Learning How to Delegate Tasks Reduces Stress

Sometimes, it's hard to delegate. However, this can cause you stress.
Learning How to Delegate Tasks Reduces Stress
Sergio De Dios González

Written and verified by the psychologist Sergio De Dios González.

Last update: 20 October, 2022

You’re encouraged to win, to be the best, and to undertake as many responsibilities as you can. In fact, you might even think of these suggestions as obligations and internalize them. This inadvertently makes you a slave, constantly racing against the clock. If this is happening to you, and you’re feeling overwhelmed, you need to understand that learning how to delegate tasks reduces stress.

However, you might have the possibility of sharing a task, but you don’t recognize it. Or, you may identify it but find yourself unable to share it. If this sounds like you, you probably take social correctness rather seriously. For instance, you may tell yourself that you ‘should’ do this or you ‘have to’ take care of that. Even leisure situations become an obligation for you. It’s hardly surprising that wanting to do absolutely everything increases your feelings of stress. However, how can you change things?

If you have difficulty delegating and trusting the abilities of others to solve problems, you probably also tend to overprotect your family members. Hence, you perform many of their tasks that you feel they shouldn’t have to do for themselves. Furthermore, you’ll rarely ask for help unless it’s absolutely necessary.

You’re trying to be in control, and you want to be aware of every single issue. You’re also a specialist in finding excuses, apparently reasonable ones, for not delegating.

Stress, tiredness, and enjoyment

Despite rewarding yourself internally for doing so, taking care of everything is exhausting and stressful. In fact, it’s a barrier to enjoying your life, even simple and everyday pleasures, as well as your relationships with others. You also have difficulty focusing on positive aspects. This becomes rather visible in your social situations, where you have a tendency to criticize when everything doesn’t work perfectly.

Having to play different roles in different contexts isn’t unusual. After all, you have to grow professionally, as well as attend to your parents, children, partners, friends, etc. However, you mustn’t lose your joy and desire to create along the way. With patience and dedication, you’ll be able to better manage your stress and gradually transform your tremendous internal demands on yourself.

Learning how to delegate tasks and reduce stress

  • Remember that good self-esteem doesn’t depend on perceiving yourself as perfect or by being seen in that way by others.
  • Stop and analyze the reasons you give yourself for taking on other people’s tasks. Ask yourself whether they’re really unable to do them. Even better, invite them to corroborate with you. Are you being dominated by fears for which there’s no evidence?
  • Trust the dedication and abilities of others.
  • Look at the areas in which those around you perform best. After all, everyone has their strengths, and recognizing them will strengthen the ties between you.
  • Delegate according to the possibilities and age of each person. Everyone can always contribute something.
  • Working as a team in different areas means coordination and interaction, not working alone.
  • Stimulate good group communication, so that everyone feels comfortable expressing themselves.
  • Define each task well and the reasons for doing it.
  • Collaborate by giving help and guidance.

Delegating doesn’t mean forgetting

You need to understand that delegating doesn’t mean disregarding anything, but it involves giving space to others just as they give you room. In this way, you’ll all learn from the experience. Delegating even allows you to think more strategically while avoiding stress. Remember that trying to control everything is no guarantee of effectiveness. Accept the fact that striving to give your best means accepting different possibilities. This benefits your ability to adapt and brings you closer to understanding that learning how to delegate tasks reduces stress.


This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.