Life by Design: Automate to Master Time, Health, Money, and Unlock Personal Success

Life by Design: Automate to Master Time, Health, Money, and Unlock Personal Success

Copyright © 2025 by Marlon Buchanan.

All rights reserved. It is not legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

HomeTechHacker.com

ISBN: 978-1-958648-03-2 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-958648-04-9 (ebook)

ISBN: 978-1-958648-05-6 (audiobook)

Edited by Graham Southorn

Dedication and Acknowledgements

The challenge of finding the time to write a book that covers how to save time is an irony not lost on me. The lessons I’ve learned from many successful people about using automation to save time and to improve my health, finances, work productivity, and more have been invaluable. There are too many people to name individually, but I’d like to thank them all. I wouldn’t be able to write books and achieve the successes I have without them.

I’d also like to thank my wife, Adriana, who supports me in this mission to write books and run a business aimed at helping others. Together we are raising a family and navigating successful careers while having many activities on the side. We must support and help each other to achieve all this, and I am extremely appreciative of her support.

I’d like to dedicate this book to everyone, strangers and acquaintances alike, who have sent me a kind word about one of my previous books, an article I’ve written, or a podcast I’ve spoken on. I do all these to help people, and knowing that I am is what keeps me going. Your encouragement means the world to me.

Table Of Contents

Dedication and Acknowledgements

Other Books by Marlon Buchanan

Preface

About This Book

How to Use This Book

Chapter 1: Why Are We So Busy?

Chapter 2: What Do You Really Want to Be Busy Doing?

Chapter 3: Formulating Automatable Habits

Chapter 4: Automating Your Finances

Chapter 5: Automating Your Health and Fitness

Chapter 6: Automating Your Home Environment

Chapter 7: Automate Your Travel

Chapter 8: Automate Your Passwords for Security and Convenience

Chapter 9: Maximizing Work Productivity through Automation

Chapter 10: Exploring Other Opportunities for Automation

Chapter 11: AI’s Role in Automating Your Life

Chapter 12: Putting It All Together: Your New Life by Design

Next Steps

Appendix A—Tools and Resources

Appendix B—Inspirational Quotes

Glossary

About the Author

Other Books by

Marlon Buchanan

The Personal Cybersecurity Manual: How Anyone Can Protect Themselves from Fraud, Identity Theft, and Other Cybercrimes

The Home Network Manual: The Complete Guide to Setting Up, Upgrading, and Securing Your Home Network

The Smart Home Manual: How to Automate Your Home to Keep Your Family Entertained, Comfortable, and Safe

Home Wi-Fi Tuneup: Practical Steps You Can Take to Speed Up, Stabilize, and Secure Your Home Wi-Fi

All books are available in Kindle and paperback formats. The Personal Cybersecurity Manual, The Home Network Manual, and The Smart Home Manual are also available as audiobooks. You can learn more about these books at MarlonBuchanan.com.

Subscribe to HomeTechHacker.com

Be sure to check out HomeTechHacker.com for free in-depth articles about home automation, home networks, cybersecurity, and more. In addition to the articles, you’ll find the following free resources:

HomeTechHacker Technology Advisor: Need personalized advice for home technology purchases? This tool will ask you a few questions and recommend technology specific to your needs.

HomeTechHacker Wi-Fi Guide: Following this guide will ensure you have fast, stable, and secure Wi-Fi throughout your home.

HomeTechHacker Resource Bundle: This free resource bundle is filled with checklists and links to online resources to help you make the most of your home tech.

HomeTechHacker Technology Personality Quizzes: Take fun personality quizzes that will entertain you, inform you, and maybe teach you something about yourself.

HomeTechHacker Academy: Interested in building a smart home and don’t know where to start? Are you worried about your home network security or want to protect yourself from identity theft and fraud? Enroll in HomeTechHacker Academy for online self-paced courses covering smart home setups, home network security, and ways to integrate AI tools for enhanced automation and productivity.

Also, subscribe to my newsletter at HomeTechHacker.com to get the latest updates about automation and other home technology topics.

Preface

In today’s fast-paced world, it often feels like there’s never enough time to do everything we need—or want—to do. The constant juggling of work, family, personal goals, and social commitments can leave us feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and often unfulfilled. This book was born of my own struggles to regain control over my time and improve my health, finances, productivity, and many other important aspects of my life. It is a guide for anyone who feels like their time is slipping away and who has been looking for practical strategies for getting more enjoyment out of their life.

I began this journey into time management and automation several years ago. As an IT professional, I’ve always been intrigued by the way technology can simplify complex tasks and improve efficiency. However, I was often guilty of letting technology take over my life, leaving me constantly distracted by emails, notifications, and the ever-growing list of things to do. I realized that while technology can be a tool for productivity, it can also be a source of stress if not used wisely.

I look upon time as life’s budget. In business, I am fond of telling the executives I work with: Don’t tell me your priorities. Show me your budget and I’ll tell you your priorities. Our personal lives are no different. Our true priorities are based on what we spend our time doing, not on what we say they are. We should spend more time on the things we really love and consider important, and less time on the activities we don’t value.

The goal of this book is to show you how to leverage systems and technology to improve various aspects of your life, with a focus on freeing up time. You’ll learn how to automate routine tasks, create systems that streamline your daily life, and reduce mental clutter in areas such as money management, relationships, work productivity, health, fitness, and more. By doing so, you can make more time for what truly matters to you—whether that’s personal growth, nurturing relationships, improving your well-being, or simply enjoying life.

Through practical tips, real-world examples, and my own experiences, I’ll guide you step by step on a journey to optimize your time, reduce stress, and create a life that reflects your values and priorities. It’s about working smarter—not working harder—making technology your ally in every area of your life.

I hope this book provides you with the tools and inspiration to automate the tasks that drain your time, so you can focus on the things that matter most and build the life you’ve always wanted.

About This Book

Are you feeling overwhelmed by all the requirements and stresses of life? Are you trying to have more time for yourself, your friends, and your family? Do you feel like you are missing out on important events in your life because you don’t have time for them?

It feels like every moment of the day is spoken for, doesn’t it? The way we use technology is to blame. At any given time, you’ll see a flood of notifications on your phone telling you what you need to do right now, what you forgot to do, and all the things you need to get ready to do. You’re flooded with emails from your job, your children’s schools, and all those newsletters you don’t remember signing up for.

Then there are the financial institutions, utilities, insurance, government agencies, and other organizations that constantly send you texts and emails about bills, privacy notices, term changes, and offers to purchase more.

Modern life is not just extremely busy but extremely fragmented. Our ancestors were busy too, but they were able to focus more of their time on fewer things. Technology has empowered us to get more things done, but at the cost of giving us more things to do.

There are few things in this world more valuable than time. Money can buy only so much more of it, and you can run out of time at any moment. That’s why it’s important to maximize the time you have.

And, this book isn’t just about managing time—it’s about automating aspects of your life so that you can improve your life. From managing your health and fitness to maintaining your finances to strengthening relationships and home maintenance, automation can help you reclaim your time and energy and improve all these areas.

When you finish reading this book, you’ll know how to do the following:

Slow down and focus on what matters most in all aspects of your life—health, relationships, finances, and more

Leverage technology to automate tasks you don’t want to do yourself

Create systems and habits that allow you to spend more time on what you truly love, whether that’s travel, fitness, or personal development

Put your finances, health and fitness goals, home maintenance, and more on auto-pilot so you can focus on your priorities

Improve productivity at work and in life, allowing you to spend less time working and more time living

This book is for anyone looking to simplify their life and enhance their personal well-being and success. It’s about using automation and smart systems to improve your life in every area that matters to you.

You don’t need any particular background to understand or benefit from this book. All you need is a desire to have more time for the important things in your life and a willingness to embrace new techniques to get you there.

Time is the currency of life. Maximize the way you use it today, but remember to invest it for tomorrow.

How to Use This Book

This book steps you through the ways of creating more time for what you want to do in your life, by automating the things you don’t want or need to do. It starts with a foundation of knowledge about why we are so busy. Then, using that knowledge, the book guides you through the steps needed to get the time-saving results you want. At the same time, it shows you how to use automation to achieve success in many aspects of your life. If you read this book sequentially, you’ll learn what is causing the time management crisis in your life, the ways to prioritize what you want to spend your time on, and many techniques for making that happen.

Although this book is intended to be read sequentially, it works well as a reference for those wanting to brush up on and find new ways of improving their life’s time management and achieving personal success. The layout and headings make it easy to quickly find the information you may be looking for.

Be sure to take advantage of additional resources in the appendix and glossary, including inspirational quotes and additional online resources. These resources will cement and augment the learnings you gain from this book as well as inspire you on your life automation and time-saving journey.

Conventions Used in This Book

Here are the conventions used in this book, which highlight important information:

What I Do: In several sections of this book, I give specific information, addressing the topics in the context of my own life. In the Health and Fitness section, for example, I discuss what I’ve done to automate my personal health journey to lead me to better physical and mental fitness.

In the Real World: Throughout the book, you’ll find useful stories and case studies about automating your life and creating time for the people and activities you value most.

Key Takeaways: At the end of each chapter, I provide a short list of key information that summarizes important learnings from the chapter.

Chapter 1

Why Are We So Busy?

We are not that busy; we are just distracted.

—Shawn Wells

The demands for our attention are unprecedented in human history. Technology and societal changes have increased these demands exponentially in just the last two decades. Think about how much time you spend using mobile devices, computers, TVs, and