Automate Your Chores

“Automation is good, so long as you know exactly where to put the machine.”  — Eliyahu Goldratt

Chores suck. They’re time consuming and perpetual. As frustrating as they can be, they have to be done. No one wants to live in a place that looks like crap. That said, technology has produced some pretty amazing assistants. With a bit of research, you can complete chores smarter. Getting your time back is worth the investment to automate your home.

Automation is not really new, but it’s certainly improving in leaps and bounds. It might not seem like it, but we have more leisure time than our parents or grandparents1. This is due to everything from computers to dishwashers to washing machines. Even though such inventions are a step in the right direction, we can do even better. The average person spends 1.92 hours per day on household chores, or 13.44 hours per week2. Think we can reduce these stats? Challenge accepted.

At Escape the Screens (ETS), we have been automating the chores in our home for years. We started by breaking down what we were doing per week, then invested in the largest time-suckers. For those with animals (definitely us at ETS), invest in auto-vacuums. No animals? Still worth it. Things as simple as choosing the right dishwasher can be life enhancing3. There are dozens of opportunities to automate. The benefit is simple: take any time you save and invest it back into yourself. Let’s say you can cut those 13.44 hours in half – that is 6.72 hours you could invest in your side project. Or invest into your hobby. Or your kids. The point is that time is yours to spend, so do so wisely.

Action: Take note of how much time you are spending on what chores this week. Pick the biggest ROI and see how you can automate it.

Hint: Stuck on where to start? Ask the internet for suggestions.

Further Reading:

  1. Upwards Leisure Mobility: Americans Work Less and Have More Leisure Time than Ever Before
  2. Average hours per day spent in selected household activities
  3. Dishwasher Buying Guide

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