Straight out of the post gate I’ll exclaim, “Parents, Spouses, Roommates – you’re hustle matters”. While activity fuels activity, laziness fuels laziness. This pandemic has us working remotely, staying at home, and considering ways to reinvent our routines, careers, family lives, and budgets. We can have a little fun by asking several questions about the way you’re planning things around the home. Are there better ways to perform your weekly activities or even “value chain activities” more cost-effectively?
How can you take full advantage of experience and learning-curve effects? The cost of performing an activity declines over time as the skill of personnel builds. How is your family becoming more efficient at the chores and jobs around the house?! Are there things you accomplish well in your job pre-COVID that can transfer into post-COVID activities that help your tribe? Are there raises in allowance due to your hardest workers?
Are your operating facilities at full capacity? How are you managing unused rooms, unfinished space, or cluttered space? Does each person in your household have some territory and power to fail and win with?
Would a few neighborly partnerships improve supply chain efficiency? Could you partner to streamline learning opportunities, purchasing, and planning practices? It might sound funny, but encouraging kids to start landscaping, painting, and grass mowing businesses might just be the happiest part of the day for a lonely neighbor. It could also help your family plan ahead and be accountable for responsibilities.
How can you substitute lower-cost items and ways of doing things whenever there is little or no sacrifice in product quality or performance. Obviously, during a pandemic, it is essential to keep your doorknobs clean, maintain entrance and exits from the house with sanitation, and clean dishes and utensils well. It might just be a great time to have younger kids try their hand at cleaning cupboards, doing laundry, and grocery shopping with you online.
Motivating family-life or home-life through incentives has to be a balanced approach for a positive culture. It just seemed like a fun post to consider some of the value chain jargon creatively. Don’t underestimate your family’s ability to be a strong sales force or enhance domestic operations while you’re close together. We don’t know what next month holds, but we do know our hearts are held by the companions we live with.
arts + more 