Great question. I call this the “delegation paradox”: even when the math works, people resist letting go.

- Psychology: self-worth gets tied to “doing it yourself,” so outsourcing feels like weakness or elitism.

- Trust: Handing over personal tasks (groceries, errands) feels riskier than it is.

- Friction: hiring, scheduling, and managing another human adds overhead.

- Perfectionism: many would rather do it “their way” than risk compromise and not have the job done perfectly.

Ironically, these same barriers make people more comfortable with AI assistants, where with AI, you have less friction, less stigma, fewer trust issues.

The real productivity hack isn’t just saving hours, it’s getting past the belief that you must be the one doing everything.