Why personal outsourcing is the secret ingredient to happiness

Many of us are always busy, our minds are constantly racing, we have overloaded schedules, and never seem to stop. Often our evenings and weekends are taken over by chores and projects that need to get done, and leisure activities become non-existent. There are never enough hours in the day. If you are one of those people, ask yourself this, “am I truly happy?” If you can see room for more happiness, and you feel overloaded, then outsourcing some of your chores and errands to a personal concierge (such as the Time Fairy) is the secret ingredient that nobody has told you about.

 Why should I outsource? 

1. Outsource to give you more time – Time is more important than money. You could live without money (some people do by choice!) but you can’t live without time. And once time has gone, you can never get it back. What you do with your time is what you do with your life.
2. Outsource to reduce stress and guilt – All the demands and pressures on you to get so much done causes stress. Then you have no time to spend on the people you love, and the things you love doing. You might also feel guilty about this and your stress levels will go up. When you outsource, you reduce your stress and become happier and healthier.
3. Outsource to get more things done – If you outsource some of your tasks, you’ll have more time to do the things you love. You can also get a lot more done because while your personal concierge is being productive for you, you can be productive too – it’s like having a clone!
4. Because otherwise, some things will never get done! – Do you have a ‘one day’ list of things to do, that if you look at your busy life, you have to admit that actually they will never get done unless you get help? For example, how long have you been saying you’re going to get the kitchen remodeled, redecorate the house, get the fence fixed, take an art class, or write a novel? Turn those ‘one day’ dreams into reality!

Is it worth the money?

This is one that people battle with. You can easily get hung up on how much it will cost and just discard the idea completely. If you do this, you are undervaluing yourself. You cannot put a price on time. The value you place on your time is relative to you personally. It shouldn’t be about the money, it should be about how much happiness it can add to your life, or how much stress it can reduce.

People often decide not to use a personal concierge if the cost is more than their own rate of pay at work. I say that’s nonsense! Do you think that way when you book a plumber or a haircut? I’ve worked for people who have very little money, but they understand the true value of time, and are always pleased that they hired me to help out.

Sometimes it helps to compare personal concierge service costs with other things you might spend money on. The average rate for a personal concierge in the UK is £30 to £40 per hour (I will state here, that I offer the service for a lot less than this, with my Time Fairy charges ranging from £16 to £26 per hour). Here are some comparisons on what you pay for an hour’s service in the UK (taken from various current sources on national averages)… music lessons £30; plumber £40; beauty treatment £40; IT consultant £40; hiring a Ferrari 458 Italia £40; private horse riding lesson £55; mechanic £75; solicitor £275!

Of course, you don’t have to hire a personal concierge to outsource your personal errands or chores. You might be able to trade tasks with friends or family.

What would I do with my newfound extra free time?  

You tell me! What would you like to do? People who hire the Time Fairy do different things with their time while I am working for them. Here are some examples:

• some are business owners who are able to spend more time being productive on their business
• those who have a demanding job are able to relax when they get home, instead of stressing out about when they will get everything else done
• some people hire me as an extra pair of hands and we work together on projects
• a few use the time to enjoy some well deserved leisure activities
• parents often find they have extra time on the weekends to spend with their children

 

More and more people are discovering the true value of outsourcing, realising that it adds value to their life and happiness. In fact ‘The Week’ states that “many folks nowadays find that the cost of outsourcing tasks is worth it if they can save themselves some time and tedium”. And what’s the point in working so hard to make lots of money, but not having the time to enjoy life?

Although money can’t buy you happiness, it can buy you time, which can inevitably bring you more happiness. So next time you’re doing a task or chore that you hate, and you say to yourself, “I wish someone else would do this…” think about your options. And if you come across your ‘one day’ list, and realise it’s more of a ‘never will’ list, give the Time Fairy a call. If you get home from work and wish that a fairy had come in, cleaned, cooked and shopped for you, well hopefully by now, you know who to contact!

Ruth Lowe   

Based in Southam, Warwickshire

Contact me:

07928553658

ruthlowe@thetimefairy.co.uk

www.thetimefairy.co.uk/contact

www.facebook.com/uktimefairy

Twitter: @UKTimeFairy