Discover the simple math behind efficient household management: learn how to schedule chores with precision and minimize overall time.
Scheduling household chores is a common problem that many people face. With multiple tasks to complete, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and unsure of where to start.
Understanding the concept of optimisation
Optimisation is the process of finding the best solution among a set of options. In the context of scheduling household chores, we want to find the most efficient order in which to complete our tasks.
The Two-Machine Problem
Mathematicians refer to this problem as the two-machine problem. It’s a common challenge that many businesses face, and it can be solved using mathematical techniques.
The two-machine problem is a concept in computer science that deals with the scheduling of tasks on multiple machines.
It involves determining the optimal order in which to schedule tasks on two machines, subject to certain constraints.
The goal is to minimize the total processing time or maximize the throughput.
This problem has applications in fields such as operating systems, scheduling algorithms, and resource allocation.
In a typical scenario, one machine may be faster than the other, leading to a trade-off between using the faster machine for more tasks or spreading out the workload evenly.
Let’s consider an example: you have three loads of washing with different wash times and drying times. How do you decide which load to wash first?
| Load | Wash Time | Dry Time |
| — | — | — |
| A | 110 minutes | 120 minutes |
| B | 140 minutes (with 30 minutes extra) | 160 minutes |
| C | 130 minutes | 150 minutes |
In this scenario, we want to find the order in which to wash these loads to minimise overall time. This is a classic example of a two-machine problem.
Mathematical Techniques
Operational research, a branch of applied maths, provides mathematical techniques to solve such problems. By applying these techniques, businesses can optimise their schedules and reduce waste.
Real-World Applications
The two-machine problem has many real-world applications beyond household chores. It’s used in industries such as manufacturing, logistics, and transportation to schedule production, delivery, and maintenance tasks.
By leveraging mathematical techniques to solve scheduling problems, we can improve efficiency, productivity, and overall quality of life.
- newscientist.com | The handy piece of maths that can help with organising chores
