I’m a big proponent of delegating whole systems, roles, or outcomes instead of a laundry list of projects (it’s better to give someone a car than a bucket of car parts). But that doesn’t mean that you won’t have one-off projects to give to your team.

How should we tackle giving a 30-minute project to someone? Is it different than delegating an entire arm of the business?

For me, the short answer is no. I do a tiny version of the exact same thing.

Starting Point: The Core Four

This week, I wanted my EA to help me replace the cover graphic in my proposal.

Tiny, one-off project.

But I still needed to share the core four elements we use in every SOP we write:

1. Outcome: why are we doing this instead of nothing? What outcome are we going for?
2. Success metrics: how am I going to define if they did a good job or not?
3. Checklist: what elements need to be knocked out?
4. How-to: what are the steps they need to follow?

Ultimately, what I needed to do for her to help me with this graphic was create a very efficient version of an SOP!

I’ll come back to how to make this a 2-minute process in just a moment, but first we need to talk about two elements a one-time project needs in addition to the core four:

Game-Changers: Deadline and Max Time

Element #5: Maximum Time to Spend

I learned this lesson the hard way. Early in my business, I delegated a research project to a team member, thinking I’d given her everything she needed. She came back after 10 hours saying she hadn’t found the answer I wanted. I was expecting 1-2 hours maximum.

Here’s the thing—that wasn’t her fault. It was mine. I hadn’t told her my time expectation.

If I had known it would take that long, I would have:

• Provided more specific guidance upfront
• Checked in after 2 hours to see where she was getting stuck
• Given her additional resources or clarity to speed up the process

Always include the maximum time you want someone to spend on a project. This prevents frustration on both sides and helps you provide better guidance from the start.

Element #6: A Deadline

Every project needs a deadline. Period. It doesn’t matter how low-priority it seems—without a deadline, it will get pushed to the back burner repeatedly by even your most reliable folks (especially if it’s a project they dislike or feel less comfortable with).

It’s really easy to end up in a situation where your team members all have 25 open projects in front of them when they sit down in the morning. It’s like they have a bunch of marbles lined up, and they’ll just go down the line to move each one forward a single inch before starting over the next day. No fun.

Instead, our goal is to start and finish things completely before adding on new projects.

The Infinity Project Exception

There is one exception to the deadline rule: infinity projects. These are ongoing tasks that can fill any bonus time so you don’t have to worry about your team ever sitting around and waiting for stuff to do. Great examples include:

• Ongoing research
• Content repurposing
• Social media engagement
• Process documentation

Make it Speedy

How are you supposed to create a six-element SOP in just a couple of minutes? With AI, of course! I created a custom GPT I can use for this process.

To use the example of the graphic replacement project I mentioned earlier, here’s what happened when I rambled for 30 seconds into the GPT and pressed send:

SOP: Replace Proposal Cover Graphic in HoneyBook

Summary

How to create and upload an on-brand, visually engaging cover graphic for HoneyBook proposals.

Outcome

Our proposal cover graphic is on-brand, visually interesting, and fits HoneyBook’s dimensions, creating a professional first impression for clients.

Success Metrics

• The graphic matches the dimensions of the HoneyBook proposal page
• It includes plenty of white space in the middle for proposal text
• It matches our brand colors and includes our logo

Deadline

August 29

Max Time to Allocate

1 hour

Checklist

1. Create a new document in Canva
2. Resize to match HoneyBook proposal cover dimensions
3. Design at least two options that fit brand guidelines
4. Send options for approval
5. Once approved, upload final design to HoneyBook
6. Mark task as done

How-To Video

NA – not needed for this one

I’m happy to send this without any edits, and my EA has everything she needs to succeed!

Putting It All Together

When delegating your next individual project, make sure you include all six elements:

1. Outcome – The specific result you want
2. Success metrics – How they’ll know it’s complete
3. High-level checklist – Major steps to completion
4. How-to resources – A tour video or anything else they’ll need
5. Maximum time – How long you expect this to take
6. Deadline – When you need it completed

This framework transforms chaotic delegation into systematic project completion. Your team gets clear expectations, you get predictable results, and everyone avoids the frustration of mismatched expectations.

Ready to Streamline Your Delegation?

My SOP Quick Builder can turn your rambling project thoughts into complete delegation documentation in just minutes, and I’m sharing it with you for free right here.

Once you’re in, simply describe what you need done, and it will generate all six elements—outcome, success metrics, checklist, resources, time limits, and deadline—formatted perfectly for your team. I hope you find it as helpful as I do!

This is the second installment in the My Systems For… series. You can find the first one – My System for Virtual Coffees – here.

Remember: your systems are perfectly designed to get the results they get! If you don’t love your results, take a look at your systems. My approach isn’t the only good way (or necessarily the right way for you) – they work for me based on my context, personality, and goals. I hope you use this series to spark ideas for designing systems that work for you!