[Editor's Note: The following post is by Passive Income, MD, the greatest outsourcer that I've ever met. He argues that doctors are far too afraid of outsourcing tasks, both at home and at work. This post could be written directly to me. Enjoy!]
If there’s anything I’ve learned about readers of this site, it’s that you are some of the most accomplished and motivated people on this earth. When I hear about some of the things you’re doing during our meetups (more to come!) or on our Facebook group, I’m blown away.
Many of you run a successful practice while also being a dedicated parent and partner. People often ask me how I find time to do it all. However, I’m truly amazed at how some of you juggle those things above as well as run your own businesses, manage your finances, volunteer… the list goes on and on.
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I also know that many of you are probably running on fumes trying to do it all. I know I hit that wall at times. It’s in those moments that I have to remind myself to focus on the important things and get help for the rest.
Why Do We Have a Hard Time Getting Help?
Let’s face it, successful people often have a hard time letting go. We’ve pushed and willed our way to where we’re at, and we know how we operate and how we like things. So it’s hard to give up that control, to delegate.
When we think about the effort it would take to teach someone how to do it “right,” we conclude that it’d be faster and easier to just do it ourselves. That can be true (at least initially), but in the long run, it can take its toll.
In reality, some things can’t be delegated. If you’re a world-class surgeon and your reputation is on the line, you wouldn’t rely on some else to do the procedure.
But if it’s a simple, repetitive task or something you don’t enjoy, why not find and teach someone else to do it? That way you can focus on the things that only you should do or things that only you can do well?
This will enable you to focus on the big-picture stuff that advances your goals and objectives in leaps and bounds. It might even be the key to happiness… more on that later.
But What If It’s Not Done Perfectly?
The need for perfection is one of the hardest things to let go of. Fortunately, this is where the 80% rule comes in. If you think that another person can do a certain task up to at least 80% of the competency as you can (and you don’t find enjoyment in it), then you should delegate it.
Of course, this sounds like you’re leaving 20% to be poorly done. But that’s not necessarily the case. In fact, in most cases, the essential parts of a task are done in that 80%. The extra 20% only results in marginal gains and often isn’t worth the extra time you put into it.
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Starting to make some sense? But that’s just the beginning. Here are a few more things that this kind of delegation can do for you.
You Can Focus on What’s Important to You
I’ve heard it said that if you want to know what’s important to someone, see what they spend their time on (and money too). After all, time is our most precious resource.
Take a moment to think about how you spent your week. I’m sure you were extremely busy. But how many of those hours would you have rather spent doing something more important to you?
We’ve all worked so hard to get where we’re at and sacrificed quite a bit. So, at what point are you going to reap the benefits by taking control of your time?
Well, there’s no better time than today. It all comes down to balance. Rather than delaying your gratification to the point where you burn out, take some time and enjoy it now. After all, you’ve made a little money, so use it to free up your time to focus on the things and people you love.
Teaches You How Much Your Time Is Worth
Have you actually put a dollar value on your time? Maybe you haven’t explicitly, but by your actions, you definitely have put a monetary value on it.
For example, you may not enjoy shoveling snow off your driveway, but because you didn’t want to pay someone $40 to shovel it for you, you ended up taking an hour or more of your time and effort to do it yourself. Well in this situation, you basically determined that your hour is worth less than $40.
What else could you have done with that hour? Well, maybe you could’ve spent it reading with your children by the fire, or you could’ve spent it working on your side hustle. In any case, you made a monetary trade and determined how much your time is actually worth to you.
So think about it – whenever you decide to take on a task that you don’t enjoy and you have the chance to outsource it (done well), you’re placing a value on your time.
You just have to realize your time is extremely valuable. Have you ever calculated how much its actually worth? If you can free up some of that time to focus on other projects, and if the essential qualities of a task you don’t enjoy can be completed through delegation, then you’ll feel less stress, you’ll get more done, and you’ll feel more accomplished.
Frees You from Always Having to Be Perfect
Some people have a hard time with imperfection, whether that be in themselves and/or in others. Personally, I’ve failed so many times in my life at various things that I’m better at letting some imperfections slide. But my wife, who is perfect at everything she does, has a harder time with this.
I do believe that once you have children, though, you’re forced to learn to let go of this a bit. You realize that not everything will go as planned and you start focusing on the critical things.
Then once you start delegating, you really start to realize that within every task, there is an essential element, and the other parts don’t matter as much.
A realization like this can be very freeing. It takes away a lot of pressure and stress. You learn to find victories in imperfect situations.
You’ll Learn How to Communicate Better
I work in an academic setting where I teach residents and fellows. Nothing reveals to you how well you know a topic or a procedure as when you teach it to someone. The old mantra, “see one, do one, teach one” comes to mind.
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I learn how to communicate what’s in my head better, as well as how to get others to replicate it. Teaching is definitely a skill, and it takes practice.
When you communicate well, you can indicate exactly what you need and how you need it done. This means better results for you when delegating, and more time to spend on other things.
You’re Also Helping Someone Else Out
I’ve found help for all sorts of things. One of the simplest is internet research for my businesses. How many hours do you spend googling answers to your questions?
Well, after a couple of larger projects, my “researcher” emailed me and thanked me for helping to pay for his wedding. It had been a stressful financial time for him and having a little extra money made a big difference. Here I was thinking I just saved myself a ton of time, but then I realized on the other side is someone who benefitted as well. It’s a total win-win.
You Will Be Happier
Ashley Whillans, a Harvard professor, has performed significant research on over 100,000 working people all over the world. Her studies have found, in her own words, that:
“People who are willing to give up money to gain more free time — by, say, working fewer hours or paying to outsource disliked tasks — experience more fulfilling social relationships, more satisfying careers, and more joy, and overall, live happier lives.”
Don’t know what more I could add to that except to say I wholeheartedly agree.
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Learning to let go is the hardest part of this process. The next part is actually finding someone to help you out. Good help isn’t always easy to find and it’s definitely good to recognize that it may take a few tries to find your team.
However, let’s start with recognizing that it’s time to let go. It’s time to let go of perfection. Time to let go of the frustration at how little time you have, and it’s time start buying your time back. It’s time to enjoy yourself more, and spend time doing what sparks your passion with the people you love. It’s time to realize you need to stop doing it all and find others to help.
What do you think? How do you spend money to free up your time? What should you outsource but have not yet done? Share your outsourcing successes and failures! Comment below!
This is a valuable lesson, and one I need to incorporate into my life.
There’s some value and satisfaction I get from learning new skills (like building a website). But I can realize that the more time consuming parts of blogging at some point should be outsourced.
There’s some sense that I need to “put in the hours” and effort so I can feel that satisfaction of success, though.
Like all things, I suppose it’s about finding that balance.
— TDD
Thanks for the post,
I’d love to hear more details… what would you say are the five top tasks physicians (or dentists) should consider giving up?
Agree with Tim. Many of the most time-taking things are also really really important. Between the husband and I, our time goes most in note-writing (yay!), childcare (even though they are (early) school-age- I need to spend time on them outside of school or they might end up juvenile delinquents… though research in this area suggests otherwise and is very reassuring) and cooking (we are Indian and Blue Apron won’t cut it for us). Cleaning, yardwork are already outsourced.
PIMD, maybe a lot of things associated with your side hustles are outsourced- real estate, etc.?
Agree with Tim. A lot of the most time consuming things are also the most important- or is the other way around?… we give it time because it’s important.
In our dual physician family, most of our time outside work goes in note writing (yes, we have explored workarounds and have not found solutions that work for us at this time), child care (my kids are early school age and outside of school times, I do need to spend time on/with them. Or they may end up as juvenile delinquents… though research in this area suggests otherwise) and cooking (we are from India and Blue Apron won’t quite cut it for us).
PIMD, maybe a lot of what you outsource is related to your side hustles?
Things we/I farm out regularly:
– lawn care (mowing, raking, blowing, trimming, fertilizing, etc)
– pool care
– oil changes (have the skills but not enjoyable or worth it to me)
– house cleaning
Things I do that take up huge time blocks:
– notes/documentation (despite having the HPI and assessment/plan scribed)
– child care (nights and mornings spent bathing, feeding, clothing, brushing teeth, reading, chauffeuring to and from school and fun)
– turnover time between cases (dictate, eat, and do notes but still lots of time wasted waiting on others)
– coding surgeries and office notes (could probably hire out but nervous it wouldn’t get done right)
There is always time
Evidence – a leading lipid specialist and friend from med school decided to bag studying for Internal Medicine Boards (recert). He figured the intense hours spent in preparation could be used to write the book he’s been wanting to do.
Now he has a book done!
Write your own script
I’ve been enjoying and sharing the thought that – money is useless unless it is used
Been hiring freelancers to do odd admin tasks via UpWork,com and hiring handymen via TaskRabbit
I’ve grown my side hustles , increased my investments and have more free time
(Revisited 4 Hour Work Week recently)
Happy Father’s Day
The best $45 I spend every week is to have my lawn mowed and edged. Our lot is just over an acre, and even with a couple of big riding and stand-on mowers, plus edging and blowing, it takes 2-3 guys about an hour to finish my lawn. If I had to do it myself it would take a few hours. I used to watch my neighbor, sweating his brains out in the summer, now his lawn every week. It would take him a few hours, and it never looked as good as my lawn did. Meanwhile on those Saturdays I was at my kids’ games, or taking them to do something fun (floating the river, going on a hike, etc).
I’ve been hesitant to this point to get a housecleaning service because I’m sure once I do I’ll never be able to go back, but that’s probably the next step. We need to get our house a little more settled and de-cluttered before taking that leap though. The de-cluttering is my next project. One room at a time. It’s difficult with kids who want to keep everything though.
The decluttering is way harder than the cleaning IMHO, but if you’re not great at decluttering, the cleaning service will probably fire you!
Go for the cleaning service! I hesitated for years, because I actually do enjoy cleaning and organizing my house, but with 2 young children and a messy husband, it was 3 against 1 and I was losing big time. Now, at least there are 2 people – the cleaning lady and I – who care about my house being clean.
Bonus – the day before the cleaning lady comes is the only time I can get the other members of my household to pick up their stuff without (much) nagging. My kids seem to think that the cleaning lady will throw away their stuff if they don’t pick it up, and I’m not going to tell them otherwise 🙂 Picking up their own stuff has (sometimes) made them realize when they have too much stuff, and getting rid of things is easier. Double bonus!
Is it possible to hire a cleaning lady who WILL throw away anything left out? I could really use that service.
I use the same trick with my kids! Anything on the floor is getting vacuumed, I tell them. It works.
Great post, but I have always felt that the “how much is your time worth?” argument has a few holes in it. Yes, I spend my evenings mowing the lawn, shoveling the driveway, working in the garden, or cleaning the house, but honestly, what else would I do productively during that time after the kids are in bed? I’m not going to moonlight or start a side business from 8-9 every night. So yes, my time may be worth more from 7 AM-7 PM, but after that I’m just a dad with a lawn mower like everybody else on my block. Plus, doing some good honest work that’s non-medical sometimes helps me clear my head after a busy day. Just my two cents.
Agree. The higher income allows for less inconveniences and more freedom, but as a parent I worry about the culture I’m creating in my home and neighborhood if I’m eliminating all chores and tasks that are beneath my hourly income. Which Saturday activity leads to more personal growth and happiness for my kids – working side by side with me in the yard or spending the afternoon with me at the mall/theme park/ballgame/park/etc.? Maybe a little of both? I know which one sounds more appealing on Saturday morning, but not sure which one yields the best long-term returns.
We all worked very hard in school, residency, and at our job, but my kids were either unborn, too young or not present to appreciate the hard work I put in on the front end and now they only see the favorable lifestyle of an attending doc. It also seems that work experience is becoming harder to create for my kids in today’s culture.
I can financially afford to outsource plenty of tasks but I’m not so sure I can afford NOT TO provide my kids with some of these life experiences.
I agree. There are no cows to milk in my yard. The only chores I can use for them to learn to work are cleaning and yardcare.
I dunno, I run a business from 8-9 at night. 🙂 There are holes to be poked in the argument, but I’m not sure that’s the biggest one.
I don’t agree with this article.
Why pay somebody to do something 80% or worse than you do it yourself?
The more obvious solution is to stop being a perfectionist and just start half assing most of the time sucks in your life. A half assed job is usually good enough. Pareto is too stingy with 80:20. I’d say it’s more like 60:40.
Also, don’t forget to take into account the time you have to waste communicating with people you employ.
Marco, Pareto is about efficiency. 20% of the time gets you 80% of the result. Half assing something is way too much effort. Put in the first 20% of the effort, and call 80% a good enough result. Most of the time, I’ll take that trade.
I’m not a physician, am a mid-career MBA. I employed the 80:20 rule hard core when doing my MBA while I was also an Army officer with two jobs. If you do 80:20 twice, in grade terms that equals 96% with 40% of the effort it would take to get 100%. That to me was a trade worth making, and the better you get at it, the closer you get to optimizing the usage of your time.