I am a big fan of outsourcing (sensibly). Let’s just say it’s expensive sometimes and not perfect on outcome, but they are all worth it.
It’s such a relief when someone else who is good at what they do takes on a task I do not relish, and completes it efficiently and well in way less time that I would have. I will happily pay a fair price for that kind of help. Not only is it nice to have the task done, but I am able to spend that time and energy on what’s most important to me: family, work, friends, me time etc.
But most women (me included) would still feel the occasional, tiny twinge of guilt that I “should” be able to do the task myself. Recently, my son’s school had a fairy tale theme presentation where each child was enacting a bird, elf, shark so forth. A mommy friend of mine was to dress her daughter as a swallow and very apologetically mentioned to me that this year she had her hands full with her 2 month old infant as well so was outsourcing the costume instead of working on it herself. That’s where the tini wini guilt seeps in. She was absolutely right in outsourcing but it takes some bit to internalise and ward off the guilt.
Came across a book recommendation for “168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think” by Laura Vanderkam. Loved the idea around reorganisation, prioritisation and outsourcing to better manage time.
A mom’s life is all about managing a million details and the end result is always less time for what you value best.
I think for all moms, the idea is to identify one task or job you loathe and find a way to outsource it. I used to spend a good part of the weekend stocking the kitchen and now have started using online sites like bigbasket.com to order out bulky standardised options across milk cartons, staples, vegetables et all. It frees up our time to focus on purchasing fresh fruits for the week which is a pleasure (also of course that fruits from big basket are pathetic in quality). Likewise there are professional house cleaning agencies which are available now and it’s definitely worth your effort to explore. If you have more ideas around this do share…happy outsourcing and more TiMe to you!
quirkymums 