Important question from a reader -

Sebastian,

I have come to believe that motivation is a limited and renewable resource. My day job as a trader is intense and stressful and I am left with little motivation by the end of the day. I have realized that I need to shift from working hard to working smart. In my case, this means giving away maintenance tasks to others while I work on new creative projects. Unfortunately, this is a challenge because I take on too much responsibility over my creations. I am hesitant to hand things off to others because I tend to micromanage. I need to learn how to let go of old responsibilities so I can take on new, and more profitable ones.

I suffered through the same thing.

You're probably a maximizer.

From Wikipedia -

"Satisficing... is a decision-making strategy that attempts to meet criteria for adequacy, rather than to identify an optimal solution. A satisficing strategy may often be (near) optimal if the costs of the decision-making process itself, such as the cost of obtaining complete information, are considered in the outcome calculus.

The word satisfice was coined by Herbert Simon in 1956. He pointed out that human beings lack the cognitive resources to maximize: we usually do not know the relevant probabilities of outcomes, we can rarely evaluate all outcomes with sufficient precision, and our memories are weak and unreliable. A more realistic approach to rationality takes into account these limitations: This is called bounded rationality."

Popularized in Barry Schwartz's Paradox of Choice.

Basically, maximizers try to get everything as perfect as possible, and feel let down if they don't get it perfect. Ironically, maximizers actually accomplish less than satisficers. Satisficers set minimum parameters for success and make sure they're met.

How do you delegate? You set minimum standards, write them down, communicate them clearly, and then let go of the fact that things won't be perfect. In fact, the job done will probably be worse than if you did it yourself, but it doesn't matter as long as it meets your base standards - and it frees up your time to do more.

Also, wake up earlier and work on your creative stuff before work.