I’m pretty self-sufficient, both in my personal life and in my career, often feeling like I need to depend on myself to get things done or that it’s a waste of money to pay others to do things I’m capable of doing myself. Historically, I’ve always done most things myself – house cleaning, ironing, and my own bookkeeping and taxes – but over the last four years, I’ve realized that I’ve been doing it wrong 🙂
And it’s not a matter of capability at all.
In this third edition of the Work/Life Integration series, I’ll share how I save time by outsourcing these and other tasks that other people are way better at than I am. Honestly, finding activities in my life that I can pay others to do comes back to me in spades.
Seriously…do the math.
Lets say you hire someone to clean your house and it takes four hours and $25/hr for a total of $100. If, at your job, you make $45/hr and you could work for those four hours instead of cleaning, you’d net out with an extra $80 in your pocket. Same story with, let’s say, lawn maintenance. If it takes you four hours to mow, weed-wack and water your lawn, and you could pay someone $100 to do it, you’d earn yourself that same $80 while crossing things off your list at work.
Besides, there are tasks I am not awesome at. There are way better ways I can be spending my time than doing things I’m not good at and people who are good at these things looking for more work so why wouldn’t I outsource?
I love when my house is clean but I don’t like the hours it takes to do it.
I love how freshly ironed clothes feel when I put them on but I feel like it takes hours of my time and frustrating years off my life to get the creases so perfect.
In my career, I love meeting new people and networking to discover career opportunities but I do not love the endless hours browsing company websites for job postings and the time and energy it takes to apply.
In my business, I love knowing how much money I’m earning but I definitely don’t love the cluttered shoe box of receipts and cheque stubs or the endless hours of data entry into my bookkeeping software.
Instead of spending time doing these activities, I save time by outsourcing so I can spend quality time operating in my Zone of Genius.
Zone of Genius
Have you read the book, The Big Leap by Guy Hendricks? In this book, Hendricks talks about operating in your Zone of Genius, that place where you feel totally fulfilled, in control and at the top of your game. When you’re operating in your Zone of Genius, tasks feel like playtime and the satisfaction of accomplishment is magnified.
Activities in your Zone of Genius probably pay better too because you’re often super valuable in this Zone where you’re better than others at what you do. You’re likely really productive and efficient in this Zone too because you know what you’re doing and you’re doing it well.
Don’t waste your time
When put in this context, why would you waste your time on activities that don’t make you happy, aren’t in your Zone of Genius and might be in someone else’s? There are people in our communities that love the satisfaction of a clean home and the feeling of accomplishment having shined a home within an inch of it’s life 🙂
There are also people who love the structure and organization that comes with bookkeeping, the order inside that shoe box once all the receipts have been entered and filed.
Some of these awesome people have small businesses cleaning homes and doing bookkeeping because they love the freedom of entrepreneurship and the choice to work for themselves and choose their clients.
Some of the best money I spend
My bookkeeping services and my house cleaner are the best money I spend each month – I earn more money and gain back time working in my Zone of Genius in my business, my bookkeeper earns money for her business and my house cleaner has extra money from her side hustle, over and above her full-time job.
We all benefit.
And really, I’ve outsourced these areas of my life not just for the actual time savings I experience by letting the experts do the work. I’m also able to spend that time doing more intrinsically valuable things – spending quality time with my husband and our dogs, exercising, even reading. The beauty of our lives is we get to choose how to spend our time, where to spend our money and how to maintain our energy levels.
I’ve found outsourcing to be a super way to more fully integrate work into my life – in this case, work being bookkeeping and housecleaning – and feel more fulfilled in my life.
Are there things you could outsource in your life? Here are a few ideas that could be opportunities for you. Let me know if you try any of these!
Ideas of activities to outsource at home:
- Grocery shopping
- Dog walking
- Laundry/ironing
- Car washing
- Yard maintenance
- Oil changes
- Housecleaning
- School pick-up/drop-off
Ideas of activities to outsource in your business:
- Bookkeeping
- Social media posting
- Design work
- Podcast editing
- Blog writing
- Lead generation
- Driving to work
- Email management
If you like these ideas and want 36 more, download my free e-book, 37 Ways to Save time & Money!