The A.D.D. Method™: Automate, Delegate, or Delete

When “Do It All Myself” Stops Working

A few years back, I was drowning.

My inbox was overflowing. My calendar was chaos. No matter how much I worked, I never caught up.

I believed that doing everything myself was just part of leadership. Every email. Every decision. Every task. All mine.

Then one line from Getting Things Done by David Allen stopped me cold:

“You can do anything, but not everything.”

That’s when things began to shift. I had to stop being the bottleneck. I had to learn how to buy back my time.

That’s when I found the A.D.D. Method™ from my friends Paul Fleming and Brian Beauford at StartDelegating.com.

It’s simple: Automate, Delegate, or Delete.
And it’s changed the way I lead.

Automate: Scale What Already Works

At Text In Church, we use automation to serve thousands of church leaders every week, without missing a beat.

Our guest follow-up automation sends timely texts and emails automatically. It saves time and scales impact.

But here’s the thing: bad automation makes things worse, faster.

We’ve all seen it:
“Dear First Name…”

Automation doesn’t fix broken processes. It multiplies whatever’s already there.

Before you automate anything:

Test it manually: Does it work exactly as intended?
Think through the user experience: Would you be happy receiving this?
Double-check your setup: One wrong setting can create chaos.

When automation is right, it buys back your time. When it’s wrong, it creates messes at scale.

Delegate: Empower, Don’t Just Offload

I used to believe the lie: “If you want it done right, do it yourself.”

The truth? That mindset limits your team, and it limits you.

Delegation isn’t dumping work. It’s developing people.

One example: our hiring process.

We used to manually sift through hundreds of résumés. It was draining.

Now?
We automate the early steps and delegate the reviews to our hiring team. We get better hires, and I stay out of the weeds.

If you’re holding onto something, ask:

Is this something only I can do?
Is there someone who would thrive with this responsibility?
Can I create a system to make this easier to hand off?

You can’t scale what lives only in your head.

Delete: Not Everything Deserves to Stay

Some tasks don’t need automating or delegating.

They need eliminating.

I’ve started ruthlessly questioning my to-do list:

Does this actually move the needle?
Would anything break if I stopped doing this?
Am I doing this just because I always have?

Example: meetings.

We realized that many of our team meetings could be replaced with short async video updates in Slack. Way more efficient. Less distraction. More focus.

When in doubt, cut the fluff. Protect your margin.

Applying the A.D.D. Method™

If your calendar feels out of control, start here:

Automate

Repetitive tasks? Use tools like Zapier, workflows, and email sequences.

Delegate

What can someone else do 80% as well, or better? Hand it off with clarity.

Delete

Ask yourself what no longer serves your mission. Let it go.

The more you practice this, the more you’ll find hidden time and fresh clarity.

Final Thought: Buy Back Your Time

You don’t have to do it all.
In fact, trying to do it all is what’s keeping you from doing what matters most.

The A.D.D. Method™ isn’t just a productivity hack, it’s a leadership mindset.

So here’s your challenge:

What can you automate this week?
What can you delegate today?
What can you delete right now?

Start there.

Because when you lead with intention, not just effort, everything changes.

Ready to Build Margin and Momentum?

If you’re tired of feeling stuck in reactive mode, spinning your wheels, handling every little thing yourself, the A.D.D. Method™ is a powerful first step. But lasting change doesn’t happen from one blog post. It comes from building daily rhythms that protect your margin and fuel your momentum.

That’s exactly why I created the 30-Day Leadership Plan. It’s a simple, no-fluff guide to help you:

Move, grow, review, and practice gratitude daily
Lead more effective one-on-ones with your team
Build habits that take less than 30 minutes a day but create real, lasting impact.

If you’re ready to lead with more clarity and less chaos, download it here and start your next leadership reset today.

👉 Grab Your 30-Day Leadership Plan‍

‍About Tyler Smith

Tyler Smith is the co-founder and CEO of Text In Church, a communication platform built to help churches connect with their people beyond Sunday mornings. With over 20 years of leadership experience, Tyler shares practical strategies to help church and business leaders grow with clarity and confidence.

He’s a husband, dad, and lifelong learner who’s passionate about building systems that empower people and strengthen communities.

👉 Connect with Tyler on LinkedIn for more leadership and communication insights.