Automating Your Life: Spend Less Time Doing Crappy Tasks and More Time Doing What You Love

So, I’m definitely on a productivity kick. How can I spend less time doing crappy things that I hate, and more time creating and doing things that I enjoy? Yes, things like unexpected doctors appointments, traffic jams, and trips to the airport will come up, but it’s still worth spending some time figuring out how do more things I like with less time (I swear my watch hates me and is speeding up).

I decided I wanted to learn how to create systems for my mundane tasks in order to  automate them, and perhaps even give them away for someone else to do. 

Automate definition: Convert a process to largely automatic operation

Why would anyone try to automate anything? To live richer, happier, easier lives (#booyah).

Technically we already automate tasks when we:

• Go out to dinner
• Go to the doctor (Really? you really want to go to medical school to learn to operate on yourself? Really? ;) ) 
• Hire someone to do our taxes

Some things have to be done and can only be done by us. But other things, menial tasks that are about as fun as scraping nails on a chalkboard—they can be broken up, broken down, and given away. 

You don’t necessarily have to automate the whole job. 

1. Pick three tasks inside the larger job, tasks that could very well be repetitious. 
2. Learn how to do each task well three times. 
3. Write dummy-proof detailed instructions on how to do the task(s) so you can teach someone else how to do the task(s). **Yes, writing the instructions totally sucks and can take a bit of time. But the time you’ll save over the course of a week, a month, a year by not having to do this task will be epic and allow you to spend more time on the people you love and more time on the things you love to do. 
4. If you can’t afford to give these tasks away by paying someone, barter them away. “Hey Barry, I hate doing X but you love doing X. You hate doing Y but I love doing Y. Let’s switch and check in on progress at the end of the week.”

PS, yes there are apps and cool life-hack posts on productivity and automating your life. There’s lots of material and good info out in cyberspace.

You only live once. Might as well find ways to create more possibilities while you’re here. Bam.

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