As a Personal Organizer and Productivity Consultant, one piece of advice I can’t stress enough is this:
If you can afford it and are comfortable with it, outsource it!
The most common reasons people struggle with organization and productivity are time and know-how. Not everyone knows how to fix a leaky sink, organize a closet or do their taxes. And of those that do know how to do these things, many of us simply don’t have the time or desire to do them. Wouldn’t you rather be spending quality time with your friends and family?
In the November 5, 2013 article of The New York Times, Outsource Your Way to Success, Catherine Rampell states, “Even if you’re faster and more effective than everyone else at a given task — fighting with the cable company, say, or folding your socks just so — you still might be better off if you pay someone else to do it for you. Why? Because there is an opportunity cost for every hour consumed by these tedious, nonproductive tasks; there exists some higher-value activity you could be spending your time on instead.”
I whole-heartedly agree with Rampell’s statement, which is why I’ve compiled this list of personal tasks worth outsourcing.
Top 6 Tasks for Personal Outsourcing
1. Personal Chef: Forget what you see on TV. A Personal Chef doesn’t have to be an Oprah-style, live-in, gourmet servant devoted to your every craving and nutritional need. It could be something as simple as having a few healthy, prepared meals delivered to your home on a weekly basis. Wouldn’t it be nice to take the stress out of what’s for dinner?!
2. Personal Organizer: Clutter can be a major cause of stress and tension in the household. A Personal Organizer can not only help you tackle the piles and boxes, but will also help you create a personalized system of organization that you can maintain on your own! From basements to closets to kitchen cabinets and kids’ spaces, a few hours with an organizer can change your life.
3. House Cleaning Service: Do you spend so many hours cleaning your house and doing your laundry, that when you’re done you want to forbid your family to eat, sleep, walk on the floor or wear clothes for just long enough to enjoy the cleanliness?! Our homes are meant for living in. Let someone else do the dirty work.
4. Handyman: There’s nothing more annoying than a leaky faucet. Except for maybe spending your entire weekend trying to fix it. Having a go-to Professional Handyman that can show up at your home with little notice and patch that hole in the wall, stop that door from creaking or maybe even just change a few lightbulbs because you hate ladders…is totally worth it. No more hours (or injuries) wasted on a task that a professional can do in minutes.
5: Nanny: This one seems obvious if you have children and work outside of the home. But…you’d be surprised at how many work-at-home parents try to manage their jobs and their kids simultaneously. Not only is this hard on the career, but if you hear the nagging, whiny sound of the words, “I’m bored” one more time, your sanity is also at stake. Even if you don’t have a paying job, being a stay-at-home parent is work! Childcare is expensive, but it’s worth it to pay someone for a few hours of free time, even if it is just for a trip to Target. You’ll undoubtedly spend less without your kids, so it all balances out.
6. Productivity Consultant: This is more on the professional side, but can have a huge impact on your personal life. If you’re working a lot of overtime or spending too many hours on professional tasks and projects, you could greatly benefit from some coaching in Information Management, Time Management, Workflow or Task Management. A Productivity Consultant can work with you and your team to help you get more done in less time.
Whether you’re a single business professional, a working mother, or a stay-at-home parent, let’s face it, you are busy! Don’t feel guilty about hiring someone to help with your day-to-day tasks. You work hard. You deserve leisure time. You deserve family activities and memories. You deserve happiness, and outsourcing could be the key to your personal fulfillment.
