#outsourceyourlife

The newest outsourcing isn’t Fortune 500 companies sending work overseas. Instead, it’s average people relying on technology to make time for the things they want to do and avoid the things they don’t. New jobs that never existed before have been created in a world where individuals are increasingly specialized.

“In an effort to improve productivity, some companies are turning to personal concierge services. The idea is to let someone else plan employees’ trips — both for work and leisure — find them a plumber or a dog sitter, or choose where to take their car for an oil change….“Concierge services used to be associated with this white-glove service of bringing you a lobster at 4 a. m., but the new concierge is more about saving time,” said Daniel Abas, founder of Red Butler” (New York Times).

“In the 1940s, there were no life coaches; in 2010, there were 30,000. The last time I Googled“dating coach,” 1,200,000 entries popped up. “Wedding planner” had over 25 million entries. The newest entry, Rent-a-Friend, has 190,000 entries” (New York Times).

“Apps such as Habit Maker, Habit Breaker let users choose the behavior they’d like to target, whether it’s saying “thank you” more or going shopping less” (The Atlantic).

IMPLICATIONS:
If we farm out our actions and our decisions, how will we take responsibility for our actions?