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Outsourcing your chores is a good thing

nytimes.com

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Re: Outsourcing your chores is a good thing

#51

Post by ryusage »

_delirium wrote: post #39
joelrunyon wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Because I and I would say most people that hire people to take care of their lawns and clean their toilets aren't then using their time more wisely or getting that oh so amazing hour of family time they could never have. They just don't feel like doing the task. This is an emotional response to the economic mindset that the article purposes. In the article - the entire point is that it doesn't matter what you do wi…

How do you value your time at $100/hour, though? If it's because you subjectively place $100 value on that hour of doing nothing, then that's fine, and it's true that you should in that case pay someone to do the hour of work. But if it's because you earn $100/hour when you're working, and therefore infer that your time is generally worth $100/hr, that is a somewhat questionable inference unless you are actually goin…

I think you're right that it's more complicated than just assuming every hour of your life is worth whatever your day job pays you per hour. The point in the article was that what you do in your non-work time still has an affect on your work, and that's where the opportunity cost comes in. If mowing the lawn is stressing you out, then you're going to perform worse at your job and potentially impact your career in the long term. Or if you could instead be researching or practicing something that would make you a little bit better at your job, then you're missing out on potential future earnings as well.

Of course, the question then is how do you value that time? I don't think there's any objective answer to that, but it's probably more than zero.

EDIT: Of course, I just re-read your comment and see this is basically what you just said. I'll admit I got distracted and misunderstood your point the first time I read it.

Re: Outsourcing your chores is a good thing

#52

Post by gadders »

ghaff wrote: post #34
hajderr wrote: post #17

Talk about degrading family value. Doing chores is beneficial and a nice way of taking a break.

Depends on what you like doing. Some people find cutting the grass relaxing. I find it's just a chore that needs to get done on a schedule. So I have someone else do it.

It was a chore until I got a lawn big enough to need a ride-on :-) Now I just go up and down listening to podcasts (whilst convincing my wife I'm doing important gardening)

Re: Outsourcing your chores is a good thing

#53

Post by cryptic »

russjhammond wrote: post #16
joelrunyon wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the podcasts - have you tried listening to them at 1.5x or 2x speed? I started doing that & it's saved me tons of time & I can get through way more content (doesn't sound that weird once you get used to it either). On your credit card - is that the Amex Platinum? I have a friend that uses them as a personal assistant basically.

I do use the 1.5x feature but save that for the podcasts I actually listen to. By reading the transcripts I can "monitor" 3-5 weekly, hour long podcasts in 15 minutes. As for the card, yes I use an AMEX Platinum but believe Visa Signature and MasterCard World Elite also offer a similar service.

Looks like AMEX Platinum is getting rid of their Concierge service

http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1212590/bell-...

Re: Outsourcing your chores is a good thing

#54

Post by beat »

veidr wrote: post #31
ghaff wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure it's related to work ethic or religious roots but it's certainly true that there was never a particular culture in the US of service whereby even people of fairly middle-class backgrounds had servants. And this has probably carried over to modern culture whereby people probably outsource fewer tasks like grass cutting, housecleaning, and so forth than they arguably should (whatever that word means in thi…

It's a good point about eating at restauranta vs. hiring a chef; in my limited norcal experience, it cost less to have a come-and-cook chef weekdays than it did to routinely eat out, and it was substantially more awesome in several ways. Despite it costing less, though, several of my fellow Americans thought the chef was like, bourgeois, or pretentious, or something . (I would still do it, except now I have a wife wh…

My college-age daughter LOVES to cook and finds it relaxing. I call her my "personal chef" and have basically turned over all household food stuff to her, freeing my time for other things.

Re: Outsourcing your chores is a good thing

#55

Post by angersock »

dllthomas wrote: post #46
huherto wrote: post #14

sigh...If I could only outsource my HN reading I would be so much productive.

Why can't you?

I for one am reluctant to entrust somebody else with posting as angersock... I don't want to dilute the brand quality, the meticulous posting, the careful planning and forethought that goes into each bespoke communique.

For some things, if you want them done right, you have to do them yourself.

Re: Outsourcing your chores is a good thing

#56

Post by dllthomas »

angersock wrote: post #55
dllthomas wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can't you?

I for one am reluctant to entrust somebody else with posting as angersock... I don't want to dilute the brand quality, the meticulous posting, the careful planning and forethought that goes into each bespoke communique. For some things, if you want them done right, you have to do them yourself.

I doubt actually posting is the bulk of the time you spend on HN, though. Paying someone to filter a bit could make sense. Possibly.

Re: Outsourcing your chores is a good thing

#58

Post by joelrunyon »

dusing wrote: post #44
joelrunyon wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$6-$10 for a high-quality level Filipino agent. Lots of people try to skimp by by paying $2-$5 (I've tried this) but if you take into account extra time correcting, supervising & fixing their work - it simply isn't worth it. Outsourcing is supposed to make less work for you - not more!

Where did you hire them from?

http://supportzebra.com

Re: Outsourcing your chores is a good thing

#59

Post by joelrunyon »

quaffapint wrote: post #47
joelrunyon wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you read the whole article or you would have caught this: > (Oddly, it’s perfectly fine if leisure time includes those inefficient D.I.Y. household tasks that some people find rewarding and fun, like pickling beets or knitting.) If you find it fun - do it. If not, outsource it as fast as possible.

So if it's not fun, don't do it. Does that sound like a healthy philosophy to pass down?

How bout:

If you want to or have to do it - do it. If you don't want to do it & absolutely don't have to do it - then outsource it.

Re: Outsourcing your chores is a good thing

#60

Post by jeza »

hackula1 wrote: post #29
quaffapint wrote: post #18

I will say I would never hire anyone to do work I can accomplish myself - I don't care if it makes sense or not, I just couldn't do it. Why? Because I and I would say most people that hire people to take care of their lawns and clean their toilets aren't then using their time more wisely or getting that oh so amazing hour of family time they could never have. They just don't feel like doing the task.

This seems like a bit of a puritanical viewpoint. Taking a nap for an hour can be more productive than raking leaves, if rest is what you need most.

If you don't do anything physical at work then raking leaves might actually be good for you. It's exercise, fresh air and I find these kind of chores somewhat tranquillising to the mind. Same with other chores, but I'm sure there are ones I hate more than others. If there are physiological and psychological benefits of doing these chores, then it might be costing you more than the $10/hr of hiring someone else to do them. Sure you might be able to get some of the benefits by say going to the gym, but paying someone to do your gardening while you go to the gym to get the exercise you missed from doing the gardening seems a bit insane.
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