Dear friends, on my never ending quest towards maximum efficiency in life, some thoughts:
1. Don’t own a car
First of all, don’t own a car. just like Brad Pitt from fight club, remember the scene when he says he doesn’t own a car? Rather than being the guy who has the coolest car, it is a much better flex to not own any car.
For example, I am much more intrigued about the person who is able to live without a car, rather than the guy who drives the Lamborghini or the Tesla model S plaid.
Why are you more efficient when you don’t own a car? Because you end up living more local. You end up going to the local grocery market more often, which means fresher food. Also, less wasted food.
Ironically enough when me and Cindy lived in Berkeley, and we got rid of our car, instead of wasting all this money at Costco, we actually saved money by going to the local Whole Foods instead. We stopped buying superfluous foods, like almond butter and avocados. When we lived without a car in Berkeley, maybe we spent $50 a week going to the local Whole Foods on a weekly basis, than the nearly $150 a week we spent going to the local Costco when we did own a car.
Also, I think as as modern Americans, we spend too much time thinking about cars. Thinking about when to upgrade our car, when to buy a new car, or modifying our existing cars. A car is perhaps one of the biggest money and time sucks possible. 
Perhaps it is a better luxury to not own a car, and just take Uber when you do need a car.
2. 30,000 steps a day?
I’ve made it my New Year’s resolution this year to try to walk at least 30,000 steps a day. I have not reached this goal yet, my best day was only 28,000 steps. Regardless, it totally changes the way I think. Rather than thinking of long-distances as a burden, I see as as advantageous and part of my goal.
For example, a lot of the streets and sidewalks in the suburbs are very ugly. And the closest coffee shop is quite a walk away. In the past I used to think that this was a major pain in the ass, but now, I see it as part of my goal. I’m excited to walk the unnecessarily long distance to just get a cup of coffee, because it is part of my goal.
And how does walking more help one become more efficient? It is because you kill a lot of birds with one stone: it improves your mood, your metabolism, your body posture, and also help strengthen your joints in your knees, hips, back, etc. My theory on why so many modern Americans suffer back pain is because lack of walking, and sitting all day. To walk nowadays is the new luxury.
Also, when I’m walking, I just take my Ricoh GR 3 and ERIC KIM WRIST STRAP MARK II where I go, and I end up shooting a lot of pictures. 
Also, thinking. The more I walk, the more I can think of. The more ideas I come up with, which is my passion.
3. Maximum impact workout
A new thought about working out: The purpose of working out isn’t to train until failure, and it isn’t too tire you out or exhausted. Rather, it is a form of force expression, and all you need is one rep. A one rep maximum of something very difficult.
For example, more efficient and better to do just one single one armed push-up, instead of 100 normal push-ups. Also, better to deadlift 475 pounds once, than to deadlift 100 pounds 100 times.
A new hack of mine is my 48 kg kettle bell, which is 105 pounds. I just try to clean it once or floor press it once, and then I’m done. Warming up, stretching, and doing the lift might only take me 10 to 15 minutes tops. This is much more fun, exciting, an interesting then doing an hour of mindless cardio— which I hate.
Once again, shorten the duration, and increase the intensity. Better to go allout once in a period of 15 minutes, than three hours of half assed and distracted effort.
4. Intermittent fasting, coffee, and one huge meat meal a day
Something I’ve been doing for the last five or six years is intermittent fasting. This is no breakfast, no lunch. Only dinner. And when I do break my fast, I attempt to eat at least three or 4 pounds of meat, preferably red, fatty, and delicious.
My ideal meat is either beef ribs, pork ribs, fatty steak, pork belly, or any meat high in cholesterol and fat. Also, grass fed burger patties frozen are a good deal. And after eating a bunch of meat and I’m still hungry, I’ll often finish it with frying around 12 eggs, yes including the yolk.
Some people might called it keto, but it is not quite keto, because my meat and protein intake is too high. I just call it a carnivore diet. And to wash down the meat, I usually have it with kimchi, sauerkraut, spicy mustard, tapatio, kale, spinach, or any bitter green leaves.
No carbs, no sugar, no artificial sugar, no sweeteners, no 0 cal sweeteners, nothing sweet. No honey, and no traditional starchy vegetables. No broccoli, no cauliflower, no potatoes, no yams, no bread (doesn’t matter if brown or white), no lactose (milk sugar is still sugar). No alcohol, no wine, no beer, no weed. No downers.
My extreme approach to diet in nutrition is what has helped me stay productive, even raising a newborn child.
Also, I save a lot of time. Not having to cook breakfast, cook lunch, or clean up during the day saves me an insane amount of time and effort. And when I do break my fast it is either with Cindy and Seneca, or after Seneca has gone to sleep. And after eating my massive meal, I just take a cold shower, put on an eye mask and earplugs, and jump into bed.
Also, I allow myself unlimited coffee during the day, as long as it is before noon. I just drink it straight black, no milk of any kind. No almond milk, no normal milk. Just pure black. And of course no sugar.
5. Don’t get distracted by your phone
One of my best life hacks is not having my phone in my bedroom. I charge it outside in the living room.
I also have all my notifications on my phone silenced, and turned off. The only notifications I have on my phone is the phone call future, and the FaceTime feature. I also strive not to send any text messages or use text messaging, is I find it highly inefficient. More efficient to just call somebody.
Also,  The only apps I have installed on my phone are generative and productive ones. IA writer for writing things, like this, Safari, the WordPress iOS app, Zen Brush 2, and the photos app.  I have not had an email app installed on my phone for almost a decade.
6. No news
Another huge productivity hack: I have not read the news for the last five years. This is what I realized about the news: it is outrage pornography. What do I mean by that? The reason why we are so addicted to reading the news, is because of Fomo which is fear missing out, and also we want entertainment. We actually get a little adrenaline high from getting angry at outrage things that happened in the news, and we do this in order to those ourselves with a little bit more excitement during the day.
Even with finances, to check your finances obsessively and to check your investments obsessively is very bad for focus. Even with crypto, I only check the prices maybe once every year, or once every two years. And most of the time, the price of crypto is foreign to me, unless somebody has told me.
By not reading the news, and not being on social media is good because it helps you focus on what is in front of you, and what is on your mind.
And if you want new ideas, just read philosophy, poetry or literature, or go on some walks around the block.
Even watching cinema and films is more productive than watching the news. I often find that watching Phyllis off call cinema is good to get your mind going, and even watching action movies is a good way to get your adrenaline pumping, which you could harness into creative activity.
And no, there is no ethical or moral obligation you have to read the news. If you truly do want to be altruistic, first start with helping your family, then your friends, and then your local community.
7. Efficiency is not an end into itself
The purpose of life isn’t to be efficient for the sake of it. Rather, efficiency as mostly a means to something else.
For example, I strive to make my life as simple, streamlined, and efficient as possible, in order to assist my focus, creative productivity, health, and mind. If I am not being efficient, I don’t care.
Let us consider, spending quality time with somebody is the most inefficient thing you could do, yet may be the most virtuous thing you could do. Either you are absent, or present. For example when I’m playing with baby Seneca, I make sure my phone is not on me.
As a caveat, I do walk around the block with Seneca on a baby carrier to help him fall asleep, while I am writing or doing voice dictation on my iPhone, and writing out and blogging ideas.
Also, one of the best uses of time is to have quality time eating a luxurious dinner with friends and family. For example, some of my favorite memories include having three hour long dinners in Marseille in the south of France with my friend Yves and Pierre and Cindy and moms.
Efficiency as a means to more quality time with family and loved ones. Efficiency also as it means for greater artistic creativity and productivity. 
8. Focusing on your Archimedes lever
It is said that the mathematician Archimedes one said: “give me a lever and I can move the world!â€. What did he mean by that? If you know what your fulcrum is, where to put it, you could multiply your force expression a 1000 fold.
For me, that is blogging. Therefore, if I seek to become more efficient and effective, I should just focus on blogging instead of other things.
For yourself as well, consider what you consider your number one greatest strength, and just folks on leveraging that.
9. Don’t own a home, just rent.
Another one great thought I have about homes is this: it is far more efficient, effective, and productive to rent a home, rather than owning a home. I bet you even Elon Musk doesn’t own his own home, because who has the time to maintain it?
Why are we suckered into wanting to own a home anyways? My theory: it is just another form of consumerism. Ever since we are children, we were suckered to having tracked into desiring the same things: to get into a good college, get a good job, buy a few nice cars, and then eventually buy a house, then send our kids off to private school, and then recycle the habit.
Even when I go back home to the bay area, it seems that the number one thing people are always talking about is complaining about how they cannot afford a home in the Bay Area. That is, they cannot afford to buy a house.
But once again, is the desire to buy a home a good one? I think not. If you buy a house and you own a home, it owns you. This is a big take away I’ve had one living at Cindy‘s moms house, witnessing how things break all the time, how living in a home you accumulate so much stuff, and you become chained to your home.
Also, it seems that once you own a home, your expenses actually go up, because you got to buy more stuff to fill your home with, more trips to IKEA, Crate & Barrel, Home Depot, more orders on Amazon, etc. I actually think that the most frugal and Cindy have been was when we were living in a tiny hotel room in Saigon, when you know there’s literally no space for you to accumulate stuff.
Also, knowing that there was no space to put our stuff, my desire for buying new things miraculously went away.
But one thing I have learned about living in the suburbs: the longer you live and stay here, magically your desire to either buy stuff or want to buy stuff goes up. Because there is nothing else to do.
It seems that also another reason that we want to purchase a home is this notion of success or stability. But what if stability is anti-innovation, that is stability is not the goal? That self-preservation might actually be holding us back.
Therefore if you want less concern about your home, and less energy wasted on maintaining your home, and extreme efficiency as your life goal, perhaps owning a home is anti-efficiency. Renting a home is superior for efficiency.
10. Movement is the goal
What is the purpose of cars? To move. What is the purpose of our legs? To move. Motivation means movement. Also with artworks, films, movies, and photos, what do we seek to do? To move ourselves and move others, figuratively and literally.
Ultimate goal of efficiency is to move. To move more, to move mean.
So starting off this year, consider, how can you move yourself more?
ERIC
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