Less Doing, More Living

1. Embrace the Core: Optimize, Automate, Outsource

The idea of Less Doing is to reclaim your time and—more important—your mind, so you can do the things you want to do.

Reclaim time and mind. Less Doing is a philosophy centered on freeing up your mental and physical resources by systematically improving how you handle tasks. It's about reducing the daily stresses and demands that clutter your life, allowing you to focus on what truly matters and brings you joy. This isn't about being lazy; it's about being strategically efficient to live more fully.

Three core principles. The Less Doing approach is built on a simple, powerful framework: Optimize, Automate, and Outsourcing. For any task or challenge, first strip it down to its absolute essentials (Optimize). Then, use technology or processes to make it happen without human intervention whenever possible (Automate). Finally, for anything that remains, hand it off to someone else (Outsource).

Apply everywhere. These principles aren't limited to work; they apply to every aspect of life, from health and finances to errands and organization. By consistently applying this framework, you create efficient systems that run themselves, minimizing your involvement and maximizing your freedom. The goal is to make everything in your life easier.

2. Apply the 80/20 Rule: Focus on High-Impact Tasks

If you don’t track—or measure—what you’re doing, you can’t make it better.

Focus on the vital few. The Pareto Principle, or 80/20 Rule, states that roughly 80% of results come from 20% of effort. This means a small portion of your activities yields the majority of your outcomes. To be efficient, you must identify this critical 20% and focus your energy there, letting go of or minimizing the low-impact 80%.

Tracking reveals reality. You can't know which activities are high-impact without measuring how you spend your time and resources. Tracking provides the data needed to analyze your efforts and identify where the 80/20 rule applies in your life. Tools like RescueTime for computer use, iDoneThis for daily accomplishments, or even health trackers like Fitbit help reveal your actual patterns.

Optimize based on data. Once you have tracking data, you can optimize your processes to spend more time on the high-return activities. This might mean dedicating more energy to top clients, focusing on core products, or spending less time on low-value tasks. The aim is to work smarter, not just harder, by directing your limited time and energy towards what truly moves the needle.

3. Build Your External Brain: Offload Information & Tasks

If an idea is in your head, get it out.

Memory is unreliable. Trying to remember everything is stressful, inefficient, and prone to failure. Your brain's capacity is better used for creative thinking and problem-solving, not as a storage device for facts, ideas, and to-dos. An external brain system reliably stores information, providing instant access when needed and freeing up mental space.

Capture everything. The core of an external brain is capturing information the moment it arises. Use tools like Evernote to quickly record notes, ideas, web pages, photos, or documents in any format. The goal is to get ideas out of your head and into a trusted system where they won't be lost and can be easily retrieved or connected later.

Leverage technology. Modern tools make building an external brain seamless. Evernote's Web Clipper saves online content, and its powerful search connects new information with existing notes. Services like AquaNotes capture shower ideas. FollowUp.cc handles reminders via email, eliminating the need to remember follow-ups. These tools create a searchable, accessible backup of your knowledge and commitments.

4. Eliminate To-Do Lists: Use Timing & Your Inbox

Your to-do list is destroying you!

To-do lists are dumping grounds. Traditional to-do lists often become overwhelming collections of tasks, many of which cannot be acted upon immediately. Seeing a long list of unfinished items creates cognitive dissonance and triggers the Zeigarnik effect, constantly reminding you of what you haven't done and causing stress. They are inefficient for managing actionable tasks.

Focus on timing. Instead of listing tasks, focus on when each task needs attention. Every item has a right time to be started, checked, or completed. The goal is to bring tasks into your awareness only at the moment you can actually deal with them, then process them immediately.

Your inbox as a system. Use your email inbox as a dynamic, short-term action list. Process emails by either doing the task now, deleting it, or deferring it using a service like FollowUp.cc. This system ensures your inbox stays clear and acts as a hyper-focused list of things requiring immediate attention, effectively replacing the traditional, static to-do list.

5. Delegate & Automate Relentlessly: Leverage VAs & Tech

I believe everyone should work with a virtual assistant at some point.

Delegate what others can do. Your time is best spent on tasks only you can do. Anything else should be delegated or automated. Working with a virtual assistant (VA) is an excellent way to learn delegation, forcing you to break down tasks into clear, repeatable steps, creating a "Manual of You" that makes you less reliant on any single person.

Automate repeatable tasks. Once a task is optimized into clear steps, look for ways to automate it using technology. Services like IFTTT (If This, Then That) can connect different web services to perform actions automatically based on triggers (e.g., if I star an article, tweet it and save it to Evernote). This eliminates manual effort for recurring digital tasks.

Outsource physical and complex tasks. For real-world errands or specialized projects, outsource to experts. TaskRabbit handles local physical tasks, while platforms like Elance connect you with specialists for complex projects like design or research. Even outsourcing the process of outsourcing via automation tools is possible, creating highly efficient, hands-off workflows.

6. Customize Your World: Tailor Solutions to Fit You

This is not a narcissistic pursuit—there is tangible value in getting exactly what you want and leaving out what you don’t.

Generic isn't optimal. Products and services designed for everyone often aren't perfectly suited for anyone. Customization allows you to create solutions that precisely match your needs, saving time, money, and providing a better experience. This applies to physical items, digital tools, and even services.

Tailor products and services. Look for opportunities to customize things you interact with regularly. Examples include:

• Custom vitamin packs (Vitamins on Demand)
• Made-to-measure clothing (Indochino)
• Personalized physical objects (Ponoko, Shapeways)

Create solutions if none exist. If the perfect solution doesn't exist, you can often create it surprisingly easily. Use platforms like Fiverr for small design tasks or Elance for more complex development. Combining these services can turn a unique need into a custom product or tool, sometimes even creating a new business opportunity.

7. Control Your Schedule: Choose Your Own Workweek

You must define what a workweek is and then decide how much of your life you want it to occupy.

Define your availability. Your "workweek" isn't necessarily when you do all your work, but rather the specific times when clients, colleagues, or external contacts can reasonably expect to interact with you or receive deliverables. By consciously defining and limiting this window, you regain control over your schedule.

Force efficiency on others. A shorter, defined workweek encourages others to batch their interactions with you, making their communication more efficient. It also prevents the drag of Monday recovery or Friday anticipation. Choosing mid-week days can help avoid peak traffic and capitalize on others' focused periods.

Use tools to manage access. Tools like ScheduleOnce allow others to book time with you only during your designated availability, eliminating back-and-forth emails. Services like Right InBox let you write emails when convenient but schedule them to send during your defined workweek, keeping communication within your boundaries and off your mind when you're "off."

8. Eradicate Errands: Outsource Physical Tasks

I don’t want you to run errands, ever ever ever again.

Errands are inefficient. Running physical errands is a significant time sink that is inherently difficult to optimize. Travel time, waiting, searching for items, and impulse purchases make them a poor use of your valuable time and energy. The goal is to eliminate them entirely.

Automate recurring purchases. For non-perishable household items, use subscription services like Amazon Subscribe and Save. This automates regular deliveries of essentials like toiletries, pet food, and cleaning supplies, often at a discount, freeing you from shopping trips and ensuring you never run out.

Outsource everything else. For errands that can't be automated, delegate them to others. Services like TaskRabbit connect you with local individuals who can perform physical tasks like grocery shopping, dropping off donations, or picking up items. This allows you to focus on high-value activities while someone else handles the low-value physical tasks.

9. Automate Your Finances: Track, Optimize, Save

To accomplish these goals, you need a clear picture of where your money is and where it’s going.

Gain financial clarity. Managing your finances efficiently requires understanding your income, expenses, and overall financial health. Relying on manual tracking or scattered statements is time-consuming and prone to errors. Automation is key to gaining effortless oversight.

Automate tracking and analysis. Use services like Mint.com or InDinero (for business) to automatically aggregate data from all your accounts (checking, savings, credit cards, investments). These tools categorize spending, track budgets, and provide dashboards for a clear financial overview. Services like OneReceipt or Slice automatically pull and analyze e-receipts.

Optimize spending and bills. Once you have clear data, identify areas for optimization. Use services like BillShrink to analyze your spending patterns (e.g., on cell phones, utilities, credit cards) and recommend cheaper alternatives based on your actual usage. Automate bill retrieval with services like FileThis.com, which pulls statements and saves them to cloud storage, making them searchable and easy to share.

10. Organize with Limits: Set Boundaries for Everything

It’s all about setting limits.

Limits drive efficiency. Organization isn't just about sorting; it's about setting boundaries to prevent clutter and overwhelm. Applying upper and lower limits to physical items, digital information, and even time commitments forces you to make decisions and maintain order.

Apply limits broadly. Set maximum limits for things like:

• Emails in your inbox (e.g., never more than 10)
• Physical items (e.g., one small box for electronics)
• Software installed on your computer (e.g., only essential programs)
• Time spent on low-value activities (e.g., social media)

Minimum limits for essentials. Also set minimum limits for important activities, ensuring they don't get neglected. This could be a minimum amount of leisure time, exercise sessions per week, or healthy meals cooked at home. Sticking to limits forces optimization and conscious decision-making.

11. Batch for Efficiency: Group Similar Tasks

Batching is all about “getting in the zone” and minimizing transition time.

Minimize context switching. Switching between different types of tasks is mentally taxing and inefficient. Batching involves grouping similar tasks together and doing them all at once, allowing you to get into a flow state and reduce the time lost to transitioning between different modes of thinking or action.

Identify batchable tasks. Look for tasks you perform repeatedly that could be done together. Examples include:

• Processing email (e.g., only at specific times)
• Handling paperwork (e.g., once a week)
• Cooking meals (e.g., preparing food for the week on one day)
• Running errands (e.g., combining multiple stops)

Set thresholds or schedules. To avoid tasks piling up and becoming overwhelming, set clear schedules or thresholds for when you will perform batched tasks. For instance, process email every hour, or handle all paperwork every Friday morning. Consistency is key to making batching effective and preventing backlog.

12. Make Wellness the Foundation: Prioritize Health

Wellness is the foundation of everything else.

Health enables efficiency. No matter how optimized your systems are, your personal capacity for productivity and enjoyment is limited by your physical and mental well-being. Stress, poor sleep, and unhealthy habits undermine your ability to focus, be creative, and execute effectively. Prioritizing wellness is not optional; it's essential for Less Doing.

Focus on key pillars. Wellness encompasses several areas, but key pillars include fitness, sleep, and nutrition. Find an exercise routine that provides maximum benefit for minimal time (e.g., combining strength, HIIT, and mobility). Prioritize quality sleep by understanding sleep cycles and minimizing disruptions like blue light.

Optimize diet and track impact. Nutrition provides the fuel your body needs. Focus on unprocessed foods and understand how different foods affect your energy and mood through tracking. By optimizing these foundational elements – fitness, sleep, and nutrition – you build the physical and mental resilience needed to implement Less Doing principles and truly live more.

Last updated: May 4, 2025