The Voluntary Life

I got rid of my TV about 15 years ago and I have never regretted it. In this episode, I provide suggestions for how to upgrade your media diet using far better sources than broadcast media. Here's a summary of the system that I adopted for my media diet:

• I got rid of my TV (and radio and newspapers too). I did this because vegging out in from of the TV was an addictive path of least resistance for media consumption. I didn't want my choice of what to watch to be limited to what TV channels would broadcast.
• I actively collect things to watch later from the internet, from streaming services and social media. Everything goes into my media queue. This is very easy to do with capture tools like pocket, instapaper, WatchLater app and Evernote. I also collect things to listen to later and read later in the same way.
• I tag everything in my media queue with my own tags, so that I know why I have collected each media item. These tags allow me to organise my media queue by projects I am doing, topics I am interesed in, or just different moods I am in.
• When I want to watch something, I look at my tag lists and make a conscious decision about what to watch.
• Having a media queue helps me be more discerning about what media I consume. I end up deleting many of the videos before watching them because they don't seem interesting after all. I highly recommend trying life without a TV.

Show Notes:

• Business Insider Article on TV use
• TVL Episode 120: Eight Tools That Will Free Your Mind
• Pocket App
• Instapaper App
• WatchLater App
• Evernote
• Voice Dream App
• Photo Credit: jason a. cina

Whatever you want to get done in life, a task management app is the most valuable productivity tool that I can recommend to help you. In this episode, I explain what a task management app is and outline why it is so useful. I provide examples of how I use a task management app to help reach my goals, as well as some tips for power users. Topics covered include:

• Origins of task management apps and some current examples
• The benefits of a task management app over simple "to do" lists.
• The inefficiency of switching tasks and the value of focussed work
• How to use an app to create well-defined tasks that are easier to complete
• The power of filtering your commitments by context
• The value of checklists and how a task manager can store them
• creating your own "perspectives" on tasks
• The most valuable feature to look for in a task management app: filtering by availability

Show Notes:

• Omnifocus App by Omnigroup
• Things App by Cultured Code
• The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

Comedian Rosie Tran interviews entrepreneur, financial freedom advocate, and author of Becoming an Entrepreneur, Jake Desyllas. They discuss the psychology behind financial freedom and the baggage that many people have associated with money, the importance of being on the same page as your significant other, and why less is always more! Great tips on breaking out of the employee mindset and becoming a free thinker! Show Notes: Out Of The Box Podcast

Why are "haters gonna hate"? This episode is a review of a fascinating book called Envy: A Theory of Social Behaviour by Helmut Schoek. Here are some of ideas that are discussed in the review:

• What envy is and how it differs from jealousy or a desire to emulate
• The key feature of envy being strongest where status differences are small
• Why envy exists in every society and why it could never be completely eliminated
• Why envy is camouflaged
• The link between envy and irrational thinking
• Schoeck's theory of why envy exists and how it might have some positive role (as well as being highly destructive)
• You can cure yourself of envious feelings by turning it into creativity instead of destructiveness
• Why you must never let haters stop you from doing something wonderful

Show Notes: Envy: A Theory Of Social Behaviour By Helmut Schoeck

This episode is about how personal relationships can either be the most important source of support in achieving financial independence, or the biggest hinderance. Topics covered include:

• Romantic relationships
• Friends and neighbours
• Family

Show Notes:

• E166 Retired at 33: Interview with Justin from Root of Good
• E164 We Plan To Retire At 30: Interview with Mike and Lauren
• The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley
• E162 Spend Little, Save More, Travel the World: Interview with Go Curry Cracker
• E147 Rosie Tran Interview: Financial Freedom and Personal Development
• Trading Up: Why Consumers Want New Luxury Goods by Silverstein and Fiske
• The Overspent American by Juliet Schor
• E171 From Million Dollar House To Tiny Home: Interview With Jacki Rigoni
• 118 Decluttering And Community Selling: Interview with Jorja Leavitt
• Financial Independence From Parents
• Image Credit: Charlie Foster

This week's show is a discussion with my lovely wife Hannah Braime about how to read more than 50 books per year (Hannah reads over 100 per year!). Hannah is a life coach and the host of the website Becoming Who You Are. In the episode we talk about why reading matters and share all the hacks we know for getting more reading done. Show Notes:

• Becoming Who You Are
• How many books can you read in a lifetime? from Cosmos by Carl Sagan
• Calibre free e-book library management application
• Voice Dream iOS App
• Kindle Highlight Feature
• MacJournal
• GoodReads
• Drafts iOS app
• Evernote

As an entrepreneur, I wanted to learn more about the project planning because I needed to delegate and collaborate with others. I now see project planning as integral to getting things done in all areas of life. This episode is my own take on an approach called the natural planning model. These are the three minimal steps I use in planning every project:

• Naming the outcome
• Identifying the next action
• Reviewing each project regularly

If I am stuck on a project, the more detailed planning I do includes:

• Mindmaps
• Creating a project documentation template in Evernote
• Writing down more details about the purpose and mission to clarify this for myself
• Journaling and brainstorming
• Identifying project components and milestones
• Scheduling and programming tasks in a task management app (I use Omnifocus)

Show Notes:

• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
• Omnifocus
• Evernote
• Image: Kamil Lehmann

For many years I wanted to set meaningful goals for the year ahead, but struggled with the process. I never knew quite where to start and I often felt like I was just making goals up, without any real emotional connection to them. Consequently, I wasn't really committed to my goals and I found the whole process of making annual goals frustrating. I often gave up and didn't bother with the whole thing. Over time, I've developed a method of setting annual goals as part of my overall productivity systems. Now that I have a method, I find setting and meeting goals much easier and, best of all, the goal-setting process has many other benefits, regardless of whether I meet a goal. In this episode I explain my method of goal setting. Here is a very short overview of the steps:

1. Divide up your life into all your Areas Of Responsibility. I have 15 of them with names like Finances, Health, Relationship, Friends, Writing, Podcasting etc.
2. Make a page for each Area Of Responsibility. I use Evernote, but use whatever works for you.
3. On each AOR page, work out what this aspect of your life means to you. I do this using Mindmaps, unstructured journalling, and some structured writing (details are in the podcast).
4. Add a section to each AOR page where you write down all your specific aims: what you want to change, implement, improve, or enhance about this aspect of your life. For inspiration, review your vision board for each AOR (If you don't know about vision boards see episode 101 on How To Dream Big).
5. Put all your list of aims together and read through to get an overview of everything you want from all aspects of your life.
6. From your list, choose 4 or 5 Big Hairy Audacious Goals for the year ahead—whatever you feel most emotionally committed to.
7. I also choose some Less Hairy goals for the year ahead too.
8. Set yourself a reminder to review your list of goals regularly throughout the year (at least quarterly).
9. Tick off the goals as you reach them. Celebrate reaching your goals. Be supportive to yourself- if you only got to 70% of an original goal at year-end, celebrate the 70% win too.
10. Rinse and repeat at the end of the year.

Show Notes:

• Episode 101 How To Dream Big
• Getting Things Done by David Allen
• The Simple Way To Achieve Your Big Hairy Audacious Goals by Hannah Braime
• Photo Credit: kmillard92 cc

This week's episode is an excerpt from the audiobook edition of my book, Becoming an Entrepreneur. If you prefer reading, you can get the ebook and paperback editions on Amazon. The paperback edition is the perfect christmas gift to encourage your friends to become entrepreneurs! Show Notes:

• Audiobook on Audible.com
• Audiobook on Audible.co.uk
• E-book, paperback, or audiobook on Amazon.com
• E-book, paperback, or audiobook on Amazon.co.uk

This episode is about the main barrier to financial independence: consuming for status instead of investing for wealth. You have a choice: you can either buy status symbols or your can buy financial freedom, but not both. Topics covered in the episode include:

• Why everything you think about "the rich" is probably wrong
• How most high income people blow their chance at financial independence
• How you can buy financial freedom instead of getting caught in the culture of capital consumption

Show Notes:

• Stop Acting Rich by Thomas Stanley
• Image Credit: Jonas Nilsson Lee