NUTS!
Are you trying to perform tasks but find you consistently come up short? Maybe you are working outside of your skill set.
As I watch a squirrel, his tiny cheeks chock full of nuts, I marvel at how easily he can crack open the shells. This feat is made all the more impressive because of his diminutive size. My relative giant-like stature and comparatively inferior nut-cracking skills only raise the squirrel's status in my eyes.
The average squirrel weighs about a pound. One pound. Let's just say I've got him beat in a "hands down" fashion. He is about 18" in length. While I don't have quite as impressive an advantage in this department, I am considerably longer than he is. Given my size, I should be able to outdo him on any task requiring sheer physical force. But I can't.
I wasn't given razor sharp teeth that can effortlessly pierce solid material. While I outweigh and outmeasure the squirrel, he can outmaneuver me. I just don't have the right skill set to efficiently perform this task.
Whether at home or at work, consider the duties that are frustrating, awkward, or difficult for you. Speak to someone you trust and ask them to help evaluate how you are applying your skill set to everyday responsibilities. Maybe it's time to outsource some of your duties. Outsource doesn't necessarily mean you pay a professional.
Outsource can be enlisting the help of your co-workers, spouse or children. When we have something to do in the evenings my husband often does the dishes. I'm capable, but I'm slow. He looked at me the other night and said, "I just saved you thirty minutes!" Inefficiency is an excellent reason to outsource.
Outsource can be accomplished by bartering with friends or local business people for services. Bartering is an old custom that is coming back into vogue with our current economic slowdown. Think outside of the box regarding how you can trade services.
Outsource may mean you pay for a service. You have to determine what it is worth to you not to have to do that frustrating task. You may choose to refigure the budget to pay someone to take over a responsibility you are not equipped to do well.
When you are working within your skill set, the duties you perform will come as easily to you as a squirrel cracking a nut. Outsourcing is simply the process of discovering that you are not a squirrel, that you have a nut to crack, and that it will get cracked more completely and efficiently if you find a squirrel to crack it. When you enlist the help of the right squirrel, you will also discover that you now have extra time to use your talents to create more revenue or simply to enjoy life more fully. Let's get crackin'!