At one point I hired a personal assistant through oDesk. I took this idea from Timothy Ferriss's 4-Hour Workweek, but I hired someone in the US. I wanted to get a landscaping project done (that was required by the environmental regulators in Tahoe), but I didn't have time to track down the contractors, do background checks, make sure they showed up, and finally get the regulators to sign off on the project.<p>The contractors thought it was pretty strange to have to deal with someone in a different state, but it worked out pretty well. Our culture (at least here in the US) doesn't appreciate outsourcing day to day tasks (and I felt embarrassed telling people I had an assistant). Maybe this comes from our Protestant roots.<p>It reminds me of an episode of Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion. Some of his characters from Minnesota visit California and find out one of their relatives has a gardener, and they ask if the relative is having any health issues, because they couldn't imagine having someone do their gardening for them, unless they were severely ill.<p>Update: The poster above mentions getting what you pay for if you pay $2 per hour in the Philippines for instance. I agree with this. I payed significantly more, but I feel as though I got my money's worth. It isn't that expensive to hire in the US if you look to lower cost areas like the Mid-west.<p>For this project, I felt it was worth it to have someone who understood the problems of hiring and managing contractors in the US. The person I hired was a homeowner, understood what I wanted to accomplish, and did an awesome job. It turned out to be a fraction of the cost of the overall project, and was money well spent.
The best advantage I have found with our VA is having them listen to all the podcasts I want to listen to, summarize the articles and send me the transcript. Then I can skim in 30 seconds what use to take me 45-60 minutes to listen to.<p>Also, I have found Odesk very helpful when our sales people ask for custom demos for clients. Instead of distracting our team I hire someone on Odesk to reskin our demo app. The best part is I know exactly how much that demo costs and like to let sales know so they can decide for their self if a demo is warranted in each situation.<p>As for personal tasks, I love using the concierge service attached to my credit card. Just recently I had them research all the candidates up for local election for me, find out how to return a jacket I bought on a business trip across the country, and suggest some recipes for a halloween party.<p>I have a running list of my favorite things I have sent to my concierge on Quora: <a href="https://www.quora.com/Concierge-Services/What-are-some-good-uses-for-a-credit-cards-concierge-service" rel="nofollow">https://www.quora.com/Concierge-Services/What-are-some-good-...</a><p>I also have a running list on my blog: <a href="http://delegnation.com/" rel="nofollow">http://delegnation.com/</a><p>A presentation I did at a Product Camp recently about using outsourcing to support product management: <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/russjhammond/product-camp-nashville-92813" rel="nofollow">http://www.slideshare.net/russjhammond/product-camp-nashvill...</a>
I got a VA from the Philippines earlier this year & it's changed my business. I spend less time doing basic research, and repeatable tasks that I <i>can</i> do - but is simply not a good use of my time.<p>I finally sat down, did a few of my tasks & documented each one, step by step, creating SOPs (standard operating procedures) for each one. It was a little tedious as first, but once my VA got after it - it freed up <i>tons</i> of time for me (but almost more importantly - head space & energy).<p>Most people who have bad experiences with VAs either don't have a good idea how to manage them or don't have a budget to get someone competent for the tasks they're requesting (paying people $2/hour & you'll get what you pay for).<p>Go in with reasonable expectations, good systems & processes in place & you'll have a great experience.
What about the social and psychological impacts of doing chores for all of those old-timey reasons like "learning the value of an honest day's work"?<p>I would say this kind of behavior has pretty big social implications that everyone seems to be glossing over.
Outsourcing meals and cleaning is pretty common. Yet another economical article which discovers america.<p>BTW: when we had first baby, we hired doula for several weeks. Very good investment.
I will say I would never hire anyone to do work I can accomplish myself - I don't care if it makes sense or not, I just couldn't do it.
Why? Because I and I would say most people that hire people to take care of their lawns and clean their toilets aren't then using their time more wisely or getting that oh so amazing hour of family time they could never have. They just don't feel like doing the task.
Single page article here --> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/magazine/outsource-your-way-to-success.html?hp&_r=0&pagewanted=all" rel="nofollow">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/magazine/outsource-your-wa...</a>
True story: I got my first industry job, out of college - at Apple - by hiring a VA to iterate through all open jobs that met a list of criteria I gave them (years experience, skills listed, etc), and submitting my resume to them.