The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss » Presentations http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog Tim Ferriss's 4-Hour Workweek and Lifestyle Design Blog Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:02:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 The Practicality of Pessimism: Stoicism as a Productivity System http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/06/10/the-practicality-of-pessimism-stoicism-as-a-productivity-system/ http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/06/10/the-practicality-of-pessimism-stoicism-as-a-productivity-system/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:07:01 +0000 Tim Ferriss http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/?p=1924

This is a recent 5-minute presentation I gave at Google I/O Ignite called “The Practicality of Pessimism: Stoicism as a Productivity System.”

In it, I discuss the two most effective productivity techniques I’ve found since 2004, both borrowed from Stoicism. I include personal usage examples, as well as several from Seneca and Cato. The audio is quite low, so you’ll need to up the volume.

Ponder this: could defining your fears be more important than defining your goals?

Suggested and related posts:
Fireside Chat at Google with Timothy Ferriss
The Secrets of Super-Productive CEOs – QA with Timothy Ferriss (Inc. Magazine)
Stoicism 101: A Practical Guide for Entrepreneurs
On The Shortness of Life: An Introduction to Seneca

For those who’d like to taste the various approaches to this format, here are all of the Ignite videos in one uncut sequence. There are some outstanding speakers:

]]> http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/06/10/the-practicality-of-pessimism-stoicism-as-a-productivity-system/feed/ 116