Buying Time

Always late for work? Sick of early morning queues at the coffee shop?

Now there’s a solution: ShowerShock, a caffeine infused cake. Cake of soap. Designed to save time in the morning, it combines two daily necessities: personal hygiene and caffeine intake.

Sacrificing even the simplest pleasure of imbibing our morning heart-starter, in the name of saving time.
Are we really that busy?

Apparently so.
A recent study has shown that the main activity eating into our time is work.
Amongst developed nations, Australia ranks second in the number of hours worked. Japan comes in first.*1

The findings of this study are not new to us. We know we are busy. Correction: ‘time poor’ ( it’s the modern term ,even though slightly longer to pronounce). How do we cope with our time poverty? ‘As best we can’ is how many may respond. Others recommend regular holidays, delegation or learning to say ‘no’. Some Australian workers are now turning to Workaholics Anonymous to change working patterns and reclaim their time.

The savvy 21st century lifestyler (the modern term , slightly quicker to pronounce than ‘the average man/woman on the street’) would profess that outsourcing is the answer. Outsourcing: the 80s buzz word of the corporate world, a strategy developed to save time and money. It also draws on external expertise allowing in-house staff to concentrate on core work.
The 21st century, (the noughties – much quicker to pronounce) has brought the concept of personal outsourcing. *2

The idea’s been around in a traditional sense for centuries: time poor, cash rich people employing nannies, gardeners, cooks, cleaners, and others to complete daily chores and keep households running smoothly.

But the phenomena of personal outsourcing is changing. No longer solely for the very rich, it is now a normalised, well accepted part of everyday life, a coping strategy to maintain our busy lifestyles, a necessity.

The new personal outsourcing is innovative, targeted & designed to create more time. As a nation we are fast following in the footsteps of our also time poor American cousins by embracing a wide variety of time saving services: online and personal shopper, specialised cleaning services (blinds, upholstery, wheelie bins), childrens’ parties hosts, caterers, holidays and family entertainment, and an ocean of time saving computer programs and electronic organisers. Not to mention the plethora of standard services turned mobile: pet washing, fitness equipment, bookkeeping, music tuition, massage, hairdressing. The list goes on.

With personal outsourcing now a part of daily life, we can find all the extra time in the world. But how will we spend it? In the office? With our family? Inventing more time saving devices? Or perhaps simply enjoying that morning coffee - in the kitchen, not the shower!

 

*1. 'An Unexpected Tragedy' March 2007 report by Relationships Forum Australia (www.relationshipsfoundation.org)
*2. Edward Yourdon 'Outsource: competing in the global productivity race' Prentice Hall 2005

Written by Roz Howland and published in The Cairns Post "Business Week" Section 9 May, 2007.