Delegation Playbook
25 Tasks to Free Up 20+ Hours Every Week
Stop Working In Your Business and Start Leading It
As a founder, your most valuable resource isn’t money. It’s time. Yet most business owners spend the majority of their day buried in emails, scheduling, admin, and putting out fires—tasks that keep the business running, but don’t actually grow it. Every hour spent inside the weeds is an hour stolen from strategy, growth, and the freedom you started your business for in the first place.
The reality is simple: if you want to scale, you can’t do everything yourself.
That’s where delegation comes in.
This playbook gives you 25 high-impact tasks you should never do as a founder and more importantly, shows you exactly how to delegate them so they get done right, without your constant involvement.
What You’ll Get From This Guide
• Clarity on which tasks are slowing you down.
• Delegation frameworks you can apply immediately, even without a virtual assistant.
• Simple structures to set up tasks so they can run smoothly without your oversight.
By the end of this playbook, you’ll know what to stop doing, how to hand it off, and how to reclaim hours each week. Freeing you to focus on growth, leadership, and the big moves that only you can make.
Why This Matters Now
The difference between a founder who stays stuck at a plateau and one who breaks through to the next level often comes down to this:
• The first keeps saying, “It’s faster if I just do it myself.”
• The second says, “It’s faster if I set up the system once and let someone else run it forever.”
This guide is built to help you become that second type of founder.
How to Use This Playbook
A Simple Framework to Delegate With Confidence
This playbook isn’t just a list of tasks. It’s a delegation framework designed to help you stop doing the work yourself and start building systems that run without you.
For every task in this guide, you’ll see three parts:
1.
The Task
This is the work you should never be spending your time on as a founder. It may be necessary, but it’s not high-value work that grows your business.
2.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Here, we’ll walk through exactly how to hand the task off. Think of it as a mini-delegation script: what access to give, what rules to set, and what outcomes to expect. Even if you don’t have a VA yet, this section will show you how to think about passing it off to any team member.
3.
Setup for Success
Delegation only works if it’s clear. In this section, you’ll see practical steps to set the task up properly—templates, SOP ideas, or the tools that make it run smoothly. That way, once you hand it off, you can fully step away.
How to Get the Most Out of This Guide
• Pick 3–5 tasks this week. Don’t try to overhaul everything at once. Start small, get quick wins, and build momentum.
• Use the framework. Each time you encounter a task, run it through the Task → Delegate → Setup structure.
• Think long-term. Every hour you spend setting up a process now will save you dozens of hours in the future.
Delegation isn’t about losing control. It’s about regaining freedom and ensuring your time is spent where it matters most—on growth, leadership, and building the future of your business. With that in mind, let’s get into the 25 tasks every founder should stop doing today.
Admin & Operations
Get Out of the Weeds and Back Into Growth
Your business can’t scale if every small task runs through you. These are the foundational operational duties that steal your focus but once delegated, they create immediate breathing room in your day.
1. Calendar Management & Scheduling
The Task
Manually scheduling meetings, juggling time zones, and rescheduling calls eats hours each week. It’s important—but it doesn’t require your expertise.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Give your VA access to your calendar (Google Calendar or Outlook) and define your preferred meeting windows, buffer times, and focus blocks. Instruct them to confirm all appointments 24 hours in advance and manage reschedules proactively.
Setup for Success
Create a simple “calendar rules” document listing: meeting priorities, preferred time zones, and your ideal daily structure. Share a Loom video showing how you accept and send invites so your VA can replicate it exactly.
2. Inbox Management & Email Filtering
The Task
If you start every morning sorting emails, you’re losing focus before the day even begins.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Provide your VA access to your inbox with clear labels: “Action Required,” “Reply Later,” “For Review.” Teach them how to draft reply templates for common emails and highlight only the 5–10 messages that truly need your attention daily.
Setup for Success
Record a short Loom walking through how you categorize emails. Set up filters for newsletters and CCs. Create canned responses for client inquiries, scheduling, and follow-ups. Your VA can maintain the rest.
3. Travel Booking & Itinerary Planning
The Task
Comparing flights, hotel rates, and itineraries wastes hours that could be spent on strategy or clients.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Give your VA access to your preferred travel platforms (Google Flights, Expedia, or your travel credit portal). Define preferred airlines, seat types, loyalty programs, and budget limits. Have them present 2–3 curated options for you to approve before booking.
Setup for Success
Create a shared “Travel Preferences” document including frequent flyer numbers, hotel memberships, and favorite locations. Use Google Sheets or Notion to store past itineraries for easy reference.
4. File & Document Organization
The Task
Lost files, duplicate folders, and messy drives create daily friction.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Assign your VA to audit your Google Drive or Dropbox weekly. They can rename files consistently, create standardized folder structures, and archive old versions.
Setup for Success
Define your file-naming convention (e.g., “ClientName_Project_Date”). Create a master folder template for new projects or clients. Give your VA permission to keep everything consistent across platforms.
5. Meeting Notes, Transcriptions, & Summaries
The Task
Taking detailed notes during meetings pulls you out of conversations—and transcribing them later is a major time drain.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Have your VA join calls via Zoom or receive recordings. They can transcribe using tools like Otter.ai or Notion AI, summarize key points, and deliver a short action-item list after each meeting.
Setup for Success
Create a meeting notes template: “Topic → Key Decisions → Next Steps → Owner → Due Date.” Save all summaries in a shared folder for easy team access.
6. Client Onboarding Process Management
The Task
Manually welcoming new clients, collecting forms, and sending confirmations slows down your sales momentum.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Your VA can handle every step of onboarding—from sending welcome emails and agreements to setting up client folders, CRM entries, and kickoff calls.
Setup for Success
Map your onboarding sequence once:
1. Contract signed →
2. Invoice sent →
3. Welcome email →
4. Project setup →
5. Kickoff scheduled.
Record a Loom walkthrough and store templates in a “Client Onboarding” folder for your VA to manage automatically.
7. Ongoing Client Communication & Follow-Ups
The Task
Constant client updates and check-ins pull you away from strategic work.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Train your VA to manage recurring client touchpoints—status updates, meeting confirmations, and simple check-ins. They can use pre-approved templates while escalating only messages that need your personal attention.
Setup for Success
Create a communication guideline doc with tone of voice, approved phrases, and response timelines. Integrate your CRM or project tool (like ClickUp or Monday.com) to automate reminders for client follow-ups.
8. CRM Management & Data Updates
The Task
Manually entering leads, notes, or deals into your CRM is repetitive and error-prone.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Give your VA CRM access to log calls, update deal stages, and record notes after meetings. They can maintain lead statuses, set follow-up tasks, and ensure your pipeline is always accurate.
Setup for Success
Provide written definitions for each pipeline stage (“Qualified Lead,” “Proposal Sent,” etc.). Record a Loom video of how you update deals. Have your VA perform a weekly pipeline review to catch missing info.
Pro Tip
Start by handing off just two tasks from this list this week. Within 7 days, you’ll feel the mental space that comes from freeing your calendar and inbox—and it will motivate you to keep delegating.
Ready to Hire Your Assistant That'll Actually Make a Difference?
Book Strategy Session
We’ll show you exactly where a certified assistant can take over.
Launch 7-Day Takeover
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Scale with Confidence
No long-term contracts and adjust hours as your business grows.
Marketing & Social Media
Systemize Your Visibility So Growth Doesn’t Depend on You
Marketing drives your brand and revenue—but most founders get trapped inside the daily grind of posting, writing, and creating content. These are the systems that keep your marketing consistent, even when you’re not the one doing it.
9. Social Media Scheduling & Publishing
The Task
Posting manually to every platform is one of the biggest productivity killers. It interrupts focus and forces you to think tactically instead of strategically.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Your VA can schedule posts, stories, and reels across all platforms using tools like Metricool, Buffer, or Later. They can follow your content calendar, upload assets, add captions, hashtags, and tag accounts as needed.
Setup for Success
Create a shared content calendar (Google Sheets or Notion). Define posting frequency, brand voice, and preferred times. Record a Loom video showing how to upload and tag posts, then let your VA take it from there.
10. Content Creation (Captions, Visuals, Posts)
The Task
Crafting captions, finding images, and aligning content ideas can eat hours each week. Hours that could be spent driving growth or sales.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Have your VA research content ideas, draft captions, and create visuals using Canva templates or your brand kit. They can also repurpose blog snippets or quotes from your podcasts into carousel posts or infographics.
Setup for Success
Build a brand voice guide with tone, emojis, and writing examples. Share 3–5 posts you love as reference. Store Canva templates in shared folders and use a feedback system (like Google Docs comments) for approvals.
11. Short-Form Video Editing (Reels, Shorts, TikToks)
The Task
Editing short-form videos is incredibly time-consuming, especially if you’re creating frequent content.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Record your raw videos and upload them to a shared drive. Your VA can trim, add captions, insert trending sounds, and format each video for Reels, TikTok, or YouTube Shorts. They can even test variations of hooks or titles.
Setup for Success
Share your preferred editing style (examples of past videos or inspiration accounts). Create a shared Google Sheet for content tracking with columns for “Uploaded,” “Edited,” “Scheduled,” and “Posted.” Your VA keeps it updated.
12. Email Campaign Setup & Management
The Task
Designing and scheduling email blasts or newsletters can be tedious—but consistency here drives brand trust and sales.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Your VA can set up campaigns in your CRM or email platform (like ActiveCampaign, GoHighLevel, or Mailchimp). They can manage your subscriber lists, test subject lines, and schedule broadcasts while you focus on the content itself.
Setup for Success
Provide branded templates for newsletters and announcements. Create a folder with past emails that performed well. Your VA can A/B test headlines and send you weekly reports on open and click-through rates.
13. SEO Research & Optimization
The Task
Manually researching keywords, editing meta tags, and updating on-page SEO is essential but not CEO-level work.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Your VA can research keywords using tools like Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, or SEMrush. They can optimize meta titles, descriptions, and internal links under your guidance. If you produce blogs, your VA can upload and format them for SEO consistency.
Setup for Success
Provide your VA with your main service keywords and target regions. Create a checklist template for on-page SEO (meta title, meta description, alt text, internal link). Have them track rankings monthly to show progress.
14. Competitor Research & Trend Tracking
The Task
Monitoring competitors and market trends is important—but it’s not something you should spend hours doing.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Your VA can track competitor websites, social posts, and ad campaigns. They can summarize monthly trends, new offers, and relevant insights that help you adjust strategy without manually checking every source.
Setup for Success
List your top 5 competitors and preferred monitoring platforms (Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.). Have your VA deliver a simple monthly “Competitor Snapshot” report including wins, losses, and takeaways for your brand.
Pro Tip
Batch your marketing systems. Once your VA manages social scheduling, content creation, and video editing as one integrated workflow, you’ll free up entire days each month to focus on high-value growth strategies.
Sales & Lead Generation
Focus on Revenue, Not Repetition
Sales are the lifeblood of your business—but founders waste countless hours buried in outreach, CRM updates, and follow-ups that could be handled by someone else. Delegating these tasks keeps your pipeline full and your time focused on the conversations that actually close deals.
15. Lead List Building & Prospect Research
The Task
Researching prospects, collecting emails, and building lists is necessary—but extremely time-consuming.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Your VA can identify potential leads through LinkedIn, Google, or industry databases. Provide your target customer criteria, and they’ll create verified lists with names, titles, emails, and company info.
Setup for Success
Share your Ideal Client Profile (industry, location, company size, role titles). Use a Google Sheet or CRM import template. Have your VA verify leads using tools like Hunter.io or Apollo before uploading them to your CRM.
16. Initial Outreach & Follow-Up Emails
The Task
Sending and tracking cold emails or follow-ups can easily eat half your day.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Have your VA manage outreach sequences using tools like Instantly, Lemlist, or GoHighLevel. They can send pre-approved templates, personalize each message, and monitor open or reply rates.
Setup for Success
Write 3–5 approved outreach email variations. Create a spreadsheet with columns for name, email, message version, send date, and response. Your VA keeps it updated and flags interested leads for you to take over.
17. Proposal Creation & Document Formatting
The Task
Formatting proposals or contracts distracts you from actual selling and can slow down deal flow.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Your VA can plug client details into branded proposal templates (in Canva, Word, or PandaDoc), proofread for accuracy, and send them for your final review.
Setup for Success
Design a branded proposal template once, including sections for pricing, deliverables, and terms. Provide a short Loom showing where to insert client-specific info. Create a tracking sheet for “Proposal Sent,” “Awaiting Response,” and “Closed.”
18. Sales Pipeline Tracking & Reporting
The Task
Keeping your CRM or sales board up to date is crucial—but doing it yourself keeps you in the weeds.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Grant your VA CRM access (HubSpot, Pipedrive, GoHighLevel). They can update lead stages, log activities, and mark next-step tasks after each meeting or call.
Setup for Success
Define each stage in your pipeline (“Discovery Call,” “Proposal Sent,” “Negotiation,” “Closed Won”). Your VA should run a weekly pipeline audit and deliver a short summary report highlighting stuck deals or overdue follow-ups.
19. Cold Call Prep (Scripts, Contact Lists, Notes)
The Task
Prepping for calls—finding numbers, reviewing notes, organizing talking points—can waste an hour before every outreach block.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Your VA can prepare daily call lists, pull company info, and organize scripts or objections in a single document so you can jump straight into calls.
Setup for Success
Create a “Call Prep Template” with columns for Name, Role, Company, Key Info, and Notes. Record a Loom video explaining how you review leads before calls. Your VA can deliver a fresh sheet each morning or week.
Pro Tip
The secret to delegating sales successfully is clarity. Document your scripts, tone, and follow-up cadence once—your VA will handle 80% of the process while you focus on closing.
Ready to Hire Your Assistant That'll Actually Make a Difference?
Book Strategy Session
We’ll show you exactly where a certified assistant can take over.
Launch 7-Day Takeover
If you don’t feel a real impact within 7 days, you don’t pay a dime.
Scale with Confidence
No long-term contracts and adjust hours as your business grows.
Finance & Reporting
Track the Numbers Without Getting Stuck in the Details
Money and metrics drive every decision, but founders shouldn’t be buried in spreadsheets or chasing invoices. These are the financial and reporting tasks that can be delegated with full confidence—so you always know the numbers without having to crunch them yourself.
20. Invoice Creation & Tracking
The Task
Manually creating invoices, sending reminders, and tracking payments is tedious—and missing one can disrupt cash flow.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Your VA can generate invoices using your accounting software (QuickBooks, Wave, or FreshBooks), send them to clients, and follow up on overdue payments. They can also maintain a tracker for sent, paid, and pending invoices.
Setup for Success
Create a simple invoicing SOP outlining how to:
1. Pull invoice data (client name, service, rate, due date)
2. Generate invoices in your chosen platform
3. Send reminders after 7 and 14 days if unpaid.
Share a template email for polite payment follow-ups.
21. Expense Categorization & Reconciliation
The Task
Manually logging expenses or sorting receipts wastes valuable mental energy and makes bookkeeping a monthly headache.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Give your VA access to your accounting software or a shared expense spreadsheet. They can upload receipts, categorize transactions (marketing, travel, subscriptions, etc.), and flag unusual charges for review.
Setup for Success
Provide clear category rules - what counts as marketing, operations, travel, etc. Use a shared drive folder titled “Receipts YYYY” for uploads. Have your VA reconcile weekly, ensuring your books are always up to date.
22. Weekly or Monthly KPI & Performance Reports
The Task
Gathering data from CRMs, marketing tools, and financial software can take hours each week—time better spent analyzing, not compiling.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Your VA can pull reports from platforms like Google Analytics, your CRM, and social media dashboards to update your KPI sheet. They can highlight metrics such as new leads, conversion rates, and revenue trends, so you get quick insights at a glance.
Setup for Success
Build a “CEO Dashboard” in Google Sheets with key metrics: Revenue, Leads, Conversion %, Client Retention, and Hours Saved. Have your VA update it every Friday or month-end and send a short summary email: “Here’s what changed this week.”
Pro Tip
You can’t improve what you don’t measure but you also shouldn’t be the one measuring it. By delegating financial tracking and reporting, you’ll always have visibility without sacrificing your time.
Personal & Executive Support
Buy Back Your Time at Work and in Life
True freedom comes when your personal life runs smoothly behind the scenes. The same virtual assistant who supports your operations can also handle these everyday details—freeing your attention for leadership, creativity, and rest.
23. Online Orders & Supply Purchases
The Task
Re-ordering office supplies, gifts, or household items might seem quick—but these “tiny” tasks add up to hours each week.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Your VA can manage all recurring orders through Amazon, Staples, or vendor portals. They can track inventory levels, compare prices, and confirm delivery dates so you never run out of essentials.
Setup for Success
Create a simple spreadsheet listing preferred items, brands, and reorder frequencies. Give your VA purchasing access or shared payment info with limits. Have them send a short “Order Summary” email after each purchase.
24. Personal Appointments, Reminders & Renewals
The Task
Scheduling appointments, renewing licenses, or remembering subscriptions pulls your focus from strategic priorities.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Your VA can schedule personal and professional appointments, manage calendar reminders, and handle routine renewals (memberships, software, or insurance). They can even coordinate family schedules or travel plans if needed.
Setup for Success
Provide key dates and recurring events (annual renewals, medical checkups, license expirations). Have your VA set recurring Google Calendar reminders and send you a short weekly digest: “Here’s what’s coming up next week.”
25. Birthday, Gift & Thank-You Outreach
The Task
Remembering birthdays, sending thank-yous, and maintaining relationships is vital—but difficult when your calendar is full.
Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Your VA can track important dates for clients, partners, and team members, select appropriate gifts within budget, and draft personalized notes or cards. They can even manage this through CRM automation so no one is forgotten.
Setup for Success
Provide a contact list with names, occasions, and preferred gifts or stores. Set annual budgets. Your VA can create a “Relationship Calendar” to plan gestures year-round, keeping your brand and leadership genuinely personal.
Pro Tip
Delegation isn’t just about work but rather it’s about protecting your focus, energy, and relationships. When you hand off personal logistics, you create space to think bigger and live better.
Next Steps: How to Reclaim Your Time and Scale with Systems
From Overwhelmed Operator to Organized CEO
You’ve just identified 25 high-impact tasks that can be delegated to free up your time, reduce stress, and help you focus on true growth.
But here’s the truth most founders miss: Delegation isn’t a one-time fix, it’s a new way of running your business. To make it work long term, you need systems, clarity, and support that keep your business running smoothly, even when you’re not in the weeds.
1.
Book Your Free Strategy Session
Before you do anything, let’s map out exactly what delegation would look like for your business. We’ll help you:
• Identify your top time-draining tasks
• Build a clear delegation plan
• Match you with a trained virtual assistant who can implement it from day one
2.
Choose Your First 5 Tasks
Don’t wait to implement all 25 at once. Pick the 5 tasks that drain you the most—whether that’s managing your inbox, scheduling calls, or tracking client deliverables.
1. Write them down.
2. Define what “done well” looks like.
3. Decide who can take them off your plate first (a VA, a team member, or automation).
Small wins create massive momentum.
3.
Systemize the Process
Use the Task → Delegate → Setup framework from this playbook:
1. Record yourself doing the task (Loom video or written steps).
2. Delegate it to a team member or VA.
3. Review it once, refine it, and remove yourself from the process forever.
This is how you start building an operation that runs without you.
4.
Plug in the Right Support
If you’re ready to move faster, the easiest way to scale your systems is to work with a pre-trained virtual assistant who already understands how to execute these 25 tasks. At Skale Bak, we connect founders like you with expert virtual assistants who are trained in:
• Admin & Operations Management
• Marketing & Social Media Execution
• Sales Support & CRM Management
• Client Communication & Reporting
They’re ready to plug into your systems and make an immediate impact often within 7 days.
Final Thought
You didn’t start your business to spend your days managing calendars, emails, and spreadsheets. You started it to create impact, freedom, and growth. Start delegating today and build a business that runs with or without you.
Ready to Hire Your Assistant That'll Actually Make a Difference?
Book Strategy Session
We’ll show you exactly where a certified assistant can take over.
Launch 7-Day Takeover
If you don’t feel a real impact within 7 days, you don’t pay a dime.
Scale with Confidence
No long-term contracts and adjust hours as your business grows.
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