a better person, a better mother, and a better business owner. And now, all of those tasks are completely off my plate—I don’t even think about them anymore. 

So, imagine how much lighter you’d feel if even one draining task you have right now was just handled. It’s like having a partner in your life to take over the things you know don’t absolutely need you. Hiring help doesn’t mean giving up control—it means freeing up your time and energy for the things that matter most.

What would it look like to have time to actually focus on growing your business? To be present with your family without the weight of that never-ending to-do list hanging over your head? That’s the kind of shift we’re talking about here.

And if it feels like a lot, don’t worry. You don’t have to figure this out alone. That’s why I work one-on-one with mompreneurs like you. If you’re wanting help creating a system or strategy tailored to your life and business, you’re more than welcome to book a call with me. You can find that link in my descriptions. 

Another thing is my course, Time Rich, which is coming soon to help you take this even further. Remember, you don’t have to do it all to have it all. Let’s make life and business work for you, not the other way around. You’ve got this.

Well, that does it for today’s episode. Thank you so much for joining us on the Inhale, Exhale, Success Podcast If you enjoyed today’s topic, I’d love for you to subscribe so you don’t miss out on other valuable discussions, along with answering questions directly from busy women like you who are looking for ways to make life, business, and weight loss easy. I look forward to having you here with us again next time. And remember, my friend, success begins when you take a moment to breathe, find your balance, and believe in yourself.