How to Buy Happiness
Don’t judge that viral nanny ad by a Silicon Valley CEO
Laura Vanderkam, the time management expert who wrote Off the Clock and Juliet’s School of Possibilities, is here to answer your scheduling questions. Check back every week for more advice, and send your own productivity problems to asklaura@medium.com. (Your name will not be used.)
Dear Laura: My spouse and I both have jobs that are demanding but also — fortunately — high-paying. As our family grows, we’d like to use our resources to make life more calm and enjoyable. But how should we go about doing that? What should we outsource, and what kind of help would make things run smoothly?
Money can certainly make life easier. But having money doesn’t mean you’ll automatically know how to use it to solve your problems — especially if you weren’t born into wealth. No one hands you a manual when you pass a certain threshold.
This is, of course, a great problem to have, and most people eventually figure something out. Getting there can be challenging, though — particularly for high-powered women who are subjected to an extra layer of societal judgment. Just witness the recent furor over the nanny/household manager job description created by a Silicon Valley CEO/single mom. She wanted skilled help of the sort many male CEOs expect from their wives…
