Having an “external hard drive” so you don’t have to remember what you need to do is great, but it’s even easier if you don’t have to think about those to-do items at all. What if they’re just automatically done for you? For some tasks, that’s entirely possible.
Perhaps the best example is auto-draft for your recurring monthly bills. Auto-draft allows your payments to be automatically deducted from your bank account or credit card each month. Not only does this ensure that you never have a late payment, which itself is a huge benefit, it also means you don’t have to think about them.
One way to really make this strategy work for you is to have most of your payments deducted from your favorite credit card, preferably one that offers airline miles, cash back, or some other type of reward. Then, simply pay off your credit card each month so no interest accrues.
Do you still use cash? Stop doing that! Yes, cash can be convenient for certain purchases, but it goes quickly and you tend to forget what you spent the money on. If you use a credit card that you pay off each month, you will have a record of how you spend your money and that will allow you to go back and analyze later on to see if there are areas where you could cut, save money, and spend it better.