Practical tools for saving time and learning more

Executive overview

Information overload and scheduling friction eat hours that could go toward learning or leading. Dave and Bonni Stachowiak share the specific tools they use daily to reclaim that time.

Each tool solves one concrete problem: coordinating calendars, curating reading, capturing tasks, or consuming audio faster. Most are free or low-cost, and all have been personally vetted before recommendation.

Build a personal system from small, trusted tools — one per problem — rather than one bloated solution.

Scheduling tools

• TimeTrade syncs with your calendar and lets others book only from pre-approved slots — no back-and-forth email.
• Cancellations send a rescheduling link automatically; no manual follow-up needed.
• Set different appointment types (15 min, 30 min, lunch) within the same account.
• Cost: ~$50/year; worth it for anyone managing their own calendar.
• youcanbook.me is a similar alternative with more intake form fields.
• Acuity Scheduling is another option worth evaluating if starting fresh.
• Doodle solves the group scheduling problem — send one link, each person marks all times they're free.
• Doodle's "if need be" option lets people flag times that work only as a last resort.
• Use Doodle only for group coordination; its TimeTrade-style feature is underdeveloped.

Custom news feed

• Feedly aggregates RSS feeds from blogs, news outlets, associations, and any site that publishes a feed.
• RSS lets you subscribe to a specific section of a publication — not the whole outlet.
• Feedly syncs read/unread state across devices; pair it with the Newsify app for dark-mode reading on mobile.
• Start with a few feeds; build the habit before expanding.

Read-later capture

• Instapaper saves any article, video, or link with one browser-extension click.
• Avoids the distraction of reading mid-task — batch reading weekly instead.
• Syncs across devices; useful for curating a weekly leadership reading list.
• Expect to read only half of what you save; that's fine — the capture habit matters.

Book summaries

• Blinkist condenses popular business books to ~20-minute reads.
• Most useful for refreshing memory on books read years ago before an interview or meeting.
• Also good for previewing a book to decide if it's worth reading in full.
• Limitation: new releases are rarely available; coverage is broad but not complete.
• Cost: ~$40-50/year; 14-day free trial available.

Email triage

• SaneBox monitors email headers (not content) and learns which senders you respond to quickly.
• Moves lower-priority mail to a "SaneLater" folder automatically; inbox shows only what matters.
• Drag misclassified emails back to the inbox — the algorithm learns from corrections.
• Snooze feature: drag an email to a day-labeled folder and it reappears then.
• Send-and-remind: BCC a time address (e.g., 3days@) and SaneBox resurfaces the thread if no reply arrives.
• Caution: check with IT before connecting a corporate email account to a third-party service.
• Microsoft 365 Clutter offers a built-in alternative with similar logic for enterprise users.
• If a tool is free, you are likely the product — SaneBox's paid model aligns its incentives with user privacy.

Capture system

• Capture means writing down every commitment immediately rather than holding it in memory.
• Source framework: David Allen's Getting Things Done — brains are for having ideas, not storing them.
• Tasks go into a task manager; time-specific commitments go into a calendar; reference material goes into a system like Evernote.
• A trusted capture system reduces stress and improves follow-through — not because of discipline, but because the system handles the load.
• Siri voice reminders work as a quick capture layer; process them into your task manager once a day.
• Even physical mementos (children's drawings) can be captured digitally to preserve the memory without keeping the object.

Podcast listening

• Overcast (iOS/iPadOS only) is the recommended podcast app for one standout feature: Smart Speed.
• Smart Speed shortens natural pauses in speech — imperceptibly — turning a 40-minute episode into ~36 minutes.
• Cumulative effect over months: hours of extra listening time recovered.
• Variable playback speed (1.5× or 2×) compounds the gain further without distorting voices.
• Per-podcast audio settings let you adjust speed and silence removal individually.
• Priority playlists surface specific shows at the top of your queue automatically.
• Most features are free; premium plan adds extras.