A few weeks ago, we talked about the secret to being a better parent. We talked about getting more juice for your squeeze. We talked about hiring help—outsourcing things you really don’t need to be doing. 

Those things can cost money, so while they are secrets to efficiency and better parenting, they can remain fully out of reach to some of us. But the good news is there is another secret, easily available to all and readily taken advantage of by the wise. It’s called: Automation.

Some people hire an accountant or a financial advisor to handle their retirement and savings accounts. Just as easily, you can use the automation features in something like Wealthfront (highly recommend!). Some people have a personal assistant manage tasks for their business or social media for them. Just as easily, you can use software like Buffer or IFTTT to automate routine tasks for you. Some people complain about what a pain their inbox is to manage. Just as easily they can set up filters and folders or use tools that block their spam or unsubscribe them from marketing emails. Some people spend hours a month opening mail, paying bills and doing administrative paperwork. Just as easily they can sign up for paperless billing, or auto-schedule payments. 

Almost everything we do as parents—as responsible adults in the world—is set up inefficiently. By improving our systems, we buy ourselves time and energy, and then with this time and energy we are able to be better parents. More present parents. Parents who never pay late fees, who max out their 401k, who get better interest on their savings, who never gets frustrated with stupid tasks. 

Because someone—or rather—something is handling it for us. And then we don’t even have to think about it. We’re too busy thinking about our kids.

P.S. This was originally sent on June 30, 2021. Sign up today for the Daily Dad’s email and get our popular 11 page eBook, “20 Things Great Dads Do Everyday.”