photo by Spendtrails, Flikr

Are you looking for simple ideas for a balanced life?

If so, I have a very counter-intuitive idea.

Unautomate it.

I know this idea may surprise you.

After all, automation is supposed to be a good thing….right?

You set it and forget it.  Automation saves lots of time and lots of money.  What could be less complicated than that?  How could having less automation give you a more balanced life?

Well I’ll admit that I value automation.

In fact, if it were not for the ability to automate a variety of functions, I would not have been able to build my business.

When you put some task on automatic, you know it’s going to get done and (if your systems are set up correctly) get done right.

So how could anyone have an issue with automation?

That’s where Adam Baker comes in.

He thinks we have gone too far in automating our lives and he’s written an e-book about it.  Even though I love automation, I’d like you to consider purchasing this e-book for a few reasons.  Before I go into this in detail, I must disclose that Adam is one of my core blogging buddies and somebody I really care about.  Also, I have affiliated with Adam on this e-book.  That means if you buy a copy, he’ll throw some shekels my way.

Having said that, I’m going to do my” Pilgrimest to” keep this somewhat objective.

So why do I think “Unautomate Your Life” gives you simple ideas to a balanced life?

1. Lessons Learned

Adam’s main thesis is that by automating much of our (financial) life, we lose touch with it. We’re not mindful about our spending and as a result, our energies and resources aren’t maximized.  This argument makes a lot of sense to me and I’ll give you an example.

I used to have a person in my office take care of all my bookkeeping but I took back responsibility for that task about a year ago.  When I did, I was floored.

I soon realized how much money I was spending mindlessly.  And this is coming from a person you wouldn’t normally characterize as a spendthrift – just ask my wife and kids.

Was it nicer when I didn’t have to do this task myself?  Yes.

Do I like going through every single expense?  Not really.

But is the unautomation worth the time.  Absofreakinlutely!

You might come to the same conclusion by reading his e-book.

Adam takes readers through the steps of identifying what’s important and then shows them how to get it — immediately.  One step is being mindful of how we spend our time and money.  By unautomating, you do just that.

2. Writing.

Adam is a master wordcrafter. (He rarely uses words like “absofreakinlutely”.)  I love reading anything he puts out.  When I went through his e-book, I heard a clear voice and personality.  He’s passionate about this e-book and the message and you can’t help but pick up on that.

In fact, there was one exercise that especially got my attention.  In it, Adam asks readers to describe what they want their lives to look like right now. Not ten years from now…today. Then, he walks us through steps on how to achieve it.

I’ve seen plenty of exercises on imagining our lives in the future but I’ve never seen anything so direct and useful.

Is this e-book for everyone?

I don’t know.

I know my kids will enjoy it as will my wife but I don’t know about you.  If you are happy and content and feel that you live life to the fullest, you probably don’t need the e-book

If, on the other hand your life isn’t running the way you want it, this might be the ticket that gets you back on track.

If so, you can grab your copy here.

Do you think that  unautomating your life is a good simple idea for a balanced life?  Or do you think that you need to automate more of your life to simplify?

Bookmark It

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