Which task to hand over first

Your tasks, scored

For each task, enter how many minutes a month it takes (times a month × minutes each). Decide how much needs your judgment. Then check whether you could spot a mistake in the result. The rules are printed under the buckets so you can disagree with them. Eight example tasks are filled in; replace them with yours.

TaskTimes a monthMinutes eachJudgment neededCheckable

4 tasks to delegate now, about 6 hours a month

Delegate now (4)

Checkable, and costing 30 minutes a month or more.

Plan four dinners from what is in the fridge, plus one shop · 140 min/month
Hand over the research; keep the final pick. 140 minutes a month.
Compare prices before a household purchase over $50 · 120 min/month
Hand over the research; keep the final pick. 120 minutes a month.
Log workouts and spot what changed · 50 min/month
Routine and checkable, 50 minutes a month.
Chase parcels that are more than two days late · 48 min/month
Routine and checkable, 48 minutes a month.

Delegate later (1)

Needs a clearer definition of done, or is worth it once a first handover has worked.

Book routine appointments (dentist, optician, car service) · 20 min/month
Small and routine: batch it with something else.

Keep (3)

Your judgment is the task, or it is too small to be worth explaining.

Choose a gift for my partner · 27 min/month
The judgment is the point of the task.
Write a birthday message to a close friend · 15 min/month
The judgment is the point of the task.
Renew the car insurance at the best quote · 6 min/month
Under 15 minutes a month: explaining it costs more than doing it.

Start with Plan four dinners from what is in the fridge, plus one shop. At 140 minutes a month it is the biggest checkable win.

Rules: judgment “mostly mine” → keep. Under 15 minutes a month → keep. Routine and checkable and 30+ minutes → now. Some judgment and 60+ minutes → now (hand over the research, keep the pick); the rest → later.

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What the three scores mean

Minutes a month is times a month multiplied by minutes each. The judgment score is what you would lose by handing the task over. Keep tasks that depend on your judgment, such as choosing a gift for your partner. Choose a task whose result you can check before a mistake costs you money. Check the time thresholds under each group. We suggest delegating tasks that take at least 30 minutes a month; for shorter tasks, explaining the work can take longer than doing it. The 15-minute cutoff is a rough guide. The rule that misfires most is “routine and checkable”. It sends “Log workouts and spot what changed” to delegate now, and nobody else can log what you lifted. What you can hand over is the spotting. Override it.

How to write the handover

For the task at the top of “delegate now”, write four lines. What a good result looks like (“four dinners from what’s in the fridge plus one shop”). What evidence comes back (the list, with prices). What needs your approval (any spend). When to stop and ask (an ingredient can’t be found). That is the whole handover.

Check the first result before you let it repeat

Compare what came back with the four lines. Fix the wording that got misunderstood. Then let it repeat. Keep permission to research separate from permission to buy or send. With the example list we’d hand over the dinners first and the price comparisons second, and nothing else until the dinners had come back right twice.