Productivity at Home

Increased productivity, the ability to get more value for our time, our land, or our invested money, is as important at home as it is in the workplace. Let's consider the case of our imaginary friend Jane, and her grandmother.

Jane's grandmother had just one occupation after marrying in her late teens: homemaker. She raised children, and she cleaned and maintained the family home. That was a full-time (and often more) job.

For example, Jane's grandmother spent at least half a day and often more, on Mondays, Blue Mondays, washing clothes. When Grandmother did laundry, she put a small load at a time into a wringer washer. First the clothes went through a wash cycle with soap. Then, she drained the washer, and refilled it with fresh hot water for a rinse cycle. At the end of each cycle, she fed each piece of clothing through a wringer which squeezed out the excess water. After a couple of wash and rinse cycles, the clothes landed in a tub, were carried outside, and pinned to a clothesline, one at a time. And after drying, each item was unpinned and carried back into the house. Of course, almost all of the clothing in Grandmother's time then had to be ironed.

On the other hand, when Jane needs only a few minutes to do a load of washing. She gathers up a pile of clothes, puts them in the washer, adds soap, turns on the water, and leaves. The machine automatically takes care of all those steps Jane's grandmother had to do by hand. When Jane returns to the automatic washing machine half an hour later, she simply moves the clothes to the dryer, which takes about a minute. In most cases, the clothes require minimal or no ironing, and Jane folds them and puts them away immediately.

Grandmother cooked on an electric range, which in itself represented a big improvement over the wood stove her mother used. Jane has a microwave oven, as well as an electric range, and can make a meal more quickly. After the meal, Grandmother spent at least half an hour washing dishes. Jane spends a couple of minutes loading the dishwasher.

Jane, obviously, is more productive than her grandmother. Not because she's necessarily better in any way or works any harder, but because she has tools that allow her to be more productive, to get the same amount of work done in less time.

That extra time allows her to earn an income outside the home, which in turn increases the family's prosperity. And so productivity in the home, like productivity at work, contributes to a family's increasing standard of living.

Robert F. Abbott is the author of the forthcoming book, Ownership Revolution: How Working People are Buying Up Big Business, from which this article is taken. If you contribute to a pension fund, mutual fund, or whole life insurance policy, you're probably one of the new owners of the big corporations. Find out more at http://www.thenewowners.com.

Ford Excursion rentals Bolingbrook ..

In The News:

Apple launched its first artificial intelligence product, the M4 Apple silicon chip in a new iPad Pro. Steve Jobs predicted the iPad would replace laptops.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Artificial intelligence has made social engineering scams more sophisticated. They are scams by which criminals exploit trust for money or information.

Quadroin AUV is an underwater research robot that mimics penguins' graceful and swift swimming, descending to depths of 492 feet at speeds up to 11.5 mph.

Will fake movie trailers made with AI become real enough to take over Hollywood? Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson discusses more about spotting AI movie trailers and how they work.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson discusses how Triton Submarines redefines the underwater experience with the Triton 660/9 AVA, which offers panoramic views and unparalleled ocean access.

If your Facebook account has been hacked and you're having trouble logging back in, Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson shows you some steps to recover your account.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals how the Aloha Unleashed project showcases a dual-arm robot system that autonomously performs tasks, demonstrating remarkable precision in robotics.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall boarded the cockpit of an F-16 controlled by artificial intelligence on Friday, before the plane entered a dogfight with a human-controlled plane.

Using a virtual private network to seach the internet has its pros and cons. It can provide more security and privacy. But users can be blocked from websites.

Dragon 12 is an underwater kite manufactured by Swedish company Minesto that promises to generate clean electricity deep under the sea.

The Federal Communications Commission slapped the nation's four biggest mobile carriers with fines totaling $200 million for unauthorized sharing of customer location information.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

The fully electric Atlas 2.0 robot was designed for real-world applications, and it is capable of lifting and maneuvering heavy, irregular objects.

Rather than spending time searching for the right buttons, here are a variety of keyboard shortcuts to make your workflow easier, faster and with less clutter.

High tech video cameras seem to find their way into the hands of Peeping Toms in hotels, dressing rooms and rental properties. Here's how to keep yourself safe.

If you consider Facebook's "People You May Know" section distracting, there's a way to temporarily remove it. There is no permanent way to eliminated it.

ChatGPT is an industry game-changer — here are a few simple prompts that can easily come in handy as personal and professional life hacks.

IPhones have several voice assist options available — like Siri and VoiceOver — that can help users search the web and read articles by voice.

The X1 exoskeleton is a motorized artificial intelligence-powered all-terrain device that straps to your waist and thighs for hiking climbing and running.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Hackers and scammers portray themselves as legitimate businesses or people with urgent propositions to entice victims to open compromising documents.

A decommissioned Boeing 737 that operated in Indonesia is now a luxurious private villa about 492 feet above the sea in Bali.

If you can't log in to your email account, you might want to try one of these methods to get yourself back in. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson shows you how.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson introduces you to HERO-BLUE, a biomimetic, multimodal locomotion robot poised to transform underwater exploration and maintenance.

Productivity at Home

Time Management