Every day we make decisions. Dozens of decisions. We have to decide what we want for dinner, what to wear, whether to enroll our kids in a sport.. choices at work, choices with our business. Every time you turn around, there’s another decision to be made. It’s enough to stress anyone out.

When the choices and decisions get to be too much, what do we do? Most of us procrastinate. Instead of making a choice, we set it aside, waiting. We let it fester. The string of things that need deciding don’t go away – in fact, they pile up rather quickly. Soon, instead of having to make one decision, we have to make five. Or ten. Or fifty. You get the picture.

Not only does this keep you from getting anything accomplished, you become anxious about the things piling up. You don’t want to think about it, but it’s all you can think about. That’s no way to go through life – being afraid to handle your day to day issues. There is a very simple solution though.

When faced with a choice, make a decision immediately.

Using the information you have available right now, make a choice. Decide how to solve the problem right now. Guess what? That problem is handled, it’s done, it’s gone. It’s handled, and it’s no longer contributing to your stress levels.

But what if I make the wrong choice?

Making decisions quickly will give you less than perfect results sometimes. You won’t always make the perfect choice – but you need to understand this: That’s OK. Sometimes, good enough is good enough. The fact that you made a decision immediately is far better than letting it sit, and become a festering sore.

Stressing over what to eat for dinner tonight? Just pick something. Eat baked chicken with mashed potatoes. Unsure what to wear for your date this weekend? Go with jeans and that blue polo shirt you like. Should you hire help for your small business? Yes. Do you get it yet? Just make a decision. No matter what you decide, no matter what the outcome, it’s better than not deciding.

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Jack Shedd of Big Contrarian doesn’t think very highly of Android. In fact, he thinks it’s an asshole. No really, he said exactly that:

There’s a sense, not just from reviewers, but from fans of the device, that what Android really needs is just killer hardware.

Which is just absolute horse shit.

Android is an asshole of an operating system.

Some of the points he makes include redundant dialog boxes, difficultly uninstalling / closing applications, and general non-intuitivness of the OS.

As an iPhone fan, I can say that none of these things happen on the iOS. The iPhone is extremely intuitive to use, and therefore, very simple. It lets you complete the task that you need to complete, and get on with your life. There’s nothing to fight with, nothing to figure out. That’s the way any modern operating system needs to be – especially when it comes to mobile devices.

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Banking has come a long way in my lifetime. When I opened my first bank account, there was no such thing as online bill pay. Heck, the internet wasn’t even around, or if it was, I didn’t know about it.

ATM’s were just barely beginning to become popular. Huge overdraft fees weren’t really in place then. If you didn’t have any money, you couldn’t spend any money – it was pretty simple in many ways.

Some of the changes in the banking industry have been very welcome indeed. Online bill pay, for example, makes my financial life drastically simpler.

However, the way banks profit has changed, and not for the better. A huge percentage of bank profits these days is from fees – ATM fees, overdraft fees, maintenance fees, F-You fees, you get the picture. It’s gotten out of control, and away from how banks began.

Bank Simple eliminates the confusion.

No hidden fees. No overdraft fees. No fee for online bill pay. No markup on the fees they do charge. Meaning, if an international transfer costs Bank Simple $15, you pay $15.

How does Simple Bank intend to make a profit?

The same way banks used to profit – interest spread. For example, they pay out 4% on the deposit acccounts, and charge an average of 9% on loans. The spread, or 5% in this case, covers losses and, hopefully, generates a profit.

There’s a killer feature.

Bank Simple took this out of USAA’s playbook. With a special smartphone app, you can take a picture of a check, and it’s instantly deposited into your Bank Simple account. No more running to the bank to deposit your check, or caching it at a liquor store (generally a terrible idea, by the way.)

There is one little catch though.

No, the catch is not a fee – Bank Simple doesn’t do that, remember? The catch is that Bank Simple isn’t open yet. The plan is to launch sometime this year, though there is no firm date yet. You can request an invite, however.

It’s OK to be leery of a new bank. But I really like Bank Simple’s vision. I like their business model. This is a company I’d like to do business with, and I look forward to doing just that.

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I work too much.  Between 55 hours / week at my day job, and 15-20 hours building my own business, it’s just too much.  Putting in 70-75 hours every week on a regular basis does not jive with living a simple life.

This morning my wife was telling me about how we’re going out to dinner with some friends.

No honey, you’re going out to dinner with some friends.  I have to work.

This got me the sad face. The one I hate saying no to.

Do you really, really have to work tonight? (emphasizes sad face)

You know I do babe.

I know. I just don’t want you to wake up one day regretting all those times you worked I stead of spending time with us.

Damn it.

She’s right of course. She usually is. My wife has a knack for that sort of thing. Even though I do limit myself with self-imposed rules ( no working on Tuesday or Thursday evenings, and no working on Sunday ever), the fact is that I spend too much time working.  I don’t want to be bitter when I’m older because I missed so much time with my family.

OK, so I admit that I have a problem. Now what?

My choices seem to be these:

Shut down my side business entirely, or quit my day job.

Option one sucks, because my goal of working only for myself would be destroyed. The loss or income would be troublesome, but probably manageable. Losing the future ability to ever work for myself?

Unimaginable.

Option two is just plan impossible. Even with the pay cut last year, I make a good living at my day job. I do not make nearly enough on the side to keep my current life. The biggest issue here is that I would surely have to sell my home and move.

The main reason we bought a house was so my son could really enjoy it. A backyard to play in, a neighborhood full of friends. These things are immensely important to me. Moving back to an apartment would lower my expenses, but my son would really miss out.

I do try to squeeze some work into the downtime during the day. For example, I’m writing this post on my iPhone during lunchtime.  There simply isn’t enough downtime duringth day to get much work done though.

So, dear readers, I come to you for help.  If you were hoping for some brilliant insight or elegant solution… I have none. Instead i’ll ask for your thoughts. What say you?

Hi there - could you help spread the word about The Simple Llama? This is a new site, and I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. How you can tell you’re working too much. is a post from: The Simple Llama - where you can learn to live a simple life today.

The word Simplicity creates an image of peace. A slow pace of life, plenty of relaxation, and little complexity.

The word Productivity, on the other hand, creates an image of efficient work. A furious pace. Getting lots of stuff done.

How can I say that these two concepts aren’t directly at odds with each other?

We all need to get things done. We have to provide for ourselves, and our families. We also have to get things done at home – laundry, dishes, etc. These things, though they can be minimized, are essential to living. Without a job (or a business) things like paying rent and eating become very difficult.

Since work and chores are necessary, why not get them done efficiently?

Once you’ve eliminated the busy work, and are left with only the essential things that need to be done, it’s time to become as efficient as possible. This is not so that you can get more work done. Rather, it’s so you can get the required work done quickly. The more productive and efficient you are at working, the faster your work gets done.

Now that all the work is done, life starts to look awfully simple, doesn’t it?

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I’m not the only person around who isn’t a fan of the telephone. Scott Stratten (@Unmarketing for Twitter folks) also hates the device.

“Every time my phone rings, I cringe. When I was a kid, when the house phone rang, we all jumped hoping it was for us, and now I don’t want it to be.”

I understand exactly how you feel, buddy. Maybe it’s time some of us start opting out of using the phone. Not passive-aggressively like I currently do (the ignore call button is my best friend), but rather, actively.

Maybe it’s time more of us change our numbers, only giving it out to extremely close family members and friends. I’m talking spouse, kids, parents, and super-close friends here. Everyone else gets your email or Twitter handle. Imagine how simpler you would have it if you never had to cringe when the phone rang. No more loud, annoying interruptions in your life.

Just something to think about.

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Many (Most?) of us work a day job – probably in an office setting. Working as part of a team in an office can be great, but it also has it’s challenges. Being heard, even if you have great ideas, is one of those challenges. Your instincts may tell you to speak louder, and more often. After all, if you’re always outspoken, always loud, people have to listen to you, right?

Not so fast, buckaroo.

In fact, the complete opposite is true. Think for a moment – you probably have that guy in the office who just won’t shut up. He speaks up in every meeting, trying to take it over. He’s constantly giving his opinion on things, even if they don’t really concern him. Regardless of the subject matter, Mr. Chatty has something to say.

Do you listen to this guy?

I don’t. And I’d wager to say that you don’t either. This guy is talking all the time, and that dilutes his effectiveness drastically. You aren’t likely to take his thoughts seriously.

Do you want to be heard? Shut up.

Don’t voice your opinion at every opportunity. Keep your thoughts to yourself; let others take the stage. That is, unless you feel very strongly about the matter at hand. By keeping quiet in most situations, when you do finally speak up, everyone is very likely to stop and listen – really listen.

Choose your timing carefuly, and choose your words carefully. Make sure every time you speak, you have a clear purpose. Make sure your words are important, and that they will make a difference. Do that, and your coworkers will truly listen to you. Your words will matter – and all it takes it learning to keep quiet.

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“The telephone was an aberation in human development. It was a 70 year or so period where for some reason humans decided it was socially acceptable to ring a loud bell in someone else’s life and they were expected to come running, like dogs. This was the equivalent of thinking it was okay to walk into someone’s living room and start shouting. it was never okay. It’s less okay now.” – Rick Webb

This sums up my thoughts on the telephone in a more eloquent way than I ever could. The only person I actually enjoy speaking to on the phone is my wife. That’s really a testament to how much I love my wife, when you consider how much I truly despise the telephone.

In nearly all instances, phone conversations can be handled more efficiently and less intrusively by another means of communication. Email, text messaging, and Twitter come to mind.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say a friend of mine is working on a project, and needs to borrow my hammer. A phone conversation might go something like this:

RING RING
Me: Hello?
Friend: Hi Llama.

Me: Who’s this?
Friend: It’s Toby, silly.

Me: Oh, hi Toby.
Friend: So how are the wife llama and kid llamas?

Me: Oh they’re great. How about yours?
Friend: My wife is great, but the little ones are really a handful. They keep poking each other in the eyes, over and over again. I’m really afraid they might do some real damage.

Me: …….
Friend: But enough about me, what’s up with you?

Me: Not much, just enjoying life.
Friend: Haha I wish I was. I work so much these days. Last week I must have put in 90 hours. Have you ever worked in a light bulb factory for 90 hours? Let me tell you, it’s not as much fun as it sounds. You can only check so many light bulbs before you start going insane.

Me: [crickets]

Friend: Listen so anyway, I’m working on this project. I’m building a new doghouse for my son. Since he won’t stop poking his sister in the eyes I figure what better solution than making him live in a doghouse? I was wondering if I could ask you a favor.

Me: Uh, sure what’s up?
Friend: Do you have a hammer I can borrow?

The trivialities are outrageous.

Now let’s see that same conversation in text message form.

Friend text to me: Hey Llama, can I borrow a hammer?
Me: Sure.

Quick, simple, to the point. No loud ringing in my home, no interruption, no excessive BS before getting to the point. Just the way it should be.

Hi there - could you help spread the word about The Simple Llama? This is a new site, and I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. The telephone is an aberration is a post from: The Simple Llama - where you can learn to live a simple life today.

As a huge Instapaper fan, I was quite happy to see the latest Instapaper Pro update (version 2.2.3 if you keep track of that sort of thing.) While most of the actual updates lie in the iPad version, the big deal for me was iPhone OS 3.0 compatibility. See, as a jailbreak fan, I’m still on 3.1.2 . The previous version of Instapaper Pro only worked on 3.1.3 and above. So, in short, I can finally enjoy Instapaper on my iPhone again. That makes for one very happy llama.

What is Instapaper?
If you don’t already use Instapaper, then you probably have no idea what I’m talking about so far. That’s ok, and it’s easily fixable. Instapaper takes a web page and strips out all images and formatting, leaving beautiful, easy to read, clear text. This is useful in a number of situations.

Let’s say you’re bouncing around through a few Twitter links, and find a fantastic article that you would love to read, but just don’t have the time. Click on the Instapaper bookmarklet, and it’s saved for you. Now, whenever you have time, go to the Instapaper site and read your article. All of the funky formatting, ads, and pictures are gone – all that’s left is the text that you wanted to read in the first place.

The iPhone is where this app really shines

Instapaper Pro for iPhone is drastically more useful. I mainly use it in conjunction with Tweetie, my Twitter app of choice. Even though the AT&T 3G network is pretty solid and quick where I live, many web pages just take a long time to load. So when I’m flicking through my tweets for links, I save the interesting ones to Instapaper. That way, I don’t have to wait forever for tons of images and ads to load.

When I want to read a couple articles, I fire up the Instapaper app, and I’m greeted with all the articles I saved. Nothing but crystal clear, easy to read text. In other words – exactly what I’m looking for, and nothing that I don’t want. If I make it halfway through an article, it even saves my place when I come back.

I consider Instapaper Pro ($5 in the app store) one of my “must have” iPhone apps. If I still had an iPad, I would consider it a must-have there, too. It makes reading an absolute joy, and it’s such a brilliant add-on for Twitter. Any other Instapaper fans out there?

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In my Google Reader account today I spotted this gem: Get Some Sleep! by Randy Murray. A quick excerpt:

Sleep is one of the great joys of life. And sleep deprivation is used as a torture technique, a way of programming inductees in cults. Why would you torture yourself, diminish your mental capacities and do inferior work?

Sure, I’ve written about the need to sleep more so you can focus, but I think Randy’s article is really worth a read. I never really thought about comparing sleep deprivation to torture, but it’s a perfect fit. You wouldn’t waterboard yourself, so why would you purposely deprive yourself of sleep?

Sleep helps you focus, letting you get the same amount of work done in less time. That frees up the rest of your time to let you do whatever you want. Getting enough sleep is crucial to lead a simple life. Are you getting enough sleep?

Hi there - could you help spread the word about The Simple Llama? This is a new site, and I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. A Reminder to Sleep is a post from: The Simple Llama - where you can learn to live a simple life today.