The Voluntary Life

Latest Episodes:

295 How To Sort Your Life Out Part 1 (and Patreon!) Jun 19, 2017

Show notes

Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards!

The Areas of Responsibility framework is a very powerful productivity technique for sorting your life out. It helps me answer questions such as:

What am I doing with my life, and why?
Is what I am doing right now a good use of my time?
What should I devote my efforts to in order to build the life I want?

In this episode, I introduce Areas of Responsibility and explain how to start implementing them. I've also got some big developments to tell you about. I want to completely upgrade The Voluntary Life, provide a whole new range of bonus content, and enable new ways for you to connect with me and other supporting listeners. Please help me by becoming a patron of the show and supporting me with a monthly amount of your choosing, through Patreon. Sign up and get your bonuses now at patreon.com/thevoluntarylife The first bonus episode has already been recorded and it goes deeper into the same theme as this one, as Part 2 of How To Sort Your Life out. Show Notes:

294 The Five Laws Of Stupidity Jun 06, 2017

Show notes

"Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals. In particular non-stupid people constantly forget that at all times and places and under any circumstances to deal and/or associate with stupid people always turns out to be a costly mistake." Carlo Cipolla In the 1970s, an economic historian called Carlo Cipolla wrote a provocative article titled "The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity". His theory emphasises the destructiveness of stupid behaviour, and explains why it is so underestimated and misunderstood. Show Notes:

The Basic Laws Of Human Stupidity by Carlo M. Cipolla
The Five Universal Laws Of Stupidity by Corrine Purtill
Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards!

293 Girona: Our Adventure Continues May 29, 2017

Show notes

This week's episode features Hannah and me discussing our move to Girona. We talk about adapting to a travel lifestyle with a baby, the challenges of minimalism and travel, beautiful Girona as an expat location, and many more topics! Show Notes:

292 The Decision To Have Kids May 22, 2017

Show notes

A response to this interesting listener question: "Hi Jake, I would like to hear your thoughts on making the decision to have a child. I am 33 years old, and there are lots of expectations on this one. I find it difficult to escape this identity trap and to know for myself if I want to become a parent or not. I know it's a BIG one, and it is personal, but your podcast is probably the only place which talks about parenting from a unique perspective different than the norm. I will be curious to hear your view, especially as a new parent." Show Notes:

290 Escaping The Identity Trap May 01, 2017

Show notes

The identity trap is an idea from Harry Browne's book How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World. Harry suggested that some widely held assumptions about life are false. By accepting such false assumptions, you lose your freedom. He called these false assumptions "traps". The identity trap is the belief that you should be the person that others want you to be, rather than being yourself. There are two key questions to ask yourself in order to escape the identity trap. Listen to the episode to find out more. Show Notes:

289 Managing Your Productivity System Apr 24, 2017

Show notes

This weeks episode is about how to manage your own productivity system for getting things done. It comes from an interview that I did a while ago on the Valiant Growth podcast. In the interview, I talk about various techniques for managing your own productivity system, including:

The different components of a productivity system
Undertaking regular reviews
Choosing between different productivity tools, such a task-management apps and paper-based systems.

Show Notes:

288 Working Hard And Missing Out On Life Experiences Apr 16, 2017

Show notes

A response to this listener question: "From what I gather, for much of your 20s and 30s you worked very hard on building your business and for long hours each day. It has clearly paid off for you, as you've sold the business and enjoyed many years of financial independence. But is this something you'd recommend for younger people? What's the best way of thinking about the work/life balance at that stage of life? I find myself thinking, what if I worked extremely hard for many years and died in a freak accident before I'd got to have significant life experiences? It may seem like pessimism, but to focus almost entirely on ones work must require some delayed gratification, unless your truly love your work. Similar issues are involved with extreme saving. I thought you might have some good insights about the sort of questions to ask yourself to get a better understanding of how to approach this." Show Notes:

Job Free by Jake Desyllas
Mr Money Mustache
Early Retirement Extreme
Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards!

287 Freedom Surfer Interview Apr 09, 2017

Show notes

Simon writes for digital nomads, perpetual travellers, and location independent entrepreneurs on his blog Freedom Surfer. In this interview, he talks about his own journey to location independence and his thoughts on the pros and cons of this lifestyle. He explains how he tackles the practical challenges of perpetual travel, such as business formation, banking, and taxation. Show Notes:

286 Wireless Life Interview Apr 02, 2017

Show notes

In this week's episode, my guest Sebastian Kühn talks about the benefits and challenges of running a location-independent business. He shares his own experiences setting up businesses in Hong Kong and Estonia, as well as his thoughts on the Estonian E-Residency program. Sebastian Kühn is a the author of a website for digital nomads called Wireless Life. Show Notes:

285 Making It All Work Mar 26, 2017

Show notes

This week's episode is a review of David Allen's book, Making It All Work. This book is about applying principles of productivity beyond work, to life as a whole. The review is a discussion between myself and Chris Stefanick taken from Chris' podcast, Choice Conversations. Show Notes:

Choice Conversations
Making It All Work by David Allen
How To Read A Book by Mortimer Adler
Other episodes on productivity
Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards!

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected