10 Steps to Simplify Your 2002

The other day I met a guy who told me about a new kind of financial planner called a life planner who takes over all your busywork so you can concentrate on something important, like composing an opera or training for the Ironman triathlon.

Now, I'd heard of life planners, but I thought their role was more limited, like helping you figure out how to set goals. Nope, this guy said. First they help you decide on your priorities. Say it's cutting back on work hours so you have more time for your kids. OK, the life planner says, and he gets to work doing everything from managing your investments to paying your bills and scheduling your vacation, and maybe putting a new roof on your house. He arranges it, of course. He doesn't actually do the roofing work.

Wow! This I could use. But I suspect you'd have to be Tom Cruise to qualify. Still, the rest of us can learn something from this life-planning notion. We need to get our priorities straight and then simplify the everyday tasks and sweep aside the unnecessary ones so we have time to accomplish the big things we want to do. ...