220: Ari and Nick - Optimize, Automate, Outsource - "She Spent $65K on Someone Who Did Nothing"

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