“Automating” Our Lives…
We live in a very fast-paced world. Frequently, we feel overwhelmed by the amount of information and activity we absorb in order to stay current.
There is so much to do and so little time! How do we manage it all? How do we stay productive and on top of our game?
Technological progress has given us the ability to automate a lot of our tasks and activities. I am really amazed by how our lives could be different if all we had to do is “push the button?”
I recently had lunch with a CPA colleague of mine, Theresa, who became a new mom in September of 2013 and was just returning back to work from her maternity leave. She was sharing her new experience and how she was managing her time. We were talking about how weekends go by so fast and how there are all these things we have to do: laundry, cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping. Teresa exclaimed, ” I order my groceries online these days!” I looked at her with a surprise and a slight sense of skepticism. Groceries online? Really?
And then a light bulb went off in my head. Why not? Where have I been?
I was definitely aware of all these kinds of services; I was just never able to put this into practice. I usually order everything I can on Amazon and I love it. But food items? I just couldn’t comprehend it.
I used to like going shopping, especially for food. I enjoy cooking and the process of buying food items (touching them, smelling them) to me was almost necessary, in order to be able to cook a meal I was satisfied with.
Somewhere along the way, I’ve managed to get so busy with life, work and travel. Grocery shopping has become a chore that I don’t enjoy any more! I began randomly stopping at the store to pick up food, without making a shopping list or planning a meal. The cooking I used to enjoy so much had turned into a chore. Some days I didn’t even want to do that and Yuri and I just started going out to eat more.
And so I was falling into this “trap” of being unpredictable and emotional. I even ignored the fact that we were spending more money. I didn’t want to know!
In the world of personal finance, we constantly make recommendations about automating savings and debt elimination. The main reason being is it helps us overcome our unpredictable and emotional behavior, especially when it comes to money.
My lunch discussion with Theresa opened a door for me that I just “didn’t have time” to open! Thank you, Theresa! I finally made a decision to try ordering food items online.
I placed my first order from Safeway when I was in Maryland the night before I arrived home in San Francisco. I will report back shortly on how my first order went.
What other tasks and activities should we be putting on automatic pilot?
