What Is A Task Audit And Why You NEED It For Your Business
Many years ago, I was working ridiculous hours in my business.
Most days I would leave for work in the dark, and get home in the dark. My family missed me, and I felt tired all the time. Eventually it got to a point where I knew I couldn't keep up with my hectic pace for much longer.
It got me thinking 'there must be a better way of doing this!'
In seeking my answer, I read all sorts of books around systemisation and time management… but still I found myself spending so much time writing lists and ticking off tasks!
Even with all the time management 'hacks' I was learning, running my 7 figure business still took way too much time out of my day.
I realised that I needed some kind of tool that allowed me to audit what I spent my time on, and helped me start to allocate that time more efficiently.
Enter stage left: The Task Audit.
How To Perform A Task Audit
Most business owners have either:
A bunch of money, and no time
Plenty of time, but no money
No money and no time
Very few business owners have both plenty of money AND plenty of time.
When you perform a task audit as I'm about to show you… you can start to even out the scales and get BOTH.
I used this tool myself to exit myself out of my company.
How? I used it every single week, for 10-15 minutes a week.
Eventually I navigated myself out of 'the daily grind' in my business, and can now focus my time and energy on things I choose to do (not things I *have* to do).
Sound good?
Here's how to do it effectively.
Step 1: Spend a couple of weeks auditing your time
Use a spreadsheet and note down everything you're doing each day.
In the column beside each task, make a note of:
- How much time you spend on that task
- How often you do that task
Rate your tasks using D.O.C.S
In a column next to each task, rate that task according to:
D = Delegate: Pass it onto someone else in your organisation
O = Outsource: Pass it to someone outside your organisation. For example, hiring a marketing company, a VA, a bookkeeper, etc.
C = Continue: Keep doing this task. This is only for high level visionary / leadership tasks such as a fortnightly meeting with your GM or COO, attending industry networking events, and so on.
S = Stop: Cease doing things that aren't actually moving the business forward.
Create your plan
Once you know what you want to do with your tasks, it's time to put a plan in place to make it happen.
- Assign each task with a person or business that will be responsible for it moving forward
- Define what resources that person or business will need to succeed with the task
- Set a timeframe for official handover
Set a revision schedule
This isn't a 'set and forget' system. Especially at first, you'll need to revisit your task audit every week.
Why? Because tasks will creep in. Others might slip through the cracks.
Additionally, you need to keep track of how your delegated and outsourced tasks are going. What do people need from you to keep things moving?
The great part is, as you use your task audit more and more, you'll train your mind to start thinking in terms of D.O.C.S. whenever new things pop up in your business. Instead of taking things on yourself, you'll instinctively apply this system before getting caught up in more 'busyness'.
How To Use This To Your Advantage
The beauty of this system is that after you've been using it for a while, you end up with a set of vitally important tasks for your business to grow.
You basically 'cut the fat' from your processes, ensuring that your team are operating as lean as possible.
And of course, you end up with far more time to do what's important.
Follow this process for 15 minutes a week, combine it with an effective method for your staff to create systems and processes themselves, and in 6-12 months you can become operationally free from your business.
Next steps
If you are a business owner looking to spend less time running your business, and more time directing it strategically instead, we teach methods to do this in our Opulence and Boardroom programs.
We work with our clients for 12+ months, building into their business systems and processes for increasing profits, reducing stress, and freeing up more time. Typical results are 3x profits and 10 hours back a week within 3-6 months working with us.
If that sounds like something you'd like to explore, I invite you to a 15 minute, complimentary 'Scale Session' call. It's a quick chat where we'll get to know your business a bit, and explore whether we might be a good fit.
