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Last week I wrote about the 80/20 Rule; specifically in regard to outsourcing things in order to focus more on the 20 percent that gives you the best results and greatest satisfaction in work and life. For this post I just wanted to elaborate on a couple of points about outsourcing: outsourcing the right things, and spending money on the right things to outsource.

In regard to outsourcing the right things, I think it’s helpful to honestly look at what you could let go of in all areas of your life – even if you feel that these are things you should be doing yourself (either because society tells you that you should, or because your own internal critic is giving you a different message).

Some people hire personal chefs and personal shoppers, for example, simply because they can. Others do things like this, however, because of the payoff it affords: less stress, more time with family, more time to focus on the things with larger emotional and financial potential. And again, outsourcing doesn’t have to cost a lot of money: going back to the example of unloading the task of loading the dishwasher…

So try to get out of the trap of doing certain things because “that’s how it’s always been done”. We have so many resources available to us to free up our time – we should take advantage of them and make the very most of what little time we have.

My own outsourcing takes place primarily in the area of business: I outsource things in my physical businesses like driving and payment collection, which obviously need to be sourced locally. I also outsource some things for my internet business that can be sourced locally or distantly, depending on the need.

For my web-based businesses I don’t outsource things like article-writing and customer service; because I feel that I’m the only one who should really be representing my brands. Other things I do outsource distantly, though, because they just make sense to do so. These include the day-to-day things that are essential to grow a business, but don’t need my personal involvement.

And then there are other things that require a higher level of skill, which I outsource locally. I rely on Cyndi from Inspired by Change, for example, to handle my website design and updates because of her 10-plus years experience and knowledge of the internet. I also draw quite frequently on her strong marketing intuition and technical experience.

My point is that it really helps to do a cost-benefit analysis of where your time and money is being spent – and to spend more where it’s needed, and less where you can do so without “cutting corners”.