Discover a new career path through career coaching!
By Katie Corbett
Since I owe a lot of my success—and future planning—to the book, “The 4-Hour Workweek,” by Tim Ferriss, I have decided to revisit the book each quarter in 2023. Here are my thoughts in quarter one. I hope this inspires you to pick up a book that helps you live your dreams. Enjoy!
By Katie Corbett
Sometimes, it is important to ask for help. I am in a stage of my life where I am paring down and making my life less complicated. As a result, there are certain things I am no longer taking on, or certain projects I am passing along to other people.
I have found it helpful to think of who is in my corner, and ask those people for support when I need it. Whether I’m looking for some objective advice, seeking out someone to hire for a project I no longer have the time or energy to complete, or searching out a friend to have new experiences with, finding people for each of these things has been both fun and rewarding.
Have you outsourced anything in your life? If so, how did it work out? I’d love to hear about your experiences, so feel free to leave me a comment.
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By Katie Corbett
When I was twelve, we moved to a house without a dishwasher. A small thing, I know, but it was super annoying to spend at least an hour each night doing dishes. I made a promise to myself that I would never live in another place that didn’t have a dishwasher. On the one hand, it was fun getting to chat and listen to music with my sister each night. On the other hand, it just took so stinking long to do the dishes! The week I moved to my college dorm, my parents remodeled their kitchen and installed a dishwasher. (It’s nice to know where I stand, guys.) Anyway, this whole experience made me think a lot more about automation, and how it can improve our lives.
In “The 4-Hour Workweek,” by Tim Ferriss, the concept of automation and delegation is taken to areas of life other than the kitchen and laundry room. I even saw a blog post where Tim automated the online dating process!
I’m definitely not at total automation yet, but just developing the mindset that I don’t have to do it all has helped tremendously. When I was looking to build this website, for example, I hired a web developer to write the code and install WordPress plug-ins, a graphic designer to draw up a logo, and a freelancer to design and print business cards. I even sent said business cards out to a company in Canada to have braille put on them.
Having other people help me with my work was excellent because, not only did I get to know a few awesome fellow entrepreneurs, it freed up my time so I could do what I do well–write blog posts, coach clients and plan for the future of my business. This did cost money, but in total I spent less than $600. The time I got back and the knowledge and expertise of great people made the investment worth it.
As I got deeper into my coaching, I recognized the need to automate one aspect of my business: scheduling. I started working with people from overseas and in different time zones. I found Calendly, which is a platform that shows anyone with a link to my Calendly page all the available slots on my calendar—in their time zone. This eliminated the back-and-forth of trying to find a time that worked, and freed me up to reach out to new clients and host coaching sessions.
Whether you own a business, work full-time for someone else, or are looking for your next job, consider in what ways automation and outsourcing can help you in your daily life. Would you love it if someone cleaned your house on a regular basis? Took your dog for a walk? Delivered your groceries? Ask around in your community about these and other services you might find beneficial. And if the service doesn’t exist, maybe you’ll be the one to create it.
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