by Kara | Sep 5, 2018 | Grocery, Laundry, Organizational, Residential
You’ve probably admired successful people who seem to do it all, and wondered just how they do it. A likely answer is that they don’t.
Outsourcing Spurs Success
Working professionals are increasingly turning to outsourcing as a means to lessen their loads, avoid fatigue, and perform higher-quality work. And they don’t just do this for business tasks, but for housework as well.
In fact, a study performed by the American Association of University Professors, which analyzed scientists’ “strategies to lighten the household load in order to maintain highly productive careers,” found a correlation between outsourcing core housework and being a highly productive science faculty member (based on the amount of articles published throughout a scientist’s career).
You can boil this down to economics — and we’re not talking about monetary costs here, but about opportunity costs. Every hour spent on a monotonous chore is an hour that could have gone toward a more productive activity. Professionals who understand the value of their time know that it’s better spent on what they’re really great at than scrubbing dishes.
What to Outsource
If you’re now wondering whether you’ve spent too much time doing tedious tasks yourself, you’re probably also wondering what to start outsourcing. The following tasks are a good place to begin, as they’re time-consuming and unrewarding for many people.
Grocery Shopping
Have someone else shop for you, have your groceries delivered, or even have someone else set up your home delivery. Either way, you’ll save yourself tons of time: The average person spends around 60 hours grocery shopping every year, and that’s not even counting travel time.
Cooking
People who are crunched for time often end up eating frozen meals or takeout more often than not. Outsourcing cooking can not only save you time, but also enable you to eat much healthier than before.
Those who really enjoy cooking also have the option of outsourcing meal prep, leaving everything ready for them to get started when they get home from work.
Laundry
For women, laundry consumes even more time than grocery shopping, at over 103 hours a year (men spend around 30 hours annually). Although you can always do the folding while half-watching TV, why not put all of your attention toward something more worthwhile?
Pet Care
Pet care can encompass at-home grooming, grooming and veterinary appointments, walks, cage or tank cleaning, and other chores and errands. These tasks often make having a pet feel like more of a burden than anything else, and leave you too worn out to spend any quality time with the animal.
Pave Your Own Way to Success
At some point, just finding the right people to take over these tasks for you becomes a task in itself. The easy solution to this problem is to hire a personal assistant. We’ll handle any household management, errands, and chores ourselves, and find, contract, and schedule the rest of the services for you — so you can put that time toward whatever you see fit.
by Kara | Aug 3, 2018 | Organizational, Residential
We’ve talked about meal prepping, scheduling, and balancing your career and home life before, but let’s face it — you can never be too prepared for back-to-school season. Be sure to set aside some time to help you get organized before the rush of household, homework, and school activities replace the mellow pace of summer.
Get to the Stores Before Everyone Else
We’ve all been there: The first day of school is right around the corner, and we’ve left back-to-school shopping for the last minute. The stores are full of like-minded parents, and school supply options are dwindling. You wish you had taken care of this sooner.
According to a RetailMeNot survey, back-to-school shopping causes anxiety for nine out of 10 parents, and for 63 percent of those parents, in-store dilemmas — such as crowds and not finding the right supplies — are a source of that anxiety. For a stress-free shopping experience, consider hitting the stores — and finding your kids’ favorite supplies — at least four weeks before school starts. You’ll be happy you did!
Out With the Old, In With the New
Don’t let clutter hold you or your kids back this school year. Kids quickly outgrow clothing, shoes, toys, and just about everything else before you may even notice. If they can’t or don’t use it, donate or recycle these used items and make space for new memories.
Check out these other tips designed to bring some peace into your life during this active season.
Clean Out the Cupboards
Spring cleaning has become a ritual for many households, but back-to-school season warrants a deep cleaning just as much. Once you’re finished decluttering, keep your motor running and give the whole house a thorough scrubbing. You’ll be glad you did come September.
Compile Your Documentation
Schools often require certain documentation at the beginning of the year, especially if you’re enrolling your child at the school for the first time. To avoid scrambling for these documents later on, get everything in order ahead of time. This may require making appointments for immunizations or physical exams, if your child plays sports.
Create a Filing System
Once school starts, you can expect to see a steady flow of paper making its way home in your children’s backpacks: homework, art projects, parent handouts, progress reports, and more. Rather than let these cherished mementos pile up or get scattered throughout your home, create a filing system for everything you want or need to keep. This will help you keep things organized and hold onto only what’s really necessary.
Call in a Personal Assistant
Does accomplishing all of this before school starts seem like an impossible task? You don’t have to do it alone. Hire a personal assistant to take on some of your errands, chores, and other household management tasks and help give you a stress-free back-to-school transition. Plus, this will free you up to spend more time with your kids before they start class!
by Kara | Jul 13, 2018 | Organizational, Residential
Summer is now in full swing, and we all know that in the Northwest, those sunny days are numbered. If you’re missing out on this precious sunlight due to household chores and other indoor tasks, the time has come to set your priorities straight. Keep reading to learn why spending time in the sun is crucial and discover new ways to get outside.
How Sunlight Helps
Spending time in the sun can improve your well-being in the following ways.
Strengthens Your Immune System
When you spend time in the sun, your body produces vitamin D, which is necessary to keep your immune system going strong. A lack of vitamin D can also increase your likelihood of developing an autoimmune disorder. When paired with proper sunscreen practices, spending time in the sun can be an easy way to stay healthy!
Keeps Your Bones and Teeth Healthy
As long as you consume enough calcium, sun exposure can help keep your bones and teeth strong. This is because vitamin D makes it easier for your bones to absorb calcium. Having a vitamin D deficiency can even make you more susceptible to osteoporosis.
Potentially Helps You Live Longer
According to a study that followed nearly 30,000 Swedish women for 20 years, those who spent the most time in the sun lived an average of 0.6 to 2.1 years longer than the sun avoiders, primarily because they were less likely to have developed cardiovascular disease and other noncancer illnesses. Although the study’s authors can’t confirm direct causation, they do think that sunshine exposure may improve cardiovascular health.
Makes You Happier
Spending time in the sun causes your brain to release more serotonin, a hormone responsible for improving mood and focus. If you don’t get enough sunshine, your serotonin levels may drop, increasing your risk of major depressive disorder with seasonal pattern (depression caused by seasonal changes).
To keep your spirits high this summer, get outside and enjoy the sun!
How to Spend More Time Outside
We know that when the sun comes out, the number of items on your to-do list doesn’t decrease. To get outside without neglecting your responsibilities, consider hiring a personal assistant to handle some of your household management, chores, errands, and whatever else is keeping you indoors.
by Kara | Sep 24, 2017 | Organizational
Through the years as personal assistants, we’ve learned a thing or two about the types of tasks clients tend to need help with most often. Ultimately, no matter the task, what matters most is that it’s saving the client time. When you can outsource personal tasks it can make all the difference.
Of course, as you decide which personal responsibilities to outsource to your personal assistant, you’ll want to formulate a strategy.
Many of the tips businesses use to determine their outsourcing strategies can also be applied in the personal realm. Just as a business might allocate specific duties to contractors, suppliers, and other third-party partners to fortify in-house efficiency, you can rely on your personal assistant to lighten the load in your home life. Here’s how to approach your own task allocation.
Focus On the House You’re Saving Instead of the Tasks They’re Doing
Select personal assistant tasks that streamline your life and save you time. If you struggle with relinquishing personal responsibilities, try to outsource according to the number of hours you’d like to save, rather than hyper-focusing on the number of duties you’re giving away. Shift your focus toward what you stand to gain and don’t frame your outsourcing as a loss of control. After all, your PA is there to complete outsourced tasks according to your instructions and preferences — so you ultimately remain in the driver’s seat (minus the stress of steering)! Remember: there is no shame in asking for help!
Think in Terms of Daily Operations
Start by outsourcing a handful of the duties that are essential to maintain your day-to-day routine. Everyday household management tasks are the building blocks that allow you to run a tight ship, and if they aren’t completed, your more meticulous responsibilities may wind up falling by the wayside.
In the business world, a company might outsource foundational projects such as large-scale printing orders (for example, brochures in bulk or oversized banners), website design and development services, or legal consulting — all essential yet transferable functions that free up full-time staff resources to be allocated toward core operations. Similarly, you might outsource daily to-do list items such as grocery shopping, meal prep, laundry, and scheduling appointments so you can focus on the remaining work and home tasks that require your personalized attention.
Collaborate On Your Personal Priorities
At some point, you’ll need to prioritize tasks to determine which ones do require your personalized attention. While we’re happy to help you with a wide array of responsibilities, sometimes you may feel there’s just no substitute for face time or a personal touch. In these cases, consider collaborating with your personal assistant to get the job done! For example, we can:
- Purchase and mail cards and gifts and leave the handwritten note up to you
- Research wealth management companies, and you take care of the investments
- Screen nannies for final interviews
- Set up a personal shopping appointment and pick up the alterations
- Set up a system for your child’s school and sports forms and fill them out for you to sign
by Kara | Sep 16, 2017 | Organizational
In a survey conducted by Harvard Business School, 94% of respondents reported working more than 50 hours per week — and with so many professionals putting in overtime at the office (and at home), it can be hard to achieve work-life balance.
If stress from work is left to build, it can eventually creep into home life and quickly snowball out of control. Productivity suffers as stress peaks. When not carefully managed, everything from work performance to personal relationships and overall health can suffer. Chronic stress weakens the immune system, leading to more sick days and an ongoing game of catch-up, and studies suggest it can even double the risk of a heart attack.
But what can you do to strike a healthy, sustainable work-life balance and escape this vicious cycle? It is possible with a bit of foresight and some ongoing deliberate effort. Here’s where to start.
Prioritize
Set manageable goals and tackle them in order of importance. Use a daily to-do list as a reference point, highlighting the urgent tasks and leaving room for flexibility on longer-term projects. Lay out your projected agenda at the onset of each week so you’re aware of and can anticipate standing meetings, deadlines, and other odds and ends. Be realistic and don’t neglect time for personal breaks throughout the day! Try not to feel guilty about getting out of the office for a 30-minute lunch break or going for a walk between meetings; these can actually serve to boost your productivity by alleviating stress and reenergizing your body and mind.
Divide and Conquer
Break large projects into small tasks you can complete in portions. This can apply to both your work and home life. For example, if you have a big presentation scheduled for the end of the quarter, you wouldn’t jump right into creating and delivering a detailed slideshow. You’d start slowly gathering data a few months or weeks in advance, make time to conduct preliminary research, and gradually add slides and talking points before practicing your delivery and refining from there. At home, if you know you’ll be hosting a large dinner party next month, you wouldn’t wait until the day before to plan the courses you’ll serve, shop for ingredients, and deep clean the house. Instead of facing complex undertakings head-on, plan ahead, divide, and conquer! Decide on appetizers and entrees first, then gradually gather table settings, get a head start on finally organizing the living room… take baby steps and you’ll be less stressed when it’s time to execute.
Take Advantage of Benefits
Does your company have a flexible work from home policy? Talk to your supervisor about working remotely once or twice a week. Are you able to work custom hours? Perhaps your management team would be open to you coming into work mid-morning and working until evening, leaving you with more time before heading to the office (for example, to eat a proper family breakfast and drop the kids off at school or daycare, or to work in a run and a shower).
Unplug After Hours
If possible, avoid taking work home with you. Designate off-the-grid hours after work and on weekends or personal holidays. Just make sure to communicate your availability with supervisors, coworkers, or clients. Turn off notifications for work messaging apps outside of business hours. Log out of work email or leave your work laptop at the office. Take this time to catch up on personal texts, phone calls, and other communication. Or, simply relax with a book or your favorite activity and unglue from screens.
Know When to Say No
As long as you stay on top of your responsibilities at work and at home, consider politely declining extra commitments. You can respectfully skip out on that optional work committee, RSVP “next time” to this month’s extracurricular book club meeting and send your well wishes, and stay home guilt-free on a Saturday night for some much-needed R&R. Taking a break and sitting one out can actually make the difference between a sharp mind and subpar work.
Make the Most of Your Personal Time
Self-care is the name of the work-life balance game. Use your free time for personal enrichment — whatever that may mean for you. Regular exercise is an effective outlet to blow off some steam and keep stress in check. Meditation or yoga can bring peace after a busy workday. You may even use your commute time to enjoy an episode of your favorite podcast, listen to your favorite music, or read a boo.
Seek Support
Don’t be afraid to reach out to your support networks for a helping hand. Outsource your responsibilities when possible. A personal assistant can help pick up the slack at home, so you’re free to honor each point on this list. Come home to a fridge full of prepped meals. Use the time you’d spend folding laundry to take a bath. Or leave for a much-needed vacation knowing your household is in good hands.
Contact Pepper’s Personal Assistants
Contact us for more information and start living a more balanced life today!
by Kara | May 31, 2017 | Organizational
With all the apps, automated services, and other high-tech tools, we demand more and more of ourselves. Life can end up feeling overwhelming. We’re left seeking a nirvana that seems just out of reach. With some conscious effort and perhaps a little bit of help on the side, we can achieve a critical ingredient: balance. Habits to add balance to your day are important.
Striking a successful balance between excelling at your daily tasks and maintaining your peace of mind can be difficult. It requires introducing some key activities while subtracting others until we find an ideal (and realistic) mix. Start with these quick habits and straightforward lifestyle upgrades to find the balance in your busy days.
Incorporate Light Activity
Walking and stretching are two physical activities that will make you feel calmer and more creative. If you’re working hard on a project and you sense a good stopping point, use this opportunity to get up and clear your mind. You could take a leisurely walk to a nearby park or simply stand up from your workspace and do a few stretches to get your blood flowing. You may find that when you come back to your project, answers come more easily now that your body and mind are refreshed!
Try Aromatherapy
Why not take your senses on a mini vacation? Aromatherapy is an easy way to relieve stress. Pick out a few essential oils and try adding a drop or two to your bathwater for relaxation, mixing a couple drops into a spray bottle filled with water for a quick scent refresher, or using a diffuser to release the scent into a room. Scents such as peppermint or citrus can stimulate the senses, while oils such as lavender or ylang ylang can calm and soothe.
Consider Connecting with Someone Special
It’s all too easy to find ourselves in a rut and forget to reach out to family, friends, and people we enjoy spending time with. When you take a short break during the day, send a simple text to an old friend, post a fun memory on a family member’s social media page, or invite someone you’ve recently met for coffee or tea. Short daily breaks are ideal for reconnecting, because if we wait until we get home, other priorities and distractions can take over.
Read…and Get Outside
Here’s a way to multitask that won’t drive you mad with stress. Grab a book, your favorite magazine, or the daily paper and get some sunshine while you flip through the pages. Head to your nearby park for a healthy dose of vitamin D and a good reading session.
Contact Pepper’s Personal Assistants
What would your life look like if you had some help with your to-do list? Contact Pepper’s Personal Assistants and we’ll shoulder some of your everyday burden so you’re free to unwind and do more of the things you love. Give us your grocery list. We’ll brave the crowded parking lots and checkout lines while you enjoy some quality time. Focus at work while we hold down the fort. We’ll take care of things at home and fold laundry, water plants, or greet the maintenance worker. We’re here to support your wellbeing and help you with habits to add balance to your life!
