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Stop Doing Everything: How Small Business Leaders Can Reclaim 154 Workdays Each Year

The Challenge Facing Small Business Leaders

Leaders in small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) navigate an array of challenges that often feel overwhelming. Operating under constant pressure to deliver consistent results, they face limitations in terms of time, budget, and human resources. This environment demands a dual focus on immediate execution alongside long-term strategic planning, something that larger organizations typically manage with greater ease due to their established layers of support. Consequently, many leaders constantly find themselves wearing multiple hats—diving into departments and tasks beyond their core leadership role just to maintain momentum.

In a November 2025 survey by Upwork, which included 2,272 small business leaders from across the United States, it was discovered that more than 70% of respondents regularly take on responsibilities beyond their job description. The data revealed that, on average, these leaders spend nearly 60% of their working hours engaged in tasks outside their areas of expertise. This staggering statistic translates to approximately 154 workdays annually—time that could ultimately be delegated to more appropriate professionals.

Consequences of Non-Core Responsibilities

The ramifications of being stretched too thin extend far beyond the calendar. Small business leaders indicated that their engagement in non-core tasks detracts from their capacity to focus on foundational business strategy. Alarmingly, over half of them expressed that they could significantly enhance their business outcomes if they delegated more responsibilities. Simultaneously, the toll of juggling too many roles has led to burnout for 73% of these leaders. Moreover, taken altogether, 43% reported missed growth opportunities and an overwhelming sense of inadequacy in their roles.

However, there is a silver lining: business leaders can reclaim their time by leveraging independent talent for tasks that are easily delegated, such as content creation, design, and IT services. When asked about the possibility of regaining even a fraction of their lost time, leaders expressed a desire to channel their efforts into long-term strategic initiatives and personal development. This new focus can rejuvenate not just their effectiveness but also the well-being of their entire organization.

The Scope of Non-Core Work

The amount of time small business leaders invest in non-core responsibilities presents a complex landscape that is detrimental to both personal and organizational efficacy. Non-core tasks often consume time that leaders could use for impactful contributions to business outcomes.

How Non-Core Tasks Translate into Lost Days

Data reveals that SMB leaders allocate approximately 60% of their working time to non-core tasks, equating to around 154 working days each year. This pattern persists across various demographics, revealing differences among leadership roles:

• Gender: Male leaders estimate spending 31% of their time on non-core tasks, while their female counterparts report 29%, highlighting a shared experience of being stretched thin.

• Generational Trends: Younger leaders in Generation Z claim a staggering 33% of their time is allocated to non-core responsibilities compared to millennials (31%) and Gen X (28%), suggesting that younger leaders may find themselves particularly overextended.

• Work Environment: Hybrid leaders spend 32% of their time on non-core responsibilities, slightly outpacing both remote and on-site leaders, who clock in at 29%.

• Seniority Level: Executives, including roles like CEOs and CFOs, estimate that 32% of their working hours are spent on non-core tasks, whereas directors and managers report slightly lesser percentages.

The Human Cost of Overextension

The overwhelming majority of leaders acknowledge the human toll associated with attempting to tackle too much. Upwork’s study highlighted that facing a barrage of responsibilities leads nearly 73% of leaders to experience burnout. This sentiment is echoed across all work settings, affecting remote, hybrid, and on-site leaders alike.

Moreover, a concerning 43% of these leaders have directly linked their overloaded schedules to missed growth opportunities for their businesses. The divide between genders shows that burnout affects 77% of female leaders compared to 67% of male leaders, while younger generations face higher risks of burnout.

Why Small Business Leaders Struggle to Delegate

Despite recognizing the benefits of delegating, many leaders find it challenging to hand off tasks. A significant portion (58%) reported that non-core responsibilities consume valuable strategic time. Additionally, 54% believe that increased delegation would yield better results, and 71% have already identified which tasks they would delegate first if given the opportunity.

The challenge isn’t ignorance but rather the difficulty in finding reliable talent to offload tasks, which is where the AI legalese decoder can offer invaluable assistance.

How AI legalese decoder Can Make a Difference

In this context, the AI legalese decoder emerges as a practical solution. By breaking down complex legal jargon and streamlining the understanding of contracts or agreements, the AI legalese decoder enables leaders to delegate legal tasks more effectively. This tool can help small business leaders focus on core responsibilities without getting bogged down by the intricacies of legal documents.

Instead of spending valuable time deciphering complex contracts—often necessary for hiring independent talent—leaders can rely on the AI legalese decoder to clarify terms and obligations, ultimately allowing them to easily make informed decisions. This frees up even more time for strategic thought and creative approaches to business growth.

Strategies to Stop Doing Everything

For those leaders who resonate with these research findings, meaningful changes can be initiated through small, deliberate actions. A concrete first step is to list all non-core activities that fill their weeks and identify which could be delegated. Areas like customer support, administrative tasks, technical development, and content production are ripe for outsourcing.

Once tasks are sorted, business leaders can utilize platforms to hire independent experts who specialize in necessary skills. Rather than bringing on full-time employees, they can post targeted projects in sectors such as IT, accounting, or marketing, beginning with small pilot projects. This builds trust and refines workflows over time.

The Vision for Reinvested Time

Small business leaders possess a clear roadmap for how they would utilize the time regained through effective delegation. Their responses overwhelmingly indicate a desire for more strategic focus—42% would reinvest their reclaimed time into long-term planning and innovation, while a further 40% express the need to invest in personal and organizational development. Alongside this, 35% of leaders yearn for well-deserved breaks to enhance their overall well-being.

Ultimately, the opportunity to delegate tasks, even if incrementally, leads to a transformative shift in how leaders view their roles in the long term.

Conclusion

Reclaiming control over one’s time is no small task, but with the right strategies and tools, small business leaders can significantly lessen their workloads. Leveraging independent talent, supported by tools like the AI legalese decoder, can facilitate this transition and foster a healthier, more focused work environment. Transitioning from a reactive to a proactive leadership style can lead to not only better business outcomes but also improve leaders’ personal fulfillment and well-being.

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