Time Management

Ari and Nick – Optimize, Automate, Outsource – “She Spent $65K on Someone Who Did Nothing”

June 1, 2016 by

Summary:

In Episode #220 Ari and Nick share a ton of useful links, as well as an interview with Linda Formichelli – author of [How to Do It All – While Only Occasionally Wanting to Poke Your Eyes Out With a Sharpie](http://www.amazon.com/How-All-Revolutionary-Meaningful-Occasionally/dp/0997346809).

Linda’s an effective delegator who’s passionate about helping people regain control of their time.

Listen in to hear Linda’ top tips for time management, how to zero in on your core competency, and why you need to stop making excuses and start doing things.

Time-stamped Show Notes

– 09:30 – Nick and Ari have launched a [HeroX](https://herox.com/) Campaign with a prize for the best automation

– 10:20 – They’re also writing a book on outsourcing using [Book In A Box](http://bookinabox.com/)

– 10:35 – Welcoming Linda to the show

– 10:56 – Wrote the book in response to the people who were saying “don’t do it all”

– 11:37 – Time management and attitude management skills

– 12:03 – Women have a cultural narrative directed at them telling them to slow down

– 12:35 – “Don’t expect your family to support you”

– 13:30 – Don’t set prerequisites for getting started – just do it

– 14:22 – Linda outsources many aspects of her life, from taxes to blog posting to cleaning

– 15:12 – “Figure out what you do best and outsource the rest’

– 16:22 – You have more time than you think you do

– 17:11 – Ari and Nick started Less Doing on zero dollars

– 17:38 – Linda’s core competency is writing

– 18:50 – Linda made mistakes when she started outsourcing

– 19:16 – She spent $6500 on someone who did almost nothing

– 19:00 – Linda employs virtual assistants to help her

– 20:12 – Start tracking your time – it’s the first step to doing more

– 20:50 – Analyze and optimize your schedule

– 21:20 – Other people can do the things you do

– 22:00 – [168 Hours](http://lauravanderkam.com/books/168-hours/) – book by Laura Vanderkam

– 23:10 – Linda moved from Slavic linguistics to entrepreneurship

– 23:50 – She built her first website with an HTML book she found in a phone booth

– 24:45 – Linda’s working on two books: about control, and about ‘doing it anyway’

– 25:30 – What are the main excuses people have for not doing things?

– 25:52 – _Top 3 Tips For Being More Effective_ – Come to terms with the fact that if you’re middle-class, you have enough of everything – Outsource everything – Track your time and analyze your schedule

– 27:15 – Find out more about Linda at [How To Do It All](http://lindaformichelli.com/)

Key Points:

– Figure out what you do best, and outsource the rest.

– You have more time than you think you do. Analyze your schedule and find ways to make it more efficient.

– Don’t expect anyone to support you – get started on your own terms. Resources Mentioned:

– [How To Do It All](http://lindaformichelli.com/)

– Linda’s book – [The Renegade Writer](http://www.therenegadewriter.com/)

– Linda’s blog – [How to Make Life Spectacular](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2016/05/spectacular/)

– Article from Barking Up The Wrong Tree

– [Why Parents Don’t Like Their Kid’s Boyfriends and Girlfriends](https://www.fatherly.com/parenting-and-relationships/why-parents-dont-like-their-childrens-boyfriend-and-girlfriends/)

– Article from Fatherly

– [Chaos is Good for Cognition](https://www.fatherly.com/mens-health/staying-busy-is-good-for-mental-cognition/)

– Article from Fatherly

– [Reply Up](https://replyup.com/?ref=producthunt)

– Automatically send follow-up emails

– [Vidrack](http://vidrack.com/)

– Embed videos from fans in your website Sponsored By: [FreshBooks](https://www.freshbooks.com/)

– FreshBooks helps you simplify your accounting. Generate invoices automatically, follow up clients, and cut your accounting time to just a few minutes. Get a 30 day free trial by using the code LESSDOING at [www.freshbooks.com/lessdoing](https://www.freshbooks.com/lessdoing) Text DOLESS to 33733 to sign up for the Less Doing Newslett — Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lessdoing/message

Mike Vardy – The Productivityist

December 2, 2015 by

Summary:

In Episode #194 Ari interviews Mike Vardy of [The Productivityist](http://productivityist.com/).

Listen as Ari and Mike talk about the value the productive space, and how developing a personal methodology for productivity can help individuals harness tools instead of letting productivity tools control them.

## [Leave Us a Review!](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ari-meisel-less-doing/id605938952?mt=2&uo=6) Hey Less Doing Podcast Listeners, we want to hear from YOU! Visit us on iTunes and leave a review or subscribe to the podcast if you’re not already a dedicated follower.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

– 01:01 – Introduction to today’s show with Mike Vardy

– 02:30 – Links

– 12:02 – Less Doing Boot Camp

– 13:43 – Speaking with Mike Vardy

– 14:02 – Mike’s background in productivity education

– 15:37 – First steps in becoming more productive

– 17:34 – [GTD](http://gettingthingsdone.com/) Principals

– 19:53 – The people of GTD

– 20:54 – Being productive vs. doing productive

– 21:47 – The approach is more important than the app or tool. “Men can become the tools of their tools”

– 23:14 – What aspects of productivity planning work well

– 24:33 – Put personal back in productivity

– 25:51 – [Sanebox](http://www.sanebox.com/l/upgrade-your-inbox-today/) and other email organizers

– 27:04 – [Unroll Me](https://unroll.me/)

– 27:52 – Productivity maintenance vs. growth

– 28:41 – Mike’s daily routines

– 31:21 – Daily themes

– 31:53 – Mike’s Top 3 Tips to be More Productive

– 31:55- Have a simple morning and evening routine

– 32:15 – Write journal entries

– 32:34 – Work by mode 3 Key Points:

1. There is a psychology to productivity—without the psychology, it can’t work.

2. Don’t let your tools take you over.

3. Develop a routine and stick to it—the benefits will be massive.

Resources Mentioned:

– [Pavlok Wristband –](http://buy.pavlok.com/) Pavlok Wristband’s safe electronic stimulus helps relieve users of bad habits like smoking, overeating, and more. – [Tap Slash](http://tapslash.com/)

– Slash is a free keyboard for iPhone & iPad that makes it easy to share anything, without switching apps. Just tap “/” to unlock Places, GIFs, Music, Stickers, Videos, and much more. – [Instant App](http://instantapp.today/) – Instant tracks all your daily activities automatically so that you will be able to notice how you spend time on your smartphone. – [Easy Swag](http://easyswag.co/)

– Easy Swag is powered by Large, a free office admin in Slack that gets your team anything hassle free. – [Synkio Music Library](http://synk.io/library)

– Use Synkio’s to access music professionals who will manage your music and licensing needs. – [Startup Threads](https://www.startupthreads.com/)

– StartupThreads is the easiest way to automatically send custom shirts and apparel to your loyal customers and fans, without having to hold inventory in your office. – [GTD](http://gettingthingsdone.com/)

– ‘Getting Things Done’ is a productivity methodology. – [Sanebox](http://www.sanebox.com/l/upgrade-your-inbox-today/)

– SaneBox works on top of your email account. It prioritizes important emails and summarizes the rest. – [Unroll Me](https://unroll.me/)

– Unroll Me allows you to unsubscribe from subscriptions or combine your favorite subscriptions into one email. – [194MikeVardyOfProductivistInterview”>Evernote](https://www.evernote.com/%3Ca%20href=)

– vernote keeps all your writing in one place, from notes to lengthy research. – [The Productivityist](http://productivityist.com/)

– Mick’s productivity business that provides productivity coaching, events, and podcasts. – Call 1-844-i-do-less – Toll-Free number, Press “0” to speak with a Less Doing Certified Coach – Text DOLESS – Text DOLESS to 33733

Credits:

– Audio Engineering provided by [Chris Mottram](https://www.linkedin.com/pub/christopher-mottram/96/b12/708)

– Original Music provided by [Felix Bird](http://2014.felixbird.com/)

– Show Notes provided by [Mallard — Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lessdoing/message

JV Crum – The Conscious Millionaire

November 18, 2015 by

Summary:

In Episode #192 Ari interviews JV Crum of [The Conscious Millionaire](http://consciousmillionaire.com/).

Listen as Ari and JV talk about the value of having _real_ purpose in life, and how chasing that purpose means having measurable goals and focused priorities.

Special Announcements:

This week’s episode of the Less Doing Podcast is brought to you by [JustWorks](https://www.justworks.com/), an innovative company striving to make payroll, benefits, and compliance management a seamless and stress-free process.

The most intuitive software for your business; take your most tedious and time consuming part of your job and make it the simplest and most automated part of your day.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

– 04:44 – [Less Doists](http://www.lessdoists.com/) — the virtual assistant service Ari started with Nick S. of Calvin app lore — did 100 hours of work for its clients

– 26:42 – Introduction of JV Crum III—[the Conscious Millionaire](http://consciousmillionaire.com/)

– 26:59 – JV stands for ‘Joint Venture’. JV was called ‘Junior Varsity’ in law school and he decided to change that by telling people at conferences it stood for ‘Joint Venture.’ His full name is James Vivien Crum the III

– 28:20 – Before being ‘The Conscious Millionaire’ JV grew up in a family with a lot of financial struggles and decided that the end to that was to grow up and be a millionaire. He became a millionaire when he was about 25

– 28:50 – He realized his life was miserable and he went on sweat lodges, spiritual retreats as part of a 15 year journey to try and figure out what was missing

– 29:27 – He sold the companies because he realized he wasn’t living his purpose and went on to find out what was his purpose

– 29:41 – Had a revelation in Lake Tahoe and solved the phrase in his head ‘Conscious Millionaire’ and decided that’s what he was supposed to be doing.

– 30:10 – He made his money by working in his dad’s business (regional trucking line). He turned the business around and within 3 years the company was making three figure profits in a month

– 32:02 – Teaching people how to make money in alignment with their purpose, their passion

– 32:47 – Helps people find their passion or purpose with coaching

– 33:30 – Journaling

– 33:36 – How to figure out passion: What are the things you’re so passionate about that hours pass and you don’t even know it? And when you’re engaged in it you feel joy? And I bet those are the same activities you’ve helped friends/clients for free.

– 34:11 – 2. How to figure out your purpose: a difference you want to make. – 35:08 – Purpose is about being of service to others.

– 35: 15 – How to figure out your purpose: if you could wake up every day and make this difference for people, you’d feel joy, you’d feel happy?

– 35:28 – What are your natural strengths?

– 35:40 – Strengths = things you do almost perfectly every time.

– 36:29 – People don’t know how to make money out of it.

– 36:31 – You make money by looking at a few niche markets that have problems that the difference you want to make can help provide solutions for.

– 36:47 – The only thing a buyer will buy is solutions.

– 37:01 – Only chose one of those niches and two or three problems and 1 product

– 38:01 – His first product was coaching

– 39:47 – Having a holistic approach

– 40:12 – The energy from your heart space is what really pushes you

– 40:28 – Health and fitness practices are indispensable

– 42:00 – JV’s _Top 3 Tips to be More Effective_

– 42:23 – Have priorities and don’t have more than 3

– 42:34 – Don’t wake up with a to-do list, wake up with a priority

– 43:25 – Take focused action and have measurable results

– 43:55 – [www.Con — Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lessdoing/message

Mark Podolsky – The Land Geek

November 11, 2015 by

**Summary:**

In Episode #191 Ari interviews Mark Podolsky of [The Land Geek](http://www.thelandgeek.com/), a company that’s founded on land flipping and the development of passive income.

Tune in to hear Mark and Ari talk secrets to success and why all your entrepreneurial attention should be on moving the needle.

**Special Announcements:**

**Time Stamped Show Notes:**

– 00:35 – Introduction of [JustWorks](https://www.justworks.com/) and Isaac Oats

– 00:55 – Nuts and bolts are the hardest part of HR for small companies

– 02:45 – Ari muses on Daylight Savings Time

– 33:56 – Introduction of Mark Podolsky of [The Land Geek](http://www.thelandgeek.com/)

– 34:11 – Mark Podolsky’s background

– 36:21 – The process of identifying properties

– 38:00 – Now Mark teaches Land Flipping

– 40:05 – Automation has become integral to Mark’s success

– 40:32 – The automation of the offer sending process is the keystone to Mark’s success

– 41:12 – Click to Mail

– 42:29 – Mark’s vetting process doubles as his marketing process

– 42:54 – Don’t worry about “generating traffic” just go to where the buyers are

– 43:58 – [The Death of Money](http://amzn.to/20KID5C)

– 44:50 — $6000 for a property and flipping it for $55K

– 46:37 – The course creation process

– 47:53 – Mark’s _Top 3 Tips to be More Effective_

– 48:05 – Take imperfect action

– 48:42 – Don’t recreate the wheel—respect your time

– 49:11 – Be aware of _everything_ you do—have your numbers DOWN

– 49:30 – “Playing Business” doesn’t move the needle—focus on what does

– 50:08 – [www.TheLandGeek.com](http://www.thelandgeek.com/)

**5 Key Points:**

1. Don’t waste your time on things that don’t move the needle.

2. Respect your time.

3. Niche markets can be a highly lucrative (and easy) way to make money.

4. Don’t worry about traffic, just take yourself to where the buyers are.

5. KNOW YOUR NUMBERS.

**Resources Mentioned:**

– [The Less Doing WODcast](http://lessdoingwodcast.com/)

– A FULLY AUTOMATED daily workout routine brought to you for FREE by Dave Rael and Ari – Call 1-844-i-do-less – Toll-Free number, Press “0” to speak with a Less Doing Certified Coach – Text DOLESS – Text DOLESS to 33733 – [iflscience](http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/should-work-start-10am)

– From Sleep Researcher Paul Kelly, an article explaining why the day shouldn’t start until 10AM – [Ivee](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ivee-talking-to-your-home-is-no-longer-sci-fi?ref=producthunt#/story)

– Talk to your home with a voice integrated assistant – [Kimerakoffee](http://www.kimerakoffee.com/?utm_content=buffer1958c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#kimera-legend)

– Coffee infused the high-quality nootropics – [Power of Empathy](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2015/09/power-of-empathy/)

– The 3 ways empathy can improve your life – [Homey App](http://startupli.st/homey_team)

– Assign chores with snapshots – [SVET](http://startupli.st/getsvet) – Smart lightbulbs that improve your life – [Anti-Vaccine Group Hurts Itself](http://magazine.good.is/articles/anti-vaxx-study-backfires)

– An Anti-Vaccine group funded an objective study that showed no correlation exists between autism and vaccines – [The Fountain of Youth](http://www.medicaldaily.com/pulse/fountain-youth-oldest-woman-world-susannah-mushatt-jones-eats-bacon-every-day-356208)

– 116 Year old woman eats bacon every day – [Fun Fungi](http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and– — Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lessdoing/message

Rory Vaden – Procrastinate on Purpose

July 2, 2015 by

**Summary:** In Episode #165 Ari hosts [Rory Vaden](http://www.roryvaden.com/), a refined public speaker and New York Times Best Selling Author of [Take the Stairs](http://amzn.to/1LAMueH) and [Procrastinate on Purpose](http://amzn.to/1GXgb6d) who works to help people live healthier, happier, more effective lives. During the interview, Rory breaks down the Procrastinate on Purpose methodology and explains why everything you know about time-management is wrong.

**Special Announcements:

** ## Fuel the Fire Come watch Ari light-up the Drake Hotel in Chicago on Wednesday, August 5th as he delivers a rousing keynote speech for IPPA Business Excellence Conference: _Fuel the Fire_. This will be a great opportunity to watch Ari translate the lessons of Less Doing into terms business leaders can take to the bank.

##[Rockefeller Roundtable](http://helmsociety.com/ari-meisel-ceo-roundtable-nc/) Come watch Ari regale a roundtable of avid [Helm Society](http://helmsociety.com/) listeners with the lessons of Less Doing on September 9th from 10AM to 2PM in New York City.

Subscribe to the Podcast or [Leave Us a Review!](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ari-meisel-less-doing/id605938952?mt=2&uo=6) Hey Less Doing Podcast Listeners, we want to hear from YOU! Visit us on iTunes and leave a review or subscribe to the podcast if you’re not already a dedicated follower.

**Time Stamped Show Notes:

** – 17:40 – Introduction of [Rory Vaden](http://www.roryvaden.com/), New York Times Best-Selling Author of [Take the Stairs](http://amzn.to/1LAMueH) and [Procrastinate on Purpose](http://amzn.to/1GXgb6d)

– 18:09 – How Rory got into the “success” business

– 20:30 – Rory got to meet and be mentored by Zig Zigler

– 20:55 – Rory conducts 1-on-1 sales coaching—they have over 115 employees and 800 clients

– 22:10 – The approach Rory takes is, “what’s holding you back?”

– 22:30 – Improvement is less about a change in process and more about a change in thinking

– 23:20 – Everything you know about time management is _wrong_

– 24:36 – Efficiency has a point of diminishing returns

– 25:04 – Importance and efficiency _need _to be correlated—if they’re not, you’ll find yourself in a never-ending struggle to “catch-up”

– 26:35 – The POP methodology

– 27:00 – **_Significance_** changes everything

– 27:15 – Dissecting the modern-day to-do list

– 27:45 – You can’t solve today’s problems with yesterday’s tools and strategies

– 28:05 – _How can I use my time today to create more time tomorrow?_

– 29:50 – Online bill pay example

– 31:00 – Give yourself the _permission _to take the time

– 31:13 – ROTI—Return on Time Invested

– 33:04 – The Focus Funnel

– 33:58 – Time management today isn’t just logical, it’s emotional

– 37:20 – Some of Rory’s favorite sources of automation:

– 37:26 – Infusionsoft

– 40:00 – Automation is to your time what compounding interest is to your money

– 40:39 – We’re living in a day and age where automation has never been more readily available

– 41:05 – Think long term!—Don’t overweight the urgency, place greater emphasis on significance

– 42:40 – Rory’s _Top 3 Tips to be More Effective_:

– 42:55 – Give yourself permission to invest an hour with Rory

– 43:23 – Ask yourself the question: _Is what I am doing right now something that ONLY I CAN DO?_—ask this question all the time

– 44:03 – It doesn’t matter who you are, or how good/bad you’ve been—success is never owned, it’s rented, and the rent is due _every day_.

**7 Key Points:**

1. Identify the thing(s) that is holding you back.

2. Improvement isn’t about a change in process it’s about a change in thinking.

3. To solve today’s problems, you cannot use yesterday’s tools and strategies.

4. Use your time today to create more time tomorrow.

5. Do NOT disregard the return on time invested.

6. Efficiency has a point of diminishing returns.

7. Automation is to your time what compounding interest is to your money — Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lessdoing/message

Josh Davis – Two Awesome Hours

June 29, 2015 by

# **Summary:**

In Episode #164 Ari invites PhD and author of [Two Awesome Hours](http://www.twoawesomehours.com/), Josh Davis, on the Less Doing podcast. During this week’s interview, Ari and Josh go in-depth on the subject of brains, neural programming and why working for great lengths of time is far from being the _right _way to tackle a busy schedule.

**Special Announcements:**

## Fuel the Fire Come watch Ari light-up the Drake Hotel in Chicago on Wednesday, August 5th as he delivers a rousing keynote speech for IPPA Business Excellence Conference: _Fuel the Fire_. This will be a great opportunity to watch Ari translate the lessons of Less Doing into terms business leaders can take to the bank. ## [Rockefeller Roundtable](http://helmsociety.com/ari-meisel-ceo-roundtable-nc/) Come watch Ari regale a roundtable of avid [Helm Society](http://helmsociety.com/) listeners with the lessons of Less Doing on September 9th from 10AM to 2PM in New York City.

Subscribe to the Podcast or Leave Us a Review!

Hey Less Doing Podcast Listeners, we want to hear from YOU! Visit us on iTunes and leave a review or subscribe to the podcast if you’re not already a dedicated follower.

**Time Stamped Show Notes:**

– 30:46 – Introduction of Josh Davis of [Two Awesome Hours](http://amzn.to/1HnFnX9)
– 31:05 – Josh defines the [NeuroLeadership Institute](http://www.neuroleadership.com)
– 32:47 – Josh’s background is varied but he eventually fell into psychology and research
– 34:15 – The genesis for Two Awesome Hours
– 34:30 – More and more—people are being _overwhelmed _with work and the natural response is to work harder, longer and more frequently—this is a terrible solution for a human being
– 35:15 – What we _can _do, is be very effective for short bursts of time—we’re sprinters
– 36:23 – You don’t need to be “ON” all day long
– 37:12 – People who brag about how much work they do or how little they sleep are (for lack of a better word) foolish
– 38:52 – The strategies Josh recommends
– 38:58 – There really are only a handful of moments throughout the day where we can make decisions about what task to do next
– 39:39 – Most of the time we’re rolling on auto pilot so recognize those few moments when you’re fully aware and present
– 40:39 – Do what’s important, not what’s urgent
– 41:12 – Time isn’t wasted during those moments we’re “in-between” tasks…time is wasted when we get started on the wrong task
– 41:30 – Josh’s routine
– 43:46 – Exercise has incredible short-term benefits
– 46:00 – Things that we need to do “well” are things where we need to be _fully present_
– 48:04 – The importance of environment and how we can improve _any _workspace
– 49:03 – ADD isn’t a problem—that’s how your brain, your attention system, is supposed to work
– 51:59 – Josh’s _Top 2 Tips to be More Effective_:
– 52:07 – Learn some self-compassion
– 52:48 – Understand that mind-wandering is completely healthy
– 53:30 – Check out the [NeuroLeadership Institute](https://www.neuroleadership.com) and [http://www.twoawesomehours.com/](http://www.twoawesomehours.com/)

**7 Key Points:**

Enjoy the moments when your mind decides to wander—let it happen.
Your brain is naturally wired to have what essentially amounts to ADD—it’s not a problem.
Obtain self-compassion.
You can’t be “ON all day and, more importantly, you don’t need to be.
We can be incredibly effective for short periods of time.
Time isn’t wasted in-between tasks, it’s wasted when the wrong task is started.
Exercise has amazing and oft-overlooked short-term benefits.

**Resources Mentioned:**

[Warrant.ly](http://warrant.ly/?ref=producthunt) – Paper warranties are no more! Scan or snap a picture of your warranty and upload it to the app – [Ultradox](http://www.ultradox.com/?ref=producthunt) – Like IFTTT or Zapier but for documents – [Build Fire](http://buildfire.com/product-hunt/?ref=producthunt) – — Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lessdoing/message

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