In today’s fast-paced world, achieving a work-life balance can seem like an elusive goal, especially for working parents. Juggling work and personal life can be overwhelming with so many tasks and responsibilities, making it easy to feel like there’s not enough time in the day.
Let’s meet Olivia, who faces the same challenges but refuses to give up on her personal life and career dreams.
As Henry David Thoreau asks in his book Walden, “The cost of a thing is the amount of life which is required to be exchanged for it.” This raises an essential point about the value of our time and energy. While we often trade tasks for what we perceive to be more high-value investments, we must consider the cost of our own lives.
After reading Thoreau’s quote, Olivia discovered outsourcing as a way to achieve work-life balance. She decided to give it a try and began by outsourcing house cleaning and laundry, which gave her more time to spend with her family and focus on her work.
She then started outsourcing note-taking on calls, allowing her to be more present and productive in meetings. Finally, she outsourced meal planning and grocery shopping, freeing up time to focus on other essential tasks.
She realized that periodically outsourcing tasks was a way to invest in herself, giving her more time and energy to focus on what mattered most. If you’re considering outsourcing your tasks periodically, you might be asking yourself if outsourcing is worth it if it does not give you more life back.
You might even acknowledge that outsourcing can feel bougie. However, after reading Tim Ferriss’s book, “The 4-Hour Workweek,” you might have started considering outsourcing as a way to trade a task for a more high-value investment of your time and energy.
This is a concept with which many of us struggle, particularly in today’s fast-paced society. We often find ourselves rushing from one task to the next without taking the time to consider the true cost of our actions. This is where Thoreau’s idea of exchanging “life” for things comes into play.
Now, what if there were a low-risk way to free up some of that time and energy? What if you could outsource one task that frees up 3+ hours weekly? That’s where Full Circle Laundry comes in. By delegating laundry – the chore that most people don’t enjoy or know takes up too much time – you can focus on the things that make a bigger impact on your goals and well-being.
Laundry is just the beginning, by outsourcing other tasks like house cleaning, note-taking, meal planning, and more, you can achieve a better balance between what brings in the most income and maximizes your personal life.
While it is vital to focus on the things that bring in the most income, what about the cost of life itself? Does outsourcing a task give you more life back, and is it worth it? We argue that sometimes it definitely is, but it is important to consider the cost of life when making such decisions.
Have you ever stopped to consider the cost of your time? Remember Henry David Thoreau’s quote, “The cost of the thing is the amount of life which is required to be exchanged for it.” This is an important concept to consider when thinking about how we spend our time.
As it turns out, the average value of each hour of our time is about $20. Let’s say we have a spouse and two kids, and we do a minimum of five loads of laundry every week: sheets, kids’ clothes, towels, and adult clothes. If it takes us 45 minutes to wash and 30 minutes to dry each load, that’s a total of seven hours of our free time spent on laundry every week, not including folding!
So, let me ask you this – is your time worth more than the cost of doing laundry? If you value your free time based on what you earn at work, those seven hours are worth about $175. But let’s be realistic, your free time is even more valuable than that.
What if I told you that you could outsource your laundry for less than the value of your time? By paying someone else to do this chore, you’re not only saving time, but you’re also gaining peace of mind and reducing stress. Plus, you’ll have more time to spend with your family or doing things that bring you joy.
I know what you might be thinking – hiring someone to do your laundry sounds like a luxury. But the truth is, it’s a smart investment in your quality of life. You can use the extra time to pursue hobbies, exercise, or simply relax and recharge.
So, don’t let the cost of laundry steal your precious time and energy. Remember the wise words of Thoreau and think about the amount of life you’re exchanging for this task. Outsource your laundry, and you’ll not only save time and money, but you’ll also gain the priceless gift of more time to do what you love.