Your book was the kick in the pants I needed to execute on ideas floating in the back of my head for ages. Thanks for that.

I have always made my living marketing over the internet.. just always for someone else, whether an investor group in my own company or for an employer, I’ve never entirely controlled my time until now.

It’s a sunny monday and i’ll divide my day entirely between enterprise and exercise. Where there used to be BS and wasted time, there is now smiling and sweating.

The bottom line is this: i’ve taken back ownership of my own human capital, and i’m far more wealthy for it.

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digg_url = ‘http://infopreneurworld.com/2007/09/08/four-hour-work-week/’;

Four hour work week is really challenging. But if you are fortunate enough to read the book, you’ll understand why Tim (Ferriss) insist that the thesis i…

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I just wanted to compliment you on your exemplary use of the criticism sandwich in response to Ben’s comment. Glad to see that you practice what you preach ;)

Ciao,
Andrea

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I hope to be in London as soon as possible! It’s a great town. If you could do something about the $10 USD sandwiches at Pret Manger, I’d love you forever ;)

Cheers,

Tim

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Thanks again for the great site - its changing my life!

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David Allen is a smart, smart man.

GTD is popular for good reason. That said, I find that most people who implement it seem to miss David’s forest (it’s clear in his book) for the trees via what I call the “efficiency epidemic”.

It is all to common, especially among the tech-savvy, to ask “how?” before asking “why?” This means that they focus on doing things better (dozens of email folders, sophisticated sorting, the latest and greatest Blackberries, etc.) instead of determining what is worth doing in the first place. It’s a great example of being very efficient without being effective.

There is a limit to how much information you can sort and organize. For this reason, I think that controlling your information intake (via elimination) before organizing is better than finding new places to put information, unimportant or not. It is amazing how much information that others perceive as important is neither relevant nor actionable once in your hands.

Once you cut all of the fat and interruptions, surprisingly little management is needed to keep life running smoothly.

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I’m gonna go ahead and pre-order the book from amazon just to see what this is about. If the book really is this good the cost of the book is worth the risk of having another paper weight, usually you’ll find something in there that will be of benefit. ;)

Tim,

One question:
I noticed you link to a few GTD type sites (a book that I’m currently reading)….how does your 4-hour work week relate to that philosophy/thinking?

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Thanks for the food for thought. It’s an interesting and controversial post.

Stowe Boyd has some interesting assertions, but — just as two examples — his stating that connectivity is more important that personal productivity, or that network productivity is more important than personal productivity, are both that… assertions. He doesn’t support these claims with data, but rather states them as premises to support his later conclusions.

I don’t find this compelling.

I think that being connected in important only when the information that travels that connection is somehow important. For most people, their “network” is not just those close to them, but also micro-managing bosses and co-workers who consume time to feel productive, just to name two groups. To be constantly connected (i.e. people have unfettered access to you and the power to interrupt) yet ignore the trivial as Stowe suggests is contradictory. It’s one or the other, in my experience.

Last but not least, I would argue that the productivity of the network is second to personal productivity. Bill Cosby once said that he didn’t know the sure path to success, but he did know the sure path to failure: trying to please everyone else. I agree with him.

This doesn’t mean being antisocial, and it doesn’t require “turning off” completely or becoming JD Salinger, but it does require being selectively ignorant and training those around you to respect your priorities and work flow.

Thanks for the thought-provoking link, Ben. It’s a good counterpoint.

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