2023 GOAL: Apply automation techniques to the repetitive & transactional parts of our home lives so we spend more time with our family, on hobbies, and doing the things we love!
It’s no secret we love marketing and sales automation; we’re also big fans of work/life balance, and we specialise in businesses in the built world ecosystem.
So to save time, reduce stress, and spend more time and bandwidth on the things that matter, here are 20 ways you can set your home life to autopilot.
Recent figures from Stats NZ say we spend 4.8 hrs a week shopping. So long, weekly shop! Switch on these subscriptions to improve your home life by at least 10% ;)
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- Toothcrush - environmentally-kind bamboo toothbrushes, delivered to your door, every 3-months, from $25 a year
- Toilet paper - ecoroll offer up soft, strong, unscented bog roll that’s good for the environment with their no waste packaging.
- Winefriend - get hand picked wine delivered weekly that matches your taste buds. Or if cocktails are your jam, check out Cocktail Collective’s newly launched cocktail subscription service
- Forget UberEats. Meal delivery, food bag delivery or meat, veg and fruit delivery, there’s a weekly, fortnightly or monthly sub that’s a fit for you.
- Coffee - There’s nothing worse than running out of coffee : whether it’s Nespresso capsules or grounds, these buzzy coffee subs make sure you never go without your daily morning fix.
- Spend more time petting your pupper or cat then planning for them. Pet Food Club offer subscriptions for raw food, dry food, and every brand under the sun
- Wear contact lenses? Check out Clearly: contact lens delivery with free shipping and a 5% discount.
- Need a regular prescription? Chat to your pharmacist: they’ll be able to set up prescription reminders on the cadence you need. Want to get it delivered right to your door? Pilldrop will deliver for free if you have 4 or more regular prescriptions.
- Home clean
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- A fortnightly cleaner for 2-hr should come in at under $200 a month and free up your weekends. Set them up with a fortnightly automated payment, buy and install a lockbox to store a spare key for them, and you’ll come home to ordered calm
- Consider a robo vacuum; while there may be an upfront investment, you’ll see the time return pay dividends. Here’s TechRadar’s best.
- Car
- Forget going through the carwash. Get your car valeted at home, on subscription. Better yet, get a group of colleagues on board and secure a group discount for a car valet to do all your cars at work.
- You can also automate servicing and your WOF, thanks to your local mechanic. Let your local mechanic know you want a WOF and service annually, and they’ll come to you.
- Gardening
- Ensure your berm is perfectly manicured, without the hassle of needing to top up the petrol in your lawn mower, with a gardener who comes round monthly or quarterly, depending on your needs.
- Bill payments
- So no surprises here. You may already have your phone, power, internet, insurance and water bills paid automatically. But, you can negotiate prompt payment discounts if you set up direct debits with these services - give them a ring and make sure you’ve got the best price for paying on time. You can also get your rates paid via direct debit.
- In the words of the Barefoot Investor, treat your savings like a bill. Set up a direct debit to automate saving.
- Pet grooming
- Have a hound? Schedule a recurring date and time for grooming, and set up automatic payments. You can ask for automated reminders, and set up a recurring calendar appointment. Your groomer (and your pooch) will love you for it!
- Save money and make sure your family is comfortable by automating your heating and cooling with the Google Nest Learning Thermostat. It's easy to use, and its motion sensor detects when people are around, so it even does some of the programming for you by learning your normal daily schedule. The first few weeks after it's installed, you can manually adjust the temperature to your comfort level. After that, it will use the patterns it detected during the learning period to start adjusting the temperature automatically.
- Get the kids up for school or go to bed at the right time with a Phillips Smart Light Bulb. Set the lighting to slowly start getting brighter before a morning alarm goes off or auto-dim before bedtime. Everyone will get more sleep ;)
- Family member who always forgets the keys, or can’t find them? Install a smart lock or wifi lock thanks to Schlage.
- Bookbox helps you make time for reading with a tailored subscription service based on your preferences.
While you can’t “automate’ the ‘doing’ of these tasks per se, you can absolutely set up these tools to make for a more efficient home life
- Set a “Take out the rubbish” reminder on your smart phone. Make sure the wine bottles never overflow again ;)
- Long driveway? Add a sensor to your postbox: you’ll get notified every time you have post.
One of the biggest time soaks (that you’re not paid for and is hard to make productive) is commuting to work.
- Open a conversation on working from home with your employer. Here are tips and tricks on broaching this.
Now you've automated your personal life, here's how you can start automating your marketing function:
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