I will never outsource my lawn care. Not because they can’t do it cheaper than I can; they couldn’t. Not because they do not practice organic lawn care methods, keeping my yard safe for my kids and neighbors; they don’t. Not because they don’t have as much heart for their work as I do while testing my ingrained agricultural skills by successfully growing grass where previous owners have failed; I care.
I will never outsource my lawn care because it gives me time to think. Every other week when I cut my grass, I have an hour by myself with only the lawn mower to keep me company. No kids. No wife. Just me and the hand-me-down YardMachines. (Thanks Dad!)
Sure, I could listen to music while cutting the grass. Or I could stare off into the sky, but I might run into a tree. Instead, I use this hour to think. The din of the mower, thanks to earmuffs, offers the perfect combination of silence and white noise. I’m just a man with a lawn mower, my thoughts, and a notepad.
I think about upcoming presentations, new content for the next book, blog posts for the future. And occasionally, I think about the To Do list that is waiting for me after I finish the lawn and shower.
But Why is This Time so Valuable?
It has been shown that you think clearer during and after exercise. It is due to a combination of increased blood flow and endorphins. Without getting too white lab coat scientific, let’s just agree that even moderate exercise is good for the brain.
Between moments of self-doubt and jubilation, runners report times of exceptional clarity. Maybe it is the scenery where they are running. Perhaps it is the solitude of the moment. Or it could be the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other to propel the body forward.
Even if you are not a runner, or don’t routinely exercise, cutting the grass may be enough movement to get the blood flowing and the ideas pumping.
So What Does It All Mean?
The decision to outsource is not necessarily based on the hard Return on Investment (ROI). For example, if your time is worth $50 per hour and the lawn cutting service charges $25 per cut, it might seem like a no-brainer. Instead, the better way to look at this scenario is that you are spending $25 extra to have that hour to create perhaps thousands of dollars based on your ideas generated. Now which one is the no-brainer?
Outsource tasks that will yield minimal to no value. Keep those chores that pay dividends in the long run.
QUESTION FOR YOU –
How do you turn a chore into something productive?
SOMETHING FOR YOU –
For the awesome first chapter of the #1 best selling book Better than Average: Excelling in a Mediocre World, send an email to me and you score it for free!
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Todd Brockdorf
Better than Average Guy
Author, Speaker, Consultant
[email protected]
Awesome perspective Todd, and spot on! While I love to outsource to make the “highest and best use” of my time, this is a great new take on what many consider to be tedious chores. You use your lawn-cutting time as an escape,a time to think. I do the same thing when I climb the mountains that I do. Although its an escape from the hustle and bustle, I don’t take any “electronica” with me…I’m left alone purely in my own thoughts. And that is truly priceless…