6: Should You Do-It-Yourself or Outsource It?
Have you ever taken on a project that you had no business doing yourself? Or maybe the exact opposite happened. You were so glad you did it yourself because it saved you money and you discovered something you were really good at? This episode discusses what you should consider and what you should be asking yourself when thinking about doing something yourself versus outsourcing it.
In this episode we talk about:
- Questions to ask your self when you are second guess your outsourcing and DIYing decisions.
- Simplify your decision on whether you should do it yourself or hire someone to do the task.
- MAPS (Do you have the Money, Availability, Passion and Specialty to do it yourself?)
The Organized & Productive podcast is brought to you by The Organized Flamingo and hosted by Stephanie Y. Deininger! For those of you who love the thought of organizing & being more productive, but don’t know where to start or constantly up against hurdles that don’t let you advance the way you want to, this podcast is for you!
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Review the Transcript:
Have you ever taken on a project that you had no business doing yourself? Or maybe the exact opposite happened? You were so glad you did it yourself because it saved you money, and you discovered something you were really good at. Alright, well, in today's episode, we are discussing, you know, what you should consider and what you should be asking yourself when thinking about doing something yourself versus outsourcing it. This episode is for those of you that second guess your outsourcing, and DIY and decisions.
For those of you who by the time you decide the project has gotten way bigger and more complicated, and now you kind of don't have a choice, or it's just become overwhelming. Maybe you leave things in limbo, because you can never make a decision. So let me help you simplify your decision on whether you should do it yourself, or hire someone to do the task. Welcome to the organized and productive podcast with the organized Flamingo. I'm your host, Stephanie, a professional organizer and productivity expert, ready to explore the right organizing and productivity solutions for you. Yeah, well, then let's go. Hey, friends. All right. So first thing is first, if you're wondering why I'm talking about this topic, and if it feels out of place, it really isn't. Our if you're wondering if I'm trying to convince you to hire us? Well, it's not quite the case. Yes, we do offer both DIY and done for you organizing services and solutions.
And those are always there for you. But this episode is my way of helping you get through the complications that come with decision paralysis, which is a big obstacle in the organizing and productivity space. Also, outsourcing doesn't just mean hiring someone for your business. In our episode, we are defining outsourcing as having someone else do it that is better suited for the task. This could be a business, some other business that does a task for you. But it can also be a spouse or a friend that you're swapping resources with. I have witnessed decision paralysis with my community and clients for years when they think they can do it themselves. But in the end, they end up overwhelmed and it ends up costing them more money, frustration and time. And as a professional organizer that focuses on giving you maximum efficiency and productivity in life, so you can have more peace. My goal is to help you think through some questions that are neutral and essential and will hopefully make it easier to decide which way to go so that the decision paralysis isn't what a standing in the way of going forward with your organizing project. We have an acronym at the organized Flamingo, that helps us quickly determine if something is worth doing it yourself, or if outsourcing is a better option for you.
So grab a piece of paper and pen or your favorite note taking tool, because you will want to write this down and take the quiz or at least write down the question so that you can ask yourself this a couple of times the acronym is maps, capital M A P S, and I will explain what map stands for in a second. But first, pick a project that you have been wanting to finish. So I'm sure there's something like your garage, maybe a pantry, maybe a business project that you've been wanting to organize like your files, but you haven't done it because you don't know if you should do it yourself or outsource it, or it just feels really overwhelming. Okay, so did you write it down? Alright, so put that aside for just a minute. But we will come back to this project to this question over and over. So keep it handy. So maps asks these four questions, there are, it stands for four of the resources that are crucial and completing a task or a project. B M, stands for money. The A stands for availability, the P stands for passion, the S stands for specialty. So when you're asking yourself, should I do this? Or should I do it myself? You're going to ask it in this way. Do you have the money the M to complete the tasks yourself? A Do you have? Do I so this is my actually the question is towards you. Do I have the availability or the time to complete this task this project? P Do I have the passion to even complete this task? Meaning do I even like to do this?
And then S is for specialty which is do you have? Do I have the specialty to complete this task? Am I good at this? Am I specialized in this area? For me in order for me to complete this task? So the way that you measure it is in this way? If you answered yes, I have three or four of the resources in the maps acronym. Then di wine could be worth it. So if you have three of the four so the money the availability, the passion In this specialty, if you have three or four of them, then it could be worth it because you have enough resources to make it worth your effort in time. But if you answered yes to only one or two of the resources outlined in the maps acronym, then it may not be enough to make it worth it. So doing it yourself, and outsourcing could save you money in the long run. Let me give you an example of how to apply this. Let's say you are wondering if it's worth doing your own grocery shopping? Or maybe you should, or should you be outsourcing it, you know, those digital apps now that you can order your groceries from, and they'll either deliver it to your doorstep, or you can go pick it up. So you will ask yourself the following questions? Do I have the money to do it on my own? So take into account money means do I have the money for gas? Do I have money for a car for those of you who live in bigger cities, and maybe don't have a car of your own, because you're constantly taxing or Oberyn? Or whatever it may be car sharing? Those types of questions are important to you. Not everybody has a vehicle right?
To go get the groceries for example. So do I have the money to do this? On my own? Do I have the money to go grocery shopping on my own? The second is, do I have the availability the A? or the time to do it? Do I even have the time to do it? Are you always traveling? Are you constantly on the go? Do you even have the time to do it? The third is Do I have the passion to do? Or do you even like to do it yourself? I'll give you a great example. I am not a big fan of shopping for groceries. I don't mind going to the grocery store. But I don't particularly love going grocery shopping. So those that that's the passion? Do you even like to do it? And then the s under maps is? Do I have a specialty? Like, am I good at it? When I do do this task when I go grocery shopping? Am I even good at it. Some of you may be thinking that you like doing it. But when you're there, you don't even have a shopping list or you spend a lot more time or money. You go in thinking you're going to spend you know $5 And you come out with $105 Because you had no plan and now it's just back fired on you. So that's the specialty or you've been good at it. For my business folks and community that is listening to this an example for you could be should I create and do my own website? Should I be doing this myself? And so you will ask yourself the same questions in that same order?
Do I have the money to do it on my own? Because doing it on your own by yourself means that you have to buy the hosting, you know the the software and you know, etc? Wherever you go down the list of that? Do I have the time to do it? Okay, great. You have all the money in the world to do it. But do you have the time? Do I have the passion to do it? Do I even like to do this? Am I? Do I get excited when I do my own website? Not really well, then that's that is an example of? Do I even like to do it myself? Are you good at it? You can like something you can like to do something. But that doesn't mean you're good at it. And for the specialty the acids and maps, it means are you good at it by nature, like naturally you were just gifted with that special skill that is especially true for creatives and artists. But it could also be by trade or by education. So are you good at it because you went to school for this. Or maybe you're good at it because you have learned you have learned through the years to be good at this task. But eventually you became good at it right? So those are all falling under the specialty. Like these examples, there are many more, and this episode could go on forever with examples. So instead, ask yourself the questions and tag us so we can cheer you on and help you move forward in an efficient and productive manner. And we're more than happy to help you with asking the right questions so that you can come out with the results that will be helpful to you in the long run. So just remember maps, do you have the money, availability, passion and specialty to do this on your own? These resources are precious, these four resources are super precious to you.
So why do things you could be getting help to complete with less stress and maybe even better done than if you would have tried to do it yourself? But how awesome also on the opposite of that? How awesome is it to confirm that you made the right decision of doing something yourself? Like when you go through the steps and you ask yourself these four questions. How awesome is it going to be when you realize that wait, I actually really liked to do this and it is worth the time. Even if I don't have one of those four resources. I have three others and that will make it worth it and will hopefully give you the reassurance you need to move forward to do it yourself. And as you get your results and you're finalizing whether to do it yourself or have someone else do it for you. Feel free to download our FREE seven Steps to organizing almost anything that is in our podcast page. It is full of information that will guide you through your organizing journey whether you decide to outsource or do it yourself. We are here to help and help your organizing journey so we are signing off for now I am signing up for now and remember to do something today that your future self will thank you for. Thank you for listening to the organized and productive podcast with the organized Flamingo. If you enjoyed today's episode, I would love it if you'd leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast player. It helps with letting people know that we're here. For full show notes and resources head on over to the organized flamingo.com/podcast Happy organizing.