The 'Start, Stop, Continue' Framework for Delegating to Your VA

You've hired a VA. Brilliant. Now what?

Most founders hit a wall right here. You know you need help, you've made the investment, but when it comes to actually handing things over, you freeze. What should they do first? What if you give them the wrong tasks? What if you overwhelm them?

Delegation isn't about dumping your entire to-do list on someone else. It's about being strategic. And the simplest way to get strategic? Use the Start, Stop, Continue framework.

This three-part approach helps you identify exactly what to delegate, what to let go of entirely, and what's already working. Let's break it down.

START: What Your VA Should Begin Doing Immediately

These are the tasks currently sitting on your plate that shouldn't be there. They're important, but they don't require your specific expertise or decision-making authority.

How to identify your "START" tasks:

Ask yourself: "What am I doing that someone else could do 80% as well as me?"

That 80% threshold matters. You're not looking for perfection. You're looking for good enough so you can focus on the work only you can do.

Common START tasks for VAs:

Email management - Filtering, categorizing, flagging urgent items, drafting responses to common inquiries. Your VA reads everything, you only respond to what matters.

Calendar coordination - Scheduling meetings, sending calendar invites, managing reschedules. No more email tennis trying to find a time that works.

Social media scheduling - Posting content you've approved, engaging with comments, tracking mentions. You create the strategy, they execute it.

Research and prep work - Competitor analysis, event research, pulling together briefing documents. They gather the information, you make the decisions.

Invoice and payment follow-up - Sending invoices, tracking payments, gentle nudging for overdue accounts. You shouldn't be chasing money.

Meeting notes and follow-up - Taking notes during calls, sending summaries, tracking action items. You stay present in the meeting, they capture everything.

The START implementation rule:

Pick three tasks maximum for the first two weeks. Yes, just three. Your VA needs time to learn your style, your tools, and your expectations. Overloading them early is how delegation fails.

Start with the task that annoys you most. The one that makes you think "I can't believe I'm spending time on this." That's your quick win.

STOP: What You Should Eliminate Entirely

Here's the uncomfortable question: what are you doing that doesn't actually need to be done at all?

We all have tasks we keep doing out of habit, fear, or some vague sense that we "should" do them. But when you're about to hand your workload to someone else, it's worth asking: is this even necessary?

How to identify your "STOP" tasks:

Ask yourself: "If I stopped doing this tomorrow, what would actually break?"

If the answer is "nothing" or "I'm not sure," you've found a STOP task.

Common things founders realize they can STOP:

Attending meetings that don't require you - Weekly team syncs where you're just listening, status update calls where you're not needed for decisions, networking events you're going to out of obligation.

Manually tracking things that can be automated - Expense logging, social media analytics, email open rates. If a tool can do it, stop doing it manually.

Perfectionism tasks - Reformatting documents three times, rewriting email subject lines endlessly, obsessing over minor design details. Good enough is good enough.

Low-value prospecting - Cold outreach that has a 1% response rate, attending events that never lead to business, maintaining relationships that don't serve your goals.

Busy work disguised as productivity - Checking analytics multiple times a day with no action plan, reorganizing your task management system again, reading every industry newsletter cover to cover.

The STOP implementation rule:

Write down everything you do in a week. Circle the tasks where you think "ugh, I have to do this." Then ask: "Do I really, though?"

You don't need to hand everything to your VA. Some things just need to die.

CONTINUE: What's Already Working That Your VA Should Learn

This is the part most founders skip, and it's a mistake.

You're already doing some things well. Maybe you have a client communication style that works brilliantly, or a way of organizing information that makes sense, or a process for vetting opportunities that's proven effective.

Your VA should learn these things. Not just what to do, but how you do it.

How to identify your "CONTINUE" tasks:

Ask yourself: "What am I doing that I actually want to keep doing, but wish I had more time for?" These are often the tasks you enjoy or the ones that directly contribute to growth, but you can't scale yourself.

Common CONTINUE tasks to train your VA on:

Your client communication style - The tone you use, the way you handle difficult conversations, your typical response time. They should sound like you (or at least, not jar your clients).

Your content creation process - If you write weekly posts but wish you could do more, teach your VA how you research, outline, and draft. They can handle the grunt work while you focus on the creative bits.

Your quality standards - What "done" looks like in your business. If you have specific ways you want things formatted, branded, or delivered, document it.

Your decision-making framework - How you evaluate opportunities, what you say yes to, what's an automatic no. The more they understand your thinking, the better they'll filter for you.

Your follow-up rhythm - How often you check in with clients, when you send proposals, your approach to nurturing leads. Consistency matters, and they can help you maintain it.

The CONTINUE implementation rule:

Record yourself doing one of these tasks. Use Loom, a voice memo, whatever. Walk through your process out loud as if you're teaching someone. Then send that to your VA.

You'll be amazed how much tacit knowledge you have that you've never articulated. Getting it out of your head and into a format your VA can learn from is how you scale yourself.

Putting It All Together: Your First Delegation Session

Week 1: The brain dump

Spend 30 minutes listing everything you do. Every task, every meeting, every responsibility. Don't organize it yet, just get it all out.

Week 2: Apply the framework

Go through your list and categorize each item:

• START (delegate to VA)

• STOP (eliminate)

• CONTINUE (train VA to support)

  
  

Week 3: Prioritize and implement

Pick your top three START tasks, identify at least two STOP tasks, and choose one CONTINUE process to document.

Hand those over to your VA with clear instructions, examples, and success criteria.

Week 4: Review and adjust

Schedule a proper check-in. What's working? What's not? What needs more clarity? Adjust and repeat.

Delegation isn't about offloading work. It's about designing a business that doesn't depend on you doing everything.

The START tasks free up your time. The STOP tasks clear the noise. The CONTINUE tasks let you scale your impact.

Your VA isn't just there to tick boxes off your to-do list. They're there to help you build a business that runs smoother, grows faster, and doesn't burn you out in the process.

So stop overthinking it. Grab a notepad, spend 20 minutes applying this framework, and send your VA their first proper brief.

The work you'll get back in your calendar? That's where the real growth happens.

Ready to implement this framework but don't have a VA yet? 

That's what we're here for. RemoteBob matches you with experienced virtual assistants who can hit the ground running. Book a call and let's talk about what you need to START, STOP, and CONTINUE in your business.

The Remote Bob Team

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