February 9, 2010
Choosing less is a daily challenge for everyone, regardless of where we are. We all have a lot of stuff. We all have the same challenge, whether we are living in a city or on the countryside. We are living in a culture that values “More is Better”.
To be honest, I sometimes hesitate about what to do next. Why? On the one hand it is rather tempting to turn my back on everything and start all over again. I am dreaming of a simple life on a sailboat and exploring the world, traveling all over the place or residing on a tropical island, away from civilization. Not the way Tom Hanks lives in Cast Away, but rather a modest beach shack in Samoa or Tonga, like “Big Z” in Surf’s Up.
Palms line Lalomanu Beach in Western Samoa. Photo:lonelyplanetimages.com
On the other hand, it’s probably easier to follow the hurdle and give in to the world of excess. And it’s probably true that a century ago it really was easier to step away from civilization and live in the woods or in some remote location. On top of that, in our modern society, it becomes harder to say “NO!” to all these great restaurants, luxury shops, new cars, gadget hypes, second homes, etc. The need for more is winning more supporters everyday. Even in remote locations they are dreaming of our western lifestyle.
Is it really possible to choose for less and to simplify our lives?
Yes, it is possible! Although I admit I sometimes even like the excess and luxury, it is a conscientious choice to choose less. For me it’s about Living Simply and Less is More. I know we can change in different ways and that one of my goals is to Slow Down. It is also clear to me that choosing less is not about plunging into poverty. What I am really longing for is a better quality of life. Remember, eat the chocolate first 
I want to focus more on the fun in life, rather than on being inspired by the “More is Better” way of life. I deliberately choose simplicity and more meaning in life instead. And you know, saying “no” to some of the excess, means saying “yes” to other opportunities that have more and lasting value. Or to put it in the words of John C. Maxwell: “Learn to say ‘no’ to the good, so you can say ‘yes’ to the best”!
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January 6, 2010
“Things do not change, we change.”
- Henry David Thoreau -
What if I would invite you to a “Walden”-vacation, where you recreate Thoreau’s world famous 19th century retreat? You’d have to survive without your mobile, computer, internet, tv, car, Twitter and to make it worse also without electricity or indoor plumbing (sic!). Of course, you’d be carrying your own luggage, preferably a backpack. The planned excursions include starting a camp fire, sleeping in a tent, enjoying the beautiful scenery around you, getting closer to nature, creating friendships for life, contemplating on your life, setting up an action plan and doing nothing. Also enjoying the silence is an all-time favorite!
Would you sign up? Thoreau did. And he enjoyed it. When I walked my camino to Spain, I enjoyed it too! I came a lot closer to nature those days.
Anyway, all this to tell you that Thoreau longed to simplify his life, free himself from distraction and find more meaning in life. He believed that by changing his environment, he would change something inside of him. A couple of weeks ago I changed my environment also. And it worked! More flow, more results and I started 2010 as a happy camper
As you know, we sold our house and we’ll change our environment again. I am looking forward to it!
So, are you ready to simplify your life? What are your next steps to change your environment?
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May 11, 2009
Nathaniel Stott is an excellent Internet profiler, professional analist and brilliant SEO expert. In the process of coaching him it became clear that one of his next steps is to become a leading expert. By building his personal brand he will achieve his dreams and create a lasting legacy. I welcome you to the new Nathaniel or Nathaniel Stott 2.0 in geek terms 
You already know I am in the process of writing my next book on Searching and Finding stuff on the Internet. Why do I mention this here? Because, I have an important announcement to make! Nathaniel Stott is the co-author of this book. At this point in time we have already agreed on the table of contents. And have a surprise lined up for the forward. Now, it’s time to start writing…Less than 3 months to go and counting
Did I mention that Nathaniel Stott is a British entrepreneur living in Germany with his 3 kids and working in Germany and The Netherlands? This already shows that our book is going to be promoted internationally. As announced, I’ll be touring in New Zealand in September and of course taking our book with me
What else can I tell you? We already came up with nicknames for each other! Yes, Nathaniel Stott will be Mr. Search, because he’s fantastic in helping people with setting up search strategies, getting the text SEO right, design aspects, analytics, etc.
And me? I am Mr Find. Why? I keep finding stuff on the Internet that a lot of people claim is not there or at least they can’t find it, so they ask me. A couple of years ago I even had a service called “Webdigging”, where I was hired to find stuff. Nowadays, I still can’t believe that so few people are finding what they need. As a lifehacker, I developed several mind blowing “find” strategies on how to find stuff easier and faster on the Internet. There is so much more out there than Google Of course, all these strategies will be shared in our book!
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January 13, 2009
Getting Things Done was in 2008 what was the 4-Hour Workweek (Tim Ferris) in 2007 for me…probably the best book I have read last year
So, David Allen is as you all know, one of the most sought after global experts in the field of productive work. He is one of the gurus for the lifehacking community and a great guy. How would I know? Well, I interviewed him lately!
And you can have a chance of seeing David Allen live as well, because he’s coming over to Europe. On the 17th februari, he’s in Dortmund (Germany) and on the 19th in Amsterdam (the Netherlands). I am definitely going to the Dortmund event: the Making it all work – seminar!
Would you like to go too ? Let me know and I’ll buy you a drink!
Would you like to have a chance at winning a free ticket? Or do you just want to give the organisers a helping hand? Then take 5 minutes to fill out this questionnaire about GTD. Yes, you’ll get it done in less than 5 minutes and they really, really need a 100 more people to take the questionnaire
Of course, check my blog regularly, because I’ll be back with some great insights from the interview with David!
Enjoy every day,
Bert Verdonck
Lifehacker & Life Coach
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January 1, 2009
How to shorten your working day by 2 hours?
Bert Verdonck brings you 17 genius shortcuts to transform the way you work!
From 115 hours of hard work to 40 hours of joy – and 30% more income - Bert Verdonck decided that he needed to reclaim his life. Burdened by overwork with no time to enjoy family life, he took time out to discover exactly how he could reduce his workload and still achieve the same results.
Leaving behind stress overload, he set out on an 8 month research journey that included 28 books, 80 websites and walking 800 kilometers, which not only revealed who he was, but how he could achieve more with far less effort.
Now he has distilled this new found knowledge for those unaccustomed to the benefits of the digital age and produced a practical guide for people who want to work less hours and master the magic of technology.
His audio cd will provide you with the necessary insights to shorten your working day by 2 hours!
The audio cd is yours for 19,99 € only. And to make it really easy and avoiding extra (shipping) costs, he prepared this audio cd as an MP3 download. So, order now and benefit immediately from the genius shortcuts that he shares with you!
Enjoy every day,
Bert Verdonck
Lifehacker & Life Coach
PS : “Lifehacks” are called Genius Shortcuts from now on
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December 24, 2008
A lot of people are asking me to speak more often in public, even in other parts of the world. Others want me to publish a book. Then some are requesting audio-files, so they can listen to them on their iPod, at the office or while driving to it or while traveling. I’ve been thinking lately on how to fulfill everybody’s needs…
So, I have decided to create a bunch of products in the coming 12 months. Currently, I am in the process of creating a downloadable Audio CD, which will be sold on the internet. Last weekend, I recorded the last 5 tracks of it. This means that very shortly my Audio CD will be launched! Isn’t that great?
If you are interested already, mail me and enjoy a pre-launch discount of 3 €! The Audio CD will be sold for 19,95 €, including taxes. This means you only pay 16,95 € if you order now.
Oh, and the subject of this Audio CD? Right, I almost forgot to tell you this
“How to shorten your working day by 2 hours?”
I’ll share 17 genius shortcuts or lifehacks to help you do more in less time!
Enjoy Christmas,
Bert Verdonck
Lifehacker
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December 5, 2008
When visitors are coming to see you, how do you let them know your location? Now you can share a personal schmap.me page, one that displays your map and contacts perfectly on a PC or Mac, and on pretty much any mobile device (iPhone, BlackBerry and many more).
“Ok, our meeting on the 15th at 2PM is hereby confirmed. Just “Schmap me” to see the location!”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, you haven’t heard about “Schmap me” yet. Sorry! My schmap.me page (www.schmap.me/bertverdonck) displays all my contact details, including Google Maps, perfectly on a PC, Mac, and most mobile phones (iPhone, BlackBerry, Nokia, Palm, Sony Ericsson and more). You can immediately print it, save it as a vcf-file (Outlook Contact or business card) or click it for directions!”
This is how an actual conversation can take place. No need for difficult websites or search at Google Maps anymore. Everything is ready in 1 overview. No fuss, no hassle and free!
Get your own schmap.me page now!
Enjoy every day,
Bert Verdonck
Lifehacker
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November 28, 2008
Deze maand sta ik opnieuw in Bizz Magazine!
Tijdens het schitterende event “In Shape for September” was Hans Hermans onder de indruk van de lifehacks die ik met alle workshop deelnemers daar geshared heb. Nadien heeft Hans mij nog telefonisch geïnterviewd en er een zeer interessant 3 pagina tellend artikel over geschreven. Lees het nu online!
Uiteraard kan je ook het magazine in de winkel kopen. Het artikel vind je op pagina’s 132 – 134.
Bedankt Hans!
Enjoy Every Day,
Bert Verdonck
Create, Connect & Contribute
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November 26, 2008
Gisteren was het dan zover, mijn afscheid als voorzitter van Ecademy Antwerp. Na een bijzonder geslaagde avond (vraag maar aan de andere deelnemers!), was het moment aangebroken om officieel mee te delen dat ik een stapje terugzet.
Waarom? Mijn andere activiteiten zijn de laatste tijd zo aan het boosten dat het mij dwingt om keuzes te maken. Helaas!
De club is in uitstekende handen bij Erwin & Steven. Zij zetten de ingeslagen weg verder…dus blijven komen hé 
Ook mijn rol als clubleider van de Belgian Blackstars heb ik ondertussen doorgegeven aan Geert. Ecademy Mumbai gaf ik over in de capabele handen van Nikhil Wad. In het kader van Ecademy, run ik nu nog enkel “The Lifehacking Club”. Of course
Ik wil hierbij iedereen bedanken die de afgelopen jaren heeft bjigedragen tot het succes van Ecademy Antwerpen, de Belgian Blackstars en Ecademy Mumbai.
Geert, Erwin, Steven en Nikhil, ik wens jullie heel veel succes met de verder uitbouw en kijk uit naar toekomstige activiteiten.
Enjoy every day,
Bert Verdonck
Lifehacker & Life Coach
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October 10, 2008
Vandaag was ik via Ecademy te gast op het KMO Marketing Congres in Edegem. Een zeer leuk initiatief van Peter Desmyttere trouwens, mis het niet in 2009 : 9 oktober.
Ik heb eigenlijk ongelooflijk veel free publicity gekregen. Hoe? Jan Vermeiren bracht een boeiende uiteenzetting over netwerken en vroeg om een vrijwilliger. Niemand bewoog, dus ik dacht, ik help hem een handje. Onze conversatie ging ongeveer als volgt :
Jan : “Ik ben Jan en jij?”
Bert : “Ik ben Bert. Hallo.”
Jan : “Bert, wat doe jij?”
Bert : “Jan, ik ben een lifehacker. En jij?”
Jan : “Euh, een lifehacker? Wat houdt dat precies in?”
Bert : “Ik hack mensen hun leven of met andere woorden ik help mensen om hun leven aangenamer, sneller en efficiënter in te richten, voornamelijk via shortcuts.”
Jan : “Geef eens een concreet voorbeeld…”
Bert : “In 15 minuten mensen leren om 3 keer zo snel te lezen of ze leren om 100 emails te schrijven in 1 u.“
Na deze korte dialoog werd duidelijk hoe je netwerken op een event makkelijk kan in de praktijk brengen mits enkele gerichte, open vragen. Hij vernoemde “lifehacking” nog een paar keren tijdens de rest van zijn presentatie. Ik dacht : Leuk!
Nadien werd lifehacking ook nog opgepikt door 2 andere sprekers, namelijk Béate Vervaecke (e-Zen) en Wim Van Rompuy (Schrijf.be). Tijdens de pauzes heb ik ook genoten van een bijzondere aantrekkingskracht van de andere deelnemers. Ik stelde mij gewoon voor als : “Hoi, ik ben de lifehacker”. Dit was voldoende om bij iedereen de nodige herkenning en interesse op te wekken. Uiteraard heb ik enkele lifehacking tips gedeeld…Ik kreeg zelfs meerdere keren de vraag of ik ook één van de sprekers was vandaag! Wow, dit is wel heel leuk!
Had jij eigenlijk al van lifehacking gehoord?
Iedereen kan trouwens gratis inschrijven voor een basis lifehacking ecourse en genieten van enkele schitterende lifehacking tips! Of liever in het Engels?
Wie er niet genoeg van kan krijgen, kan zich ook inschrijven voor één van de volgende open lifehacking cursurssen:
21 november
12 december
Omdat ik in een goede bui ben, krijg je 100 € korting als je “KMOMarketingCongres” vermeldt als promo-code en voor 15 oktober inschrijft!
Mijn lesson learned vandaag : help iemand anders en je krijgt er uit onverwachte hoek een pak voor terug!
Geniet elke dag,
Bert Verdonck
Lifehacker
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