Beating Burnout: Must-Try Services in the DC Metro Area

What does a typical work day look like for you? Wake up, go to the gym, get the kids ready for school, get ready for work, drive kids to school, drive self to work, work for eight hours (try to squeeze in a few errands on lunch break), come home, help the kids with homework, make dinner, clean up and collapse onto the couch (or bed) in an utter state of exhaustion.

While having a busy schedule is part of life, a life that is way too hectic could send you straight to Burnout Central. I talked about this in my recent post Beating Burnout: How to Avoid Feeling Overwhelmed, but now it’s time to take things one step further. If your schedule is jam packed with things you absolutely need to do, start offloading some of the burden.

I’m a big fan of the following services—or eager to try them! All of them operate in the DC Metro area.

Cross grocery-shopping off the to-do list

Peapod: I started using Peapod when I first built my business. One day I realized all the time I was spending on grocery shopping and knew I needed to free this time up. Using Peapod took all those steps—making a list of things to buy, driving to the store, hunting down all the items, waiting in line to purchase them, hauling them home—and streamlined the process. Now all I did was click to get the groceries I needed, placed the order, open the door, and put the groceries away. Not only was I saving time, but gas money, too.

Instacart: Similar to Peapod, Instacart also offers home grocery shopping and delivery. This company promises the groceries will be delivered in one hour after placing the order.

Make mealtimes a catered affair

Blue Apron: Several of my friends and family are using this service, and they highly recommend it. Blue Apron deliverers farm-fresh ingredients for meals straight to your door. The ingredients for each meal are perfectly portioned so there’s no waste—all you have to do is chop the vegetables and follow the recipe instructions. Overall, this helps save time on shopping and figuring what to make for dinner.

GrubHub: I personally use GrubHub all the time. We can order takeout from restaurants that don’t offer delivery, so it opens up our options. AlI we need to do is pick out what to eat, customize the order so there are no mistakes, and click “order food.” It shows up pretty quickly, and I don’t have a sink full of pots and pans to worry about!

Postmates: Let’s say you need printer ink, Ziplock bags, a latté, and lunch. You could spend at least two hours running to Staples, the grocery store, and your favorite café to get everything you need.Or, you could use Postmates. This on-demand delivery service is mostly used for delivering food from restaurants, but they deliver other local goods as well. Check the app to see the specific vendors they work with and if they work in your area.

Get some help around the house

TaskRabbit: If the never-ending tasks on your to-do list are giving you anxiety, it’s time to call in for backup. Fortunately, TaskRabbit is a fantastic resource to use. All you do is pick a task—like building a new IKEA desk, cleaning up the kitchen, moving seasonal items into storage, etc.—and TaskRabbit will match you with a pro to help you get it done.

Let Mommy Sleep: This is an incredible local service for new parents. Let Mommy Sleep provides overnight care to newborns and evidence-based education to their parents for as long as a family needs. A typical overnight is from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., during which time a registered nurse or newborn care provider will assist with the baby so you can catch some much-needed zzz’s.

Track the details without losing your mind

Shoeboxed: This is another go-to service for me. It takes away the time factor (and growing burden) of organizing all the documents of your day-to-day life (receipts, business cards, etc.). You can then turn your attention to more important things—like importing the data from those documents into reports and records.

Bring the spa to you

In The Nick of Time: If you want to get a haircut, spray tan, massage, and pedicure without leaving the house, then this spa on wheels is an absolute must. You can sit back, relax and get pampered all in the comfort of your home. While this can definitely save some time, it’s also important to your overall well-being. It’s hard to fall victim to stress when you’re more blissed out than burnt out.

This is only a partial list of time-saving services you can use to beat burnout. If you’re looking to finally take control of your busy schedule and better organize your life, I offer one-on-one consultations to help. To set up a time to chat, schedule a discovery call with me today.

Who's On Your Team?

How do you feel about delegation? Most of us are brought up to think that hiring someone to do something that you could do yourself is lazy, decadent, or only for the wealthy and famous. Is that how you feel? A few decades ago that thought process might have held a lot more weight.

These days, however, we are inundated with more demands on our time and attention than ever before. Caring for our homes, vehicles, and whole-selves (including our physical, mental, emotional. and spiritual needs) are just basic things that require lots of time and attention.

On top of our basic care, we have goals and ambitions that make our lives and those around us better. For many this could mean going back to school or taking classes for work, juggling demanding careers, enjoying fulfilling but time-intensive hobbies or side-projects, participating in preventative care like going to the gym, getting a massage, taking fitness classes, or working towards weight and health management efforts. Then we are have to consider the needs of others. I’ve seen clients who are balancing caregiving roles for young children and aging parents simultaneously, all while trying to spend quality time with friends and family. It can all make us feel crazy busy.

In Dr. Edward Hallowell’s book Crazy Busy he mentions delegation is key number seven of the 10 key principles to managing modern life. He states: “Delegate what you don’t like to do or are not good at if you possibly can. Your goal should be to be not independent, but rather effectively interdependent...For children and adults alike, learning how to be effectively interdependent is a major life skill.” How humbling! No man is an island—we need others to effectively manage our own lives.

With modern technology we can have our own “team” to help us do to things that we don’t like to do or are not good at. This frees up time so we can work on the projects and tasks we like and/or allows us to better use our time to do the things that take us less time or bring us more fulfillment.  

If we are around people who make us feel like we are “too big for our britches,” when we hire or ask for help, then it’s time to find new friends (just kiddin'). But feel free to use this as a good humble response: “I’ve found that to care better for myself and family, I should focus on the things that I do well and that are important to me, and delegate the things that allow me to be a better [wife, mother, husband, father, business owner, daughter, son, friend, person].”

So, who’s on your team to help you be the best you? Below I’ve included a list of folks and some links that can get the ball rolling to increase your delegation efforts.

Here are a few suggestions of people to add to your “team”:

• Dog walker/pet care professional
• Personal trainer
• Professional organizer
• Doctors
• Chef/food prep service
• Home cleaning service
• Wardrobe consultant
• In-home massage therapist
• Laundry service
• Hair care professional
• Virtual assistant

Realizing the areas in which you can afford to do some delegation can help to improve your relationships, quality of life, health, and well-being. What’s not to love about that? Simply take a look at what you’ve currently got on your plate and determine the areas in which you can start to offload. Trust me, you can always make more money, but you can’t make more time. Time spent adding quality to your life and to those whom you love. Your whole-self will thank you!

I’d love to hear from you?  What are some things you delegate to someone else? How has it benefited you?

Andrea Hancock is a professional organizer & productivity student, blogger, speaker, and educator that assists and empowers busy professionals, business owners and those experiencing major life transitions to create and maintain organizational systems that work for them personally.  Andrea is also founder of Dexterous Organizing, a results-oriented professional organizing company.  Book a free 15-minute Discovery Call to begin your journey to better productivity and more organizational prowess. Also visit our website at www.DexterousOrganizing.com or give us a call at (703) 606-8968.