One of the old-time masters of productivity and business is Bob Bly. Bob does copywriting for a living, but writes on many topics that apply to business and making good use of your time and money.
This newsletter came across my desk a few weeks ago, and I share it with you here in its entirety.
Enjoy!
– John Verbrugge
Dear Direct Response Letter Subscriber:
Your most valuable resource is not money. You can always get more money.
It is time. Time is irreplaceable. When it is gone, you can’t get it back. And your supply is severely limited.
I am not telling you something you do not already know.
So the way I am going to help you today is to give you my most powerful strategy for using your time wisely and efficiently.
It is: outsourcing.
Simply put, this means doing only those things that, in the words of info marketing guru Fred Gleeck, “make the highest and best use of your time.”
About the only 2 things I devoted my life to — and spent all my time on — were writing and being the best father I could be.
Those are the highest and best use of my time, because they delivered the most value to me, my clients, my publishers, my readers, and my family.
When you focus on the things that matter most and jettison the rest, you save time, make more money, and have a happier and more enjoyable life.
Here are just a few of the things that other people do themselves but I rarely or never do myself and instead outsource to others:
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Lawn care — a total waste of my time. I hire a service to mow the grass, trim the bushes, and pick up the leaves.
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Snow shoveling — another waste of time. I have a service on call to plow and shovel us whenever it snows.
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Accounting and bookkeeping — I have a bookkeeper on staff and outsource tax preparation to a local CPA.
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House cleaning — we outsource that to a housecleaning service, as I have better things to do with my time than vacuuming or dusting.
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Home repairs — local plumbers, electricians, contractors, and handymen love us, because they do everything to upkeep our home and its systems.
Why? Most of the work I cannot even do. The work I could do, they do 4 times faster and 4 times better than I could.
And I can spend the time at my computer writing for clients instead, so hiring them is actually a profit center rather than a cost center. It is. Think about it.
>> Building houses for the poor — good works are important. But by earning more money, I have more to give to charitable organizations, essentially “outsourcing” my good works to them.
Sincerely,
Bob Bly
P.S. For more time management tips, check out my Career Press book “Make Every Second Count” (Career Press): http://amzn.to/2nFsu5F
Bob Bly
Copywriter / Consultant
31 Cheyenne Dr.
Montville, NJ 07045
Phone 973-263-0562
Fax 973-263-0613