1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: tip is that when you outsource, you're still a resource. 4 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,120 Speaker 1: You can't check something entirely off your list. Even if 5 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: you hire someone else to do it, you still have 6 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: to do a little management and supervision. So it's best 7 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: to focus on how you are saving ninety percent of 8 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: the time you would have spent on a task, rather 9 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:45,160 Speaker 1: than get frustrated about the ten percent that likely won't 10 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: go away. Longtime listeners know that I advocate outsourcing lots 11 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: of things. Often a manageable amount of money can free 12 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:01,279 Speaker 1: up a good bit of time. Than spending your weekends 13 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: cleaning or running errands, you can spend them hanging out 14 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:09,480 Speaker 1: with your family at work rather than handling every detail. 15 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: You hire a team to specialize, and you provide direction. 16 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: Even for folks who work for themselves, having an in 17 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:25,559 Speaker 1: person or virtual assistant can be quite helpful. Here's the thing, though, 18 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: When you outsource a task that would otherwise fall to 19 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:33,839 Speaker 1: you and that actually needs to get done, you won't 20 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: be able to let it go completely. You will need 21 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,440 Speaker 1: to have some level of involvement it will just be 22 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 1: way less involvement than when you are handling the task directly. 23 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: People are much happier when they focus on the reduction 24 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 1: rather than the small amount of lingering mental load. So, 25 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 1: for instance, you might like to imagine that hoving house 26 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: cleaners come every week means that you won't ever have 27 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 1: to spend time cleaning your house again, but that is 28 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: not entirely true. At the beginning, you will need to 29 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: show the cleaners around the house and let them know 30 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: how you like things. Some weeks you might need to 31 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: ask for some area to get extra attention, really spiffing 32 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: up the guest room, for instance, Because company is coming, 33 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: you'll probably wind up picking up things before the cleaners come, 34 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:33,840 Speaker 1: so anything small and important does an inadvertently get put 35 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:36,920 Speaker 1: in the wrong spot. You will need to tell the 36 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: cleaners when you are canceling a week because you are 37 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 1: on vacation or moving the time because you're having a 38 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: party at the exact moment the cleaners usually come. If 39 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 1: you get the same team every week, my guess is 40 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: you will want to build a relationship with these people 41 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,519 Speaker 1: to the extent that it is possible, so they will 42 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,359 Speaker 1: tell you if they see anything out of the ordinary. 43 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: Now you know about that's leak in the bathroom a 44 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: week earlier than you would have. And of course, if 45 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,239 Speaker 1: the cleaners are cleaning your kitchen on Wednesday, that really 46 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,920 Speaker 1: just doesn't do your dishes on Saturday. So even if 47 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: your house cleaners do almost everything, you can't check house 48 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 1: cleaning off your list completely. You will be a lot 49 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 1: less annoyed by the little things you have to do 50 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 1: when you remember that fact. Likewise, as convenient as grocery 51 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: delivery can be, someone still has to order and put 52 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: away the groceries. You might also want to check your 53 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: bags to ensure you received what you ordered. That means 54 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: fewer unpleasant surprises when it's time to cook dinner. And 55 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: if you're hiring a full time staff member at work, 56 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: you probably can't just hand this person a job description 57 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: and assume everything listed will get done exactly as you 58 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: want without you lifting a finger. If you hire a 59 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: direct report to support your work and take on some 60 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 1: things you've done yourself, you still need to be a resource. 61 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: You may not have to perform the work yourself anymore, 62 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: but supervising and supporting your direct reports does require time 63 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 1: and attention. Nothing else you want to keep these people happy. 64 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 1: This concept of still needing to do some work, even 65 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: if you have offloaded a lot even comes into play 66 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: with the idea of passive income. You probably can't get 67 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: any category of work in your life down to absolute zero. 68 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 1: I maintain that there aren't a whole lot of truly 69 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: passive forms of income out there. I get royalty checks 70 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:48,800 Speaker 1: from books I wrote fifteen years ago, but that is 71 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:51,360 Speaker 1: because I am still out here in the world talking 72 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: about time management all the time. Even dividends and interest 73 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:01,040 Speaker 1: require bookkeeping and making sure your accountant has the right forms. 74 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:06,479 Speaker 1: Most forms of so called passive income require way more 75 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: work than that. If you have a rental property, even 76 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: if you use a property management company, you will need 77 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:16,440 Speaker 1: to make sure that they get paid, and you'll need 78 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: to check in occasionally to see that they are doing 79 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:22,479 Speaker 1: a good job. If you've got a website where people 80 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,120 Speaker 1: can pay for virtual courses, even if you've already made 81 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,479 Speaker 1: the courses, you'll need to check that the websitet is 82 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,479 Speaker 1: still working as it's supposed to, And if the search 83 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 1: engines change their algorithms, you will need to update things too. 84 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: So it goes If you are hoping to spend one 85 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: hundred percent of your hours on leisure. This would all 86 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:49,200 Speaker 1: be really annoying, but when you recognize that the reduction 87 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:53,720 Speaker 1: in time is large, you can choose to focus on that. 88 00:05:55,160 --> 00:06:00,599 Speaker 1: There is no free lunch. There are very few instances 89 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: in life where you can get something done and have 90 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:08,159 Speaker 1: nothing required of you. So when a little bit is 91 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: required of you and a lot is done by someone else, 92 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 1: best not to resent the little you have to do. 93 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:19,160 Speaker 1: If you have made wise choices and train people well, 94 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 1: it probably will be just a little after a while, 95 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:30,280 Speaker 1: which is a lovely thing. Indeed, what have you outsourced successfully? 96 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: You can let me know at Laura at Laura vandercam 97 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, 98 00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:52,239 Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks 99 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:56,360 Speaker 1: for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, 100 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura 101 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: Vancam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. 102 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, 103 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.