Life/Work - Issue 36

Of course, it's equally possible to use services like Circles in order to free the time that you need to attend to important activities in your life. "Psychologically, it's extremely significant just to have them there," says Ellen Madonia, 35, who works for Webhire Inc., which offers Circles as an employee benefit. "If there's something important that I can't get done, I know there is someone who can handle it cheaply and efficiently for me. The real challenge is to remember that it's available. I'm not used to having people do things for me."

I know what she means. I arranged with Circles to have my car picked up and serviced on a Tuesday morning, when I was going to be away on a trip. On Monday evening, I packed quickly, blithely got into my car, and drove to the airport for my flight. The Circles driver arrived for my car punctually at 7:30 the next morning. My wife apologized on my behalf. Next week, as penance, I'm taking the car to be serviced myself.

Tony Schwartz (tschwartz@fastcompany.com) is a contributing editor to Fast Company. He is also the author of "What Really Matters: Searching for Wisdom in America" (Bantam, 1996).