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The Parable of Peg and Beck and the Long, Long Clothesline


LD Staff Writer

A very long time ago, when I was a young girl, my mother hung freshly washed sheets on the clothesline to dry. This contraption was, yes, outdoors – with the poles, and the ropes, and the clothespins, and the fresh summer breeze, and the sunshine… And oh my, that really is the most divine way to launder bed sheets.

Our mother, whose name is Peg, washed several loads of laundry each day for our family of seven, which required a very long clothesline. When Peg hung out the sheets, she hung them in “portrait” orientation and they dragged on the ground. She placed support poles in between the sheets to hold up the clothesline, so that the sheets wouldn’t touch the ground.

Managing a household of seven people, a dog, a cat, usually a turtle or frog, and some sort of bug farm is an impossible task for any one person, so early on in her career, my mom learned how to delegate tasks to her children and husband (and occasionally the neighbor kids).

One fine summer day, Peg delegated to me the task of hanging bed sheets on the clothesline. Being the big idea person that I am, I hung them in “landscape” orientation…

…So they wouldn’t drag on the ground, and did not require the support poles. This was, obviously, not the way mom had always done it. From the kitchen window, Peg watched for 20 minutes while I wrestled every one of those dang sheets to the clothesline and then she leaned out the back door and yelled,

“You hung those sheets all wrong, Beck.”

(Pause for effect)

“And it’s a better way of doing it than how I’ve ever done it in my whole life.”

Peg knew how to avoid stress and burnout, because she knew how to delegate. Peg knew how to let go of duties because she absolutely could not do everything that needed to be done. None of us can. Peg was successful at delegating because she knew how to coach, and how to reward good work. You can let go of stress and end burn out, too. All you need to do is find your inner Peg.

Get Out of The Burnout Trap

“If you want it done right, do it yourself.”

This is a lie. It is also a trap. Decide to get out. Find someone to help you hang the sheets. No matter which way your helper hangs them, the sheets will get dry and smell good when you make the bed. As you roll through projects, you can refine your helper’s methods, or you might be pleasantly surprised to find that their way is better than the way you’ve been doing it your whole life.

Make a List, Check it Twice

Think about, and make a list of, the characteristics and qualities of the person you want as your helper. What is important to you in an assistant? Good grammar? Skill with HTML? Punctuality? Number crunching? Creativity in clothesline strategy? Peg chose me because I was the only child at home at the time that could reach the clothesline. It turns out that necessity is the mother of invention.

Shop Around

Once you know what you want in a helper, you can start “shopping” for the perfect person. Seek out and contact virtual assistant companies. Check out companies online. Check out local companies. Ask colleagues what assistant services they use. Be particular. You are seeking a company and/or individual with whom you want to build a long-term business relationship. Choose carefully.

Plan Your work, Work Your plan

For your first project with your new assistant, invest some time in a project management plan. Be certain that you have communicated every step of the project, and have your new assistant check in with you regularly. Anticipate that you will need to “coach” your new assistant through the first project (and through a few projects) until they understand your business and its methods of operation.

Remember: delegating is not “dumping,” it is transferring the responsibility of achieving project goals. Think through how that will happen most successfully.

Accomplish, Evaluate, Reward, Repeat

Reward and evaluate each project in the beginning of your relationship with your assistant. Talk about what went well and what needs to be modified and/or improved. Good assistants are quick studies, and adapt quickly to their boss’s management style and project strategies. The more projects you work through, the less coaching your assistant will need. Reward them for that!

Give credit where credit is due for a job well done, even if the sheets are hung “landscape” instead of “portrait.” If they got dry and smelled good… Mission accomplished.

Reclaim Your Time and Inspiration

Enjoy letting go of repetitive tasks, mundane tasks, and those dreaded time-consuming tasks. Reclaim your time and energy. Engage in those interesting projects that have been buried on your desk for eons and it will energize and inspire your work.

The greatest journey begins with a single step. Peg assigned clothesline duty to me ALL THE TIME after that one spectacular summer day. You too can delegate successfully. You too can find the perfect helper. First, find your inner Peg.

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