Less Doing, More Living - Book Summary

How would your life change if you gained back hours — every single day?

Most of us feel caught up in a never-ending race against the clock, wishing we had just a little more time for the people and activities we truly care about. The reality is clear: there are only twenty-four hours in each day, leaving us wondering how to accomplish more without overwhelming ourselves.

Fortunately, there is a better approach — one that shows you exactly how to claim back your valuable time, reclaim your energy, and free up precious mental bandwidth.

The solution revolves around three powerful principles: Optimize, Automate, and Outsource.

First, "Optimize" invites you to reconsider your current methods of managing everyday tasks—whether it’s handling financial obligations, scheduling your day, or improving daily routines—to discover smarter and quicker ways of accomplishing more with less effort.

Second, "Automate" is about putting recurring tasks and routines on autopilot. By harnessing the power of effective digital tools and systems, you set yourself free from repetitive chores, enabling each day to flow with ease.

And finally, "Outsource" encourages you to confidently offload certain responsibilities to trusted individuals, experts, or services—allowing you to reclaim energy and invest it directly in passion projects or quality family time.

Together, these three strategies transform your life into one where productivity comes easily — leaving you free to fully enjoy what truly matters most to you.

Discover where your day really goes — and reclaim your valuable time.

There's a powerful principle you might have heard about: the 80-20 rule. This concept tells us that a striking 80 percent of our results typically come from just 20 percent of our efforts. Whether you're studying, handling tasks at work, or working out—it's often true that a small portion of your activities produces the most impactful outcomes.

So, to free up more time and energy for the things that genuinely matter, you have to find out what exactly constitutes your productive 20 percent — and what merely drains your precious hours.

How do we do this? Simple: we track our time.

Now, you might be thinking, "I'm already overwhelmed; how am I supposed to start tracking my entire day?" Thankfully, modern tools make this process easier than ever before.

Take RescueTime, for instance. This smart application quietly runs in the background of your computer, effortlessly noting which programs, websites, or apps consume your attention throughout the day. The results can be eye-opening—if social media or distracting websites tend to hijack your time, RescueTime can help identify and even restrict access to these productivity thieves. Imagine having instant clarity about your workday, enabling you to reclaim hours once lost to distractions!

But it doesn't stop at your digital day. What about your personal health routines and habits?

For these, there's real value in elegantly simple, traditional approaches: Keep an old-fashioned journal handy and jot down what you eat daily. Pair it with a pedometer or smartwatch to check how active you actually are. You might consider stepping onto a scale to track weight consistently as well. Though this takes just minutes, the insights can help pinpoint exactly what contributes—or takes away—from your wellness goals.

Once you've collected this meaningful data, the next step is to put your new awareness into action—it's time to optimize.

Think of optimization as a kind of streamlined instruction manual for your life's routines. Have you ever marveled at IKEA manuals? These instructions don't linger unnecessarily on complexities; instead, they guide you through furniture-building clearly, concisely, and universally understood.

Aim for a similar approach with your own activities. Whether you're sending emails, planning meetings, or managing your to-do list, simplify each task to only the crucial steps, removing the fluff entirely. The result? A considerable amount of wasted time disappears, making room for the things—and people—that mean most to you.

Give your brain a break — and let technology handle the heavy lifting.

You've probably felt the frustration — your mind is overloaded, constantly overflowing with dates, appointments, ideas, and tasks. It's natural to believe we're great at multitasking, carrying endless mental to-do lists, but the truth is, humans simply aren't wired for managing such a bombardment of information. What if there were a better way — a way to offload this mental burden and clear valuable space inside your mind?

Fortunately, you can build yourself an external brain — a place where all your important thoughts, reminders, and notes can safely live. It might sound futuristic, but it’s entirely possible, thanks to technology.

Take Evernote, for example — a powerful digital notebook which allows you to jot down notes, whether typed or handwritten, to organize ideas, images, or even web clippings. With unlimited storage and intuitive organization, Evernote serves as your brain’s trusted assistant, seamlessly connecting related ideas, reminders, and thoughts in a network resembling your brain's natural thought patterns. It effortlessly keeps everything you need visible, retrievable, and ready when you are.

But a digital notebook is only one part of the solution. There’s another powerful tool you can tap into to lighten your cognitive load even more: virtual assistants.

In today's digital age, assistants aren't reserved for CEOs or celebrities alone. They’re available — and affordable. Virtual assistants let you hand off tiresome, repetitive tasks, or even specialized duties. Generally, you'll find two types of virtual assistance options: on-demand assistants, and dedicated personal assistants.

With on-demand services like Fancy Hands, you can assign tasks whenever necessary. Need someone to proofread that article, book an appointment, or find good dinner reservations? Simply submit your request online, and a team of capable assistants will handle yours promptly — all for prices as accessible as twenty-five dollars per month for several tasks, or under one hundred dollars for unlimited help.

Or, perhaps you’d prefer something more personal and consistent, where your assistant genuinely understands your needs and preferences? Companies like ChatterBoss offer dedicated assistants who get to know you better over time, handling tasks more proactively and intuitively. For a reasonable monthly fee, you'll gain back multiple hours from your busy schedule and build rapport with a trusted partner to support your life and work.

Imagine how liberated your mind would feel, no longer bogged down by to-do lists, forgotten birthdays, or last-minute project deadlines. Your external brain, combined with virtual assistance, lets you focus on what truly matters: creativity, meaningful relationships, passionate pursuits — the things computers can't replicate, but that uniquely fulfill and enrich the human experience.

Personalize, simplify, save — how customization can change your daily life.

Imagine this scenario: you have a clear vision of the dream bookcase you'd love in your living room, designed perfectly to match your taste and fit your space. But turning this idea into reality often means hours spent sourcing materials, borrowing tools, measuring, cutting, assembling—it's exhausting just to think about!

So what if there were an easier, quicker, and cheaper solution? Thankfully, there is — it's called 3D printing, and it’s about to revolutionize the way you customize your life.

Services like Shapeways offer the incredible possibility to create objects tailored exactly to your needs, without the headaches of traditional DIY projects. All you have to do is upload your design as a 3D model, and their simple platform produces your product. No fuss — just simplicity and convenience.

For instance, when the author wanted a custom wall bracket for his MacMini computer, he sketched a quick idea and then hired a designer via Fiverr—an online outsourcing website—to create a precise digital 3D model. After uploading that design to Shapeways, presto—a week later, his custom bracket arrived directly to his mailbox, exactly to his specifications.

But the story didn't end there: after experiencing this streamlined solution, the author even leveraged his custom-made product into a side hustle—using Shapeways' ecommerce platform, he listed and sold several brackets, ultimately netting four hundred dollars. Not only had he saved himself time and effort, he transformed his initial need into profit.

But customization isn't only great at simplifying household designs or entrepreneurial ideas — it's a powerful method for eliminating unnecessary tasks from your day-to-day routines.

Take Vitamins on Demand, for example. They simplify taking your daily supplements and medication — rather than juggling bottles or plastic organizers, they conveniently package exactly what you need into daily packs. Going away on vacation? Just grab as many packs as required, and you're good to go—no need to stress over forgotten vitamins.

Even your wardrobe can benefit enormously from customization-based simplicity. Finding a perfectly fitting suit off-the-rack can be both frustrating and time-consuming. But now, a custom clothing service like Indochino makes tailored suits accessible and affordable. Their simple guided measuring process gives you your precise measurements—for quick reordering—from home. Say goodbye to the hours wasted browsing stores, and stay confidently styled in clothing created uniquely for you.

Customization isn’t just about luxury; it's about getting your resources—time, money, brainpower—back under your control. Whether it's your household needs, health supplementation, or clothing choices, tailoring your lifestyle reduces stress, restores free moments, and can even put money back in your wallet.

Your workweek, reinvented — how fewer hours can yield greater impact.

We’ve all heard of Tim Ferriss’s famous bestseller "The 4-Hour Workweek." While we might recognize that four hours is probably an exaggeration, there’s still a powerful lesson behind it: take charge of your schedule, decide what fits your workflow, and structure your day to suit you—not the other way around.

First, learn to recognize your most productive hours. Every person has their unique peaks of concentration and creativity—some rise early, energized and ready to dive in, while others excel best as night owls tackling projects in the quiet late hours. Still others prefer short bursts of intense productivity spread throughout the week, rather than drawn-out daily shifts.

Getting clear regarding what time period works best for you is crucial—it empowers you to align demanding tasks with your peak performance, substantially boosting your productivity without burning yourself out.

Once you nail down your ideal working hours, move on to pinpoint those hidden obstacles slowing you down. External interruptions are among the biggest time-drainers—think about always-late suppliers, hesitant clients, or drawn-out meetings full of unnecessary back-and-forth.

The solution here is surprisingly simple: narrow the time window you offer to external contacts. For instance, instead of being available all the time, specify clear, limited windows when clients and collaborators must reach you. When others understand your availability is finite, something remarkable happens—they become clearer in their purpose, decisive in their actions, and more respectful of your time as a result. It's a win-win situation: you get a streamlined schedule, while your counterparts learn to operate more efficiently.

One of the biggest external time wasters is meeting scheduling. Did you realize, on average, scheduling just one single meeting involves up to seven emails back and forth? Thankfully, smart digital solutions like Calendly exist that can eliminate all that wasted time at once.

With Calendly, you simply share an online calendar showing your available time slots. Teammates or clients select the one best for them, and—the meeting is scheduled. Efficient, frustration-free, and done in just one click. Days of endless email ping-pong become a thing of the past.

Reclaiming your workweek is about consciously arranging your professional life around your strengths and preferences, fighting off distractions and inefficiencies at each turn. Knowing when you're at your best, managing your client interactions proactively, and using smart scheduling tools all mean you'll experience more control over your workload and more freedom in your day. Suddenly, progress doesn't require even close to forty hours weekly, let alone four—when your workweek is yours by design, less can truly become so much more.

How to stop wasting your precious hours on errands — once and for all.

Think about how often you've made a quick trip to the store — for things like toothpaste, laundry detergent, or batteries. Each time, you reassure yourself it's only a few minutes—fifteen, tops, right? Now, imagine all those tiny errands combined over an entire month. The truth might surprise you: errands quietly steal more hours from your life than you'd ever realize.

So, what's the secret to reclaiming this hidden reserve of free time? Simple — stop doing errands altogether.

Think this sounds too good to be true? Actually, it isn't. Thanks to convenient delivery services, almost every essential household product can show up at your door automatically and regularly, no extra hassle required.

Take Amazon's Subscribe and Save, for example. You simply specify how frequently you need various staples — maybe it's toothpaste twice monthly, shampoo every other month, or batteries once a year — and then forget about ever running short again. Imagine never needing to make emergency toothpaste runs or panic-shops again—simply because everything you require arrives exactly when needed. That's genuine peace of mind.

And although automating household supplies is great, there are inevitably some errands you just can't plan for—tasks that pop up unpredictably, causing immediate inconvenience. For these spontaneous interruptions, the answer lies in outsourcing.

Enter TaskRabbit — an online platform that lets you instantly hire trustworthy locals to handle small, emergency tasks, from grabbing a carton of milk when you're knee-deep in work, to picking up your car from the mechanic shop. It's like a personal errand assistant—right at your fingertips, exactly when you need it.

Here's how the author made brilliant use of this service: when his nephew in Los Angeles turned two, he decided to give the perfect gift—a play slide. But there was one issue: the author was sitting far away in New York City. So, using TaskRabbit, he easily hired someone local in Los Angeles who headed to IKEA, picked up the slide, personally delivered it, and assembled it neatly in his nephew's backyard. A thoughtful gift completed effortlessly, no travel stress involved.

When tasks like these can get outsourced affordably and quickly, why spend your limited time racing around town?

By embracing the combination of automation through subscription deliveries and outsourcing via services like TaskRabbit, errands stop holding your daily life hostage. Suddenly, errands that once demanded valuable chunks of your attention fade into the background, freeing you to focus your energy and time on meaningful, enjoyable activities instead.

Your finances simplified — how smart tools can help you save big.

We've talked earlier about how useful tracking your life can be—keeping a mindful eye on how you spend your time or what you're eating each day. However, not everything benefits from detailed self-tracking; some areas, such as personal finances, can quickly become overwhelming if you try handling all the details yourself.

Tracking every purchase, bank account, loan, credit card, or investment manually can feel like a second full-time job. But the good news? You don't have to do it yourself. Powerful digital tools exist that simplify your financial management, reducing stress, freeing up time, and ensuring you stay financially healthy.

One impressive example is TrueBill—a dynamic platform built to bring clarity to your financial life. Once you securely link your banking, loans, and credit card accounts, TrueBill automatically keeps watch, alerting you if anything goes awry—like unusually large withdrawals, overdraft warnings, or missed payments. Plus, it provides a clear, categorized overview of your spending habits, empowering you to immediately see where your money goes every month. And get this—it can even use your spending patterns to suggest personalized, manageable budgets optimized for your lifestyle.

But monitoring your money isn't the only stress-relief trick these modern financial tools promise. Want to save big money without endlessly hunting for deals? BillShark is another game-changing tool that can help you unlock hidden financial savings.

Here's how it works: You provide a profile, sharing details like your monthly expenses—things like subscriptions, mobile phone usage, utilities bill, and entertainment services. BillShark then evaluates your costs, identifies areas where you're overspending, and negotiates better deals on your behalf. Perhaps your cell phone bill could shrink substantially, or you could save hundreds annually by switching your streaming services. BillShark brings these opportunities directly to your attention, clearly showing how much money you'll save over time.

For instance, when the author tried out BillShark for the first time, the outcome was eye-opening. He discovered potential savings totaling a staggering fourteen thousand dollars over the course of two years. That's real, tangible value with minimal effort—no stress required.

Financial management doesn't need to be overwhelming or tedious. By relying on innovative solutions like TrueBill and BillShark, you'll easily track your money, avoid financial surprises, discover substantial savings, and ultimately spend far less time fretting over spreadsheets and account balances. Instead, you'll gain peace of mind, leaving plenty of extra time and energy for the things that truly enrich your life.

How clear limits can declutter your space and clarify your life.

Imagine this: your home office is overflowing with scattered papers and tangled cables; navigating across the room feels like trekking through an obstacle course. You know the stress well — always searching and never quite finding what you need, precisely when you need it.

But here’s some reassuring news: there’s a powerful yet simple remedy for this chaos, and it comes down to setting smart, clearly defined limits.

Start by identifying an upper limit — a boundary that defines precisely the maximum amount of stuff you allow yourself to keep.

The author discovered the importance of this firsthand. His collection of electronics — everything from outdated gear to spare cables — once dominated an entire closet, growing out of control. Every time he needed something, he had to navigate a pile of tangled wires and scattered gadgets. Frustrated and overwhelmed, he decided enough was enough.

He quickly took action and began selling off unnecessary items on eBay, keeping only essentials. By the end, he’d pared down his overwhelming stash into one tidy, organized box. He then committed—firmly—never to exceed that box boundary. If a new gadget arrived, something else had to leave. This upper limit completely banished clutter, made things effortlessly accessible, and significantly lowered his daily stress.

But limits are not just about reducing physical clutter or curbing overconsumption. You can also use them to ensure you consistently engage in activities that enhance your quality of life. This is where setting lower limits becomes invaluable — specifically defining minimum amounts of time or frequency you devote to experiences and activities you deeply value.

For example, the author committed to traveling at least once every month, running a minimum of thirty miles weekly, and cooking at home at least three times per week. These lower limits keep his life vibrant and balanced, guaranteeing that meaningful leisure and wellness activities don't continuously take a backseat to endless work and mundane chores.

Whether it’s controlling the flood of "stuff" overtaking your home or making sure you cherish and enjoy positive experiences, clearly defined limits provide clarity. The secret to leading a richer, calmer, and ultimately happier life might be simpler than you ever imagined: deliberately establishing boundaries to help you do less of what drains you—and, crucially, more of what energizes you.

Group your tasks to get more done — without losing your mind.

You've likely been there before: you finally focus in, hitting the flow of your work, when suddenly — an email or text pops up, scattering your attention. Moments later, you're struggling to rebuild that concentration. Sound familiar?

Luckily, you don't have to be at the mercy of constant distractions. There's a powerful productivity habit that helps you maintain focus and accomplish tasks with impressive efficiency — it's called batching.

Simply put, batching means grouping similar tasks together and dedicating focused blocks of time to accomplish them all at once. For example, rather than replying to emails the moment you receive them, set a deliberate schedule—ten minutes every hour, or perhaps two thirty-minute windows per day—for all incoming emails. Likewise, gather all your bill payments for the week and handle them on one set day, rather than sporadically dealing with each individually as they arrive.

By concentrating similar tasks together, you reduce interruption, strengthen your attention, and significantly boost your efficiency. Plus, batching helps you gain a clearer understanding of exactly how much time tasks really consume. Notice an activity consistently taking longer or feeling unnecessarily complicated? That's the ideal moment to pause and optimize—either streamlining your methods or finding smarter ways to reduce tedious chores.

Often, paperwork blocks up our schedules more than we'd like. No matter how comfortable we've become with email and digital documents, we still face physical paper clutter more often than we'd like. Thankfully, today's digital landscape provides clever solutions—such as services like Postal Methods—to remove these lingering paper annoyances for good.

Postal Methods handles any physical mailings with a modern, streamlined approach: just upload your document digitally, and they print, seal, stamp, and send it for you. Gone are the days of standing in post office lines or licking envelopes—you handle your physical mail with zero hassle. It's batching turned silver-lined—taking mundane chores off your hands entirely.

Batching tasks—from email response and bill payment to mailing documents—frees time, reduces stress, and gives you powerful clarity: now you know exactly how your day is being consumed, and where adjustments can boost productivity even more. Instead of staying swamped by constant interruptions, you'll experience smoother workflows, greater ease, and ultimately, far more control over your day.

Want to become truly productive? Prioritize your health first.

When it comes down to achieving more each day, there's a secret we often overlook—and it isn't hidden inside any fancy scheduling tool or productivity app. No, this powerful secret is actually hiding in plain sight: it's your health.

Simply put, getting enough high-quality sleep and making smart nutritional choices directly affects your energy and productivity for everything else you do. Ignore this fact, and no technology or time-management hack will save you.

Let's look at sleep first. When you consistently miss out on restful sleep, your body reacts in unexpected ways. For example, sleep deprivation triggers the production of a pesky hormone known as ghrelin—this nasty little hormone drives hunger signals screaming for sugary and calorie-rich foods. At the same time, insufficient rest reduces levels of leptin—the hormone responsible for healthy metabolism regulation. The end result? Fatigue, sluggish thinking, and less energy to tackle your daily tasks.

But don't stress just yet—there are simple strategies you can adopt right away for better rest. For one, try supplementing your morning routine with a vitamin D capsule at breakfast—it stabilizes energy levels and supports healthy sleep cycles. Most importantly, avoid screens emitting blue light—like your laptop, smartphone, or TV—in the hour preceding bedtime; you'll find yourself drifting comfortably towards deeper, more refreshing sleep.

As for nutrition: let's bust a common myth right away—fat isn't the enemy you think it is. In fact, healthy fats like avocados, nuts, and olive oil nourish your brain, support proper functioning, and boost your productivity. Sugar, conversely, proves much more detrimental, preventing your body from properly absorbing vitamins A, D, E, and K—essentials for robust health. By swapping processed, sugary snacks for natural sources of healthy fat, you'll notice increased alertness, sharper thinking, and consistent energy, without crashing later on.

Of course, sufficient rest and a diet rich in healthy fat aren't the full equation—movement matters just as much. Saying you're "too stressed" or "too busy" to exercise might feel convincing, but regular physical activity is one of the most effective stress-busters available. In reality, regular exercise quickly pays for itself by improving your mood, sharpening your focus, and building stamina for life's demands.

To build a movement habit that works beautifully for you, incorporate three types of exercise into your weekly routine:

First, add elements of skill-based movement that combine strength with coordination and balance—perhaps something challenging like rock climbing or parkour, or just tossing a kettlebell around your home gym.

Second, make sure you incorporate high-intensity interval training, or HIIT—short bursts of intense effort punctuated by intervals for recovery. Quick, sweaty, powerful sessions like this energize you and boost productivity and focus long after they're complete.

Finally, don't forget gentle activity, too—practice stretching, yoga, or mobility exercises regularly. These movements aid recovery, boost flexibility, and keep your body primed and pain-free.

Ultimately, vibrant energy and productivity come down to three critical factors—sound sleep, nutrition packed with healthy fats, and enjoyable, consistent movement. So, rather than simply juggling productivity apps or planners, take immediate action in these fundamental areas. Soon you'll discover a fresh, energetic focus, better performance—and more energy for whatever you genuinely love to do.

Final recap — reclaim your time and start living life your way.

Life often feels like one endless sprint, filled with interruptions, stressful errands, and overflowing inboxes. But it doesn't have to be this way.

By implementing smart, achievable strategies—like optimizing your routines, automating repetitive tasks, and outsourcing time-consuming chores—you'll clear away the unwanted clutter and chaos. The result? Hours of newfound freedom to pursue hobbies, spend quality time with loved ones, or simply recharge.

Remember the simple, powerful formula: optimize, automate, and outsource.

Optimize your workflow by grouping similar tasks, setting clear limits, and discovering your most productive hours.

Automate mundane routines—whether it's getting regular supplies delivered or letting smart apps manage your finances seamlessly behind the scenes.

And finally, outsource those tiresome jobs by enlisting virtual assistants or services like TaskRabbit, saving precious hours you'd otherwise spend on errands and admin.

Taking back control of your time isn't just about productivity—it's your gateway to greater enjoyment of life and better overall well-being.

So why wait? Optimize, automate, and outsource—it's your time, and now you know exactly how to take it back.