Category Archives: Time

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Want to Lose Weight? This is the Most Efficient Way.

With this Method I Lost 20 Pounds in 42 Days and Have Kept it Off

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I used to be one of those annoying people who can eat anything without gaining wait. But over the past several years, that changed. And I developed . . . some cushion. Specifically, I was 20 pounds above my desired weight. But I stumbled into an approach that enabled me to lose 20 pounds in 42 days and keep that weight off for the past three months.

From a weight loss perspective, these chip and popcorn snacks are equivalent. Which would you prefer?

This method has allowed me to eat what I like. I haven’t worked out any more than usual. And it has saved me time and money.

Sounds too good to be true? Well, it’s not without tradeoffs. But it’s the method for me. And if you’d like to trim down, it might be the method for you, too. (more…)

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How to Get Stronger in Just 20 Minutes per Week

With this Method I Got 16% Stronger and Hit a New All-time Max Bench Press

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When my wife’s and my twins were born, my disposable time evaporated. One adaptation I made was to cut weightlifting out of my life. Worth it, for sure, but an unfortunate loss. I figured my strongest days were behind me.

But when one door closes, another opens.

I’ve recently developed a lifting routine that has enabled me to increase my strength by 16% and even hit my new all-time max bench press. The best part? It has only involved 20 minutes of lifting per week.

Would you like to be stronger than you are but can’t (or don’t want to) spend hours in the gym? If so, the following method may just be for you. (more…)

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8 Life Lessons from 10 Years of Poker

Part 1 of 3

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Ten years ago, I bought into a No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker game for $10. I won $72.50. Using those winnings, I bought into another such game, and so on. Ten years and nearly 200 games later, I’ve grown that initial $10 to $2,114. Here’s a chart showing my “bankroll” (money set aside exclusively to play poker) over time:

My Poker Bankroll Over the Last 10 Years

Not bad percentage-wise, but not a huge deal either. At least, not financially.

The bigger deal has been the life lessons I’ve learned or had reinforced along the way—lessons dealing with time, money, and what matters most.

In this three-part series, I’ll share 8 lessons a decade of No-Limit Texas Hold’em has taught me. If you like poker, I hope you enjoy. But whether you like poker or not, hopefully you’ll find these lessons applicable to your life as well: (more…)

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Why and How to Take a 10-Minute Nap

A Scientific Approach to Improving on the Power Nap

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Do you feel too tired in the afternoon to do work worthy of your ability? Or do you feel too drained at the end of the day to give your best to your loved ones? If so, you should take a 10-minute nap during the day. After reading the science behind its effectiveness, I’ve been experimenting with it. And I’ve found it to be a complete gamechanger.

Woman taking a quick, 10-minute nap at her desk

Perhaps, like me, you rarely nap. Perhaps you consider it “unmanly” or even impossible given your job or schedule.

In this post I address those concerns. I argue for the benefits of a 10-minute nap. And I discuss how to pull it off. (more…)

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Which is Better: To Earn Money or to Save It?

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This post is from contributing author Matthew Houtsma. Matthew and I have been friends for over 30 years. We attended school together from kindergarten through college, have traveled together in Europe, and co-founded an SAT prep company. Matthew is always looking for ways to save money, particularly when it comes to travel with his wife and three boys. The tagline of this blog is “helping you have more time and money for what matters most.” But many of us overlook key factors in how we value money. In this post, Matthew talks about one such factor and how a proper understanding of it can help you have more money and time.

Would you rather get a $1,000 bonus at work or save $900 on plane tickets for an upcoming trip you have already decided to take? Or, would you be better off earning $1,000 driving for Uber or negotiating with your cable and phone company to save $720: $60 per month for the next 12 months, say?

Man holding glass jar with money in it

While you might think the first option is obviously better in both scenarios, for the vast majority of working adults, the second option is preferable. The reason why is simple but important to understand and keep in mind: (more…)

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How to Do Everything at the Most Optimal Time

Discover the Best Time—Based on Your “Type”—to Fall in Love, Interview for a Job, Ask for a Raise, etc.

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Is there an optimal time of day to fall in love, interview for a job, or ask for a raise? According to the book The Power of When, which I just finished reading, there is. The author, Dr. Michael Breus, argues that there are 4 types of people. For each type, Breus lays out the most optimal time of day to engage in a wide range of activities from training for strength to seeing a therapist to presenting your ideas.

A picture of a lion

One of the four types of people is the “lion,” the quintessential morning person.

“’When’ is the ultimate life hack,” writes Breus. “It’s the foundation of success, the key that unlocks a faster, smarter, better, and stronger you. Knowing ‘when’ enables you to perform ‘what’ and ‘how’ to your maximum potential.”

In this post I briefly summarize the 4 types of people. Then I show the most leveraged time of day for your type, and the other three types of people, to undertake important activities in order to get from them the most bang for the buck. (more…)

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My Top 10 Posts of 2017

Get Outsized Value from These 10 Most Popular Posts

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As 2017 draws to a close, I wanted to recap for you the 10 most popular posts on my blog this year. You should be able to get outsized value from these posts, especially the #1 most popular.

Here are the top 10 posts, starting with the most popular: (more…)

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21 Ways to Get the Most out of Sleep

Quick Tips from the Book “Sleep Smarter: 21 Essential Strategies to Sleep Your Way to A Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success”

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It’s incredible that we—myself included—give such little thought to something that we spend so much of our life doing: sleeping. When I’m rested, I’m efficient. I’m effective. I am energized to pursue what matters most. Perhaps you feel the same way. But it’s hard to get rested. And being tired makes everything harder, slower, and less enjoyable. Perhaps you agree again.

In his recent book Sleep Smarter, Shawn Stevenson writes, “The research is in, and it’s 100 percent conclusive: When you don’t sleep well, you get slower, less creative, and more stressed, and you underperform.” That’s the bad news. The good news is that you can sleep well.

Stevenson provides 21 essential strategies to sleep your way to a better body, better health, and bigger success. In this post I share the top actionable insight or two that I took from each of the book’s 21 chapters: (more…)

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How to Make the Most of Your 28,835 Days of Life

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Do you feel like you don’t have enough time in life for what matters most to you? If so, you might appreciate the following video. I saw it for the first time about a week ago. The video shows how the average American spends the 28,835 days of his or her life.

Some who watch the video find it depressing. But that needn’t be the takeaway. In this post I’ll consider how it can inspire us to make the most of our time. (more…)

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How to Get the Benefits of a 50-minute Workout in 10 Minutes

A Recent Study Provides a Great Workout for Those Who are Busy or Don’t Exercise

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Of all the reasons that lead to chronic diseases, the highest risk factor that is within people’s control to alter is whether they exercise. And one of the most commonly cited reasons people give for not exercising is “lack of time.” I feel that pain. Do you? Would you like to reap key benefits of exercise in a fraction of the time? An academic paper making the rounds concludes that you can. Specifically, the study finds that you can realize the same key health benefits of a 50-minute workout in just 10 minutes.

A woman and man doing a sprint workout

In this post I will summarize the study and share my thoughts on the 10-minute workout. (more…)