When you are busy and oversubscribed, efficiency is the name of the game. You can struggle and spend time figuring out something on our own, or you can turn to experts who can solve it in seconds flat over the phone. Businesses have these experts in the form of consultants. People have them in the form of expert friends. So here’s the 8 people every guy should know to make their lives easier:

• Bartender – Being able to walk into a bar and order with just a nod or “the usual” is truly priceless. Having a bartender friend is your key to getting service, trying great cocktails, and impressing dates. Pro tip: don’t ask for free drinks and always tip your friend large.
• Barber – You gotta look right, and there is nothing more aggravating than trying to explain your look or your hair’s quirks to a new stylist. Knowing someone who knows your style and preferences is key to getting in and out easily and looking fresh.
• Butcher – Picking up some chicken breast or ground beef from the store is fine for everyday cooking and nutrients, but to really pick up your game and eat well you’ve got to find and befriend your local butcher. They will not only get you the best cuts and meats, but they can also talk you through how best to prepare your proteins and get the most out of the inherent flavor.
• Lawyer – Shit happens. Don’t wait till you need a lawyer to find one. Ask me how I know. Just don’t annoy your new lawyer friend by calling them every weekend with drunk questions about whether you can get a DUI while driving a parade float or unicycle…
• Doctor – Once again, not someone you want to try and find in an emergency. Knowing a doctor can keep you from making pointless visits to your general practitioner, and can even save your life from what you thought was just a gnarly mole.
• Personal Trainer – Personal fitness is a realm awash in fervent opinions and few concrete facts. Everyone “knows” what’s best, and you need someone you can trust to steer you in the right direction and correct anything that could potentially lead to injury.
• Mechanic – You should be working on your own car, but there’s a big difference between changing your oil and changing your clutch. You don’t want someone to do the work for you (what’s the fun in that?), but you want a friend with the right tools and knowledge to make it a fun experience rather than an ordeal.
• Accountant – There’s nothing like the feeling on tax day watching everyone run around and panic while you sit back and congratulate yourself on filing your return in January. Having a bookkeeping friend can make this painless, and no one will work harder to find you deductions than someone you’ve got embarrassing stories of.

A word of caution: DON’T live your life on transactional basis. Stay away from just knowing people for what they can do for you, and only contacting them when you need something. We all know that guy. And hate him. Instead, build your own personal A-team – a group of friends where everyone knows what each individual is best at and collaborates to do amazing things.

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Here’s what I like about them compared to the other bars I’ve tried: they aren’t full of sugar that will just leave you crashed and tired again in 30 minutes, their ingredient lists are full of items I can identify, and they are 150 calories each. All goodnessknows bars are also conveniently precut into 4 small snacking squares, meaning you can grab them in-between emails or politely between sentences. If I’ve got a full bar in front of me, something in me wants to eat it as fast as possible like an animal. Simply cut it into squares, and suddenly I can snack on this bar over the span of 20 minutes and not be stuffing my face like a water buffalo.

They come in three flavors; Cranberry, Apple, and Peach & Cherry. All the bars come with almonds and chocolate, so your inner fat kid will be happy. Apple is easily my favorite for it’s down home flavor.

goodnessknows bars are my secret weapon around the F24 office to ward away the mid-afternoon nap demon – we call him Napdor, Slayer of Productivity. Compared to chips, candy, or even lesser bars, these little gems keep me awake enough to play pranks on my sleeping comrads-in-laptops. They don’t seem quite as pumped about this as I am…

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of goodnessknows. The opinions and text are all mine.

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With all the new rule changes, everyone from the drivers, the teams, and especially the fans are all starting over from 0. No one knows what is going to happen this year and that makes for exciting racing. It also makes for a fan base willing to explain to newbies the intricacies of the sport. Nobody has any idea how this season will turn out, so it seems that everyone is all too willing to volunteer their personal theory.

I watched my first F1 race two weeks ago in a crowded downtown LA bar, and it was a total delight. The TVs were too small, the sound was muffled, I had a terrible seat, and it was all great. Despite my virginal knowledge of the sport, I felt a part of this community and joined in their excitements and disappointments. For those two hours, I was an F1 fan.

Get out there, find a Meetup or Facebook group that organizes public viewing parties of the races in your town. Show up, get a plate of wings, and join in the fun of watching the teams and the fans try to figure out the new regulatory landscape. The racing has been good so far this year, and we’re only 2 races in. Plenty of time to jump in, down some beers, and join the F1 crowd.

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