PraiseforLessDoing,MoreLiving

“I’veseenmanyprogramsforimprovinglives(andcreatedafewmyself).AriMeisel’sphilosophyinLessDoing,MoreLivingisatruegem—simple,fun,andtechnologicallyup-to-dateforthetwenty-firstcentury.Thisbookwillhelpyoueasilyremovethestressesofday-to-daylivingandfindthat,inthisremoval,you’llhavemoretimetoenjoytheactivitiesandpeoplethatyoulove.”

—DAVIDBACH,#1NEWYORKTIMES—BESTSELLINGAUTHOROFTHEAUTOMATICMILLIONAIREANDSTARTLATE,FINISHRICH

“LessDoingisanawesomebookbecauseitisahands-onguidethatteachesyouhowtoquicklyimplementtheartof‘strategiclaziness’—doingonlythemostimportantstuff,anddoingitwellenoughtogetwhatyouwant.Thestuffinthisbookwillhelpyoukickmoreass,whetheryou’reanentrepreneur,astudent,oranywhereinbetween.”

—DAVEASPREY,FOUNDEROFBULLETPROOFEXECUTIVE

“AriMeisel’sbookisaKISSreadpackedwithtonsofvaluableinsightsandtoolstosimplifyyourlife,streamlineyourtasks,andallowyoutofocusontherightthingswiththerighttools.”

—MARKDIVINE,AUTHOROFTHEWAYOFTHESEALANDUNBEATABLEMIND

“AriMeisel’sLessDoing,MoreLivingisafittinglyefficientreaddesignedtohelpyouoptimizeyourlifeperninefundamentalprinciples.Icameawayinspiredtofurtherstreamlinemyworkflow,decluttermy(dreaded)paperinbox,andobliteratemyto-dolistthankstoahostofgreattechtoolandtimestrategyrecommendations.”

—CHRISTINEKOH,CO-AUTHOROFMINIMALISTPARENTING:ENJOYMODERNFAMILYLIFEMOREBYDOINGLESS

“I’mgoingtosendanautomatedremindertomyselftorereadAriMeisel’ssuper-helpfulbookeverymonth.It’sgotanabsurdnumberoftipsthatmakemylifeeasier.”

—A.J.JACOBS,FOUR-TIMENEWYORKTIMES–BESTSELLINGAUTHOR

“ThissmartandpracticalworkillustratesMeisel’sapproachtoefficiencyandeffectivenessinallaspectsoflife.It’saroadmapoftoolsandtrickstohelpyoubebetteratwhatyoudoinlesstime,regardlessofyourdiscipline,sothatyoucanhavemore‘free’timetospendhoweveryoulike.”

—SEAMUSMULLEN,AWARD-WINNINGCHEF,RESTAURATEUR,ANDCOOKBOOKAUTHOR

“Efficiencyisalostartnowadays,andAriMeiselhasarmedyouwithaneffectivetoolforincreasingproductivityinthemidstofthechaos.Everyaspectofyourlifecanbecomebetterwithjustafewsimpleandimplementablechangesthatyou’llbeshockedbyhoweasytheyaretodo.Freeyourselftodowhatyouweremeanttodosoyoucanlivethewayyouwanttolive.Startdoinglessandlivingmoretoday!”

—JIMMYMOORE,AUTHOROFCHOLESTEROLCLARITY:WHATTHEHDLISWRONGWITHMYNUMBERS?

JEREMYP.TARCHER/PENGUINPublishedbythePenguinGroupPenguinGroup(USA)LLC

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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataMeisel,Ari.Lessdoing,moreliving:makeeverythinginlifeeasier/AriMeisel.p.cm.ISBN978-0-69815131-41.Lifeskills.2.Timemanagement.3.Stressmanagement.I.Title.HQ2037.M4520142013042587646.7—dc23

Version_1

Formythreesons,Benjamin,Sebastien,andLucas,

whomakemewanttodobettereveryday.

Andformywife,Anna,sanstoijesuiscommeunnaviresanscapitaine.

Contents

PraiseforLessDoing,MoreLiving

TitlePage

Copyright

Dedication

IntroductionWhatIsLessDoing?

FUNDAMENTAL1:The80/20RuleTrackingforResultsOptimizingYourProcessesandCreatingthe“ManualofYou”ANoteonEssentialvs.Optional80/20Advanced

FUNDAMENTAL2:Creatingan“ExternalBrain”YourExternalBrainSettingUpYourExternalBrainEmptyingYourInboxEliminatingYourTo-DoListHiringaVirtualAssistantOutsourcingYourOutsourcing

FUNDAMENTAL3:CustomizationWheretoStart

FUNDAMENTAL4:ChooseYourOwnWorkweekWhatIsaWorkweek?HowtoMakeItHappen

FUNDAMENTAL5:StopRunningErrandsAreYouReady?

FUNDAMENTAL6:FinancesWhere’sMyMoneyandWhereAmISpendingIt?SaveSomeDoughDebitExclusivity

FUNDAMENTAL7:OrganizationWhatLimits?WhatAboutEverythingElse?

FUNDAMENTAL8:BatchingThirteenTechToolsforaPaper-FreeLifeWarning!

FUNDAMENTAL9:WellnessFitnessSleepNutrition

CONCLUSION

RESOURCES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Introduction

WelcometoLessDoing,MoreLiving!I’mAriMeisel.Beforewebegin,I’dliketogiveyoualittlebackgroundonmeandonmy“LessDoing”philosophy.

I’vebeenanentrepreneurformostofmylife.Istartedmyfirstcompanyattheageoftwelve,doingwebsitedesign.BythetimeIstartedcollege,Ihadalsostartedafewothertechcompaniesand,aftercollege,Istartedworkinginconstruction.

WhenIvisitedafriendinupstateNewYork,IgottheideaofcreatingaloftdistrictinBinghamton.Ispentthenextthreeyearsworkinginconstruction.Ibuiltthelofts,abar,andafewotherspaces.ThenIreturnedtoNewYorkCity,whereIstartedspecializingingreenbuildingmaterials.I’veinventedtwogreenbuildingmaterials,writtenabookongreenbuildingmaterials,andspentmostofthelasteightyearsbuildingandconsulting.

In2006,IwasdiagnosedwithCrohn’sdisease,averypainfulandincurableinflammatorydiseaseofthedigestivetract.Mycasewassevere.Iwasinandoutofthehospital,andIwastakingsixteenpillsaday.Inearlydied.

Afterreachingapersonallowpointinthehospital,Idecidedtodoeverythinginmypowertostrengthenmybody,whichbythenwasveryweak.Throughacombinationofyoga,nutrition,naturalsupplements,andrigorousexerciselikeIronmanandCrossFit,IwasabletofightbackthesymptomsofCrohn’suntilIwasfinallyabletosuspendmymedication.Eventually,Iwasdeclaredfreeofalltracesofthe“incurable”disease,andIcompletedIronmanFranceinJune2011inthirteenhoursandforty-fiveminutes.

IhavesincespokenatseminarsandataregionalTEDTalkaboutmystruggleagainstaseeminglyinsurmountableopponent.WhatIdiscoveredisthatnutritionandfitnessarenotthewholestory.Evenwiththosethingsundercontrol,stresswasstillabigpartofmyillness.It’sa

bigpartofmanyotherautoimmuneillnessesandinflammatoryconditions,too,nottomentionlifeingeneral.SobeforeIcouldcompletelysolvemyproblem,Ineededawaytoaddressstress.

Throughtheprocessofdatacollection,self-tracking,andanalysis,IbecameanAchievementArchitect,acoachingservicethatI’vedevelopedthroughalongprocessofexperimentation,analytics,andpersonaltracking.LessDoingismyapproachtodealingwiththedailystressesoflifebyoptimizing,automating,andoutsourcingallofmytasksinlifeandbusiness.NowI’dliketosharethatgiftwithyou.

WHATISLESSDOING?

TheideaofLessDoingistoreclaimyourtimeand—moreimportant—yourmind,soyoucandothethingsyouwanttodo.Evenlittlebitsoftimeareimportant.Italladdsup.ByapplyingthepracticeofLessDoingtoyourlife,youcanfreeupthetimeandmentalspacetodothethingsyoucareaboutmost.

ThethreekeystoLessDoingare:

Optimize

Automate

Outsource

Thesekeysapplytohealth,productivity,oranyothertypeofproblemorgoal.

Foranychallenge,thefirstthingtodoisoptimizeit.Breakitdowntoitsbareminimum,simplifyit,andeliminateeverythingthat’snotcompletelynecessary.Onceyou’veboiledthetaskdowntoitsessentials,thegoalistobreakwhat’sleftintobite-sizedtasksthatcanbereplicatedandpossiblydelegated.

Afteryou’veoptimizedatask,thenextstepistoautomateasmuchaspossible.Usesoftwareorprocessessoyoucangetthetaskdone

withouthumaninvolvement—justsetitandforgetit.Finally,foranythingthat’sleft,outsourcetoageneralistoraspecialist.

It’simportanttonotethatalthoughoutsourcingcandoalotforyou,itcomesafteroptimizingandautomating.Ifyououtsourceaninefficienttask,thatdoesn’treallyhelpbecauseit’sstillinefficient.It’smuchbettertoeliminateworkbyoptimizingorautomatingwheneveryoucanandonlyoutsourcewhat’sleft.

IbasedthesystemofLessDoingonninefundamentalprinciples:

The80/20Rule

Creatingan“ExternalBrain”

Customization

ChooseYourOwnWorkweek

StopRunningErrands

Finances

Organization

Batching

Wellness

Thisbookwillleadyouonastep-by-stepjourneytowardmakingeverythinginyourlifeeasier.Ifyouneedmorehelp,Iinviteyoutotakeadvantageoftheresourcesattheendofthebook,whereIlistlinksandwebsitestotheappsandproductsmentionedinthetext.

Thankyouforjoiningmeonthisjourney.Let’sgetstarted.

TheideaofLessDoingistoreclaimyourtimeand,moreimportant,yourmind.The80/20Ruleisagreatplacetostart.

Youmayhaveheardofthe80/20RulefromTimFerriss.It’salsocalled“theParetoPrinciple.”ItalianeconomistVilfredoParetodevelopedthisprincipleintheearly1900s,whenherealizedthat20percentofthepeaplantsinhisgardenproduced80percentofhispeacrop.Thesameprincipleappliestomanyareasoflife:

80percentoftheconsequencesflowfrom20percentofthecauses.

80percentoftheresultscomefrom20percentoftheeffortandtime.

80percentofcompanyprofitscomefrom20percentoftheproductsandcustomers.

80percentofallstockmarketgainsarerealizedby20percentoftheinvestorsand20percentofanindividualportfolio.

Thisisaformulayoucanapplytoenergyandresourceallocationinyourlife.Inthecaseofwork,theworkyoudoisaresource,andyouprobablyspend80percentofyourtimeon20percentofyourclientsorprojects.

Weonlyhavesomuchtime,andifyouwanttobesuccessfulwithoutspendingalldayworking,thenyouhavetolearntoworksmarter.Ahugepartofthisisfocusingontheitemsthathavealargereturn.

Buthowdoyouknowwhereyouneedtofocus?Howdoyouknowwhichareasofyourlifeareyieldinghighreturns?

That’swheretrackingcomesin.Trackingiscrucialbecauseifyoudon’ttrack—ormeasure—whatyou’redoing,youcan’tmakeitbetter.In

everythingwedo,somethingcanbetracked,whetherit’sourhealth,thehourswespendone-mailandFacebook,travel,oranythingelse.Ifwecanfigureouttheelementsrequiredfortheprocesseswedoregularly,wecantrackthem.

Thisisimportantbecausewehavesomanythingsgoingoninourlivesthatit’sreallyeasytolosetrackofhowwe’reactuallyspendingourtime.Bysixthirtyp.m.,alotofpeoplecan’teventellyouwhattheyhadforbreakfastthatmorning,letalonewhichactivitiesyieldedthehighestreturnsorwhattheyneedtofocusontomorrow.

TRACKINGFORRESULTS

Therearemanytoolsthatcanhelpyoutrackvariousaspectsofyourlife.Thefirststepistoconsiderakeyareaofyourlifeandthinkabouthowitcouldbemeasured.Forexample,ifyouwanttoimproveyourhealth,youmightusefoodjournaling,trackingyourweighteachday,orusingalife-trackingdevicelikeFitbit,whichtracksyourdailysteps,distance,caloriesburned,andsleep.

Fortrackingproductivity,hereareseveralgreattools:

RescueTime:Trackswhatyou’respendingtimeonwhenyou’reusingacomputer.Itcanshowyouwhichwebsitesandapplicationsyouusedandhowmuchtimeyouspentonthem.Italsohasafeaturethatwillallowyoutovoluntarilyblockdistractingsitessoyoucan’tgettothemandwastetime.

iDoneThis.com:Sendsyouane-maileacheveningaskingwhatyougotdonethatday.Youtellit,inane-mailreply.Evenifyouneverlookatthate-mailagain,justwritingdownwhatyoudidattheendofthedayhasameasurablepsychologicaleffectonyourproductivity.Itallowsyoutooffloadthatinformationfromyourbrainandstopthinkingaboutit.Ontopofthat,youcanalsoshareyourupdateswithateam.YoucanuseiDoneThistokeepyour

teamuptodateoneveryone’sprogress,shareresults,respond,andcomment.Anothercoolfeatureisthat,afteryouuseitforawhile,iDoneThisstartsperiodicallysendingyouane-mailtellingyouwhatyoudidonarandomdayinthepast.Thiscanbefascinating—ane-mailmightarriveaboutaprojectthatyoustartedthreemonthsagoandjustfinishedthatday.

InsideTracker:Youcanevengosofarastotrackthebiomarkersinyourblood.Thisisdifferentfromdoingitwithyourdoctor,becauseyoucantestyourselfwheneveryouwantto,andmanytimesdoctorswon’ttestforsomeofthemarkersofferedbyInsideTracker—suchasC-ReactiveProtein,aninflammatorymarker.TrackingyourvitaminDlevels,cholesterol,andeventestosteroneallowyoutodialintoyourhealthandachievebetterresults.

Applytrackingandanalysiswhereveryoucan.Youcanalwaysfindawaytomakethingsbetter,becausethere’salwaysroomformoreefficiency.

OPTIMIZINGYOURPROCESSESANDCREATINGTHE“MANUALOFYOU”

Onceyouunderstandhowyouspendyourtime,youcanoptimizetheprocessesinyourlife.Foranexampleofanoptimizedprocess,thinkaboutIKEA’sproductassemblymanuals.Tohelpcustomersbuildeachproduct,IKEAhasbrokendowntheprocessintoasetofinstructionsthatislanguage-independent,requiresasfewstepsaspossible,andis(forthemostpart)fail-proof.Thegoalwithyourdailyprocessesshouldbeexactlythesame.Youneedtobreakeachprocessdowntothefewest,mostexplicitstepspossiblesothattheyareeasyforyoutocompleteand,moreimportant,canbeautomatedoroutsourcedentirely.

Processes?Weallhaveprocessesthatwecompleteonaregularbasis:checkinge-mail,writingreports,conductingresearch,generatingcontent,reviewingmaterials,andmakingmeals,amongmanyothers.Thesearethingswedoonadailyorweeklybasis,orevenjustonceinawhile.

Mostoftheseactivitiesareroutine.Wecandothemwithouteventhinking,almostasifonautopilot.Whilethismightseemlikeagoodthing,thetruthisifyoucangetthesethingsdoneonautopilot,someoneelsecould,too.It’seasytofallintoatrapwherewethinkwe’retheonlyoneswhocandothethingsthatmakeourworldsspin.Buthaveweeverstoppedtoconsiderthestepsweactuallytake?

Asanexercise,thinkaboutsomethingyoudooften.Nowdescribe,onaverygranularlevel,eachstepyougothroughtocompletethatactivity.Thinkaboutitasifyouwerecreatingthe“ManualofYou,”andyouweregoingtogiveittosomeonewhodoesn’tknowyouorhowyouwork.Thispersonwillhavetocompletethetaskwithoutyourhelp.Thisprocesscan(andshould)beappliedtomostofthethingsyouspendyourtimedoing.

Ihaveclientscompletethisexercisewithbothincrediblycomplextasksandverysimpleones,withthesameresult:theperfectinstructionmanual.Oneclientbeganwithaprocessthatwastenpageslong.Bytheendofourwork,hehadaprocesswitheleveneasy-to-followsteps.

ApersonalexampleinvolvesprovidingadiscountcodeforoneofmySkillshareclassestoapotentialstudent.Ifsomeonecan’tmakeittoasessionthey’vepaidfor,Ihavemyassistantgenerateacodesothatthestudentcansignupforafutureclassfreeofcost.Theprocesslookedlikethis:

1. Gotowww.skillshare.com.

2. Loginusingusername******andpassword*******.

3. Goto“Dashboard”atthetopofthepage.

4. Ontheleft-handside,youwillsee“UpcomingClasses.”Hoveroverthedateofthespecifiedclassandhit“Manage.”(Itshouldpopupinorange.)

5. Ontheright-handside,youwillseediscountcodes.Choose“Createnewcode,”andalittleboxwillpopup.

6. Youthenchoosethenameofthecode,whichcanbewhateveryouwant(example:forAugust15,IwouldtitleitAUG15).

7. Next,putintheappropriatediscountandthenumberofcodesyouwouldliketocreate.Thenhit“Create.”

8. YouwillwanttonotetheURLofthepageyouareon,becausethatiswhatyouwillsendinthee-mailwiththecodeforwheretosignup.

9. Finally,e-mailthecodewithinstructionstothepersonontheoriginale-mail.

ThefirsttimeIwrotethis,Ileftoutstepthree,andthewholeprocesshadsixteenstepsinsteadofthecurrentnine.AfterIinitiallycreatedthesixteensteps,Ireviewedthemandfoundimmediateredundanciestoremove.Then,thefirsttimeIsentthetaskofftoaFancyHandsassistant,hequicklypointedoutthathedidn’tknowwherethe“UpcomingClasses”linkwasfound.ThispromptedmetorealizeIhadglossedoverthestepexplainingtogototheDashboardfirst,soIaddedit.

ThesecondtimeIsentitoff,Igotadifferentperson(andhenceadifferentperspective,sinceFancyHandsisanon-demandassistantservice).Shepointedoutsuperfluousaspectsofsomeofthelattersteps.Iwasabletowhittletheprocessdownfurther,toitscurrentninesteps.

It’salsoimportanttogetinthemind-setof“IfThis,ThenThat.”Ideally,youwantlittleornocommunicationbetweenthetimeyouassignataskandthetimeyougetconfirmationthatthetaskhasbeensuccessfullycompleted.Soyoumustanticipateproblemsorforksintheroad.Inthetaskonthepreviouspage,Imighthaveaddedalinethatread,“Ifmorethanoneupcomingclassdateexists,provideadiscountcodeforalldates,”toavoidthequestion:“Whichdatedidyouwantthecodefor?”

Thismightmeanthatyouaddanadditionalstepforsituationsthatcomeupinfrequently.Youonlyhavetowriteitonce,however,anditwillsaveyoufromhavingtotakethetimetodealwithitdowntheroad.The

pointofallthisisthat,intheend,Iwasabletobreakthistaskdowntoanincrediblyefficient,error-proofprocessthatanyonecanfollowandcomplete.

Onceaprocesshasbeenperfected,delegatethetaskoutofyoursightandoutofyourmind.It’sthefirststeptomakinglifeaseasyascanbe.

ANOTEONESSENTIALVS.OPTIONAL

WhileIdofocusontrimmingthefatandparingthingsdowntotheirmostbasicandefficientelements,thatdoesnotmeanIdon’tenjoytheoptionalthingsinlife.

Asamatteroffact,theentireframeworkof“optimize,automate,andoutsource”ismeanttofreeupyourtimeandyourmindsothatyoucandothethingsyoureallywanttoandnotjustthethingsyouhaveto.IftheprinciplesofLessDoinghelpyoucreateanextrathirtyminutesinyourworkdayandyoufeellikespendingthistimeonFacebook,byallmeans,eatyourheartout.Mymissionissimplytomakeitsothatyouneverfeelguiltyaboutdoingthethingsyouwanttodobecauseyou“should”bedoingsomethingelse.

Toachievethat,youneedtobeabletoseparatetheessentialfromtheoptional.Let’sapplythistoapersonalsituationofmine:blogreading.Ifollowoverahundredandfiftyblogsandpowerthroughoverathousandnewsitemseachday.Why?BecauseIlovetobeintheknowonthelatesttrends,coolestgadgets,andlatestpsychologicalstudiesonproductivity.WhenImeetwithmyAchievementArchitectureclientsandtheyaskforsoftwarerecommendations,oddsareoneofmyblogscovereditandIcanretrievetheanswer.HowcanIpossiblygetthroughallthesefeedseachday?BymakingsureIcovertheessentialsand,ifIhavetime(whichIalwaysdo,thankstoLessDoing),workingmywaythroughtheoptionalstuffwhilemakingphonecallsorwatchingTV.“Optional,”bydefinition,means“availabletobechosenbutnotobligatory”—it’simportanttotreatitthatway.

Here’showitworksforme.Eachmorning,IpullupmyRSSreader(aprogramusedtoreadnewsfeeds)onmyiPhone.(Ilikefeedly,anapp

availableforiPhone,becauseitsyncswithmyiPad.)Iftherearetwohundrednewitems,therewillusuallybetwentyessentials.Icanreadtheseessentials,postthemtomyblog,tweetthem,ande-mailthemtopeopleIthinkwouldbeinterested,allwhilewalkingmydogforfifteenminutes.Then,throughouttheday,I’llgetthroughtheotherstuff.ButifforsomereasonIcan’t,IknowthatI’mnotmissinganyoftheessentials.Thisgivesmerealpeaceofmind.

Infeedlyit’sveryeasytoorganizefeedsintofolders.Simplychoose“FeedSettings”andthenaddachecknexttothefolderyou’vecreated.MostRSSreadersoffersimilarfunctionality.

Asusual,Iliketobeabletotranslatetheseprinciplestootherthingslikee-mail,errands(thoughyoushouldneverrunerrands),andevennutrition.Don’tovercomplicateyourlifebycreatingsomanyboxesandorganizationsystemsthatgettingthroughthesystemisachoreinitself.Two“boxes”—EssentialandOptional—areallyouneed.

80/20ADVANCED

Onceyou’veappliedtrackingandusedtheinformationyoulearnedtostreamlineyourprocessesandfocusontheessential,you’vegonealongwaytowardoptimizingyourlife.

Onceyou’vedonethat,youcanchangetheproportionofenergyyouspendonwork.Ultimately,20percentofyourenergy(nottime,butenergy)shouldbespentonwork.Spendtheother80percentonrestandself-improvement.Thismayseemcounterintuitive,butbyinvestinginrestandself-improvement,youreapbenefitsthatmakeyoufarmoreefficientandfeedyourwork.It’saself-supportingcycle.

OneofthemostimportantthingsyoucandotohavealifeofLessDoingistohaveasystemthatallowsyoutofindanythingatanytime.Youneedconstant,universal,instantaccesstoeverythingyouknow.

Theoldwayistotrytokeepitallinyourhead,butthatapproachisinefficient.Theproblemwithtryingtoremembereverythingisthatindoingso,yourunoutofspaceinyourheadtoactuallythinkaboutthetaskathand.What’sworse,itdoesn’talwayswork.Often,evenifItryreallyhardtoremembersomething,Istillforgetit.

Usingyourmemorytostoreeverythingisstressfulandunreliable.Howmanytimeshaveyouchantedaphonenumberorotherfactoverandoverinyourhead,tryingtolockitin,onlytoforgetitbeforeyouneededit?Instead,youcancreatean“externalbrain”thatstoreseverythingreliably,offersinstantaccess,andfreesyourmindformoreinterestingwork.

Theideaofanexternalbraincomesfrommyexperiences.Inhighschool,Iwasgettinganewbusinessideaeveryweek.Manywereterrible,butIwaswritingthemalldowninamarblenotebook.Ihadtonsofideas,andI’mprettysureIinventedafewthingsduringthattime.

Incollege,Igotnewideaslessfrequently—maybeonceamonth—andaftercollege,theideasstoppedaltogether.IthoughtitwasbecauseIhadgottentoooldtohaveideasanymore,figuringimaginationmustrunoutaroundagetwenty.Butifyoulookatmylifeatthattime,Iwasworkingonconstructionsiteseighteentotwentyhoursadayandnotallowingtimeforrestorrecuperation.Icouldn’tthinkofnewideas—Isimplydidn’thavethementalresourcesforthat.

WhenIdiscoveredLessDoing,itfeltlikeareawakeningofmybrain.Ifeltsmarter,Icouldprocessthings,andIstartedgettingideasagain.Bytakingcareofyourbrainandtreatingitasapreciousresource,youbuild

thefoundationyouneedtobecreativeanddoyourbestwork.Usinganexternalbrainisabigpartofthat.

YOUREXTERNALBRAIN

Theheartoftheexternalbrainisnote-taking.Ifanideaisinyourhead,getitout.Ideasinyourbrainworkliketrafficonahighway:wehavetocreateideaflowforgoodideastocomeout.

YoumayhaveseentheSimpsonsepisodewhereMr.BurnsgoestotheMayoClinicandisdiagnosedwitheverything,buteventhoughhehaseverypossibledisease,thegermsallblockeachotherandpreventeachotherfromkillinghim.Toillustrate,thedoctorshowsMr.Burnsadoorwayfilledwithfuzzyballsrepresentingvariousformsofillness.Noneoftheillnessescangetthroughthedoorwaybecauseit’ssocrowdedthatthey’reallstuck.

Ideasbehaveinasimilarway.Youhavetobeabletogetideasintoasingle-filelinesotheycangetoutofyourhead.Whenyouletyourideasflowfreely,yougetmoreideas,andthatleadstomoregoodideas.

Notallideasaregood—outoftenideas,youmayhaveeightthatarebadorirrelevant.Butevenbadideascanleadtogoodideas.Youwanttogetthemoutofyourheadnotonlybecausetheymaybeblockingagoodideafromcomingout,butalsobecausetheymaycometogetherwithsomeofyourotherideastomakeagoodidea.

That’swhy,ifyouhaveanidea,tryingtoholditinyourmindisaproblem.That’showweloseideas.

SETTINGUPYOUREXTERNALBRAIN

Therearemanygreattoolstohelpyoucaptureinformationandideasoutsideyourhead.MyfavoriteappisEvernote.

Evernote

Evernoteletsyoutakenotesinanyform:text,phonecalls,pictures,drawings,scanneddocuments,webpages—younameit.YoucantagthingsandorganizethemintonotebookswithinEvernote,oryoucanskipthatandjustfindthingsbysearching.That’swhatIdo—Evernote’ssearchfeatureisveryeffective.

Evernoteisfree,hasnostoragelimits,andworkseverywhere.Itsyncsacrosstheweb,iPhone,Android,anddesktopcomputers.Thiscanbetheheartofyourexternalbrain.Ifthere’sanythingyouwanttoremember,putitinEvernote.PuteverythinginEvernoteandgetitoutofyourhead.Theappisfree—overuseit!

OnegreatthingthatmakesEvernoteeveneasiertouseisanextensioncalledWebClipper.ItworkswithGmail,Chrome,andFirefox.Ifyouviewawebsite,anarticle,avideoonYouTube—anythingyouwanttoremember—justclickWebClipper,anditwillputitinEvernoteforyou.

That’sgreatbyitself.Evenbetter,whenyouclipsomething,itwillpopupanyrelateditemsamongthestuffyoualreadyhaveinEvernote.WhenyoudoaGooglesearch,italsoputsanyrelatedthingsfromyourEvernoteatthetopofyoursearchresults.Thisiswhereitbecomesreallyfascinating.IhaveabouteighteenhundrednotesinmyEvernoterightnow.(Seriously,overuseit!)Mostofthosenotesmayneverberelevantorusefultome,butthey’rethere,readyformeifIeverneedthem.Thisisthebackupofmybrain.

So,forexample,let’ssayI’mdoingsomeresearchforablogpost.IopenupGoogleandsearchforthetopic,anditreads,“YouhavethreeEvernotenotes.”Suddenly,myblogpostresearchincludessomethingIclippedayearago,somethingfromafewmonthsago,andsomethingIclippedlastweek.Alloftheseitems,whichmayhaveseemedunimportantuntilnow,aresuddenlyrelevant,andheretheyarewaitingforme.It’snotjustaregularGooglesearch,it’ssomethingIhadinmindandfoundinterestingbefore,nowrecalledeffortlessly.

It’sincrediblyliberatingtohaveallthatstuffthere,readyandwaitingforyou,withoutworryingortryingtoholdontoitorwastingefforttryingtorecallitlater.It’sliterallylikehavingadropboxforyourbrain.

IthasbeenshownthatEvernoteworksinawaythatisveryclosetothewayourbrainswork.JustasPinteresthasbeendescribedas“thewayawoman’sbrainlooks”(thus73percentofusersarewomen),Evernoteistheneuroscientist’smodelofhowourbrainsorganize

information.TheonlythingIknowofthatcomesclosetothefunctionalityof

Evernoteisamemorytechniquecalled“mindloci.”ThisisthetechniqueusedbycompetitorsintheWorldMemoryChampionship,wherethefinaleventistomemorizetheorderoftendecksofcards.Theamazingthingis,morethanonepersondoesthis.Youcanjustimagineiftheseguysgotintoanargument—they’dargueallday,eachoneconvincedherememberseverythingperfectly!

Themindlocitechniqueworksbyvisualizingputtingmemoriesandinformationintophysicalthings.Forexample,ifyouaskedmeaquestionandIwantedtorememberit,Imightvisualizeputtingitintothegrandpianothat’sinthesameroomasmerightnow.Then,sixmonthsfromnow,I’dhavetofindmywaybacktothispianoinmymindandfindthatpieceofinformation.It’snoteasytodo,andit’snotusedoften,butitisusedbypeopleinthelegalprofessionorprivateinvestigatorswhoneedtorememberthedetailsofcasesandsituations.

Mindlocicanwork,butit’snotagreatuseofyourbrainresources.UseEvernoteinstead.

AquaNotesWhataboutideasyougetintheshower?Studieshaveshownthatwe’remostcreativeinaplacewherewe’recomfortableandwarm.That’swhysomanypeoplegetideasinbedandintheshower,andwe’vealltriedtoholdontoanideabyrepeatingitoverandover.Itneverfails,though:theminuteyouopentheshowercurtainordoor,youlosetheidea.Theproblemisnotonlylosingthatidea,butalsothefrustrationthatcomeswithit.Frustrationhasresonatingeffectsthatmakeithardertorecoveryourcreativity.

Here’sanotherareawhereyourexternalbraincantakeover.There’sawaterproofPost-itpadcalledAquaNotes,specificallycreatedsopeoplecanwriteideasdownintheshower.

FollowUp.ccAnothergreatserviceisFollowUp.cc.It’sanautomatice-mailreminderservice.Allitdoesissendremindere-mails,butthekeyishowyouuse

it.Here’showitworks:Isendane-mailtosomeone.Let’ssayIwantto

remembertofollowupwithherinthreedays.Thisisexactlythesortofthingyoudon’tneedtowastementalenergykeepinginyourhead.Instead,Iadd“3days@FollowUp.cc”totheBCCfield.Ifthepersonhasn’trespondedinthreedays,FollowUp.ccwillsendmeane-mailreminderwithacopyoftheoriginale-mailandasnoozefeature.Youcansetitforanytimeperiodyouwant:threedaysfromnow,amonthfromnow,August18atninep.m.,everyFriday.IfyouputtheFollowUp.ccaddressintheBCCfield,thereminderwillcomeonlytoyou.IfyouusetheCCfield,italsosendsacopyoftheremindertotheotherperson.Inmostsituations,that’snotwhatyouwant,butitcanbehelpfulincertainsituations.

Forexample,inabuildingwhereIteach,Verizon’sFiOSservicewassupposedtobeavailable.Forthreeyears,theVerizonwebsitesaiditwasavailable,butitwasn’t.There’sane-mailaddressyoucanwritetocheckonwhenFiOSwillbeavailableatalocation,soIwrotetothemandsetupaone-dayreminderusingFollowUp.cc.Inthiscase,IusedtheCCfieldinsteadofBCC,sotheywouldgetacopyoftheremindereverydayuntiltheyreplied.Finally,aftersixty-fourdays,someonewroteback,“Pleasestopyourannoyingreminderservice.Wedon’tknowwhenservicewillbeavailableinyourbuilding.”Iresponded,“Whydidn’tyoutellmethatsixty-threedaysago?”

Thisisincrediblypowerfulandliberating.ImaginehowmuchenergyIwouldhavewastedifIhadusedonlymyownbraintogetthesameresult!Iencourageyoutooverusethesetools—there’snoreasonnotto.About80percentofmye-mailsgooutwithaFollowUp.cc,andthere’sonesimplereason:fivesecondsafterthate-mailgoesout,it’sgonefrommymind.Idon’thavetothinkaboutitanymore,becauseIknowit’stakencareof.Icanusethosevaluablebrainresourcesforsomethingbetter.

Thisalsoworksforothersituations.Sayyoumeetsomeoneataparty:“Let’scatchupnextweek!”Someonegoesonvacation:“GetbacktomeonAugust26,whenI’llbebackintheoffice.”Noproblem—justsendane-mailwithaBCCtoFollowUp.cc.Theservicealsocreatesacalendar,soifyouwantto,youcanlookaheadandseeallthefollowupsyouhavecomingup.Theycouldbefromdifferenttimesinthepast,andthey’llallgetdoneontherightday.There’sevenasnoozefunction,soifa

remindercomesinandit’snottherighttime,youcandeferituntillater.

IFTTT(IfThis,ThenThat)AnawesomeservicethatIusetoautomatetasksiscalledIFTTT.com.Thenamestandsfor“ifthis,thenthat.”IFTTT.comcreatesautomationsbetweenanytwowebservices.ItincludesYouTube,Twitter,Evernote,GoogleCalendar,Delicious—allsortsofdifferentservices.Thewayitworksisverysimple:ifthishappenshere,thendothatoverthere.Forexample,ifit’sgoingtoraintomorrow,sendmeatextmessage.IfIcheckinonFoursquare,putanoteinGoogleCalendar.

IhaveitsetupsothatifIstaraniteminfeedly,thenitwillgettweetedout,savedinanEvernotenote(whichIuseattheendoftheweektosendoutmy“interestingthingsoftheweek”post),andaddedtoDelicious,Zutual,andStorifytospreadmysocialmediareach.AllthesethingshappenthroughoneactionthatIneverhavetothinkaboutagain.

ContactuallyForCRM(customerrelationshipmanagement),there’sawebservicecalledContactually.Itwillscanyoure-mailandwatchwhoyoucontact,whoyoufollowupwith,andwhowritesbacktoyou.Usingthisinformation,itgeneratesalistoffivepeopleeachdaythatitsuggestsyoucontact.Idon’tknowhowtheydoit,butit’sreallygood.Forme,outofeveryfiveIget,threearepeopleIlookatandthink,“Yeah,Ireallyshouldcontactthatperson.”It’squiteinteresting.

Re:snoozeForreminders,there’sResnooze.com.Thisservicewillsendyouthesamereminderonarepetitiveinterval,suchaseverytwoweeksoreverymonth.BeforeIdiscoveredthis,Ihadareminderinmycalendartogivethedogaheartwormpillatninea.m.onthefirstofeverymonth.ButIwasusuallydoingsomethingatninea.m.onthefirstofthemonth,soIforgotaboutitanditdidn’tgetdone.Nowit’sinmyinbox,andIhavetodealwithitbeforeIcandeleteit.

HassleMeAnotherreminderserviceiscalledHassleMe.co.uk.It’sverysimilar,butitwillsendyouthereminderonanapproximatescheduleinsteadofanexactone.Forexample,sayyouwanttocallyourmomroughlyeveryfivedays.YousetthisupinHassleMe.co.uk,andsometimesitwillremindyouafterthreedays,sometimesafterseven—avariableintervalaroundtheamountoftimeyouspecified.

Theinterestingthingaboutapproximateintervalsisthat,forcertainactivities,therandomnessactuallyhelpsyougetitdone.Forexample,sayyouwanttogetflowersforyourgirlfriendperiodically.Youreallywanttodoit,butifyousetaremindereveryThursday,ittakesthesincerityoutofitandmakesitseemmorelikeachore.Butifitcomesupmorerandomly,itfeelsmoregenuineandtheunpredictabilitymakesithardertobrushoff.

EMPTYINGYOURINBOX

E-mailinboxescanbecomeabreedinggroundforunfinishedtasks,dread,andmentalclutter.Youcanfreealotofmentalresourcesbyclearingoutyourinboxandkeepingitempty.

Thefirststepistooptimizeandseparateouttheoptional(nonessential)e-mails.Hereisafact:youonlyneedtwofolders—EssentialandOptional.Mostofyoure-mailsarenonessential,soratherthanlookingatthematall,youcansetupafiltertosetthemasideforyou.Withthisonestep,youcaneliminatethemajorityofnonessentiale-mailsinthefuture,aswellasmessagescurrentlyinyourinbox.Thisdoesn’thavetobecomplicatedordaunting.Allyouneedisthefollowingfilter:

Findanye-mailthathastheterm“Unsubscribe”anddoesn’thavetheterm“FW”or“RE,”andputitinafolderlabeled“Optional.”

Anye-mailmessagewiththeoptiontounsubscribefromitisprobablynotanessentiale-mail.Thesee-mailsmaywellincludesomeinterestinginformation,buttheydon’trequireyourimmediateattention.

Withanoptimizedinbox,everythingthereissomethingthatshouldbedealtwith,deleted,ordeferred.

Ifit’ssomethingyou’vealreadyfinished,deleteit.

Ifit’ssomethingyoucandonow,doit.

Ifit’snotsomethingyoucandonow,deferittoatimethatyoucan.

Forthedeferredtasks,youcanuseFollowUp.ccanditssnoozefunction.Forexample,ImightthinkFridayattena.m.willbetherighttimetodosomething.ButcomeFridayattena.m.,I’mbusy.Whentheremindere-mailcomesin,Icanhitsnoozetopushitoffforanhour,aday,aweek,orwhateverunitoftimeIneedtogettotherightplacewhereIcanactuallydoit.

Irealizethatseemsinsanelysimple,butthefirststepinvokestheall-importantEssentialvs.Optionalprocess.Thesecondstepisaskillsetyouneedtodevelop.Overtimeyouwillgetbetterandfasterat“processing”e-mails.IfyouareaGmailuser,try”TheEmailGame”toworkthroughtheseprinciplesandgetrewardedasyouimprove.

ELIMINATINGYOURTO-DOLIST

Yourto-dolistisdestroyingyou!I’madamantlyandvehementlyagainstallto-dolistsofallkinds,whetherit’sPost-itnotes,Wunderkit,GoogleTasks,orworstofall,awhiteboard.Theproblemwiththewaymostpeopleuseto-dolistsisthattheybecomeadumpinggroundforthingsthatcan’tactuallybedone.

You’rebusy.Youprobablyhavedozensofitemsonyourto-dolists.That’stheproblem.Mostofthesetasksrequiretheinputofsomeone

elsebeforeyoucandoanything,andmanymorearelong-termprojectsthatyoucan’tdoanythingaboutrightnow.

Theworstto-doitemIeverseeonsomeone’slist(andIseethisallthetime)is“writebook.”That’snotato-do;it’snotevenagoal.“Publishbook”mightbeagoal,but“writebook”?That’snotagoal,andit’scertainlynotato-doitem.It’sjusttoobig.Togiveyouanexampleofagoodtask,try“writeonehundredwords.”That’soptimized,it’srepeatable,andit’smanageable.Youcandoitinfifteentotwentyminutesandbedone.

Theproblemwithmostto-dolistsisthatwhenyoulookatalistoffortythingsyouhavetodo,includinganumberofthingsyoucan’tdo,allitdoesisremindyouofwhatyou’renotgettingdone.Thatcreatescognitivedissonance,whichmakesussubconsciouslyunhappyandunabletogoforward.ItenactsaverifiedpsychologicaleffectcalledtheZeigarnikeffect.TheZeigarnikeffectisavoiceinourheadsthatpushesustofinishtheunfinished.Ashumanbeings,wenaturallywanttofinishthings.Takentoanextreme,that’showwedevelopobsessive-compulsivedisorder.

Whenwedon’torcan’tfinishthethingswewanttofinish,itupsetsus.Ifyouthinkaboutevolution,thismadesensebackwhencavemenbasicallyhadtwothingstodoeachday:eatandsurvive.ButnowwehavephonecallstomakeandfriendstotalktoandTPSreportstofile.It’shardtomanageallthosethingsinourbrainsatthesametime.Weneedtoclearoutthenoise.

Youdon’thavetoworryaboutto-dolistsorprioritizing.Allyouneedtodoisworkonyourtiming.Everytaskhasatimeassociatedwithit:whenitneedstobestarted,checkedon,orfinished.Theideaistobringthosetasksintofocusatthetimesyoucanactuallydealwiththem—andthenyoudealwiththem.Thenyouneverhavetoworryorthinkaboutthemagain.

That’swhereFollowUp.cccomesin.Itallowsyoutoreplaceyourto-dolist,usingyoure-mailinbox.Becauseitcomesintoyoure-mail,ande-mailisadisruptivetechnology(unlikecalendarsandotherremindersystems),youcanuseittogetridofyourto-dolistcompletely.

Toeliminateyourto-dolist,takeanapproachsimilartodealingwithe-mails.Lookatyourcurrentlistandaskyourselfthisquestion:“Whenistherightdayandtimeformetodothisitem?”Thenchooseoneofthe

followingfouroptions:

1. Doitnow.

2. DeferittotherighttimeusingFollowUp.cc.Ifit’saregularlyrecurringtask,useRe:snooze.Forapproximateintervals,useHassleMe.co.uk.

3. Delegateittoyourvirtualassistant.

4. E-mailormanuallyaddittoEvernoteifithastodowithanidea,notes,orresearch.

Formostitemsonyourto-dolist,thekeyisfindingtherighttiming.Timingataskwellisn’tjustaboutwhetherI’mbusyornotbusy—everybodyhasadifferentcircadianrhythm.Justliketherearemorningpeopleandnightpeopleandpeoplewhoworkoutatdifferenttimes,therearebettertimesofdayforeachpersontomakephonecalls,domeetings,andwork.Now,obviously,weliveinaworldwherewehavetoworkwithotherpeople’sschedules,butyouwanttodothebestyoucantoworkwithintheschedulethatworksbestforyou.

Peopleoftentrytoaccomplishthiswithvariouscalendarsandremindertools,butthere’ssomethingspecialaboute-mail.Thisdisruptivetechnologyisuniquelysuitedtogettingustodothings.You’veprobablyhadtheexperiencethatwhenacalendarreminderpopsup,yousnoozeit.Thenyousnoozeitagain,thenagain,thenagain.Thenit’sgone—andundone.

E-maildoesn’tdothat.Ifit’satthetopofthelist,itneedstobedealtwith,deferred,ordeleted.That’sit.Byprocessinge-mailthiswayandusingFollowUp.cctohandledeferrals,youcankeepyourinboxclearandeliminateyourto-dolist.YoucanalsoreplacemostofthefunctionalityofaCRMsystem,becauseyounowhaveasystemforhandlingfollowupswithcustomersandprospects.

Afteryoueradicateyourto-dolist,you’llneverneeditagain.Yourinboxwillbecomeyourdefacto,extremelyshort-termandhyper-focusedlistofthingsthatneedtobedonenow—andthat’sallyouneedtobeconcernedwith.

Onceyougetyoure-mailoptimizedandhandlingyourto-dolistforyou,thefinalpieceofyourexternalbrainisavirtualassistant.

HIRINGAVIRTUALASSISTANT

Ibelieveeveryoneshouldworkwithavirtualassistantatsomepoint.Whetherornotyoueverintendtoworkwithanin-personassistant,workingwithavirtualassistant,orVA,isaneducationalprocessforyouintermsofdelegating.BecauseyoucangetaVAforaslittleastwenty-fivedollarsamonthnow,there’snoexcusenottotryit.

Here’swhyhiringaVAissovaluable:ifyoucanrelayatasktosomeoneyoudon’tknowandwillprobablynevermeet,that’sthestartofmakingyourprocessesbetter.Inthecourseofsimplifyingandexplainingthetasktotheotherperson,you’llunderstandyourprocessmoreclearlyanddevelopaperfectlyoptimizedtask.Asyoudothisformoretasks,you’reeffectivelycreatinga“ManualofYou”thatyoucanusetotransferyourtaskstootherpeoplewithoutneedingtorelyononespecificperson.It’swellworthworkingwithavirtualassistant,iffornootherreasonthantolearntooptimizeyourprocessesthisway.

HowtoWorkwithaVirtualAssistantTherearetwokindsofvirtualassistants:on-demandanddedicated.Withon-demandassistants,there’sapoolofassistants.Oneofthemgetsyourtask,doesit,andmoveson.Youmayneverinteractwiththatpersonagain,andsheknowsnothingaboutyou.Withdedicatedassistants,youdealwiththesamepersoneveryday,andheknowsalotaboutyouanddoesalotofthingsforyou.

Thereareprosandconstoboth.Personally,Iusenondedicated,oron-demand,assistants.I’vedoneextensivetestingontwenty-threedifferentVAcompaniesinthelastthreeyears,andI’vefoundthattheon-demandassistantsaregreatforpeoplewhoarejuststartingoutandhavefewtasks,andthey’regreatforveryadvancedpeople.Inthemiddle,youshouldbewithadedicatedassistant.

Forvirtualassistants,therearetwocompaniesIliketouse.

On-demand:FancyHands.Theirservicestartsattwenty-fivedollarsamonthforfivetasks.Forninety-fivedollarsamonth,yougetunlimitedtasks.TheyuseallU.S.-basedassistants.

Dedicated:Zirtual.For$197amonth,yougetadedicatedassistantandunlimitedaccess,althoughthesystemtopsoutattenhours.Therearealsomoreexpensiveplansthatoffermorehourspermonth.Again,theassistantsareallU.S.-based.Youalwaysgetthesameperson,soheorshegetstoknowyou,yourtasks,youre-mail,yourhabits,andyourpreferences.

Itfeelsgoodtogettoknowonepersonandbuildarelationship,butinmostcases,youdon’treallyneedadedicatedassistant.Ninety-fivepercentoftaskscanbedonebyanon-demandassistant.Thegreatthingaboutcomingtothisrealizationisthatitmakesyoubombproof.Youdon’thavetoworryifsomethinghappenstothededicatedassistantyoudependon.Forexample,IusedtohaveadedicatedvirtualassistantinIndia.Shewasverygood,andI’dbeenworkingwithherforoverayearwhensuddenlysheinformedmethatshewasbeingpromotedandwouldnolongerbemyassistant.Afterthreedaysofsheerpanic,Itookahardlookatthetasksshehadbeenperformingforme.Irealizedthatsomewerenotnecessary,thevastmajoritycouldbeautomatedwithouthumanintervention,andtherestcouldbedonebyanon-demandassistantifIutilizedtherighttools.

Theothergreatthingaboutusingon-demandassistantsisthey’reveryscalable.Ifyousendoutahundredtasksinonehour,ahundredon-demandassistantswilldotheminthathour,andyou’restillonlypayingninety-fivedollarsamonth.Theon-demandassistantsare24/7,andwithahundredpeopleworkingforyouatonce,theaverageturnaroundtimebecomesabouttenminutes.

Ifindthatpeoplehavealotofhesitationwhenitcomestousingavirtualassistant,andpriceisusuallynottheissue.ThetwobiggestconcernsIhearfrompeoplearethattheydon’thavethetimetotrainsomeonenewandthattheydon’tknowwhichtaskstohavetheassistantperform.Butwithplansstartingattwenty-fivedollarsforfivetasks,

there’snoexcusenottogiveitatry.Youwillbehooked,youwillwantmore,andyouwillbecomemoreeffectiveintheprocess.It’sworthdoingjustforthetrainingitwillgiveyouinstreamliningyourtasksandprocesses.

A“task”byZirtualstandardsisanythingtakinguptotwentyminutes.Canyouimaginehowefficientyouwouldneedtobecometogetmostofyourtasksdoneinlessthantwentyminutes?Bycommunicatingyourideasthroughe-mail,younaturallystarttonoticeandeliminateinefficiencies.(Thishappensasyourealizethatstepstwoandfourmakenosenseandstepssixandsevenarerepetitive,forexample.)Remember,weneedtooptimizebeforewedoanythingelse.Gettingataskdowntoitsbareessentialsmakesitbombproof.Ifthemajorityofyourtaskscanbecompletedbysomeonewhohasnopreviousexperienceworkingwithyou,you’reneveratthemercyofanassistantwhocallsinsickormovesontoanothercompany.It’slikethevirtualassistantversionofDropbox.

SincealltheassistantsatZirtualandFancyHandsareU.S.-based,theirEnglishisimpeccable.I’vehadthemcallclientsonnumerousoccasionswithonlypositiveresults.Thisfeatureopenstherealmofpossibilitiesforappropriatetaskstooffloadtoavirtualassistant.

Furthermore,sinceyourtasksarenolongerlimitedtoonecapableperson,scalingbecomesautomaticandpainless.Communicatingexclusivelythroughe-mailmeansthatyoucanassigntaskswheneverandwhereveryouare.Myfavoriteistodoacomplete“braindump”attheendofthedaybeforebed.I’lloftenshootofftenortwelvetasksthatwouldotherwisebugmeforhoursandaffectmysleep.Byutilizingthispartofmyexternalbrain,asfarasI’mconcerned,thetaskisdonethesecondIsendtherequest.Icanresteasy.What’smore,thisprocesscreatesasearchablerecordofallyourtasks.Zirtualhasadashboardthatprovidesanoverviewofallyourrequestsaswellasthestatus,communications,andexchangedfilesforeachspecifictask.

WhattoOutsourcetoaVirtualAssistantThereisagreatlistofcommonrequestsonZirtual,andmye-bookonvirtualassistantslistsmorethanahundredtasksyoucanhaveaVAperform.I’mgoingtoexamineseveralsampletasksandshowyouhowto

achievethemwithyournewsetup.Ifnoexplanationisgiven,itsimplymeanstherequestrequiresnoadditionalinputbecausetheVAcanhandleit.IhopeI’llprovideenoughofaframeworksothatyoucanattackyourspecifictasksthataren’tcoveredhere.

STRAIGHTREQUESTSWITHNOADDITIONALTOOLSNEEDED:Weborphoneresearch

Makingdinnerortravelreservations

Followingupwithaclientbyphone

Proofreading

Updatingadocument,spreadsheet,orPowerPointpresentation

Cold-calling(provideascript)

CreatinganExcelspreadsheetfromprovidedorfounddataset

Productcomparison

Contentsummaries

Grocerydeliveryorders

Donatingitemstocharityandarrangingpickup

Addingyourwebsiteorbusinessinformationtosearchdirectories

Documentformattingorconversion

Customerservice

Fact-checking

Travelresearch

Findingtheneareststorewithaniteminstock

TASKSTHATNEEDADDITIONALTOOLS:Schedulemeetings.UseScheduleOnce(www.scheduleonce.com)toshareyourschedulewiththeVAandallowhim/hertomakeappointmentsforyou.Yourschedulelinkshouldbeinyoure-mailsignature.

Check,transcribe,andrespondtovoicemails.UseGoogleVoice

(www.google.com/voice)togetvoicemailsbye-mailandsimplyforwardthemtotheassistant.

Transcribeaudioortakedictations.Useyourfavoritevoice-recordingprogram(IlikeRecordium—www.recordiumapp.com)tosendtheVAanaudiofilefortranscription.Itcouldbeashortblogpostorletter,orjustanideayouwanttogetoutofyourhead.

Mailletters.UsingPostalMethods(www.postalmethods.com),remoteassistantscansendPDFsthroughpostalmail,toindividualsorentiremailinglists.

Sharepasswordssecurely.UseLastPass(www.lastpass.com).

Performcomplexand/orrepetitivetasks.Google’sCannedResponsesallowsyoutocreatetemplatee-mailsinGmailsoyoucanwritesomethingdownstepbystepandsaveitasatemplate.Thatway,it’sjustoneclickawaythenexttimeyouneeditdone.Forrepetitivetasks,youcanuseBoomerang(www.boomerang.com)tosendrecurringmessages,whichmaybeoneofyourCannedResponses.Anexamplewouldbetohaveanassistantlogintoasite(withdetailsprovidedinthetemplate),checkstats,andgiveyouareporteachweek.

Real-worldphysicaltasks.UseTaskRabbit(www.taskrabbit.com)forgeneralstuffandRedBeacon(www.redbeacon.com)forhomeservices.

Bookkeeping.CombineweeklycheckinswiththevirtualbookkeepingservicesofBench(www.bench.co).

Leadgenerationorgettingnewprospectsforyourbusiness.UsingCannedResponses,Boomerangrecurringmessages,andascript,VAscandosystematic,weeklylead-generationwork.

Blogcontentmoderation.UseCannedResponsestoprovidelog-ininformationandBoomerangtohaveitdoneonaregularschedule.

CraigslistoreBaypostings.UseCannedResponsestoprovidelog-ininformationandatemplate;youjustprovidespecificsandphotos.

Expensereporting.UseCannedResponsesandasharedGoogleDocsspreadsheettosendaphotoofareceiptandhaveitparsedandenteredintoanexpensereport.

Sortandprocesspostalmail.UseVirtualPostMail(www.virtualpostmail.com)toreceivephysicalmailvirtually.

Incomingcheckmanagementanddeposits.UsingVirtualPostMail,checkscanbereconciledanddepositscanbemadebymail.

Researchinterestingblogandnewsitems.StaranitemyoufindinterestinginfeedlyorfavoriteatweetanduseIFTTTtoautomaticallyarchiveandshareitforfurtherresearch.

TASKSTHATSHOULDBEAUTOMATED:Wake-upcalls.WakerUpper(www.wakerupper.com)

Waitingonhold.FastCustomer(www.fastcustomer.com)orLucyPhone(www.lucyphone.com)

Addingbusinesscardstoyouraddressbook.CardMunch(www.cardmunch.com)

Makingdinnerreservations.OpenTable(www.opentable.com)

Followupbye-mail.FollowUp.cc(www.followup.cc)

Sendingthank-younotes.Postable(www.postable.com)

Mealdelivery.Seamless(www.seamless.com)orDelivery(www.delivery.com)

Textmessages/phonereminders/escapecalls.IFTTT(www.IFTTT.com)

Orderingacarservice.Uber(www.Uber.com)orGroundLink(www.groundlink.com)

Obviously,thereareplentyoftasksthatrequiremorethantwentyminutes,suchasextensiveresearchprojects,socialmediamanagement,ghostwriting,financialmodeling,travelplanning,andgraphicorwebdesignwork.Forthesekindsofprojects,it’salmostalwaysbettertohire

aproject-basedspecialistonElance.Aspecialistwillhavethebesttalentforthejobandwillbethemostcosteffective.

OUTSOURCINGYOUROUTSOURCING

Onceyouknowhowtoworkwithavirtualassistant,thepinnacleofachievementinoutsourcingistooutsourcenotjustthetasksthemselves,butalsotheprocessofoutsourcingthem.Evenbetter,automatetheprocessofassigningtaskstoyourassistants!

I’veachievedthiswithIFTTT.ItstartedwithasimpleassignmenttomyFancyHandsvirtualassistant:“FindouthowtoautomaticallysubmitnewblogpoststoStumbleUpon.”

It’sprettyunusualtostumpaFancyHandsassistant,buttheresponseIgotbackwas,“ThereisnocurrentmethodforautomaticallysubmittingblogpoststoStumbleUpon.”

Iheldmybreathforthebriefestofmoments.Thenmymouthpulledintoasmile.Ilikechallengeslikethis.Ididn’trealizethiswouldopenacompletelynewrealmofoutsourcingforme.

It’sonethingtouseanon-demandvirtualassistantforstandardtasks,butrecurringtasksaretricky,sinceyourtasksareassignedtodifferentassistantseachtime.Initially,IgotaroundthisbycreatingareminderfromRe:snoozewiththetaskinstructions.Youcanhavethismessagesenttoyouatacertaininterval—whenitarrives,simplyforwardittotheassistant.

Ithoughtthatwasaprettyslicksolution,butitstillrequiredamomentofmyinvolvement.TheissuewithRe:snoozeisthatit’snottrigger-based,onlyinterval-based.So,thetaskmightread,“Addnewpostsfromthepastweek,”butitcouldn’tread,“Addthepostthatjustwentup.”

AnotherapproachItriedwastocreateaforwardingfilterthroughGmail.Theproblemwas,theresultinge-maildidn’toriginatefrommyowne-mailaddress.Becauseofthat,mostvirtualassistantroutingserviceswouldn’trecognizeit—theyrejectedthetask.

Thistime,Iapproachedthetaskbackwardandonaverybasiclevel.HowcouldIassignatasktomyvirtualassistantwithouthavingtoinitiatetherequestatall?Iwasseekingtheholygrailofoutsourcing,the

perpetualmotionmachineoftheoutsourcingworld:Iwantedtooutsourcemyoutsourcing.

SincemindcontrolofGmaildoesn’texistandwouldn’tbearealisticsolutionanyway(whyusemymindforthat?),Istartedtoscratchmyhead.IrememberedthatIFTTThasaGmailchannel,whichI’dneverusedbefore.Youcancreatetriggersbasedonsearchesorstarringanitem,butyoucanalsosendane-mail.

Butwait,doesthissente-mailoriginatefromyourowne-mailaddress?Yes,itdoes!!!

Iwassoexcited,Icouldhardlycontainmyself.That’swhenIcreatedthefirstIFTTTrecipe,whichhasresultedinthirty-twooutstandingandamazingautomatedactionsthatIneverhavetothinkaboutagain.Itcouldn’thavebeenmoresimple:ifanewpost(basedontheRSSfeedformyblog)iscreated,thensendaGmaile-mailmessagetorequest@fhands.comwith,“Visitthis[feedURL]andsubmitthisnewlypublishedposttoStumbleUpon.”

IFTTTgivesyouseveraloptionsforautomaticallypropagatinginformation,so“[feedURL]”isreplacedwiththemostrecentpostaddress.That’sallthereistoit.Accordingtothe80/20Rule,IshouldbefocusingonlyonthethingsthatonlyIcando,likecreatingoriginalcontentfortheblog.Everythingelseshouldbehandledbysomeoneelseifatallpossible.

IFTTThasaboutfiftychannelsatthispoint,mostofwhichcancauseane-mailtobesenttoyourvirtualassistant.IsetupatriggersothateveryFridaymorning,myassistantreceivesane-mailtellinghim/hertocreatemy“InterestingThingsoftheWeek”post,basedonmyDeliciouslinksfromthepastsevendays.

Youmayask,whynotjustgiveyourassistantoneinstruction:“CreatetheposteveryFriday”?Foronething,ifyoudon’thaveadedicatedassistant,thenyoucan’tdothat.Butevenifyoudohaveadedicatedassistant,whathappenswhenthatpersongetssickortakesanewjob?Doingthingsmywaymakesyoufuture-proof,bombproof,andidiot-proof.

Thinkhowmuchfunyoucanhavewiththis!HowabouteverytimeyoutakeanInstagrampictureofacoolproductandtagitwiththeword“#buythis,”yourassistantgetsane-mailinstructinghimorhertofinditatthebestpriceandorderit?MaybeonrainydaysyoudecidetoindulgeinanUbercarinsteadofwalkingtothetrain.SoyousetanIFTTTrecipe

thatcheckstheweatherand,ifrainispredicted,itsendsane-mailtoyourvirtualassistantaskinghimorhertoorderyouacartotakeyoutowork.YoucouldgetcreativeandsaythatifyoucheckinonFoursquareataplacecategorizedasanairport,yourassistantgetsane-mailinstructinghim/hertocontactfamilyandworkcolleaguestoletthemknowyou’vearrivedsafely.

Themoreyoucanmakethingshappenbasedonthethingsyouarealreadydoing,thelessstressedandmoreproductiveyou’llbe.

Weliveinasocietythatoffersoptionsforcustomizationofjustabouteverythingimaginable.Food,clothes,vehicles,andevenaboxofLEGOscanbedesignedandmanufacturedspecificallyforyou.Thisisnotanarcissisticpursuit—thereistangiblevalueingettingexactlywhatyouwantandleavingoutwhatyoudon’t.

We’refortunatetoliveinaworldwherewehavegreataccesstothousandsofproductsatcheapprices,allreadilyavailable.Whenaproductiscreatedtoworkforeverybody,however,there’sagoodchanceitwon’tbeexactlyrightforyou.Ifaproblempresentsitselftoyou,asolutionmayormaynotexist.Ifitdoesn’t,creatingitmaybeeasierthanyouthink.

Thebasicprinciplesbehindcustomizationaretosavetime,savemoney,andsimplyprovideabettersolution.I’dliketogiveyouthreeexamplesfrommylifethatexemplifythesethreeprincipleswell.

ThefirstexampleisVitaminsonDemand.VitaminsonDemandprovidescustomvitaminpacksinalittlecardboardfolderforeachweek.It’sdesignedtoletyoubreakoffapackforeachday,severaldays,oreventhewholeweekatatime.Thismakestravelingabreezeandallowsyoutograballyourvitaminsasyourunoutthedoor.

BeinghealthconsciousisanimportantpartoftheLessDoinglifestyle.Asweeliminateworktasksfromourlives,wenaturallyfocusonmoreimportantthings,oneofwhichisphysicalwell-being.

Itakesixsupplementsonadailybasis:krilloil,iron,vitaminBComplex,probiotics,ginger,andcat’sclaw(anAmazonianplantknownforitsanti-inflammatorybenefits).Inormallygoteachofthesefromdifferentsources,andtheyallhaddifferentdoses.ThismeantthatIwouldrunoutofthematdifferenttimes,andI’dusuallyforgettoorderrefillsintime.IsentVitaminsonDemandonee-mail,describingexactlywhatresultsIwanted.WithinafewhoursIhadaprice(abouthalfwhatI

normallypay)andafullnutritionalinformationsheet.IalsosetupanautoshipmentplansoIneverhavetothinkaboutitagain.

Asanaddedbonus,VitaminsonDemandhasanentrepreneurialcomponent.Ifyoucomeupwithanamazingcombo,theywillprintlabelsforyouandsuddenlyyouhaveanewbusiness!Manycustomizationsitesofferyouanimmediateplatformtosellyourcreations.

ThesecondgreatactofcustomizationinmylifecomesfromIndochino,acustomsuitcompany.Indochinowalksyouthroughathoroughten-minutemeasuringprocess,completewithvideoexamples.Theysaveyourprofileintheirsystem.Then,theypresentyouwithseveraldozensuitsindifferentstyles,fromtuxedostothree-piecebankersuits.Thesuitsstartataroundtwohundredandfiftydollars.Thisisanexcellentpriceforacustomsuit,andifthemeasurementsareoff,they’llgiveyouaseventy-five-dollarcredittogotoatailorandgetitfixed.Youcanspecifypocketstyles,liningcolors,andevenhaveyournamemonogrammedontheinsideofthejacket.Whentheseasonschangeandyoudecideit’stimeforsomethingnew,yousimplypickthestyleyoulike,knowingthatitwillbeaperfectfit,everytime.

ThelastexampleofcustomizationI’llgiveyouisPonoko.Ponokoisaninterestingcommunityof“makers”andon-demand3Dprintingservices.Ponokocanhelpturnanideaintoaproduct—if,forexample,youhaveadesignforabettercoffeecuporareallycooldeskchair.

HowdoesthiscontributetoLessDoing?Let’ssayyouhaveadeskthatisreallyperfectforyourbigdesktopcomputerandmonitor.TimesarechangingandyouwanttoupgradetoaMacminiandmountthathugestudiodisplayonthewall.Wouldn’titbenicetohaveaclutter-freedeskforallthepenholders,drinkrests,andcablemanagementslotsyouwant?

Ifyouhavesomedesignskills,youcouldmodelityourself,butthatwouldtaketoomuchtime.That’swherePonokocomesin.Youcanpostyourrequest,andsomeonewillbidtodesignitforyou.Whenthedesigniscomplete,youcanhaveitlasercutorthree-dimensionallyprintedinmetal,wood,orevenglass.TheycanalsoincludeelectroniccomponentslikeaccelerometersandGPS.Youcanalsousethesitetogetcompletelyuniquegiftsforpeople,savingyouthetimeandwastedeffortofsearchingforthe“perfectgift”thatdoesn’texist.(OthersimilarsitesincludeShapewaysandKraftwurx.)

WHERETOSTART

Therearemanycompaniesdevotedtocreatingcustomproducts.Sometimes,aquickInternetsearchmayfindyouacompanythatwillmakeexactlywhatyouwant.Othertimes,youmayneedanexperttocreateitforyou.

Ifwhatyouneedislesstangible,likesoftwareortravelplanning,youcanfindsomeonetodoitforyouonElance.Frommyperspective,Elanceisthenumber-oneoutsourcingmarketplaceintheworld—muchbetterthanGuruandOdesk.It’sfreetopostthejobyouwantdone.Onceyouposttheproject,peoplefromaroundtheworldbidonit.There’sanescrowsystem,andyoucancheckthecontractor’sfeedbackbeforeyouhireanyone.Elancehasexpertsinmanydifferentfields,fromsoftwaredevelopmentandgraphicdesigntotravelplanning,legaladvice,andprivateinvestigation.It’sagreatwaytogetthejobdone.

Anotherfavoriteoutsourcingwebsiteiswww.fiverr.com.Fiverrisasitewherepeoplewilldogigsforfivedollars,rangingfromtheextremelybizarretotheveryuseful.Onthebizarreside,there’saguyinNewYorkCitywho,forfivedollars,willcallanybodyyouwantandwishthemhappybirthday...asChristopherWalken.He’smakingfifteenhundreddollarsamonthdoingthis.

There’salsoanoldergentlemanwhowilldoafakeskydivingvideoholdingasignwithyourwebsitewrittenonitforfivedollars—weirdstuff.

Butthere’salsoreallyusefulstuff,like“Iwilltweetyourmessagetomy240,000Twitterfollowersinthenexttwenty-fourhoursforfivedollars.”Or“Iwillsubmityoursiteto1,250searchenginedirectoriesforfivedollars.”Or“Iwillreviewyourwebsiteandgiveyoutentipsforimprovingyoursearchengineoptimizationforfivedollars.”Theyallhavefeedback,andthere’ssomereallygoodstuff.

Afewyearsago,whenIboughtmyMacmini,Iputtheseservicestogethertocreateacustombrackettomountitonthewall.Ican’tdraw,butIwasabletomakeaterribledrawingofwhatIwanted.ThenIpaidsomeonefivedollarsonFiverrtoturnthedrawingintoa3Dmodel.ThenIsentthe3Dmodeltowww.shapeways.com.Shapewayschargesbytheamountofmaterial,soforforty-threedollars,Iwasabletogeta3Dprintedprototypeofmy3Dmodel.Aweeklater,itcameinthemail,andIhadtheperfectbrackettohangmyMacminionthewall.

Ontopofthat,ifyouuseShapeways,youalsogetaccesstotheire-commerceplatform.Iendedupsellingsixofthesebracketsforsixty-fivedollarsapiece.So,withaboutanhourofmytimeandaninitialcostofforty-eightdollars,Iwasabletocreateacustom-madeone-offproductthatwasexactlysuitedtomyneeds,andmakealmostfourhundreddollarssellingthatproducttootherpeople.Ifasolutiondoesn’talreadyexist,youcanprobablycreateonealotmoreeasilythanyoumightthink.

Occasionally,theprocessofcustomizationcanbemoretroublethanit’sworth.Whenitcomestothethingsthatweinteractwithonaconstantbasis,however,thereisalmostalwaysawaytodoitmoreefficiently.Ifyourfirstattemptatcustomizationisunsuccessful,it’simportantnottobecomediscouraged.ToparaphraseThomasEdison,yousimplyfoundawaynottodowhatyouweretryingtoaccomplish.Giveitanothershot.

Ifyou’reusingaproductorserviceandwonderifthereisabetterway,oddsarethatyoucancreateonewithverylittleeffort.Indoingso,you’llbeonestepclosertoLessDoing.

ManypeoplehaveheardofTheFour-HourWorkweekbyTimFerriss.Thetitleisabitfacetious—Timadmittedlydoesmorethanfourhoursofworkperweek--buttheideaisspot-on.Youmustdefinewhataworkweekisandthendecidehowmuchofyourlifeyouwantittooccupy.

WHATISAWORKWEEK?

Theconceptofchoosingyourownworkweekcomesbacktotiming.Thisappliestopeoplewith9-to-5jobsaswellaspeoplewithmoreflexibleschedules.Theideaisthatsometimesarebetterthanothersforcertainpeopletodocertainthings.Bychoosingyourownworkweek,yousetupyourscheduleinordertomatchtaskstoyourbesttimesforaccomplishingthem.

Myworkweekconsistsofthetimeswhenclients,vendors,andotherbusinesscontactscanhaveareasonableexpectationofgettingintouchwithmeand/orreceivingsomesortofworkproduct.Whileyourworkweekwillprobablybecomethetimethatyougetyourworkdone,thatisnotwhatdefinesit.

MypersonalworkweekwasTuesdaythroughThursday—nowit’sTuesdayandWednesday,tena.m.tofourp.m.Iactuallystarteddoingthisbackincollege.Inmysenioryear,IonlytookclassesonTuesdaysandThursdays.Thismeantthateveryweekendwasafour-dayweekendandIhadadayofrestbetweentheworkdays.Bybatchingclassesintothesetwodays,Iwaspersonallyinmymostefficientworkmode.

Asamemberoftheworkforce,Ioriginallyhadafive-dayworkweeklikemostpeople.ThenIreduceditdaybyday,eventuallysettlingatmycurrentschedule.

It’snotthatIonlyworktwodaysaweek.I’mworkingallthetime,andIlovewhatIdo.Isometimesworksevendaysaweek.Iworklateatnight,anytime—ifwhatI’mdoingisinteresting,itdoesn’tmatter.Myworkweekisalsoaguideline:ifsomethingcomesuponaFriday,I’mnotgoingtoignoreit,butImakesure95percentofallthethingsthatIdoforworkthatinvolveotherpeoplefallonTuesdaysandWednesdays.

Thisdoesn’tmeanthateveryweekendmightbeafive-dayweekend.Everyweekendisafive-dayweekend.Thelogicbehindthisissimple.Wecanovergeneralizeandsaythatmostinefficienciescomefromotherpeopleinyourlife,ratherthanyourinternalissues.Asuppliermightbelate,aclientmighthavetroublemakinguphismind,oranelectriccompanyrefusestojointhetwenty-firstcenturybyofferingelectronicbilling.Byshorteningthewindowinwhichclientscaninteractwithyou,youautomaticallyforcebatchingontheirpartaswellasyours.Essentially,youforceeveryonetoworkmoreefficiently.

Ichosethemiddleoftheweekbecauseitworksbestwithmyschedule.IliketogotomyfarminthecountryontheweekendandnothavetoworryaboutFriday-nightorMonday-morningtraffic.ItalsomeansIcanavoidthedrowsinessofeveryone’sMondayrecoveryfromtheweekend,aswellastheirlackofattentiononFridaysastheycountdowntheminutesuntiltheirweekend.

OnTuesdayandWednesday,IknowI’llhavehecticdays,butthisformofbatchingfuelsmetopowerthroughwithmotivationandefficiency.Attheendofeachday,thefeelingofaccomplishmentisbustingoutofme.

Ontopofthat,gainingcontroloveryourschedulehasaprofoundpsychologicaleffect.Thenumber-onecomplaintIhearisthatpeopleareoverwhelmedbytheire-mail,allthetaskstheyhavetodo,allthemeetingstheyhavetoattend,andtheirworkingeneral.Takingalittlecontroloveryourworkweekcanmakeabigdifference.

Thestructurethatmakesthemostsenseforyourworkweekwilldependonyourworkandindustry.Thekeyisexperimentation.

HOWTOMAKEITHAPPEN

Youcanmakethisworkusingtwokeyplug-ins.ThefirstisScheduleOnce,aschedulingapplicationthatgivesyouafreepublicschedulinginterfaceandappointmentpage.IfyouwenttomyScheduleOncepage,youwouldseemyavailabilityfortheweek.Youcouldrequestameetingwithme,andifIagree,itgetsaddedtoeachofourcalendars.

Withoutasystemlikethis,ittakesanaverageofsevene-mailstosetupameeting.Thischangesittoone,whichsavestimeinitself.Thelinktomyscheduleisinmye-mailsignature,andifsomeonewantstomeetwithme,Icansay,“Here’smyschedule.Pickanytimethatworksforyou.”

Whattheydon’trealizeisthatwhentheygotothatpage,theyonlyseeTuesdayandWednesdayavailability.Asfarastheyknow,I’mjustreallybusyonMonday,Thursday,andFriday.

Whenprospectiveclientstrythis,theyloveit.Theywanttosignuprightawaytoworkwithme.I’mgivingthemthefreedomtopickanytimetheywant,sothingsgomuchmoresmoothly.Italsomeansyoudon’thavetoworryaboutsayingnotopeopleorfittingthemintotherighttimes.Forme,IknowthatTuesdayandWednesdayaregoingtobehectic,butitalsomeansthatifthosetwodaysgetfilledup,thepersonsimplyschedulesfornextweekinsteadofhavingtheawkwardconversationwherepeopletrytogetyoutoworkthemintoyourschedulethisweek.Thisway,it’snotjust,“Idon’twanttomeetwithyouthisweek”—theycanseethatyou’renotavailable,sotheymoveontoatimewhenyouare.

Thesecondkeyplug-iniscalledRightInBox,anditworkswithGmail.Itdoesfourthings:delaysthesendingofane-mail,trackstheopeningofane-mail,tracksifanyofthelinksinane-mailgetclicked,andremindsyoutofollowup.ThereminderfeatureduplicatesFollowUp.cc,buttheothersareveryuseful.

Forexample,whenIgetane-mailonFridayafternoon,Imightwanttodealwithitimmediatelyandgetitoutofmyhead.Butwe’veallsentane-mailatfourp.m.onFridayandreceivedareplyat4:59thatruinsourweekendbecausewecan’treallydoanythingaboutituntilMonday,butthereitisintheinbox.Insteadofdoingthattosomebody,Iliketowritethosee-mailsandsendthemoutFridayafternoonbutnothavethemdelivereduntilMondaymorning.Thatway,it’soffmyplateandIdon’t

havetothinkaboutitagain,butitarrivesonMonday,whentherecipientisbetterpreparedtodealwithit.

FormyworkweekofTuesdayandWednesday,Imaywritethee-mailonWednesdaybutnothaveitsentoutuntilTuesdaymorning,whenI’llbebackinworkmodeandreadytorespond.That’salittleextreme,butitallowsyoualotofflexibility,andsometimesitmakessense.Ifyoucanlimitcommunicationwithotherstoyourworkdays,youcanchannelpeopleintolearningthebesttimestodealwithyou:duringyourworkweek.

Ofcourse,therewillbetimeswhensomeoneisonlyabletomeetoutsideofyourworkweek.There’snothingwrongwithmakingexceptionsinthesecircumstancesbecauseitisyourdecision.Onemeetinginawholedaywon’thurttoomuch.

Remember,yourworkweekisnotthetimewhenyoudoyourwork,it’sthetimeduringwhichbusinesscontactscaninteractwithyou.Youcanlimitthistoasmuchoraslittletimeasworksbestforyou.

Idon’twantyoutorunerrands,everevereveragain.They’renotefficient,andthere’snowaytomakethemefficient.They’reawasteofyourtime.

Thenumber-oneserviceIrecommendtoeliminateerrandsisAmazonSubscribeandSave.ItallowsyoutosubscribetononperishableitemsthatAmazonsells:dogfood,toiletpaper,toothpaste,andotherthingslikethat.Youcansetwhatyouwantandhowmuch—forexample,threetubesoftoothpasteeverytwomonths.Youcancancelanydeliveryatanytime,andyoucangetanextradeliveryatanytime,soit’shardlyevenasubscription,andyouimmediatelygeta5to15percentdiscountforbuyingthisway.Mostimportant,onceyousetitup,youdon’thavetothinkaboutitanymore.

UsingSubscribeandSaveisdefinitelycheaper,andit’ssimplerthanbuyingstuffinperson.EvenifyougotoCostco,it’salotofstufftocarry,andthere’sagoodchanceyou’llforgetsomethingorbuysomethingyoudon’tneed.WithSubscribeandSave,Amazonbasicallybecomesyourdigitalpantry.I’vealreadysavedthousandsofhoursusingthisservice.Overthelastthreeyears,mywifeandIhavenothadtoshopforthingsliketoiletpaper,dishdetergent,papertowels,soap,razors,deodorant,babyfood,diapers,dogfood—thelistgoeson.It’ssetitandforgetit:Isetitup,andnowIdon’thavetoworryaboutitanymore.

Ifyoudon’tliveinabuildingwithadoormanoryouhaveahardtimereceivingpackages,they’vefiguredthisout,too.TheyhaveaservicecalledAmazonLockers.ThereareaboutfiftylocationsthroughoutNewYorkCity,whicharesetuplikebusstationlockers,whereyoucanhaveyourpackagedeliveredandyougetamessagetellingyouit’sthereandreadyforyou.

SubscribeandSaveisgreatforproductswithtimingissuesassociatedwiththem.Forexample,mywifeandIuseBritafilters.Everytwomonths,

wegetashipmentofBritafilters.Now,insteadofrunningoutoffilters,orderingmore,waitingforthemtocome,andinstallingthenewones,Ijustgettheshipment,knowit’stimetochangethefilters,andputthenewonesin.It’soutofmyhead.Similarly,everysixmonths,weneedtochangethebatteriesinthesmokedetectors,soeverysixmonths,wegetashipmentof9-voltbatteries.Whenthebatteriescome,Ichangethem.Ineverhavetothinkaboutitorremember,andIneverhaveasmokedetectorbeepinginthemiddleofthenight.Peaceofmind,timesaved,moneysaved—worksforme!

Forerrandsthatyoucan’teliminateorautomate,it’stimetooutsource.Youcangetsomeonetodothesereal-world,in-persontasksforyou.OnesuchserviceiscalledTaskRabbit.It’salotlikeElancebutforreal-worldtasks.

YoucanusetheTaskRabbitiPhoneapptoenterarequestbyvoiceortext.Youtellthemwhatyouneedandwhenyouneedit,andaTaskRabbitproviderwillcompletethetaskforyou.It’sacompetitivemarketamongthehelpers,soyou’llgetfastresponsesandcompetitiverates.TaskRabbitcanhandletaskslikedroppingoffdonationsforcharity,buyinggroceries,takingyourcartotheshop,hangingashelfinyourapartment,fixingyourcomputer,anddoingyourholidayshopping.Thesitewillalsooffersuggestions,freeofcharge.

AllTaskRabbitserviceprovidersgothroughabackgroundcheck,andit’snotjustforbasicerrands.Theyalsohavespecialists,suchaspersonalchefsandmasseuses.

Here’sanexampletogiveyouabetterideaofwhatthistypeofservicecandoforyou.IhaveanephewinLosAngeles,andthreemonthsago,itwashissecondbirthday.HismomtoldushewantedaparticularslidefromIKEA.FromNewYorkCity,IcontractedsomeonethroughTaskRabbit.IhadthispersongotoIKEAinLongBeach,gettheslide,takeittomynephew’shouse,andputittogether.Heevensanghappybirthdaytomynephew—andallforforty-sevendollars!

It’snotthatmytimeisbetterthantheirtime.It’saboutbatching.Thepeoplewhodothisstuffdoitallthetime.It’sareallyincrediblething,andit’stimebetterspent.Theideaistogetdowntothe5percentoftasksthatonlyyoucando,andonlydothosethings.Thenyoucanworkonthosethingsandmaximizeyourefficiencyandyourskillset.

AREYOUREADY?

Thereyouhaveit.You’vegotnothingtoloseandeverythingtogainbygettingotherpeopletorunyourerrandsandhandleyoursimpletasks.Ridyourselfoftheminutiaeandstartfocusingonthethingsthatmakeyouhappy.

TheLessDoinglifestyleisaboutefficiency,andwebelievethisefficiencyshouldtranslatetofinancialsavings,too.It’snotenoughtosimplymanageyourfinances.Wewantyoubeafinancialsushichef,cuttingoutallthefatandleavingnothingbutthetastiestbits.(NowI’mthinkingaboutsushi....)

Toaccomplishthesegoals,youneedaclearpictureofwhereyourmoneyisandwhereit’sgoing.Tostart,youshouldbesignedupforelectronicstatementswithallofyourbankssoyoudon’tgetthepaper;everythingstaysorganizedonline.

WHERE’SMYMONEYANDWHEREAMISPENDINGIT?

Typically,apersonmighthaveacheckingandsavingsaccountatabank,adebitcard,acreditcard,andmaybesomekindof401(k)orinvestmentportfolio.

Ifyouhaveabusiness(orseveral),youknowtheaccountsyouhavecanmultiplyandquicklybecomeunmanageable.That’swhereMint.comcomesin.Yousupplythesitewiththelog-indetailsforyourvariousbankingsites.Youinputpersonalaccounts,creditscards,businessaccounts,autoloans,andstockportfolios.Ifyouwantsomethingthat’sstrictlyforbusiness,youshoulduseInDinero,whichaddsaccessforanaccountant.Itautomaticallypullsinallyourinformationeveryday,categorizingtransactionsandgivingyouaveryniceoverviewofyourfinancialhealth.Mintwille-mailyouwhenanaccounthasalowbalanceorwhenaparticularlylargedepositclears.Thisisveryconvenientifyouwanttomakesurethatapaycheckmadeitintoyouraccount.

Onceeverythingisinandthesystemstartsanalyzing,youcan

discoverthingsaboutyourself.Mintcanalsosetbudgetsbasedonpastspending,andalertyouwhenyouexceedthoselevels.Soifyounoticethatyou’respendingalotofmoneyonrestaurantsthismonth,itmightbetimetostartcookingathome.Thesitewillalsoshowyoucreditcardandcheckingaccountoffersandexactlyhowmuchmoneytheywillsaveyouinthelongrun.

Mintgivesyouanicedashboardforoversightofyourfinances.It’seasytolosesightofhowwe’redoingthingsandhowwe’respendingtimeandresources.UsingasitelikeMintcanpullyouback.

TogobeyondMintandgetreallyseriousaboutanalytics,youneedtocheckoutOneReceipt.Thisserviceautomaticallypullsinallofyoure-receiptsfromyoure-mail.Italsoletsyouaddpaperreceiptsbysnappingapictureande-mailingittothem.Attheendofeachmonth,itgeneratesapersonalexpensereportandshowsyouhowmuchyouspentatAmazon,iTunes,thegrocerystore,thegasstation—whereveryouspendmoney.(Isitbadthat28percentofmymonthlyincomegoestoAmazon?)

OneReceiptalsohasaplug-inforFirefoxandChromethatworkswithAmericanExpress,Citibank,BankofAmerica,andMint.Ifyouhoveroveratransaction,thereceiptwillpopup,soyouknowwhatyouboughtineachtransaction(especiallyhandyifyouhavetwentyAmazontransactionsinthesamemonth).Ifyoureturnsomething,youknowwhenthemoneygetscreditedbacktoyouraccount.

Similarly,anotherservicecalledSlicecanscanallyoure-mailreceiptsandcreateadashboardshowingallyourdeliveries,soyouknowwhensomethingiscomingandhowmuchmoneyyouspentwhere.

Inadditiontomonitoringonlinepurchases,youcanmonitoryourcreditcardsusingaservicecalledBillGuard.Thisservicewatchesallofyourcreditcardtransactionsandflagsanytransactionsthatitfindssuspicious:thingslikedoublefeesandinternationaltransactions.Eachmonth,yougetareportshowingtheflaggedtransactions.Foreachtransaction,youcanseemoreinformationaboutthecompany,andthere’sabuttonfordisputingthechargeifyouwantto.Itisallveryquickandeasy,andkeepsyoufromhavingtoporethroughpagesofbankingtransactions.

Thisisespeciallyusefulforme,becausemyoneviceisbuyingstufffrominfomercials.Idon’tknowwhy,butifit’sonatthreeo’clockinthe

morning,Iownit.Theproblemis,thosetransactionsoftencomeupas“FSRIndustriesUnlimitedInternational,Inc.,”andyouhavenoideawhatthatis,especiallywhenyouhavemultiplesimilartransactions.InBillGuard,youcanclickonebutton,anditwillfindoutforyou.

Anothergreatset-it-and-forget-itapplicationisFileThis.com.Itautomaticallypullse-statementsfromutilitycompanies,cellphoneproviders,creditcardcompanies,andotherbillseachmonth.ItgathersthesestatementsinPDFformandputstheminEvernote.Suddenly,it’sallsearchable!

Imanagerentalproperties,soIhaveaccesstotwelvedifferentbusinessbankaccounts.Findingsomethingmanuallywasabigproblem,butnowIcansearchinEvernoteandgetdirectlytotherightpaperstatement.Inaddition,itfilesthestatementsforeachaccountintoitsownnotebook,andyoucansharenotebooks,soIcansharestatementswithmyassistantandaccountantautomaticallywithouthavingtogivethemsecureaccesstomybankaccounts.

SAVESOMEDOUGH

Onceyouknowwhereyourmoneyisgoing,youcanstartoptimizing.I’mabigfanofasitecalledBillShrink.Youprovideafewdetailsaboutyourdrivinghabits,checkingaccount,cellphoneusage(whichcanbepulledfromyourprovider’ssite),andtelevisionservice.BillShrinkusesthatinformationtogiveyouveryreal,verypersonaloptionsforsavingmoney.Basedonyourdata,thesiteshowsalternativeoptionsfortheseservicesandhowmuchmoneytheycouldsaveyouoverthenexttwoyears.AfterabouttenminuteswithBillShrink,IrealizedthatIcouldsaveaboutfourteenthousanddollarsoverthenexttwoyears.Thesitee-mailsyouasnewdealsbecomeavailable.

Theprocessofbeingefficientisoneofconstantevolutionandadaptation,andit’sveryeasytogetcomfortablewithyourcurrentcreditcardorcheckingaccount.BillShrinkhelpsyoupinpointthelittlebitofeffortnecessarytosaveasizableamountofmoneybyswitchingproviders.

DEBITEXCLUSIVITY

Anotheroptionforpeoplewhowanttosimplifyasmuchaspossible,especiallythosewhotravelfrequently,istoeschewcreditcardsandonlyusedebitcards.

Nowadays,debitorcheckcardsoffermanyofthesamebenefitsascreditcardsintermsofloyaltyrewardsandpurchaseprotection.Adebit-onlysolutionmeansyoudon’tgetacreditcardbill,andyouneverhavetoworryaboutpayinginterestorlatefees,oractuallygoingintodebt.It’ssimple:ifyoudon’thavethemoneyinyouraccount,youcan’tspendit.AmericanExpresscreditcardsarenotacceptedinmanypartsoftheworldandoftennotforsmallpurchases,sodebitcardsaremoreconvenientinthatway,too.

Togetahandleonyourfinances,youneedtoanalyzeyourspendingtodeterminethebestwaytocuttheexcessfat.Startwithanorganizationsystem,simplify,andgetalittlehelpfromdealrecommendationsites.

I tshouldgowithoutsayingthatorganizationisparamounttoefficiency.

Organizationcomesinmanyforms,frommentalcheckliststoe-mailprocessestodesigningthelayoutofyourphysicalspace.Allformsareimportant,dependingonthetaskathand.Manypeoplefinditdifficulttogetorstayorganized,butwehaveamethodthatissimpletoexecuteandrequiresonlyamodicumofdiscipline.It’sallaboutsettinglimits.

WHATLIMITS?

Upperlimitsandlowerlimitseachhaveaplaceandcanbeusefulintheirownright.Youneedtosetandabidebyareasonablelimitforyourselfinanytaskyoucomplete.

Accountantswouldviewthisasa“FIFO”system,or“FirstIn,FirstOut.”ThemostconcreteexampleIcangiveismyelectronicsstash.Iusedtohaveaclosetcompletelydedicatedtoelectronicgear.Therewasashelfforaudiocables,ashelffornetworkcables,anareawithallkindsofdeadtechnologylikeawristwatchwalkie-talkie(What?Iwasabuddingsecretagent...),andawholemessofotherstuff.Ididn’tknowwhereanythingwas,soontherareoccasionwhenIneededanetworkpatchcable,Iwouldmakeabiggermessjusttryingtofindit.

AftersellingmostofthestuffoneBayandrecyclingtherest,Inowhaveasingleeggcrateforelectronics.Itholdsacoupleofcables,anoldwebcam,andsomeothermiscellaneousitems.Theboxismyabsolute,no-questions-askedlimitforstoringelectronicgear.Theboxisalwaysfilled,sowheneversomethingnewcomesalongthatIwanttoputinthebox,Ihavetogetridofsomethingalreadyinthere.Thisforcesmeto

makeadecisionaboutwhetherornotIreallyneedthatnewthing,orifit’smoreimportantthansomethingatthebottomoftheboxthatIhaven’tseeninmonths.

Theotherday,Iboughtanewcordlessphoneforourhouse,anditcamewithanewtelephonecord.Itookalookatthebottomofthebox,andtherewereacoupleintherealready,sothenewonedefinitelywasnotakeeper.It’sverysatisfyingtohavethatonesmallboxintheclosetinsteadofusingtheentirecloset.

WHATABOUTEVERYTHINGELSE?

Younameit!Whetherit’se-mail,groceryshopping,timeonFacebook,oryourworkweek,youcansetalimitonanything.Youshouldneverhavemorethanfiftye-mailsinyourinbox,youdon’tneedeightboxesofcereal(unlessyou’reahousemomatalargefraternity),youshouldn’tspendmorethanafewminutesperhouronFacebook,andyourworkweekshouldnever,everbesevendayslong.Everythingcanandshouldhavealimit,evenleisuretime(whichshouldhavealowerlimit).

Upperlimitsareobvious,butmanypeoplemisstheothersideofthecoin:theminimumlimitstothethingswedo.Theseapplyverywelltotravel(Iwanttotakeonetrippermonth),fitness(Iwillrunthirtymilesperweek),nutrition(Iwillcookathomethreetimesperweek),andsoon.Limitscanrefertotimesoramounts,whatevermakesthemostsense.

Thekeyispickingarealisticlimitandstickingtoit.It’sbettertobeconservativeandhityourlimitsthantoconstantlyfallshortandcauseyourselfmorefrustration.Forinstance,acigarboxformyelectronicswouldhavebeentooambitious.

Togiveanexample,Ihavealimitoftene-mailsinmyinbox.Irefusetohavemorethanthatmanyinthere,ever.RightnowIhavesix.

Icankeepthee-mailwithinthatlimitbecauseIhavefilterssetup,Ihaveavirtualassistant,Ihaveautoresponders—I’vereducedtheamountofe-mailIgettothepointwhereIcankeepupwithitandneverneedtohavemorethantenmessagesinmyinbox.IfIfoundthatIwasconsistentlyexceedingmylimit,thatwouldmeanIneededtooptimizethesystemmore,ortheVAneededtocheckinmorefrequently,or

somethingelseneededtochange.Whateverthatmightbe,itdoesn’tmeanitcan’tbedone.

WhenIswitchedfromPCtoMac,IdidsopartlybecauseI’dwantedtoswitchforalongtime,butalsopartlybecausemyPCdied.Ihadabackup,butitwasoutdated.Ilostsomeofmystuff.IdecidedIneverwantedsomethinglikethattohappenagain,soIswitchedtokeepingeverythinginthecloud.Thiswasthreeyearsago,whenitwasn’taseasyasitisnow.

SinceIkeepeverythinginthecloud,Ihaveonlytwoprogramsonmycomputer:DropboxandChrome.Iwillnotinstallanythingelse.That’smylimit.IftherewassomethingelseIneeded,Iwouldeitherfindanotherwaytodothesamethingontheweb,orIwouldrealizethatIreallydidn’tneedthatpieceofsoftwaretodothattask.

Thebeautyofthatsetupisthatifmycomputerblewuprightnow,IcouldmovetoanyothercomputeroriPadandbeupandrunninginaboutthreeminutes.IactuallydecidedtorunmylifeentirelyfrommyiPad,justtoseeifIcoulddoit.Aftertryingitforaweek,IfoundthattherewerefourorfivethingsIcouldn’tdofromtheiPad,soIfiguredouthowtodothem.Insomecases,itinvolvedanewappthathadn’tpreviouslyexistedforiPad;inothers,itinvolvedsendingthingstomyassistant,havingherprocesstheminsomeway,andhavinghersendthembacktome(orjustdoitforme).ButIfiguredouthowtodoallofthemfromtheiPad.

Afterthat,Itookitevenfurther:couldIdoitfromonlytheiPhone?MywifeandIwenttoLosAngelesforaweek,andIdidn’ttakealaptoporaniPad,onlymyiPhone.Iwasabletosuccessfullyrunmyentirelifeandbusiness—constructionprojectsinLongIsland,LessDoingprojects,everything—allfrommyiPhone.Inthewholeweek,therewereonlytwohiccups,andIfiguredouthowtogetaroundbothofthemfromtheroad.

Realistically,I’mnotgoingtoberunningmybusinessonadailybasiswithonlyaniPhone,butit’sgreattoknowIcanifIneedto.ThatmeanstheiPadisabouttentimesmoreefficientandthecomputerisaboutahundredtimesmoreefficient,asI’mbenefittingfromalargerscreenandmoreprocessingpower.

Tostreamlineyourlifeandhelpyourselfgetorganized,alwayssetreasonablelimitsforthethingsyoudo.Ifyoufindyourselfrunningupagainstthoselimits,itusuallymeanssomethingelsemustgo.

BatchingistheflipsideofwhatwediscussedinthefourthFundamental,ChooseYourOwnWorkweek:we’rebatchingsimilartaskstogethertogainefficiency.Batchingisallabout“gettinginthezone”andminimizingtransitiontime.Insteadofconstantlygettinginterruptedandswitchingfocus,youletsimilartasksaccumulateanddealwiththemallatonce.

Forexample,somepeopledecidetheyonlydoe-mailinthefirsttenminutesofanygivenhour.Theyletmessagesbuildupoverthehour,thendispatchthemallatonce.Thisway,theyavoidthegearshiftmentalityofchangingtaskseverytimeane-mailcomesin.

Togiveanotherexample,mywifeandIcookdinnerfortheweekonSundays.Itallowsustospendafewhoursenjoyingcooking,andthenweeitherfreezethefoodorputitinthefridgeinportionsfortheweek.

IalsodealwithmypaperworkfortheweekallatonceonFridaymorning,ratherthanthroughouttheweekasbillscomein.Foranyerrandsthatcan’tbeoutsourced,neverdojustone.Figureoutwhatelseyouneedtobuyandthenthinkaboutthemostefficientwaytodoit.Forexample,ifyouneedtostopbythedrugstore,trytodoitonyourcommutebackfromwork.

Asyouthinkaboutwhattasksyoucoulddoinbatches,rememberthatit’sevenbettertoeliminatethosetasksaltogetherifyoucan.Sincemanysmallnuisancetasksinvolveprocessingpaperinonewayoranother,Iputtogethersometoolsthatcanhelpyoureducetheflowofpaperinyourlife.Insomecases,eliminatingthepapermeansyoucanstopdoingthesetasksaltogether.

THIRTEENTECHTOOLSFORAPAPER-FREELIFE

1.LifeLock:www.lifelock.com

LifeLockisaservicethathelpspreventidentitytheftbyautomaticallyremovingyournamefromeverymailinglistyoudon’twanttobeapartof.Theservicerenewsmonthlytoensureyouarepermanentlyremovedfromlistsandnotplacedonnewones.WithinthreemonthsofsigningupforLifeLock,Ihadreducedmypapermailintakebyabout70percent.

2.CatalogChoice:www.catalogchoice.org

CatalogChoiceisanonprofitthatworkswithcompaniestomakesurecatalogsgetsenttopeoplewhowantthemandnottoyou.Thisfreeserviceletsyousearchthroughahugedatabaseandremoveyournamefromanylisting.

3.SquareReader:www.squareup.com

TheSquareReaderappallowsyoutoacceptcreditcardpaymentsfromyouriPhoneatlowratesandwithnomonthlyfees.Paymentsareapprovedinstantly,andbothyouandthebuyergetcopiesofthereceiptviae-mail.Youalsodon’tneedtocarrythephysicalcardreaderwithyou.Youcanenterthecardnumbermanuallyataslightlyhigherpercentcharge.

4.HelloFax:www.hellofax.com

HelloFaxgivesyoualocalfaxnumberthatdeliverstoyoure-mailinbox.Youcanseamlesslyfillinforms,signdocuments,requestsignaturesfromothers,andfaxthedocumentsback.It’sbeenaboutthreeyearssinceI’veheldafaxedpieceofpaperinmyhands.

5.SignNow:www.signnow.com

WithSignNow,youcaneasilyforwardadocumentfrom

anywhere,includingyouriPhone.Inafewminutesyou’llreceiveane-mailthatletsyousignanywhere,fillinfields,andsendittosomeoneelseforasignature.It’ssimilartoHelloFaxexceptit’sfree,doesn’thavethefaxelement,andworkswellonmobile.

6.Doxie:www.getdoxie.com

Doxieisasmall,efficientscannerthatwilldigitizeyourdocumentsdirectlyintocloudserviceslikeDropboxandGoogleDocs.Therewillsoonbeaversionthatdoesn’trequireacomputer,soyoucanscananywhereandthensyncupwhenyoureturn.

7.PostalMethods:www.postalmethods.com

Ifyoustillneedtosendphysicalmail,PostalMethodsletsyouuploadadocumentwithitswebinterfaceorviae-mail.Thecompanywillprintitout,putitinanenvelope,stampit,andmailit.Neverlickastampagain.

8.VirtualPostMail:www.virtualpostmail.com

Foranyremainingmail,consideravirtualmailbox.VirtualPostMailwillgiveyouapostofficeboxanddisplayanyreceivedmailinanorganizedwebportal.YoucanthendecideifyouwanttohaveVirtualPostMailopenandscanthecontents,recycleit,orforwardittoanyaddressintheworld.Youcanalsosetituptoautomaticallyperformaselectedactionforagivensender.Thatway,youcandownloadandforwardimagesasPDFfiles,checkyourmailonthebeachinThailand,orletavirtualassistanthandleitforyou.VirtualPostMailalsohasacheck-depositingfeature.Thisisgreat,especiallyifyoumanagerentalpropertiesordealwithalotofchecks.YoucanhavethemsentdirectlytoVirtualPostMail,andforadollarpercheck,theywillbedepositedatthebankforyou.

9.CardMunch:www.cardmunch.com

CardMunchisanappthatturnsapictureofabusinesscardintoatranscribedpieceofinformationsenttoyourphone.Thescannedcardisaddedtothecontactinyouraddressbook,makingittheirpicture.LinkedInownsthisfreeapp,sothepersonaddedtoyourcontactsisalsooneclickawayfromaconnectionrequest.

10.CamScanner:www.camscanner.net

Forbiggerdocuments,CamScannerisanapplicationthatletsyouuseyourphoneasascanner.Whenyoutakeapictureofthedocument,itfindstheedges,adjustsperspective,andenhancestextandimages.ThenyouhaveaPDFyoucane-mailoruploadtooneofyourcloudservices.

11.ScanDigital:www.scandigital.com

ScanDigitalisgreatforthoseoldboxesofphotosfadingawayinyourbasement.Sendallofyouroldmedia—photos,VHStapes,andevenslides.ScanDigitalwillscananddigitizeeverythingforyou.Nowyoucanreallyenjoythosephotosbycarryingthemonyourmobiledevicetosharewithfriendsandfamily.Forscanningentirebooksliketextbooksormanuscripts,youcanuse1DollarScan(www.1dollarscan.com);theywillscanahundredpagesforjustadollar.

12.Shoeboxed:www.shoeboxed.com

Shoeboxedisgreatforoutsourcingpaperwork.Theservicemainlycatalogsreceipts,butyoucanalsosendanyotherpaperproduct.Italsoprovidespre-addressedandstampedenvelopes.Mobileappsareavailabletocapturereceiptsandbusinesscardsonthego.Allpertinentinformationisorganized,soifyouneedtodoexpensereportsortaxes,yourlifewillbesomucheasier.Youcanalsosendinreamsofpaperworktoclearoutforafreshstart.Everythingisscannedandorganizedforyouinanonlineportfolio.

13.TaskRabbit:www.taskrabbit.com

Fortheoddpaper-basedtasksthatwillinevitablyhappeneveryonceinawhile,youneedtogetapersoninvolved.IuseTaskRabbittoturnmyhandwrittennotesintosomethingmoreuseful.(Thesearefewandfarbetween,thankstoEvernote,ofcourse.)

Thelistgoeson.Itwillbedifferentforeveryperson,butstopandthinkabouthowyouspendyourtimeandwhattasksyoufindyourselfrepeatingfrequently.Ifyoucan’teliminatethem,lookathowtheycouldbecombinedforgreaterefficiency.

WARNING!

Althoughbatchingcanbeapowerfultime-saver,becarefulnottotakeittoofar.Ifyouwaittoolongtodosomething,batchingcaneasilyoverwhelmyou.Youneedtosetascheduleorthresholdforbatchingandsticktoit.

Forinstance,ItrytodoallofmylaundryeverySunday.Laundryonceaweekisperfecttiming.Bytheendoftheweek,mylaundrybaskets(whites,cold,andhot)areclosetofull.Ittakesmeacoupleofhoursathometothrowinthreeloadsoflaundryandironafewthings.Duringthedowntime,I’lldootherbatchedtasks,suchascookfortheweek.

Onceinawhile,IwillmissaSunday.That’swhyIhaveplentyofunderwear.ThenextSundayisabitunpleasantbecauseIhavetostayhomeforawhiletodomylaundry,butit’smanageable.

MissthatsecondSundaythough,andtheworldfeelslikeit’sending.Theamountoflaundrybecomesunmanageable,andIoftengetstuckinacycleofdoingoneloadinthemiddleofthenightwhenIrealizeIneeddresssocksforthenextday.

Usebatchingwiselyandthinkaheadtoavoidthatsituation.Starttothinkintermsofbatchingeverything.Everytimeyougotodoatask,think,“DoIneedtodothisnow,orcouldIwaituntilIhavemoresimilartasksanddothemallatonce?”Ibelievemostpeoplecansavefivetoten

hoursaweekbybatching.

Wellnessisthefoundationofeverythingelse.AstechnologicallyefficientasIcanmakeyou,you’restillaperson.Ifyou’renotsleepingenoughoreatingwell,there’salimittohowproductiveyoucanbe.

Wellnessmeansdifferentthingstodifferentpeople,buttome,itcomesdowntotheamountofstressinmylifeandhowIdealwiththatstress.Practicallyspeaking,toattackstressweneedtolookatfitnessandnutrition.

Icouldn’tpossiblyofferapanaceaforeveryone,becauseweareallsoindividual.

I’mnotheretoofferamagicalnewdietplanorfitnessregime.I’llsimplytellyoualittleabouttheexperienceI’vehad,framedinacontexttoshowyouhowtoexploretheseoptionsforyourselftofindthebestandmosteffectivefit.

ForanentireyearwhiletrainingforIronmanFrance,Ispentmorethantwentyhoursperweekinapool,onabike,orrunningaroundthecity.OndaysIhadtodoabikeridethatwaslongerthanthreehours,I’dgetupatfoura.m.andhoponthetrainerinmyofficewhileIwatchedanyandeveryrandomdocumentaryonNetflix.Itworked,becauseIachievedmygoalofasub-14-hourIronman.Butitwasn’tparticularlypleasantandIfelttherehadtobeabetteruseofmytime.

Unfortunately,ifyouaretrainingforanIronman,youhavetoputthetimein.Iffornootherreason,youneedtomentallytrainyourselffortheagonyofswimming2.4miles,biking112miles,andrunningamarathon.Foreveryoneelse,I’mheretotellyouthatyoucangetawaywithsignificantlylesstraining.

KeepinmindthatwhenIsay“optimize,”I’mtalkingaboutgettingthemaximumbenefitfortheleastamountofenergyandtime.Rememberthe80/20Rule.

FITNESS

Thisappliestoanyonewhowantstoloseweight,gethealthier,andeventrainforaneventofadistanceuptoandincludingahalf-marathonoradventurerace.IfyouarelookingtoqualifyfortheBostonMarathonorcompeteinanIronman,theplanneedstochange,butthatistheexception,nottherule.

Mythree-partformulaforperfectfitnessisasfollows:

Onepartstrength/skill.Thiscouldbeyourbestfive-repbacksquat,clean-and-jerk,rockclimbing,Parkour,oranyotheractivitythatinvolvessomekindofskill.

Oneparthigh-intensityintervaltraining(HIIT).IrecommendaCrossFitWOD(workoutoftheday),CrossFitEnduranceWOD(involvingswimming,biking,orrunning),Insanity,oranyworkoutinvolvingshortburstsofmaximaleffortfollowedbyactiverest.YoucouldeventryagreatfreeappcalledSworkit.

Onepartmobility.Thismayincludeyoga,aMobilityWOD,orjustagoodoldstretchingsession.

Youcandotheseoverthecourseofthreedays(asIdo),oryoucancombinethemallintoonesuper-sessioneachweek.Eachsegmentshouldbearoundthirtyminutes.Youcancertainlymakethemlongerifyouhavethetimeandenjoyit,butit’snotnecessary.Infact,arecentstudyshowedthatthosewhoworkedouttoomuchactuallylostlessweightthanthosewhoworkedoutamoderateamount.Thehypothesiswasthattoomuchexerciseincreasesappetitedisproportionatelywiththenumberofcaloriesburnedthroughexercise.

Totrythis,getyourselfaFitbitandsetappropriategoals.Here’swhatatypicalweekoffitnesslookslikeforme:

Tuesday,HIIT:swim300mx4withatwo-minuterestinbetweenandtrytoholdtheintervalswithinsevensecondsofeachother.

Thursday,skill:3x3backsquat(threereps,threetimes)andthreerepsmax-weightedpull-up

Sunday,Mobility:thirty-minuteyogasessionwiththePocketYogaapponmyiPhone

LiketherestofLessDoing,thegoalhereistointegratethingstomakeyourlifeeasier.Keepinmindthatanyfitnessprogramwillonlyworkperfectlyifyourdietandsleepareundercontrol.Thereisathree-wayrelationshipamongsleep,diet,andfitness,andthereisusuallyafiniteamountofenergyyoucanallocateamongthem.Thismeansthatifyouchangeonearea,youhavetochangeanothertocompensate.Sleepistheelementthatdeterminestheamountofenergyyouhavefortheothers.

SLEEP

Sleepisthecornerstoneofahealthylifestyleandthemaindeterminingfactorofwellness.It’simportanttorecognizethatwithsleep,it’sreallyaboutquality,notquantity.Therearemanywaystoaffectyoursleep—dietandexercisehappentobeamongtheeasiesttocontrol.

Asfarasdiet,eatingtoolateatnightwilldisruptsleepquality,andeatingtoosoonortoolateafteryouwakeupwillaffectyourday.Eatinggoodfatsaspartofabalanceddiethelpsyourbodytomaintainbalancedlevelsofhormones.Gettingenergyfromfatsinsteadofcarbsmeansyou’llhavesteadier,morefocusedfuelthroughouttheday.Properexercisehelpsyouburnunneededenergy,resetmentally,andreengageyourbody’sresources.

Whenyoudon’tsleepwell,yourbodyproducesahormonecalledghrelin,whichincreaseshungerandcausesyoutoeatmore.Italsocausesadipinlevelsofleptin,ahormonethathelpssuppressappetiteandregulatesmetabolism.Basically,ifyoudon’tsleep,bepreparedforamajorwillpowerbattlethatyouwillprobablylose(avoidwatchingTravelChannel’sManv.FoodNation).

Toimprovesleep,Irecommendtwothings.First,takesomevitaminDwithyourbreakfastandavoidanydevicesthatemitbluelight(iPads,TVs,LEDlighting)atleastonehourbeforebed,becausethesedeviceswilldisruptyourabilitytoproducemelatonin.(Youcanwearblue-blockingglassesifyoucan’tavoidthesethingsandyoudon’tmindlookinglikeaserialkiller.)

Ifyouwanttotakethingstothenextlevel,youcanalwaysuseasleeptrackerlikeSleepCycleandtotallyoptimizeyoursleeppatterns.Youcanalsoplayaroundwithverybasicconceptsofsleeptiming.

Theideabehindsleeptimingissimple.Thegeneralsleepcycleis1.5hours,andyouwantatleastthreecyclespernight.Ifyoudon’tgetenough,orifyouwakeupinthemiddleofacycle,youwon’tfeelwellrested.

Tofindoutwhenyouneedtogotobed,youcanworkbackwardfromthetimewhenyouwakeup,thenaddfifteenminutestofallasleep.Forexample,ifyouneedtogetupat5:30a.m.,thensubtracting1.5-hourintervalstakesyouto4:00a.m.,2:30a.m.,1:00a.m.,11:30p.m.Youalsoneedtoaddfifteenminutesforfallingasleep,sotogetfourcompletecycles,youneedtogotobedat11:15p.m.Togetfivecycles,you’dgotobedat9:45p.m.

Ifyou’regettingenoughhoursofsleepbutwakingupgroggy,itcouldverywellbebecauseyou’reoffbyfifteenminutesandyou’rewakingupatthewrongpointinthecycle.That’saneasyfixthatcanmakeabigdifference.

NUTRITION

Thethirdcornerstoneofwellnessisnutrition.Yourdietshouldprovidefuelforyourlifewhileprotectingyoufromtoxicelementsinourenvironment.Thismeansyoushouldeatfoodsthatarenotprocessed,thatyoucanidentify(evensugarisbetterthanaspartame),and,ideally,thatyouprepareyourselfathome.Withveryfewexceptions,anythingyoumakeathomeshouldbehealthierthanwhatyougetfromaboxoratarestaurant.

AsImentionedintheIntroduction,mystorywithnutritionisalongand

painfuloneasIstruggledwithCrohn’sdisease.Afteragreatdealofself-trackingandself-experimentation,Iwasabletofindasolutionthatworkedforme,andmaybeonlyme.ThenIstartedexperimentingwithotherdietsandotherpeopletogetabroadersenseofwhatwasmosteffective.IwantedahealthyprogramthatIcouldrecommendtoeveryone—itneededtobeeasytobeginandmaintain,andmaybeevensavemoney.Intheend,it’sallaboutknowinghowfoodaffectsyou,andmaintainingbalance.

It’sactuallyasimplerconceptthanyoumightthink.Thefirststepistotrackeverythingyoueatforaweek.Youcanuseanytrackingmethod,frompenandpapertoaniPhoneappsuchasEater.Youmaybesurprisedatwhatyoudiscover.Inaddition,writehowyoufeelattheendofeachdayonageneralgood-moodorbad-moodmetric.

Onceyouhaveabaseline,trytofocusonconsumingsolelyunprocessedfoods,minimizingsugar,andincreasinggoodfatslikeoliveoilandavocado.Trynottohavehugeamountsofmeatandnovegetables,ortohaveanall-carbday.

Idon’trecommendanyonediet—everyoneisdifferent,soit’shardtorecommendonethingthatwillworkforeveryone.ButonethingdoesseemtobeprettyuniversalhereinAmerica:wegenerallydon’tgetenoughgoodfatsinourdiet.Inmyopinion,thehigh-fat/low-carbdietisthehealthiestandbestdiet.

I’mnottalkingaboutAtkins,becauseAtkinsdoesn’tdifferentiatetypesoffat.I’mtalkingaboutgood,healthyfat:avocados,oliveoil,coconutoil,grass-fedbutter,eggyolksfromgoodeggs.I’vetriedawidevarietyofdiets,from10,000caloriesadayat85percentcarbs,tomypresent4,000caloriesadayat65percentfat.Withthisdiet,I’mnotfat.Mybodyfatpercentageisthelowestit’severbeen,andallofmybloodmarkers(whichIhavecheckedregularly)areattheirbest.

Manypeoplethinkfatistheenemy,butgenerallyspeaking,thereareallsortsofproblemswithalow-fatdiet.Youcan’tabsorbvitaminsA,D,E,orKwithoutfat,andfatsaremoresatiatingthanproteinandcarbs.Perhapsmostimportant,ourbrainsaremeanttorunonfat.

Ourbrainsareessentiallylikehybridengines:theycanrunonketonesfromfat,oronglucosefromcarbs.Weproducemorethanenoughglucosetorunourbrainsonadailybasis,butwedon’tproduceenoughfat.Evenifyou’reskinny,youhaveabout30,000caloriesofavailable

energyinyourfatstores—enoughtoruntwoIronmen.Thekeyisgettingyourbodytousethatfat.Iguaranteeyouwillfeelsmarter,morefocused,andmoreenergeticifyoucangetyourbodyonafatburninsteadofacarbburn.

SupplementsSupplementscanactasthegluethatbindstogethersleep,fitness,andnutrition.Youcanusesupplementstoimproveandoptimizeeachoneandsupportahealthylifestyle.

Generally,youshouldgetessentialelementsfromeatingagooddiet,buttherearecertainonesthatarehardtogetfromfood.Therefore,therearethreesupplementsIrecommendtopeople.

KrilloilcomesfromtinyshrimpintheNorthAtlantic.Itprovidesavarietyofbenefits,fromreducedinflammationtolowercholesterol,andevenbetterinsulinresponsemanagement.It’ssignificantlymoreeffectivethanfishoil.

Probioticsarebeneficialbacteriathatkeepyourdigestivesystembalanced,yourimmuneresponseinorder,andinflammationatbay.

VitaminDisanessentialresourceforyourimmunesystem,inflammation,andevensleep.Mostpeoplewhoworkindoors,wearclothes,anddon’tgetenoughfatintheirdietsarevitaminDdeficient.

Thekeytoahealthyfoodprofileismaintainingbalancealongwithhome-cookedmeals(orattheveryleast,mealsinwhichyouknowalloftheingredients).Ifcookingyourownmealsseemstoodaunting,rememberthatyoucansavealotoftimebybatch-cookingseveralmealsatonce.Also,thereareservicesthatwillhelpyouautomateoroutsourcethepartsyoudon’tlike.Forexample,BlueApron(www.blueapron.com)offersaservicethateffectivelyletsyouautomatemealplanningandshopping.Whenyousubscribe,theyautomaticallysendyouapackagecontainingalloftheingredients,recipes,andvideoinstructionsforthree

mealsaweek.Everythingyouneedisdeliveredtoyouinthecorrectportions,soyoudon’thavetotrytofigureoutwhattomakeorremembertobuytheingredients.Allyouhavetodoiscookit.

Asyouworktowardoptimizingyourlifeandwellness,rememberthatthereisno“onesizefitsall”forfitnessandnutrition.Nobookcantellyoutheperfectsolutionthat’sideallysuitedtoyou,butthinkoftheseguidelinesasareallygoodplacetostart.

Ifyouwanttodigdeeperintoyourdiet,getabloodtestfromInsideTracker(www.insidetracker.com)andseewhereyou’relacking.Afterarrangingforbloodworktobedone,InsideTrackerprovidesyouwithadashboardonyourself.Ittracksdozensofmarkers,fromcholesteroltocreatinekinasetotestosterone.Itwillalsomakespecificnutritionalrecommendationsandcustomizedmealplanstohelpyoureachyourgoals.Youcantrackandmonitortheresultsovertimeandviewyourprogress.

Tounderstandmore,youcanlistentomypodcastinterviewwiththefounderofInsideTracker.IfyouusecodeARIMTM10512,youcanreceiveadiscountonanyoftheirplans.

—Sothereyouhaveit:fitness,sleep,andnutritioninteracttogethertodetermineyourlevelofwellness.Ifyoueatmore,youneedtoworkoutmoreandsleepmore.Ifyoueatless,youcanworkoutlessandsleepless.Ifyousleepless,youneedtoworkoutlessandeatless.Ifyouworkoutmore,youneedtosleepmoreandeatmore.

Thetruthis,ifyoueataperfectdietandsleepalot,youwon’teverhavetoworkouttomaintainagood-looking,responsivebodyaslongasyoumakeaconsciousefforttomoveonadailybasis(suchasstandingatyourdesk,takingthestairsinsteadoftheelevator,andwalkingmostplaces).

Ifitisn’tclearyet,sleepisthebigone.So,ifyoudecidetotrainforamarathon,you’regoingtohavetosleepmore.Youmaynotbereadytogiveuphoursinthedayforsleep—it’sachoiceyou’llhavetomake.Ihaveanine-month-oldson—ifwehaveabadnightandIdon’tgettosleepwell,Ican’tworkoutthenextdaybecauseitwillonlybetomydetriment.Goodluckfindingyouroptimalbalance!

Conclusion

Ireallyhopeyou’veenjoyedthisbook.You’vemadeacommitmenttooptimize,automate,andoutsourceeverythinginyourlife.Ihopeyoudiveintothedeependandtryoutthetoolsandtechniquesintheselectures.

Forfutureupdatesandinformation,makesuretocheckoutmyblogandsignupforthenewsletter.

Ioffercourses,corporateprograms,andindividualcoachingtohelpanyonebecomemoreeffectiveateverything.Pleasegetintouchifyou’dliketodiscusshowIcanhelp.Feelfreetocontactmeat:www.lessdoing.com/contact.

Goodluckandthankyou!—Ari

Resources

Anytimeyouneedmorehelporjustarefresher,youcansignupformyUdemycourseonLessDoing.Ialsoencourageyoutocheckoutmycomprehensivecourse,“MakingGmailtheUltimateProductivityTool,”andmyfreecourseonIFTTT.

TheArtofLessDoingCourse

Youcanenhanceyourexperiencewithinteraction,collaboration,andguidancebyenrollingintheArtofLessDoingcourse.Youcangotowww.lessdoing.com/learntofindoutmore.

Thoughit’snotrequired,IhighlyrecommendtakingmyothercoursesonUdemyaswell:

MakingGmailtheUltimateProductivityTool:www.udemy.com/lessdoinggmailAutomateandOutsourceYourWorldwithIFTTTandVAs:www.udemy.com/lessdoingifttt

AchievementArchitecture—BeMoreEffectiveatEverythingAchievementArchitectureisacoachingservicethatI’vedevelopedthroughalongprocessofexperimentation,analytics,andpersonaltracking.ThroughAchievementArchitecture,I’vehelpedindividualsachievesomeamazingresults.Anythingyouwanttoachieveispossiblethroughbuildingtherightarchitecture—thatis,thesettingofgoals.Thisincludeseverythingfrommoreproductivecorporateoperationstotreatingchronicillnessesandevenrunningafastermile.

Anythingispossiblewiththerightanalysis,tools,andmethodsprovidedinanAchievementArchitecturecoachingsession.Iamaproblemsolver.SeemyTEDTalkonovercomingaseemingly

insurmountableproblem.Ihaveworkedwithclientsto:Takeastartupfromideatorealitywithbare-bonesresourcesOvercomechronicillness,sleepless,andotherbio-hackingGofromrunninga9.5-minutemiletoaseven-minutemileinsixtydayswithnomorethantwentyminutesofdailyexerciseGocompletelypaperless,reclaimtheirinbox,andgetbacktheirtimeOutsourceeverythingfromvirtualassistantsandwebdeveloperstoprivateinvestigatorsandcomposers

Youcanlearnmoreat:www.lessdoing.com.

LessDoing.comLessDoing.comstartedinearly2011asablogofproductivityhacks.Itquicklydevelopedintoaframeworkforoptimizing,automating,andoutsourcingeverythinginpeople’spersonalandprofessionallives.Theblogcoverseverythingfrome-mailmanagementtofitness,andhelpsmakelifeeasier.IencourageyoutocheckouttheblogandsubscribetotheRSSfeed,newsletter,andpodcast.

The80/20RuleSelf-trackingandawareness:knowwhereyouareallocatingresourcessoyoucanfindareastoimproveefficiency.

RescueTime:http://bit.ly/1b9DAyIBasis:http://bit.ly/HHRkJ3FitBit:http://amzn.to/HuCoOEiDoneThis:http://bit.ly/1b9E8ETTimeHop:http://bit.ly/HuCAxnThryveFoodTracker:http://bit.ly/1b2NzcuCreatingthe“ManualofYou”:http://bit.ly/HuD8DBEssentialvs.Optional:http://bit.ly/1cCz3LZ

Creatingan“ExternalBrain”

Createanote-takingsystemthatisarchived,searchable,andshareable.Stopprioritizingandgetridofyourto-dolistbyworkingonyourtiming.

E-mailandto-dolists:http://bit.ly/18WsbkxFollowUp.cc:http://bit.ly/17DweZ6Evernote:http://bit.ly/1hKHTXNIFTTT(IfThis,ThenThat):http://ift.tt/186l759HassleMe:http://bit.ly/19zwgiURe:snooze:http://bit.ly/1b5jrLUAquaNotes:http://amzn.to/1hKIys8WriteThat.Name:http://bit.ly/16DCddrTheEvolutionoftheVirtualAssistant:http://bit.ly/1cCAeegZirtual:http://bit.ly/1iKKS05FancyHands:http://bit.ly/1iKKZZoTalkTo:http://bit.ly/17Dx2gt

CustomizationSolveproblemswithcustomsolutions.

Indochino:http://bit.ly/1hKJ35tYoubars:http://bit.ly/175yCSoVitaminsonDemand:http://bit.ly/186mAIJElance:http://bit.ly/1cCAyd4Fiverr:http://bit.ly/HHU7lKShapeways:http://bit.ly/19zySNL

ChooseYourOwnWorkweek

Createatimeperiodwhencertainactivitieswillgetdone.ScheduleOnce:http://bit.ly/1gEkbLIRightInbox:http://bit.ly/1a5RVhX

StopRunningErrands

Errandsarenotefficient.Stopdoingthem.AmazonSubscribe&Save:http://amzn.to/HETtX9AmazonPrime:http://amzn.to/17DxECRAmazonLockers:http://amzn.to/1apRNqiTaskRabbit:http://bit.ly/1gpCW7GRedBeacon:http://bit.ly/1egWNFnShopRunner:http://bit.ly/1iKMlTXUber:http://bit.ly/1b9HYhe

Finances

Applythe80/20Ruletofinancestogetahandleonwhereyourmoneyisgoing.

Mint:http://bit.ly/18WwiNoOneReceipt:http://bit.ly/HHWswQBillGuard:http://bit.ly/16DF465FileThis:http://bit.ly/16DF4TDSquareReader:http://bit.ly/1fhFEZOInvisibleHand:http://bit.ly/19zBNGfSignNow:http://bit.ly/HHWvZv

OrganizationSetlimitsandworkwithinthemtobemoreefficient.

Dropbox:http://bit.ly/17DyTlySortMyBox:http://bit.ly/1egYHWu

Batching

Groupsimilartaskstogethertogainmomentum,likemakingmealsorhandlinge-mails.

Shoeboxed:http://bit.ly/HHWHbrGoPaperless:http://bit.ly/1aCZkbi

Wellness

Fitness,sleep,nutrition,andsupplementsCrossFit:http://bit.ly/HEVv9qTheFitnessTriad:http://bit.ly/HEVAtUGrass-fedbutter:http://bit.ly/1gpEMFmGoodFats:http://bit.ly/HEVMt4Blue-blockingsunglasses:http://amzn.to/1b9J3pbBlueApron:http://bit.ly/1hh1e57InsideTracker:http://bit.ly/1hKMoBBAzumioStressDoctor:http://bit.ly/1iKOfnvKrilloil:http://amzn.to/1b2UzpOProbiotics:http://amzn.to/19zECqPMCToil(medium-chaintriglycerides):http://bit.ly/1eh1yyy

Acknowledgments

Iwouldliketothankmyparents,LouisandSusan,fortheirunwaveringsupportthroughoutmylife.Mymother-in-law,Elisabeth,isnolongerwithus,butcontinuestobeaguidinglightformeeveryday.

Ofcourse,thisbookwouldnothavebeenmadepossibleifnotforachancemeetingbetweenmyeditor,AndrewYackira,andme.Ithasbeenapleasureworkingwithhim,andIhopetomaketheTarcherimprintproud.

http://penguin.com/welcome?CMP=OTC-PEBL