It's a common dilemma: As an entrepreneur, you've built your business by tackling everything that comes up, from the smallest detail to the most important strategic decisions. But you can't keep that up forever. In fact, you probably should have begun to delegate a long time ago. But it's never too late to do less. Here are a few steps you can take as you become more comfortable with the idea of letting go (a little):
1. Keep a diary.
Jeffrey Pfeffer, a Stanford business school professor, is a big fan of keeping track of tasks in an organized way. Take notes daily. From there, you can figure out the best use of your time--and empower your best employees as well. "You may discover that you aren't really involving other workers in decision making," he says.
2. Have more people report to you.
By increasing your so-called span of control, you can force yourself to delegate, simply because you can't micromanage the activities of so many people. The result? You will have more time to get your claws into the tasks that really matter.