ProdPod: Episode 40 -- Outsourcing Tasks for Greater Productivity...For Free, Part I

We discussed in the last episode about the idea of using virtual assistants, personal concierges and daily money managers to help get more done in life without you doing all of it. In this episode in our four-part ProdPod series on personal outsourcing, I will be explaining for you how to use an age-old concept of outsourcing tasks for greater productivity...for free, bartering.

You know what bartering [http://www.gettingmoneywise.com/2011/12/swap-share-and-land-bartering.html?m=1] is. You have an apple and I want to buy an apple. And, I have an orange and you want an orange. But, neither of us has any currency. So, we decide that instead of buying the fruits from each other or from a market, we'll just exchange your apple for my orange. It turns out that we can translate bartering vis-a-vis your productivity.

Think about everyone in your life: co-workers, spouses, children, other family members, friends, acquaintances, and more. Did you ever find that you like to do certain things in life and others in your life enjoy doing the things you find difficult, boring and time-consuming? Why not swap tasks for greater efficiencies? For example, do you hate grocery shopping but love doing laundry? Ask your friend who lives nearby if s/he would be willing to swap duties. Or, perhaps you have to send out holiday cards every year and you always struggle to get them out on time, and your mother is great at the task but needs some help every year wrapping all the grandchildren's presents and that happens to be something you enjoy doing. Why not barter the card-writing for the gift-wrapping? I'm giving very simple examples, but get creative. You'd be surprised what your support network doesn't want to do and would be willing to do for you not to have to do their own stuff. You will find the efficiencies remarkable when you realize how little work it is to do a bit extra work doing what you enjoy and not do the things you really don't want to or never get around to doing.

In the final episode in this series, I'll give you a quick-start guide on how to begin personal tasks bartering.