Living The Red Life - Stupid Ways I Save Time: An Obsession with Efficiency
Episode Date: January 25, 2024In this engaging and somewhat unconventional episode of "Living the Red Life," Rudy Mawer takes listeners on a journey through his personal time-saving methods, which might seem silly at first but are... surprisingly effective. The episode is a candid reflection of Rudy's obsession with maximizing every moment of his day.---Key Topics Covered:Introduction to Time Optimization: Rudy discusses the critical importance of time management and his journey toward maximizing efficiency.Rudy's Unique Time-Saving Hacks: A humorous exploration of Rudy's seemingly 'stupid' but practical ways of saving time.Time: The Ultimate Adversary: Rudy shares his perspective on why time, not competition or internal struggles, is the biggest enemy in achieving success.Rudy's Time Management Experiences: Personal anecdotes from Rudy, highlighting both his effective strategies and areas for potential improvement in time management.Finding the Right Balance: Insights into striking a balance between extreme time-saving measures and practicality.Engaging with Listeners: Rudy encourages the audience to share their quirky time-saving methods, creating a relatable and interactive episode.---Key Takeaways:Innovative Time Management: Rudy's approach shows that unconventional methods can be surprisingly effective in saving time.Time as a Resource: Understanding time as a crucial factor in personal and professional success.Learning from Rudy's Experience: Gaining insights from Rudy's own trials and successes in managing time efficiently.The Importance of Balance: Finding a middle ground between saving time and maintaining practicality in everyday life.---Join Rudy Mawer in this episode of "Living the Red Life" as he provides essential insights and actionable strategies to overhaul your marketing approach, turning it from a point of frustration to one of your greatest business assets.---Subscribe for more insightful episodes and join our community for ongoing discussions and updates!#LivingTheRedLife #TimeManagement #RudyMawer #EfficiencyObsession #ProductivityHacksConnect with Rudy Mawer:LinkedInInstagramFacebookTwitter
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They ask, hey, can you get the mail as you go past it?
My mom asked it because she was visiting.
I said no, because I don't want to go back into old ways.
To me, that's like a downgrade of my life.
I want to be functioning and optimizing like I'm a billionaire and the best in the world at what I do.
And I'm like, I wouldn't be getting the mail if I was Elon Musk, even if I could.
So I'm not going to do it.
So it's kind of this weird backwards way of thinking about it.
Most of you probably won't agree or understand or maybe many of you will because you're entrepreneurs and you get it.
But most people won't.
My name is Rudy Moore, host of Living the Red Life podcast.
And I'm here to change the way you see your life in your earpiece every single week.
If you're ready to start living the red life, ditch the blue pill, take the red pill, join me in wonderland and change your life. Guys, welcome back to another episode of living
the red life. Today I'm going to talk about stupid ways that I save time. Now this will be a bit of a
silly ridiculous episode but the the point behind this is showing you how obsessed I am with
maximizing my time and you know in, we talk about this a lot,
and I speak about this a lot myself too.
Your biggest enemy isn't your competition.
Your biggest enemy isn't yourself.
Your biggest enemy really is your time,
and then obviously how you spend that time
and what takes up your attention.
So I've become very obsessed with maximizing my time.
And don't get me wrong, I've still got ways to go
where there's ways I could be optimizing my time.
But I do believe my obsession around time maximization, which has gone on for like the last probably since I was like 20 years old or even 18, I'm still only 1% of the way in my
journey in my eyes, but still I've done a lot compared to most people. And I think there's
obviously a lot of things that go into that, but one of the biggest denominators is time.
And I, you know, shot another podcast episode that a lot of people enjoyed a couple of weeks back,
which was dead time and why hobbies are killing your success. And I really do
believe that's true. But I want to do a little more granular one, a little more fun and stupid
one on like crazy ways that I optimize my time. So I'm going to just give you like a bunch of
different ones. They're all just be 20, 30, 45 seconds each where I talk about them. But hopefully
the underlying purpose and serving of today's episode is,
A, you can maybe take some of these
and apply them into yourself.
They are real tactics.
Some of them are silly,
but some of them are actually really useful
and more mainstream that you can use.
But again, the underlying part
is take away my obsession around that
because I think that obsession around time
is why I can get so much done,
why I can run so many companies, why I can be filming a TV show in LA half the week and then
be running all these companies the other half of the week and running all these celebrity projects
with my celebrity partners and speaking on stages and still finishing my day at 6, 7 p.m.
and going home and having the evening tree, which I didn't used to do. You know,
I used to work 16 hours a day straight. Now I actually have, I take most of the weekends,
not off, but most of the weekends I'm free. And even most of the evenings I'm free when I'm not,
you know, traveling events. So let's dive in stupid ways that I save time and optimize my
time. So the first one, which I did this morning is I, and like I said,
some of these will be silly, but I always call an Uber and a Lyft at the same time. Okay. And,
and I also, I never drive. So I have five cars, believe it or not. I have five cars, but I haven't
drove a car for many, many months. And for the last few years, I rarely drive the car or any of
the cars, but anyway, back to the Uber and Lyft.
So I don't drive.
I Uber and Lyft everywhere because I can be working in the back and focused.
But then I always call an Uber and a Lyft and I call whatever is fastest.
So I call both and then I cancel whichever one loses, right?
And I'm always planning ahead.
So if I know I'm about to leave a meeting,
or I'm about to leave the office, or I get to the airport, as soon as I land at the airport,
and I board the plane, first thing I do is call the Uber or Lyft. So they're there when I get there.
And so I'm always planning ahead. I'm always calling the Uber and Lyft. And then I'm cancelling
whichever one loses. And sometimes they both come at the same time. Like I left the film studio in
LA this weekend on Sunday night and I called both of them and they came at the exact time and I
forgot to cancel one. So it was like, literally I walk out the studio, it's like 10 PM at night
and they're both right there. And you know, it's like my profile picture on Uber and Lyft is me
in all the reds. So it wasn't like, is this the guy? I was like, this is definitely the guy, you know? So just silly things like that. But you know, those five
or 10 minutes are a lot to me. And I hate like the pause, right? The five or 10 minutes waiting,
I'm like kicking my heels and like, you know, just on my phone scrolling aimlessly because I don't,
I'm like killing time. So that is a bit of an obsession and something that I get
really upset about if for some reason they're later. But also the bigger picture of that is
why do I Uber and Lyft and I have five cars, but I don't drive. It's because of my obsession around
time in the car, right? So I guess number two, right, is I don't drive. I have five cars. I don't drive. Um, because I'm very
obsessed with, um, working in the car. And I came to a realization that the few times I did drive,
I would be on my phone or trying to do stuff on my phone and multitask. I'm like, Hey, this isn't
safe. Um, and it's not worth the risk. So, and I just can't help myself. So I was like, I'm just
not going to drive anymore. So it's not like I, I know, I didn't mind driving. But yeah, I just don't drive anymore. So I'm always working
in the car. I have two iPhones, always have power charges because I hotspot and I actually work on
my laptop if it's like a longer trip, like an hour or two hours. Obviously, most of the business I
run from my phone. So number two is quit driving. Okay,
don't get a driver, get someone else to drive Uber, you know, I have staff drive me and stuff,
have a driver occasionally, then I Uber and Lyft. So there's the first two. Number three,
in terms of how I optimize my time, I have a very purposeful morning. So I have a pretty clear morning routine, I get up, I go straight to the gym. I don't do a bunch of the whole like big morning routine stuff that takes like an hour. I don't necessarily need it. And I
kind of just get straight in the zone. So I'm in the gym and I'm checking, catching up on Slack
and messages between sets. And then I'm kind of out the gym in 30 minutes. And then I have my
morning blocked for like the first three, four hours of the day
at all meetings. So I try and block everything first three, four hours. I'm doing all my
department meetings. So I'm basically meeting with most departments once a week, but my marketing
team is like three times a week. So it's marketing and I'm great at it. I did used to do less,
but then I got to a point where I realized it was going downhill. So I'm, I'm doing more now.
So I spend my morning kind of setting everyone up for the day
and doing big reviews.
So like today, for example, I had my weekly recruitment meeting.
So I had my recruiter, HR manager, HR director, COO,
and all my department heads on a 40-minute call.
And we're recruiting for about 12 positions.
So they have a slide each and they present to me, hey, Rudy, we had 50 applicants last
week.
We did 37 round one interviews.
We did seven secondary interviews.
We made four hires last week, blah, blah, blah, right?
So they're all presenting.
And I ask questions.
I say, we need this job post up.
We need this person hired.
I need to do final interviews with these four people.
So that was earlier.
Then before that, I had a HR meeting with my head of people,
my COO and my HR manager.
And we went through some staff problems,
any staff disciplinaries, hiring, new onboarding,
all of those things.
And then before that, I had a marketing meeting. And then before that, I had a marketing meeting.
And then before that, I had a morning call huddle with the whole company where we go for all the stats and data.
So it's kind of like purposeful.
Then I block this.
Then I have a couple of final interviews.
And that's, you know, that's my day, right?
And then in the afternoons, I am more free to do like creative planning, big picture stuff, content.
I do a live occasionally like live zoom
that sort of thing so number three is blocking your day right and being purposeful with how you
block your day i find when you don't have i even block stuff that's not cool so i'll do hey 30
minutes i've got to review all the applicants 30 minutes i need to plan this marketing campaign so
i always try and block stuff out because when
you don't have blocks and things roll, and I like to roll things into the next thing, because again,
I think there's a lot of dead time loss between all these little next steps, right? So next thing,
how silly ways that I optimize my time is Instacart. So I don't think anyone should go to
the grocery store if you want to be successful. I think it's one of the biggest time killers. You're looking at
probably 90 minutes to go to the grocery store. You got 10, 20 minute, you know, 10 minute drive,
for example, five minutes to get in there, get your car, got to go around. You always end up
buying more, buying random stuff unless you're super disciplined. Then you have to go to the
checkout. It's like, that's what like normal people do. If you want to be rich and successful, like you'll see celebrities in grocery stores occasionally
buying stuff and like, but I don't think you're going to see Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and Richard
Branson in grocery stores that often, right? Just because it's not what a high performer does. You
don't see the NBA teams and the NFL players and all that in grocery store shopping because there's better ways to use
your time. So I'm pretty against grocery stores. And I Instacart pretty much every day. So like
when I land, for example, even my system will Instacart like protein shakes and monster energy
drinks and protein bars and waters and Gatorades to my hotel, or I'll do it in my car in my, you
know, when I'm getting the Uber. Because even just little things like I used to go to a CVS or
a Walgreens on the way to the hotel or the next morning. And it's like, hey, that's another 20
minutes you just lost to your day when you could have been working out or you could have been
in 20 minutes, I can plan like a big campaign that could make me $20,000 through email. Right. And it's those little things, those little changes that add up to success over a year. Right. Those little sacrifices. So I'm basically, as you can start to tell from this episode, I'm getting rid of anything that isn't optimizing me for success so next thing is i've always got something in my ear
so what i mean by that is uh not a not a bug or a beetle or anything nasty in my ear i mean an
airpod right uh and i have you know in in here i have about four packs of airpods on me at any one
time i got them all out in the uh in the uh movie studio uh this Actually, I just put them on a desk
because I was trying to organize them and charge them.
And the producers were laughing
because I think I had five sets of AirPods with me
because I always want something in my ear
and they die and I lose them all the time.
I'm on my 29th pair of AirPods, I think now.
But why do I do that?
Well, I'm always either calling someone,
sending voice memos to teams and people or listening to a podcast and audio book to me anytime I'm not learning or implementing
something, I'm losing time. Right. And I'm obviously within reason, like, you know, I have
maybe 30 minutes in the morning and at the gym, I'll put music or motivational videos or something
on. Right. And obviously at night, 7 PM, I have, I don't, I cut off and then I'm having films and TV in the
background and I'm working while the films and TV are on in the background because I like to work,
I like to do stuff. But within the day, I'm generally either in meetings, in Zooms, on with
clients, on with friends, partners or whatever, on with my C-suite,
or I'm listening to podcasts or audio books, okay, and occasionally music and stuff, you know, so
it's not all day, but that's another way that I mean a lot of people lose time, it's time where
you could be learning or improving yourself and doing personal development, so that's another one.
Now, next one, silly ways, another silly ways is I basically got rid much to like
my wife and my mom and like normal people. They probably think I'm arrogant and stuff,
but I basically got rid of anything that's mundane around the house. So like I don't go to the
mailbox, like even if I'm like going to the gym, passing the mailbox, I just don't do it. I don't
like, you know, organize closets and trash.
I like I've not changed. I've not done ironing or washing or stack to fridge or done my closet
stuff or change the trash can or like tidied for a couple of years now. Just because and sometimes
it's like a two minute job and I might. but for me, even if I can do it,
I don't like, if I like two days ago, last week or something, I was going to the gym and going
past the mailbox and I have my assistant open the mail every day. And for she, I mean, it was the
weekend she wasn't there. And, um, they asked, Hey, can you get the mail as you go past it?
Right. My, my mom asked it cause she was visiting. visiting. I said no, because I don't want to go back into like old ways. To me, that's like a downgrade of
my life. I want to be like functioning and optimizing like I'm a billionaire and like the
best in the world at what I do. And I'm like, I wouldn't be doing I wouldn't be getting the mail
if I was Elon Musk, even if I could, so I'm not
going to do it. So it's kind of this weird backwards way of thinking about it. Most of you probably
won't agree or understand or maybe many of you will because you're entrepreneurs and you get it,
but most people won't. But that's just kind of how I am. And I know it's kind of weird, but I'm just
like, I'm living like I'm more successful almost than I am and operating that way because I believe
that's how you'll get that way, right? Like if you operate like you're a bodybuilder and super
healthy, you'll become healthier. If you operate like you're a fat slob and unhealthy and going to
die of a heart attack next year, then you're going to probably get sick and ill and overweight,
right? So I always try and like operate like the person I want to become. And that's another tip
for you. That's a bonus tip that
wasn't on today's episode plan. So I'm killing all mundane tasks, basically, is what I'm saying.
Next thing is restaurants. I eat out most nights traveling and stuff, but I'm very intentional
there. Like if it's a sit down dinner, nice with friends, it takes however long it takes because
you're having fun networking. But if it's just like, hey, it's just me, a business event or me and my wife or me and a couple of my staff because we're like grabbing food between events and stuff.
I'll walk straight in, get the menu and I'll ask the waiter to come over and I'll order.
I'll say, hey, wait, wait, wait.
And then I'll look at the menu and they'll be like, oh, let me come back.
I'm like, no, no, no, just wait.
And I'll order my drinks, apps and food right away. And I always tell them in the restaurant, unless it's like a sit down, nice restaurant, like I said,
and I'm with friends, if it's just like more of getting food, because I'm on the go between
events and shoots and meetings, then what I'll do is I'll tell them I have a hard out.
Hey, I need to order now. So I set expectations, I actually go to the front when I see you, I say,
hey, I've got a meeting in 45
minutes can you get me in and out by then they say let me check so then they already go and tell
the waiter in kitchen and then the waiter comes over and he already knows I'm in a rush even if
I'm not within a rush and then he sits down I say hey I think they told you but I have a meeting in
45 or so I normally say 60 minutes 45 or 60 60 minutes. So can you just wait? I know what I want
already, even if I don't know what I want. And I scan it, I go, oh, that, that, that, that, great.
And then I order drinks and so on. If I have dessert, I order it when the entree comes. And
when the entree comes, I already asked for the check or the bill, which again, I know is backwards.
And I was like, oh, that's rude. You shouldn't do that. And again, I don't do that. If it's like a
nice sit down dinner, it's just more if it's a staff
and you know, a couple of friends and we're just in and out and then I'll sign and pay the check.
And even when they bring the check, um, I give them the card before they give me the check,
because then it's like, they, they kind of double up everything. They bring you the check,
then they come back, they get your card. And it's like, no, just take it and take my money.
I don't need to see the bill. I know the price roughly, okay?
So little things like that.
And it's things that take up a lot of my time, right?
So if I eat out most of the time in restaurants,
like that's an hour a day.
And if it's 90 minutes versus an hour,
that's a 30 minute difference.
And sometimes I'll even work in the restaurant
if it's just a casual thing, right?
So that's another way that I look to optimize my time.
So look, I could go on.
I'm going to do more of these on Instagram if you enjoy hearing these ridiculous ways
optimize my time.
But hopefully the takeaway here is, yes, I'm ridiculous.
We all know that I wear a big red fluffy coat in Miami and Florida.
So we already established that going into today.
But hopefully for you, it's like that that level of obsession, I do believe, is what it takes to be like ultra successful.
And not everyone's obsessed in that manner in time, but like in different ways, right?
A lot of athletes, they only will wear a certain type of sock when it's game day or a certain type of wristband or something.
So those obsessions exist generally with everyone. I think one final bonus, I learned this from Elon Musk,
is he only has meetings with at least five or six people, or it's Jeff Bezos, I don't remember.
So I'm generally the same too. I try not, unless it's my COO or like a C-suite, I try and only
have meetings with at least five people because I want to disperse my knowledge and ideas to more
people, right? But becoming obsessed with your time and even not obsessed, but optimizing
your time, guys, it's going to make you more successful. And I actually think you'll be a
happier person because when your time spent being productive, we're built in our DNA. We're literally
hardwired to have be happier when we know we're getting further ahead in life and we're productive
and we actually become more miserable and depressed when we aren't having stuff that fulfills us and
doing stuff where our life's progressing forward.
Because we're built that way, that's why we've adapted and grown as a civilization.
It's because we're hardwired to be happier when we're evolving.
So you'll actually be happier, I think, when you optimize your time.
And here's the thing to just remember.
The mundane stuff that everyone does is what everyone does who has an average life and an
average earnings of 60 grand a year or 50 grand a year, whatever the average salary is.
So the idea of doing average but wanting to be exceptional literally doesn't go together. So
don't think you have to do those things if you're trying to achieve excellence, right? They literally
don't go together. So optimize your time, become more obsessed,
become more ridiculous, it's okay,
because you'll build this great life for yourself
and achieve greatness, which most people won't, right?
So go all in.
You might not get as ridiculous as me,
but I hope a few things helped.
I hope it reframed how you look at your day.
And I hope you can use this to optimize your time
to have more fulfillment, to achieve more
and to impact more lives.
Until next time, keep living the red life.
I got to go because my 20 minutes are up.
I'll see you guys soon.