Most people have probably heard the term “outsource” in regards to business. “Outsourcing” is the method of using a third party to perform a task that could be performed by employees. Some examples are outsourcing phone customer service in India or manufacturing in China. But what about our personal life? The outsourcing philosophy has infiltrated our psyche and the way we do it affects our quality of life.
One way to consider how to outsource is to sort things into three categories:
1) things that you can not subcontract.
2) things that you should not subcontract.
3) things that you should subcontract.
The first category, the things you can’t outsource, include things like eating, breathing, and coming up with your own original ideas. Also in this category are drinking, smoking, sleeping, using the bathroom, following your doctor’s orders, taking medication, reading alone, writing alone, meditating, and thinking. You can’t outsource your state, your emotions, your goals, your energy, use any type of exercise equipment, swim, give your own speeches, how you spend your time, what TV shows you watch, or go to a concert. You cannot outsource your personal relationship with God or Christ, or whoever you believe.
That first category seemed pretty straightforward; although you could argue that you hire someone to read everything for you, as well as write things down for you, and attend your child’s games in your place when you have to travel for work.
The second category, about things you shouldn’t outsource, is more subjective. For example, I think you shouldn’t outsource how your money is handled; however, many people outsource this! Some people feel that nutritious home-cooked meals should not be outsourced with fast food. Others feel that you shouldn’t outsource raising your own children, while for some having a nanny is a necessity. This category is a matter of your personal values.
The important thing is to inspect if you are following your own value system. If you are, you will perceive that you have a high quality of life. If your outsourced shortcuts violate your own values, you’ll feel like you have a lower quality of life.
The third category is for the things you need to outsource if you want the freedom to pursue other things. Some examples are cooking, cleaning, fixing things like cars and computers, driving a car, walking a dog, gardening, mowing the lawn, designing your website, fixing the roof, shopping for anything, taking out the trash, doing laundry and file paperwork. .
Good things to outsource are things that give a similar result, whether you do it or someone else does it. The reasons not to outsource these things are if you can do it better than the average person, or if you want to do the activity, or if you have to fulfill the need to do it yourself, or if these are defining elements of who you are. or what do you like to do.
