Outsourcing Life and How to Eliminate E-mail Overload 15 Comments

Written by Tim Ferriss Topics: E-mail Detox, Geoarbitrage, Low-Information Diet, Outsourcing Life

The Master does nothing,
yet he leaves nothing undone.
The ordinary man is always doing things,
yet many more are left to be done.

Tao Te Ching
Chapter 38

Is it possible to outsource your life to other countries? By now, you know that I believe it is. But is it necessary to outsource overseas? Can you outsource in languages other than English? What is geoarbitrage really about?

These were some of the topics I covered in “Die 4-Stunden Arbeitswoche” (The 4-Hour Workweek) with Patrick Price for his Swiss-German podcast, NetzNews. The first 30 seconds are in Swiss German, a very cool dialect that sounds nothing like Berlin German, and the rest is in English.

In other news, my first “manifesto” on Seth Godin’s ChangeThis was published this week. The title? The Low-Information Diet: How to Eliminate E-Mail Overload & Triple Productivity in 24 Hours. This free and easy-to-read PDF contains some popular content from the book, but also a ton of template e-mails and bonus tips found nowhere else. Learn to read 3 times faster and cut your volume of e-mail in half. This manifesto is designed to get you there in 24 hours.

Download it here, and pass it on to those who need it!

Posted on May 9th, 2007

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15 Responses to “Outsourcing Life and How to Eliminate E-mail Overload”

Bill Enross May 11th, 2007
6:53 am

Tim,

Great stuff! I bought your book 3 days ago and since
implementing the autoresponder messages into my email
program, and only ‘doing’ email once a day at 4:00PM
(I skipped the ‘twice’ suggestion!) I feel a sense of
freedom that I had forgotten existed.

Of over 2 dozen ‘support’ requests from my clients
and customers, only one person has called my cell
phone with an ‘urgent’ request.

I’m spending my new found time implementing ALL
of your suggestions.

I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on hundreds
of products, plans, coaching, mentoring and more, but
for some reason while reading your book the preverbial
light bulb went off big time.

It all makes sense now, thanks for connecting the
dots.

Best,
Bill Enross
Bill Enross May 11th, 2007
7:03 am

Tim,

Great stuff!

Since setting up the autoresponder messages in my email
program 2 days ago, I have found a sense of freedom that
I had forgotten existed.

Of over 2 dozen support requests from clients and customers,
only one person deemed the issue ‘urgent’ and called my
cell phone.

I’m spending my new found time implementing your concepts.

Thanks for ‘connecting the dots’ for me, creating the
‘muse’ has been an elusive goal for me that now suddenly
seems very doable.

Best,

Bill Enross
Alexander Becker May 11th, 2007
8:02 am

Hi Tim,

that’s a VERY productive setup. Problem is, for the people who’d need to implement it the most, it’s hardest ‘cause you have to be wired along these lines in order to function on such a diet.

One addition to the e-mail -> autoresponder -> cell redirection of urgent events: Turn off your cellular’s voicemail. THIS saves another ton of time. I live and work happily without voicemail for many years now and didn’t ever miss a thing. Cellular voicemail kinda defeats the purpose of URGENT — if you’re available, fine, if not, well then you’re not.

One more thing, … I’m half way through the book and I AM certainly wired along these lines. Thanks for the inspiration. Alex
David Finch May 11th, 2007
7:55 pm

First, I’m halfway through the book, incredible! Secondly, I love the quote from Tao Te Ching.
Marcus Hochstadt May 11th, 2007
9:41 pm

Now, that is great, Tim! 8-)

I just found your Web site after I ordered your book when I ordered Mark Joyner’s new book. What a no-coincidence, isn’t it? lol

My head is spinning now since…TODAYYY…and I’m in on re-planning my entire life. Things like… should be possible to pay monthly for a Ferrari, as an self-employed, in Germany (you do have more such opportunities in the US than we in Germany I guess, right? So I started to google and, well, let’s see what the car dealer says when I approach them…)

Either way, thanks to your blog (i.e. to you) I found a way to get a digital copy of your book TODAY (instead of waiting a few weeks until I receive the hard copy, which I’m going to receive in spite of this, anyway) so I’ll find out how to outsource my video demo production by 85%, right? Yeah!

Oh boy, even though I haven’t read your book yet I’m so grateful for you bringing your knowledge into the world.

Warmly,
Marcus [now clicking on the ‘Add to Cart’ button at powells.com]

P.S. I already switched my Outlook off and started to apply your inbox-only-twice-per-day technique. Great! :)
Jade May 12th, 2007
9:34 am

Yes the book is definitely the right book at the right time. Being able to address the rampant cynisism and hopelessness that dominants my generation (gen X) is essential.
The quote, “Most people would rather be unhappy than uncertain.” hits the nail on the head in many ways.
Keep up the good work!
Jim May 13th, 2007
6:11 am

Tim
Great concepts and I really enjoyed the change this article. One problem with the outsourcing thing I can’t even get brickworks to reply with anything other than form mail to requests to contact me regarding my outsourcing requests. Any idea on other more reliable firms available for this sort of work?
I need someone reliable. Jim
Web 2.0 Expo: Tim Ferriss on the 4hourworkweek.com - www.gadgetguy.de - The GadgetGuy May 13th, 2007
3:58 pm

[…] Patrick Price interviews Tim Ferriss for a swiss podcast: […]
Tim Ferriss May 13th, 2007
8:14 pm

Hi All!

Thank you all so much for the kind words. I’m really thankful to all of my interviewees who helped me get this book out on-time — it was accelerated by two months and we had some tight deadlines. The timing has really worked out for the topic.

Jim, Brickwork is a great firm, but they’re getting snowing under by all of the people contacting them as a result of the book. I also use http://www.getfriday.com, but they are hitting the same issues. A good solution, and one that allows you to find new providers, is to use either http://www.elance.com (I have the most experience with them), http://www.guru.com, or other online freelancer marketplace. Be sure to eliminate boilerplate responses you get to your project, and assign a brief 20-30-minute task to your final three candidates to test reliability before assigning the project. I always test reliability (the ability to head deadlines on time, every time) before skill-set.

Canada has been a great option for me, as has the US. Americans in economically-depressed areas are moving more and more to online marketplaces to make their skills available, as the local markets simply don’t provide the demand that global reach provides.

Hope this helps! Tim
Gavin Alliinson May 16th, 2007
9:20 pm

Jim,

Contact Sowmya from the book(pg 134). I have been working with him for the past year and we have partnered up to form a company http://www.OutsourceSuccess.com

If you go the elance or guru route. Make sure as Tim says in the book that you hire a VA firm not an individual for $2 or $3 an hour. I found those guys really unreliable and 10 min tasks they were telling me took them 2 hours. Gavin
sean June 4th, 2007
4:10 pm

hi tim,

i just finished your book and found it very inspiring! i’m trying to get my wife to read it as i see her in the same position you were in a few years ago: overworked & stressed out!

we’re both self-employed, but the difference with you is that we provide a service, she’s a caterer and i’m an animator. how do entrepreneurs that provide a service better implement your techniques for eliminating/automating our life styles? sorry, if i’m in the wrong section but i’m not sure where to post this.

thanks man, good work on the book & congrats on the success!

cheers, sean
David Chan July 4th, 2007
4:24 am

“The Tao of 4HWW” - http://taoof4hww.ning.com

This had to be done as well, please check out and add to my discussion site about Taoism and the 4HWW.

Tim gives hope to us, the “great unwashed”, the “average masses”. He is a nutter, with crazy ideas that seem almost plausible, he is also “Mad as a Hatter”, but importantly he has a method in his madness.

Read “The 4-Hour Workweek”! Do it for yourself, have pity on yourself just this one time, and receive a little mercy in return.

Change your view on or concept of Success and get some cool tips for life, even if you think that you are doing well. You might not be doing as well as you might think, tear your life back into your own hands.

Tim shows you how you might.

By Chanster AKA Taoist AKA Aquaverdi
nico January 17th, 2008
3:14 pm

DUDE that is an awsome clip

you should really check out carinthia in austria - have some kesnudeln
Live Fire Ministries » Christian Lifestyle Design - How to Affect Serious Life Change March 7th, 2008
8:48 pm

[…] more meaningful. What Ferriss did is simply give definable terms to what I’ve been doing - Geoarbitrage, Low-information diet, […]
LosAngeles May 20th, 2008
12:35 am

Assuming either the Left Wing or the Right Wing gained control of the country, it would probably fly around in circles.