A couple of months back, my girlfriend and I hired someone to come clean our apartment. We went through a service, of which there are a zillion in this city. After setting things up, getting a key made, and working out a schedule, it’s been pretty much a set-it-and-forget-it kind of thing. Every other Monday, we leave our house and, when we return in the evening, it’s much much cleaner than it was before.

I’ve gotten some pretty extreme reactions from people I’ve told about this arrangement. Most just think it’s funny — something Matt has to do because Matt’s messy. Others understand, usually because they had a cleaning service come to their house growing up. Some people, though, react almost with a hint of disgust — like I’m doing something wrong by doing things that way.

I can’t draw any kind of clear generational lines on the issue: reactions were diverse amongst young and old alike. But what I can do is give you my perspective in the form of some advice: there is nothing wrong with outsourcing the parts of your own life that you don’t have time for, dislike or outright dread. There’s nothing noble about spending your time doing something you either are no good at or dislike.

We live in a time where households are increasingly dual-income, which means both partners are busy. And the line between work and home is blurring, though not necessarily in a bad way. Due to increases in technology and direct access to revenue streams, online and off, more and more people are finding that the old “time is money” adage now applies directly to them.

If you’re a writer, or a blogger, or a designer, or any kind of freelancer, is spending four hours in the evening cleaning your house really a cost-effective exercise? Or is there a more efficient way to do it? And even if you’re not a freelancer type, you too should weigh the benefits in terms of your work/life landscape: maybe it’d be better for you if you spent that time enjoying a dinner with friends who you never get to see.

This doesn’t just apply to house cleaning. We live in an era where many facets of your day-to-day life can be outsourced. Hate laundry? Set up a pick-up/drop-off service. Always scrambling to find time to go to the grocery store? Consider an online grocery delivery service. Hate shopping for Christmas gifts? Consider a concierge. Hell, some people have even gone as far as to outsource their daily email, as Tim Ferriss of Four Hour Work Week has done:

1) I have multiple e-mail addresses for specific types of e-mail (blog readers vs. media vs. friends/family, etc.). tim@… is the default I give to new acquaintances, which goes to my assistant.

2) 99% of e-mail falls into predetermined categories of inquiries with set questions or responses (my “rules” document is at the bottom of this post — feel free to steal, adapt, and use). My assistant(s) checks and clears the inbox at 11am and 3pm PST.

3) For the 1% of e-mail that might require my input for next actions, I have a once-daily phone call of 4-10 minutes at 4pm PST with my assistant.

The point is not to assume everyone can just throw money at stuff like this and live a life of luxury, but just to consider not doing something you dread. These services are frequently far more affordable than people assume, and if the net benefit to your life is evident, then why question them?

There’s nothing noble about sacrificing for the sake of sacrificing. If there’s part of your life that you loathe managing yourself, look at the alternatives. It may make a world of difference.

Photo by derek*b. Licensed under Creative Commons

Tags: advancement, personal life