Less Doing, More Living

Less Doing, More Living Plot Summary

Introduction

In today's hyper-connected world, we're constantly bombarded with notifications, tasks, and responsibilities that drain our mental energy and consume our precious time. Many of us find ourselves trapped in a never-ending cycle of busyness—checking emails at midnight, managing overflowing to-do lists, and feeling perpetually behind despite working longer hours. This constant state of overwhelm isn't just exhausting; it's preventing us from focusing on what truly matters in our lives. Ari Meisel developed his "Less Doing" philosophy after facing his own seemingly insurmountable challenge—battling Crohn's disease while running multiple businesses. Through necessity, he discovered that the path to reclaiming his health, time, and mind wasn't about doing more, but about optimizing, automating, and outsourcing everything in his life. This blueprint isn't just about productivity tricks; it's a comprehensive system designed to help you break free from the chaos, reduce stress, and create space for what truly matters. By applying these nine fundamental principles, you'll not only get more done in less time but also regain the mental clarity needed to live a more meaningful life.

Chapter 1: Master the 80/20 Rule and Track What Matters

The 80/20 Rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, is the cornerstone of efficiency and the perfect starting point for reclaiming your time and mind. This principle, developed by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, states that roughly 80% of results come from just 20% of efforts. Applied to your life, this means that a small portion of your activities produces the majority of your success and happiness—while the remaining 80% of tasks often yield minimal returns. Consider Sarah, a marketing executive who felt constantly overwhelmed by her workload. When she began tracking how she spent her time using RescueTime, she discovered something surprising: she was spending over 60% of her day responding to non-urgent emails and attending low-value meetings, while the strategic projects that actually moved her career forward received less than two hours of her attention. This awareness was transformative. She realized she was investing most of her energy in activities that produced minimal results. Armed with this insight, Sarah began restructuring her workday. She blocked out three hours each morning for her high-impact projects before opening her email. She delegated routine correspondence to an assistant and declined meetings unless they directly supported her key objectives. Within weeks, her productivity on meaningful work tripled, while her work hours actually decreased by 25%. To apply the 80/20 Rule effectively in your own life, start by tracking how you spend your time and energy. Tools like RescueTime for computer usage, Fitbit for physical activity, or even iDoneThis for daily accomplishments can provide valuable data. The goal isn't just collection but analysis—identifying which activities yield the highest returns and which are simply consuming resources without proportional benefits. Once you've identified your high-value 20%, optimize those processes by breaking them down into their essential components. Create what Meisel calls the "Manual of You"—detailed, step-by-step instructions for completing these tasks in the most efficient way possible. This not only helps you perform them better but also prepares them for potential automation or outsourcing later. Remember, applying the 80/20 Rule isn't about working harder—it's about working smarter by focusing your limited time and energy on what truly matters. By eliminating, optimizing, or outsourcing the low-value 80%, you create space for the activities that bring real results and fulfillment to your life.

Chapter 2: Build Your External Brain and Eliminate To-Do Lists

Your brain is designed for creative thinking and problem-solving, not for storing endless lists of information and reminders. When you try to keep everything in your head—appointments, ideas, tasks, and information—you create mental clutter that drains your cognitive resources and increases stress. Building an "external brain" is about creating reliable systems outside your mind to store, organize, and retrieve information, freeing your mental capacity for more important work. Michael, a successful entrepreneur, struggled with constant mental overwhelm despite his professional achievements. His mind raced with unfinished tasks, half-formed ideas, and important information he feared forgetting. He kept multiple to-do lists but still felt things were falling through the cracks. His breakthrough came when he realized his brain was like a highway at rush hour—too many ideas trying to move at once, creating gridlock. Following Meisel's advice, Michael began systematically moving information out of his head and into Evernote, his chosen external brain tool. Whenever an idea struck—whether for a new business venture or simply a book to read—he captured it immediately in Evernote rather than trying to remember it. He set up FollowUp.cc for email reminders, eliminating the mental burden of remembering to check in with clients. For recurring tasks, he used Re:snooze and HassleMe to send timely reminders. The most transformative change came when Michael eliminated his traditional to-do lists. Instead of maintaining an ever-growing list of tasks (many of which couldn't be completed immediately), he asked himself, "When is the right time for me to do this?" Then he either did it immediately, scheduled it for the appropriate time using FollowUp.cc, delegated it to his virtual assistant, or stored reference information in Evernote. To build your own external brain, start with a reliable note-taking system like Evernote that works across all your devices. Use it to capture everything—ideas, meeting notes, articles to read, and reference material. Set up automated reminder systems like FollowUp.cc to bring tasks back to your attention at the right time. For recurring tasks, services like Re:snooze can send regular reminders without any ongoing effort on your part. The final piece of your external brain should be a virtual assistant. Even if you start with just a few tasks per month through services like Fancy Hands or Zirtual, working with a VA forces you to clarify your processes and helps you develop the skill of delegation. The goal is to reach a point where you can say, "The moment I send this request to my VA, it's done as far as I'm concerned," allowing you to mentally release the task completely. Remember, the power of an external brain isn't just in organizing information—it's in the mental freedom that comes from knowing everything is captured in a reliable system outside your mind. This freedom creates space for creativity, deep work, and the mental clarity needed to focus on what truly matters.

Chapter 3: Optimize, Automate, and Outsource with Virtual Assistants

The three-step process of optimize, automate, and outsource forms the core methodology of the Less Doing system. This strategic approach ensures you're not just delegating inefficient processes but truly eliminating unnecessary work from your life. The ultimate goal is to focus your time and energy only on those tasks that genuinely require your unique skills and attention. David, a small business owner, found himself working 70-hour weeks handling everything from customer service to accounting to social media marketing. His breaking point came when he missed his daughter's dance recital because he was stuck at the office processing invoices. That night, he realized something had to change—he couldn't continue trying to do everything himself. Following the Less Doing methodology, David first examined his invoice processing workflow. He discovered he was spending hours each week on a 16-step process that involved printing invoices, manually entering data, filing paperwork, and sending confirmation emails. By optimizing this process, he reduced it to 7 essential steps and eliminated all paper handling. Next, he automated what he could using accounting software that could automatically generate and send invoices, track payments, and send reminders for overdue accounts. For the remaining tasks that couldn't be fully automated, David hired a virtual assistant through Fancy Hands. He created detailed instructions for the remaining steps and delegated them completely. What had once consumed 8-10 hours of his week now required just 30 minutes of oversight. More importantly, he applied this same process to dozens of other routine tasks in his business, eventually freeing up over 25 hours each week. To implement this approach in your own life, start by selecting a recurring task that consumes significant time. Break it down step-by-step and ruthlessly eliminate any unnecessary components. Ask yourself: "Is this step absolutely essential to achieve the desired outcome?" Once you've optimized the process to its bare essentials, look for automation opportunities. Services like IFTTT (If This Then That) can create connections between different applications to automate workflows without any ongoing human involvement. For tasks that remain after optimization and automation, consider outsourcing to a virtual assistant. Services like Fancy Hands offer on-demand assistance starting at just $25 per month. The key to successful outsourcing is clear communication—create detailed instructions that anyone could follow without prior knowledge of your systems or preferences. This "Manual of You" approach ensures consistent results regardless of who completes the task. The most advanced application of this methodology is what Meisel calls "outsourcing your outsourcing"—using automation tools like IFTTT to automatically assign tasks to your virtual assistants based on triggers. For example, you might set up a system that automatically emails your VA to schedule social media posts whenever you star an article in your RSS reader, eliminating even the small effort of delegating the task.

Chapter 4: Customize Solutions for Your Unique Needs

We live in a world of mass production where products and services are designed to work for the average person—but no one is truly average. Customization is about recognizing your unique needs and preferences, then adapting or creating solutions that work perfectly for you instead of settling for one-size-fits-all options. This fundamental principle ensures that everything in your life is optimized specifically for your circumstances. Elena, a freelance graphic designer with ADHD, struggled with conventional productivity systems that seemed to work for everyone else but left her feeling more overwhelmed. Standard to-do lists became sources of anxiety rather than helpful tools, and traditional office setups made it difficult for her to focus. After several frustrating attempts to force herself into these standard systems, she decided to embrace customization. Instead of using written to-do lists, Elena created a visual task board using a large wall-mounted whiteboard divided into project categories with colorful magnets representing different tasks. This allowed her to physically move tasks around and see her workload in a way that made sense to her visual thinking style. She customized her workspace with a standing desk that converted to a treadmill desk for times when physical movement helped her focus. For client communications, she abandoned the standard practice of phone calls (which she found draining) and set up a custom system using voice messages and annotated screenshots. The results were transformative. By designing systems around her specific needs rather than trying to adapt to conventional methods, Elena's productivity doubled. More importantly, her work-related stress decreased dramatically as she stopped fighting against her natural tendencies and instead created an environment that worked with them. To apply customization in your own life, start by identifying areas where standard solutions aren't working optimally for you. Pay attention to friction points in your daily routines—tasks that consistently cause frustration or take longer than they should. Once identified, brainstorm how these processes could be modified to better suit your preferences, strengths, and circumstances. Don't be afraid to combine existing tools in unconventional ways or to create entirely new solutions when necessary. Services like Elance and Fiverr can connect you with specialists who can help develop custom solutions, from software tools to physical products. For example, if you need a specific type of organization system that doesn't exist commercially, you might hire someone to design it for you or use a service like Shapeways to create custom 3D-printed components. Remember that customization isn't about perfection—it's about creating solutions that work better for you than standardized alternatives. Start with small experiments, evaluate the results, and continuously refine your systems based on what you learn. The goal is to build an environment and workflow that feels natural and effortless because it's designed specifically around your unique needs and preferences.

Chapter 5: Design Your Ideal Workweek and Batch for Efficiency

Traditional workweeks follow arbitrary patterns that often don't align with our natural energy flows or productivity cycles. By intentionally designing your ideal workweek and implementing strategic batching, you can dramatically increase your efficiency while reducing stress and creating more time for what matters most in your life. James, a consultant who had always worked the standard Monday-through-Friday schedule, found himself constantly exhausted and inefficient. Despite working long hours, he felt perpetually behind and struggled to find time for his family and personal interests. His breakthrough came when he realized that not all hours are created equal—he was naturally more creative and focused during certain times while other periods were consistently less productive regardless of his effort. After tracking his energy and productivity patterns for two weeks, James made a bold decision to redesign his workweek. He discovered that his peak cognitive performance occurred Tuesday through Thursday, while Mondays were typically slow starts and Fridays were often interrupted by clients rushing to finish things before the weekend. He restructured his schedule to concentrate all client meetings and intensive project work during his peak Tuesday-to-Thursday window, using ScheduleOnce to direct clients to book only during these times. For his remaining tasks, James implemented batching—grouping similar activities together to minimize context switching and maximize flow states. He designated Monday mornings for planning and administrative tasks, and Friday afternoons for reflection and preparation for the following week. He batched all his emails into three daily sessions rather than responding continuously throughout the day. For content creation, he set aside Wednesday afternoons to write multiple blog posts at once, taking advantage of the momentum that comes from staying in a single mode of thinking. The results were remarkable. Despite technically working fewer hours, James completed more high-quality work. Client satisfaction increased because they received his best attention during his peak performance times. Most importantly, he reclaimed his weekends and evenings for family time, feeling genuinely present rather than mentally preoccupied with work. To design your own ideal workweek, start by tracking when you naturally perform best at different types of tasks. Are you more creative in the mornings? More detail-oriented in the afternoons? Use this information to block your calendar accordingly, assigning your most important and demanding work to your peak performance periods. Tools like RescueTime can help identify these patterns objectively. For batching, identify activities in your work and personal life that could be grouped together. This might include meal preparation (cooking several meals at once on Sunday), content creation (writing multiple blog posts in one session), errands (combining trips to minimize travel time), or administrative tasks (processing all invoices on a specific day). The key is to minimize the mental startup costs that come with switching between different modes of thinking. Remember that your ideal workweek is a framework, not a rigid prison. The goal is to create intentional structure that supports your natural rhythms while maintaining flexibility for unexpected opportunities or challenges. By aligning your schedule with your natural energy patterns and minimizing context switching through batching, you'll not only accomplish more but also experience greater satisfaction and presence in everything you do.

Chapter 6: Eliminate Errands and Simplify Daily Tasks

Errands are among the most insidious time-wasters in modern life. They fragment our days, interrupt our focus, and consume hours that could be spent on more meaningful activities. The Less Doing approach isn't about making errands more efficient—it's about eliminating them entirely through strategic automation, subscription services, and occasional outsourcing. Lisa, a working mother of two young children, found herself spending nearly every weekend running from store to store—groceries, pharmacy, pet supplies, household items—returning home exhausted with barely any family time to show for it. The constant mental burden of maintaining shopping lists and remembering what needed to be replenished created background stress that never fully dissipated. Her transformation began when she implemented Amazon Subscribe & Save for all her household essentials. She set up automatic monthly deliveries for everything from toilet paper and toothpaste to pet food and cleaning supplies. For groceries, she switched to a weekly delivery service that allowed her to maintain a saved shopping list of staples while making quick adjustments for meal-specific items. She discovered that these services not only saved time but also reduced impulse purchases, ultimately saving money. For the few remaining errands that couldn't be automated, Lisa turned to TaskRabbit. When her daughter's bicycle needed repair, instead of spending her Saturday morning at the bike shop, she hired someone to pick it up, take it for repairs, and return it the following day—all while she enjoyed a family outing to the park. What had once consumed entire weekends was now handled almost entirely in the background of her life. To eliminate errands from your own life, start by identifying recurring purchases that could be put on autopilot. Amazon Subscribe & Save offers discounts of 5-15% on regular deliveries of thousands of household items. For groceries, services like Instacart or local grocery delivery options can eliminate weekly shopping trips. Meal kit services like Blue Apron can even remove the need for meal planning and specialized grocery shopping. For clothing and personal items, consider services that offer regular refreshes based on your preferences. Companies like Stitch Fix can send curated clothing selections, while specialized subscription services exist for everything from razors to underwear. The key is to identify items you purchase regularly and find a subscription service that delivers them automatically. For errands that can't be eliminated through automation or subscriptions, selective outsourcing is the answer. Services like TaskRabbit connect you with people willing to handle virtually any physical task—from waiting for a repair technician at your home to returning items to a store. While there's a cost involved, the time and mental energy you reclaim often far outweigh the expense. Remember that the goal isn't just saving time—it's eliminating the mental burden of remembering, planning, and executing these routine tasks. By removing errands from your life, you free up not just hours in your schedule but also valuable mental bandwidth that can be redirected toward more meaningful pursuits.

Chapter 7: Streamline Finances and Organize Your Life

Financial management often creates significant stress and consumes precious time through disorganized systems, paper clutter, and inefficient processes. By applying the Less Doing principles to your finances and organizational systems, you can dramatically reduce this burden while gaining better control and visibility over your money. Robert, a self-employed photographer, struggled with financial management for years. His system consisted of shoeboxes full of receipts, sporadic checking of account balances, and periodic panic attacks when tax season approached. He spent hours each month manually paying bills, reconciling accounts, and trying to piece together his financial picture—often with incomplete information. His transformation began when he consolidated all his financial information in Mint.com, creating a single dashboard that automatically tracked his spending across multiple accounts and categorized transactions. He set up FileThis to automatically collect and organize all his financial statements and bills in Evernote, creating a searchable archive that eliminated paper clutter. For expense tracking, he began using OneReceipt to capture and categorize receipts by simply forwarding email confirmations or snapping photos of paper receipts. With these systems in place, Robert automated all his regular bill payments and set up text alerts for unusual spending or low balances. He created a simple system of financial limits—maintaining no more than three credit cards and setting clear thresholds for discretionary spending categories. For tax preparation, he shared specific Evernote notebooks with his accountant, eliminating the annual scramble to gather documents. The results were transformative. What had once consumed hours each week now required just 30 minutes of review every Friday morning. More importantly, Robert gained peace of mind from knowing his financial situation at a glance and confidence that nothing was falling through the cracks. The mental space freed up by this streamlined system allowed him to focus more fully on his photography and creative pursuits. To streamline your own finances, start by creating a central dashboard using a service like Mint or Personal Capital that can automatically aggregate information from all your accounts. Set up automatic bill payments for recurring expenses and use BillGuard to monitor for unusual charges or potential fraud. For paper reduction, implement FileThis to automatically collect and organize financial statements, and use a scanning app like Scanner Pro to quickly digitize any remaining paper documents. For organization beyond finances, apply the principle of limits to create sustainable systems. Designate specific physical containers for different categories of items—once the container is full, something must go before anything new can be added. In digital spaces, implement similar boundaries: perhaps limiting your inbox to 50 emails or maintaining no more than 20 browser tabs at once. The key to successful organization isn't complexity but consistency. Simple systems that you actually use will always outperform elaborate ones that you abandon. Focus on creating frictionless processes that require minimal ongoing effort to maintain, and leverage technology to automate as much of the organizational burden as possible. The goal isn't perfect organization but functional systems that free your mind from the constant worry of managing information and resources.

Chapter 8: Prioritize Wellness: Fitness, Sleep, and Nutrition

Wellness isn't just about health—it's the foundation that supports everything else in your life. Without adequate attention to fitness, sleep, and nutrition, even the most efficient systems and productivity hacks will ultimately fail as your physical and mental resources become depleted. The Less Doing approach to wellness focuses on optimizing these three pillars through minimal effective interventions rather than time-consuming regimens. Mark, a high-performing executive, prided himself on his work ethic and ability to function on little sleep. He regularly worked 14-hour days, sustained by coffee and convenience foods, while squeezing in occasional intense workout sessions when he felt guilty about his lifestyle. Despite his professional success, he found himself increasingly irritable, forgetful, and unable to focus. Minor illnesses became frequent, and his energy levels fluctuated dramatically throughout the day. His wake-up call came during an important presentation when he completely lost his train of thought and couldn't recover. Recognizing that his neglect of wellness was now threatening his career, Mark decided to apply the Less Doing principles to his health. Rather than attempting a complete lifestyle overhaul, he focused on high-impact interventions in each area. For fitness, Mark abandoned his sporadic, exhausting gym sessions and instead adopted Meisel's "fitness triad": 30 minutes of strength training once a week, 20 minutes of high-intensity interval training twice a week, and 15 minutes of mobility work (stretching and foam rolling) every other day. This required less than three hours weekly but provided comprehensive fitness benefits. For sleep, he implemented a consistent bedtime aligned with his natural 90-minute sleep cycles, installed blue-light blocking apps on all his devices, and began taking vitamin D with breakfast. He tracked his sleep quality with a simple app and discovered that even small changes—like avoiding alcohol within three hours of bedtime—dramatically improved his rest quality. For nutrition, Mark focused on increasing healthy fats while reducing processed carbohydrates. He batch-prepared simple meals on Sundays and added three key supplements: krill oil, probiotics, and vitamin D. Rather than counting calories or following a strict diet, he simply tracked his energy levels and mood in relation to his food choices, gradually identifying patterns that worked best for his body. Within a month, the changes were remarkable. Mark's energy remained stable throughout the day, his thinking became sharper, and his productivity during work hours increased so significantly that he actually reduced his working time while accomplishing more. Most importantly, he felt genuinely well—physically and mentally present in a way he hadn't experienced in years. To prioritize your own wellness, start by tracking your current patterns using simple tools like a sleep tracking app, food journal, or activity monitor. Look for connections between these factors and your energy, mood, and cognitive performance. Then implement small, sustainable changes in each area, focusing on interventions that provide maximum benefit with minimal time investment. Remember that wellness isn't about perfection but about finding the right balance for your unique body and circumstances. The three pillars—fitness, sleep, and nutrition—constantly interact and influence each other. Improvements in one area often create positive cascading effects in the others. By treating wellness as a foundation rather than an afterthought, you ensure that all your other productivity and life optimization efforts have the energy and mental clarity needed to succeed.

Summary

The Less Doing philosophy represents a fundamental shift in how we approach our time, energy, and attention in today's overwhelming world. Throughout this blueprint, we've explored how optimizing, automating, and outsourcing can transform every aspect of your life—from productivity and organization to finances and wellness. As Ari Meisel discovered through his own journey with Crohn's disease, "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." Your journey toward a life of Less Doing begins with a single step: identify one area where you feel consistently overwhelmed or inefficient, and apply the principles you've learned. Whether it's creating your external brain in Evernote, setting up Amazon Subscribe & Save to eliminate errands, or redesigning your workweek to match your natural energy patterns—start small, but start today. Remember that the goal isn't perfect efficiency but reclaiming the mental space and time to focus on what truly matters to you. By implementing these fundamentals, you'll not only accomplish more with less effort but also experience the profound freedom that comes from a life designed around your unique needs and highest priorities.

About Author

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Ari R. Meisel

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