I’m going to go out on a limb here and make an assumption that most of us are overloaded with “life”. (Amiright?) There never seems to be enough time to do all we want to do. Yet we have more apps, resources, gadgets and doo-dads available to us than prior generations.
Amazon Echo. Google Home. Siri. Zapier. IFTTT. FileThis. Dlvr.it. Gmail rules. Keyboard shortcuts. Productivity apps and smart home devices galore. Yet we struggle. We crawl into bed at the end of the day with many things left undone and added to tomorrow’s “to-do list”.
How do we handle all of the demands on our time?
What do we outsource to others so we can focus on what’s most important?
I don’t know! Who has time to answer these questions? (Kidding. Not really.)
I have a small notebook called “shiznit to do” where I keep an on-going list of “life shit”. My main purpose of this notebook is to get shit out of my head. I use Asana to track client obligations and recurring home reminders such as “wash blankets on couch”. (I’m not so organized that I remember to wash blankets every Friday!) I’ve read of people using Trello for both home and work. (I haven’t researched Trello yet but it’s recorded in my “shiznit to do” book!)
There’s a lot of Shiznit To Do!
I’ve been increasingly driven to “buy back my time”. I go to my happy place as I match banking transactions in a client’s Quickbooks Online. I want to spend more time traveling. On the flip side I hate the deep cleaning of the kitchen and bathroom. I’m not a fan of calling around town to find out who has the windshield wipers I need for my car. Cooking? Ugh. Don’t even get me started.
Basically like most people I want to do work I find meaningful and hire people to handle the things I don’t enjoy.
This is where having the ability to hire on-demand help is convenient. Think of it like ordering an Uber or Lyft. There’s someone willing to help out with just the click of a button. Granted, the service providers you hire to clean your home, cook meals, wait in line at the store, or move furniture aren’t going to show up in 10 minutes but they are there. For You. Your Family. Your Life.
Not quite sure on where to find these people? It will largely depend on where you live (aka bigger city vs. the country).
Four Services You Can Use To Connect With On-Demand Service Providers
Amazon Home Services (this is relatively new). I have only browsed the providers that are available in my area. I haven’t used them yet (but will).
TaskRabbit I love TaskRabbit and will write a future post detailing some of the taskers I’ve hired.
FancyHands They get a lot of the items I jot down in “shiznit to do”. Need ideas about what to delegate? Check out 60 Tasks to Outsource to FancyHands *NOTE: they are only remote workers so you won’t be able to hire someone to go grab a gallon of ice cream from your local grocery store.
Thumbtack Slightly different than the others listed but just as useful. I’ve hired a cleaning service and movers through them.
Two bonus ones: Need a nanny or babysitter? Check out Care. Need someone to watch your pet while you’re out of town? There’s House Sitters America for that.
As you can see, there’s likely a site for anything you need help with.
The other side of this is that service providers now have a way to connect with buyers. If you’re looking to offer your services it’s worth checking these sites out. I imagine it’s easier to get started with Amazon Home Services and Thumbtack.
Technology. Allowing service providers and buyers to connect in ways we haven’t been able to in the past.
And the angels rejoice that we no longer have to rely on finding people through Craigslist! (Creepy!)
Are there other sites you’ve tried and would recommend?