My Automated Life
February 5, 2007 by Greg
Returning to work after a 3 month hiatus was a shock to my schedule. I had been living a life devoid of alarm clocks. I enjoyed leisurely mornings, extended lunches, scheduled siestas, and socially rich evenings. Translation: I woke up when I wanted, drank wine with lunch, took a nap, and went out every night. My first day back, my alarm clock beeping was the worst sound I had ever heard.
Serving 40 hours a week with a 3 hour daily commute, I’m finding little time for the things that are really important. So I’ve started making a list of things that other people could probably handle for me.
My Initial List Includes:
- Laundry pickup/wash/fold/delivery
- Dry Cleaning pickup/delivery
- Cooking
- Accounting (Business and Personal)
Now, I’ll admit that I’m lazy. There is a lot of shit I just don’t want to do. Actually, the idea that “Some things you just have to do whether you like it or not” just pisses me off. You can hire someone to do just about anything.
I’ve always been this way. In 10th grade I got in trouble for paying another student $1 to wash my dishes for me in cooking class. $1 to do my dishes? That’s a steal! However, somehow along the path to adulthood, I let the world of academics, time cards, and financial responsibilities work these notions out of me. Not anymore! You haven’t won yet world! You can’t bore me with your adult chores!
I have a few rationalizations to back it up. First, I realize there are not only people who will do these things, but they can do them better and more efficiently than I can. A person who launders clothes all day, or cooks for a living, is most likely better at the job than I am. Second, the cost of hiring one of these services is not as lavish as it appears. The time saved could easily be applied to other, more profitable / enjoyable uses of my time. Laundry service that saves me 3 hours but costs a paltry $15? It’s practically foolish for me not to utilize this.
If I can’t generate $15 in 3 hours, I demand Michigan State return the $40,000 I gave them for a bachelors degree.
I’ve already done some work getting this going, and I will update you as I further my progress on this. Any feedback, or inspiration for further laziness, is appreciated.
Classic piece Greg.
I’m anxious to watch the magic happen. Actually, I’ll probably just pay someone else to watch the magic happen.
But I’m sure it’ll be great.
hah
I couldn’t agree more with you. I am on a similar quest here.
I am currently looking for a good personal chef, so I no longer have to (attempt to) cook, and have already found a cleaner and bi-weekly launderer (who also takes and delivers my dry cleaning). I don’t have any accounting issues though.
You should check out engaging a personal concierge, who you can pay to take care of whatever you like (even watching magic happen), and if they can’t do it personally, they will find someone who can.
Hey Matthew,
We are not alone!
This weekend Cash was just mentioning to me the possibilities of hiring a concierge from one of the local hotels. Perhaps this requires further research…
[...] Greg’s recent move towards an automated life has me thinking about ways of improving my own world through the magic of outsourcing. [...]
[...] Perusing my favorite blogs this week I ran across an interview with Tim Ferris, author of the new book “The 4 Hour Work Week.” Seeing that I am a man of little inclination towards a 40 hour work week, I was immediately intrigued. Digging deeper it appears the book is all about automating your life, something I’ve already started doing. [...]