Sometimes the hardest part of doing something is prioritizing the rest of the stuff in your life so you can get it done. If you’re reading this, you’re either experienced with or are interested in organizing and protecting your photos. Recently, it has become painfully evident to me that just because I can do something, doesn’t mean that I will do it, or that I am the best one for the job.
Take, for instance, your bookkeeping and tax preparation. It’s very easy to recognize that while we’re capable of adding and subtracting, navigating the muddy waters of tax law is better left to the professionals…someone who spends 40+ hours a week keeping up with those laws. Furthermore, even if you’re excellent at adding and subtracting, because you’re using a spreadsheet or other program that’s literally doing the math for you, sometimes it’s still better to pay someone else to do that work. What is the value of reduced stress? Is it worth the cost of an accountant for your monthly record keeping? For some of us, the answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’But what about other things…more personal things? Things where Uncle Sam isn’t breathing down your neck? Things where you don’t need a degree to really understand what’s going on…things like… housekeeping? Unless you have a knit-picking spouse or mother-in-law, how do you decide when, or if, you pay someone to do the cleaning? For some of us, it’s worth setting aside a portion of the paycheck to have someone else come in and clean the house. For others…it seems self-indulgent or wasteful to pay someone to do something that you’re capable of doing yourself. So…what if you’re capable, yet you don’t do it? What if you’re capable of dusting, vacuuming and cleaning toilets every weekend, but instead you spend your weekends volunteering with your church, watching kids’ soccer games, laughing with your family, and snuggling on the couch with your honey. Is that bad?
Does that mean you’re wasting your weekends or negligent of your home? I say, ‘No!’ Prioritize. You decide what’s important in your life. In order to feed and clothe your family, obtaining the paycheck is high on the list. But family is at the top of that list too. And if paying for house cleaning helps keep your family at the top of your list and reduces your stress…because we all know it’s the little things that can push us over the proverbial edge…you should get a cleaning service!
Stacy Cochrane is the founder of Managing Memory Lane and a member of APPO, the Association of Personal Photo Organizers. She specializes in establishing and maintaining photo storage and sharing systems that give her clients the freedom of sharing their photos as they choose while providing secure backup and privacy protection. You can contact Stacy via email at stacycochrane@me.com.
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