How to Optimize Your Days (Without Being OCD About It)
We are naturally wired to think about big things and neglect the seemingly boring part.
"How can I optimize the activities that I have to do that don’t support my goals directly?"
Here are the 4 principles:
#1 Outsource
Your time is valuable.
What activities in your everyday life could you outsource for less money than your hour is valued at?
Examples:
Instead of going to buy groceries yourself, create a list and have it delivered to you
Hire someone to clean your apartment or iron your clothes twice a week
#2 Bulk Up Your Tasks
Whatever is left after outsourcing, you need to bulk up.
Specify a day of the week when you will do the remaining events, bulk them up, put them in order, and start doing them one by one.
It usually takes 2-3 hours to finish cleaning, decluttering, and grocery buying on Sunday, compared to doing these things 30–60 minutes every day.
#3 Optimize Your Eating Habits
You can still enjoy food but the way you consume it should be as automatic as possible.
On Sunday, define what the meals will be for the rest of the week.
Sit down, grab a piece of paper and write down what will you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for the remainder of the week. And then you buy groceries or have them delivered. And that’s it.
#4 Reclaim Dead Time
Dead Time = time spent on activities that you cannot eliminate now, but can be used more productively.
Think of commuting or cleaning.
To be productive, find something you can do while being engaged in these activities.
Examples:
Listening to audiobooks and podcasts
Reading books (on Kindle)
Using apps such as Duolingo to learn a language