Surprising advice on how to become better at delegating

Why I am tracking my time again

So many guests I have interviewed on How I Work (and often, tech Founder / CEO types), have told me about how and why they track their time. I have occasionally done this over the years - sometimes manually (and painfully) in Excel, and other times using clunky software.

I have recently become interested (again) in where my time is going, as I am juggling quite a few different projects and some big deadlines. A few people I trust recommended Rize as the best tool to use. So I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks now and it has been a game changer for understanding where my time is going.

Rize tracks every single thing I do on my computer and in my calendar. All I need to do gain insights is spend about five minutes categorising all my activities at the end of the day. Rize also tells me when I might be getting distracted (e.g. if it sees me sending a Teams chat message while I am meant to be in a Deep Work sprint) and gives me a nudge to get back to my Deep Work - annoying, but also: handy. Rize emails me a daily summary and weekly insights, which has allowed me to think more mindfully about how I am allocating my time to the various projects I have on right now.

If you are keen to get some insight into where and how you are spending your time, you can get a 7-day free trial. (And no, this is not sponsored. I am just a fan).

The techniques top leaders use to give and receive feedback

When was the last time you gave someone critical feedback? If you can’t remember, chances are, it’s a skill that you struggle with (unless you work with a team of perfect individuals who never get anything wrong, which let’s face it, is no one).

Giving people constructive feedback has been a learned skill for me. But this conversation I had with Kim Scott (bestselling author of Radical Candour) on How I Work helped give me some fresh strategies for thinking about how I do this.

We cover:

😱 The truth about why most managers fail to give effective feedback

🙏 The power of caring personally and challenging directly in leadership

🚫 How to avoid the pitfalls of ruinous empathy and obnoxious aggression

💬 Practical strategies for soliciting criticism and handling feedback like a pro

🎉 The secret to mastering the art of praise and criticism

​Check out the interview here.

Surprising advice on how to become better at delegating

Delegation can be hard - especially if you’re a control freak. I often hear from Inventium’s clients that delegation is a skill that many leaders struggle with.

The best resource I have found for tackling delegation is an interview I heard a while ago between Tim Ferriss and Levels co-founder Sam Corcos. I actually started re-listening to the interview yesterday and am already walking away with new insights that I missed out on the first time I listened to it.

I particularly love Sam’s advice about recording your workflow using Loom as an easy way to (a) identify opportunities for tasks that can be delegated and (b) as a way to train someone easily in how to do a task.

​Let me know in the comments which resource / tip / interview resonated most with you. Knowing what you like helps me curate better tips for future newsletters :)