I’ve been thinking about the things around the house lately.
Specifically, why does it always seem there is a long list of things to do?
As I thought more about why, I realized there are three different types of “jobs”.
Manage, Maintain, and Modify.
Manage
This is the day to day running of our home.
Laundry.
Grocery shopping.
Cleaning.
Cooking.
Tasks that need to be repeated daily or weekly to keep our home running.
Maintain
These are the projects that need attention monthly, quarterly, or annually.
Things like replacing light bulbs and furnace filters.
Deep cleaning under furniture.
Washing windows.
They need to be attended to, but not all the time.
Modify
These are the projects that often keep falling off the list.
Painting a room.
Replacing window treatments.
Renovating a bathroom.
Handling Everything
Getting to all the projects can be a challenge.
Lack of time…or money…to handle everything.
Outsourcing takes money.
Insourcing requires us to find the time to do the work.
My recommendation is to start with a list.
Take everything that needs to be done and break the tasks into the three categories.
The manage list is never ending.
See if you can get those things on a regular schedule.
Now, consider the maintain list.
Which ones must be done immediately?
Put those on the list for the next week.
Keep scheduling these items in until you start to get a monthly to-do list for the year.
The final list to tackle is modify.
Prioritize this list.
If insourcing, start to find larger windows of time.
Once the project gets going you will be in the flow and soon, the project will be complete.
If outsourcing is the plan, put away a little bit of money each month.
Before you know it, the money will be there.
Your Turn
How do you handle all the personal projects?
What will you take on with your own time vs. what will you spend money on to outsource?
Could this categorization help you better plan?