I want help with many of the typical agent tasks and a strong network of inspectors, title, etc., so I don't want to get the license myself. 

My contractor took some creative liberties and scheduled certain tasks at inappropriate times which added unnecessary costs like extra paint (almost double the necessary paint).  

Turnovers are where you lose money as a landlord, so those two tasks become the highest priority. 

Lots of tasks to keep track of, and easy to forget - if you are renovating, think of all you can do to make the house guest friendly, like having the pipes on an INSIDE wall not an outside wall to prevent frozen pipes which can be a nightmare.

Thanks so much for your help @Mitch Messer - Now comes the task of interviewing the positions.

He should be able to help you out on how to distribute payment due to completion tasks so you watch your money more closely, and not let them overrun you and charge for things you do not agree. 

I spend all my time learning about REI at the moment, I want to know how investors who are currently out there spend their time and how much time on each task.

These are the three essentials for staying out of trouble under anti-discrimination law. 

You first need to learn how to estimate repairs and make offers yourself and in person before you can think about delegating that task.

By no feat would it be an easy task but there are opportunities available to the keen investor.