Stop It. Right Now.
Eliminate these activities and streamline your world

By: Mike Zimmerman, Photographs by: Greg Miller

1. Writing checks Switch to online bill paying and you'll save a half hour a month. (We timed it.) Likewise, mortgage payments and savings deposits should be completely automated.

2. Using one e-mail address Your broadband deal -- you're not wasting your life waiting for dial-up, are you? -- includes a bunch of in-boxes. Use one e-mail for friends and family, a second for shopping and spam.

3. Using four e-mail addresses See #2. Unless you're buying broadband from Yahoo, Google, MSN, or AOL, forget 'em.

4. Joining You have your golf league. The softball league. The fantasy-football league. Poker night. Give up two, because your leisure time is killing you.

5. Engaging in "appointment" TV Let TiVo emancipate you by eliminating commercials and your tendency to sample the 30-minute manure piles on each side of Scrubs.

6. Watching network news It's crap -- overwrought, oversold, overbiased crap. Fifteen minutes on the Internet, boom, you're informed.

7. One-upping So you were the first in your circle to score Hot Hot Heat's new CD. Maybe your friends just have better taste.

8. Juggling three women Let two down gently and hold the third up for everyone to see.

9. Overpromising No one believes you anyway.

10. Overpacking Have you ever needed the extra shoes?

11. Overworking The more you do, the more they'll give you.

12. Overnegotiating You spend the day nibbling the guy down to a hundred over invoice. We're going to read a book.

13. Undervacationing Take a 3-day weekend immediately. And don't overpack.

14. Opening junk mail Their willingness to welcome you into the DVD club should not be linked to your self-esteem.

15. Blogging Fine, your observations inspire. But your best girl just bought a Plastic Plumber and six D batteries.

16. Micromanaging Delegating is not a form of outsourcing.