Tim Ferriss Says, Work Less but Make More

in Forum: Selecting a Business for Yourself

Source of this discusssion: /media/episodes/3822/work-less-make-more.html Page description: Decreasing your hours can actually increase productivity. Tim Ferriss advocates the four-hour work week and talks to StartupNation Radio listeners about working less and making more.

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May. 15 2008 at 11:36 PM
Posted by: dkbush65 “Quote Reply
My question on this topic is that it seems to be easier said than done. Has anyone else had success working less and making more leveraging these principles? David Bush CEO/Founder \| eLifePlans.com Helping Leaders Design and Live Extraordinary Lives See My Blog at eLifeLeader.com
May. 16 2008 at 1:10 AM
Posted by: Rich “Quote Reply
i think it's malarchy. the implication is that you don't love what you do enough to want to spend any and all hours you have available on your passion/work. know what i mean? we interviewed tim on our radio show and his idea/concept is tantalizing but it doesn't really make sense if you love what you do... did i just say the same thing twice in a row?! Rich Sloan Co-Founder, Chief Startupologist, StartupNation
May. 16 2008 at 8:42 AM
Posted by: winston2 “Quote Reply
Turning something that you love into a business can be disastrous. If the business even starts to take off you no longer work with the thing you love,you spend all your time managing people, doing bookkeeping, finding money putting out fires etc. Edited by: winston2 - May. 16 2008 at 8:46 AMmartin@bccbusiness.com http//bccbusiness.blogspot.com
May. 16 2008 at 9:33 AM
Posted by: dkbush65 “Quote Reply
Glad to see that I'm not the only hard workin' dreamer out there whose skeptical of the "secrets" of success. I've got a plan to launch a new time management system for entrepreneurs called "Half Day Work Day". Pick any 12 hours out of the day you want to work and do so and the business has a good chance of succeeding! Keep pursuing the dream! David Bush CEO/Founder \| eLifePlans.com Helping Leaders Design and Live Extraordinary Lives See My Blog at eLifeLeader.com
May. 16 2008 at 10:14 AM
Posted by: LogoMotives “Quote Reply
I've been telling others in the creative professions to "work less, charge more" for almost a decade. It has a great deal to do with marketing your value - rather than just promoting what you actually do. Besides, to many, there is the perception if something costs more it must be better - I use that to my advantage. Each time I have raised my rates I get more, rahter than less, work. Many independent business people a simply not charging enough for the service or product they offer. Having great income potential does help create a balance in one's life. I don't want to be working ALL the time. Years ago I allowed myself the "summer office hours" of Monday - Thursday; 8:00-5:00. After Labor day I would change the message on my voice mail to Monday-Friday office hours. About ten years ago I went to change that message and suddenly realized that I only wanted to work a four-day work week - and the "summer office hours became year-round. I'm working to live - instead of living to work. I have no client contact at all on Fridays. I am free to do as I wish on that day of the week. Today I am going to spend some time marketing/self-promotion my work (something I really love to do), play in the dirt of my garden (a passion) and then read a book for pleasure (another passion). - J. Jeff Fisher \| Jeff Fisher LogoMotives bLog-oMotives \| Logo Notions \| Identity Crisis!
May. 16 2008 at 10:23 AM
Posted by: Rich “Quote Reply
jeff, souds like you have a great system in place. it's all about doing the things you love to do. if that means friday you do something else that you love, that's perfect! my point is that if you love what you're spending your time doing, it's not "work". Rich Sloan Co-Founder, Chief Startupologist, StartupNation
May. 16 2008 at 10:39 AM
Posted by: dkbush65 “Quote Reply
I think Jeff's idea of working less and living more is ultimately what Tim Ferriss is getting at in his book and I think that we should all try to work smart and leverage the talents of our people. I tried outsourcing to India with a reputable firm and it was a disaster. What I got for the cut rate on labor I paid for 10x over in miscommunications and less than quality work. It took me me more hours to correct what they did that it became unprofitable. I'm liking Jeff's idea on the Summer work schedule and do something similar except I also try to do the same thing on Mondays (no customers). I play like it's game day Tue/Wed/Thurs and do more planning, practice and fun stuff on Mon/Fri. I did a webinar on this concept if anyone is interested (see http://www.elifeplans.com/video/10db37/10db37.html). Here's a link to download the Executive Business Optimizer (Microsoft Excel 2003 Workbook) that we use in our executive coaching (see the tab labeled "Time Blocking")... http://www.lifeplancommunity.com/media/files/BusinessOptimizer-executive2.xls Hope this helps. David Bush CEO/Founder \| eLifePlans.com Helping Leaders Design and Live Extraordinary Lives See My Blog at eLifeLeader.com
May. 16 2008 at 4:57 PM
Posted by: CraigL “Quote Reply
Listening to the interview, I think it's like a lot of things these days, where it's being interpreted in different ways. My takeaway from the interview shows by example. In today's world, the majority of people seem to believe that an incomming phone call takes priority over EVERYthing else. That means a ringing phone is allowed to interrupt all other aspects of life: dinner, conversation, playing with the kids, taking a shower, sleep, and everything else. Ferris is saying (in my understanding) that when we reassign priorities to "interrupts," to use a computer term, we discover that the amount of actual work changes. In my case, by screening calls, I time-shift those calls based on the priority of the content---not the fact of a call in and of itself. My taking control of the interrupts allows me to stay focused on a particular task, get it done sooner, and, for example, put it out into the marketplace. "Working smarter" is mostly about managing those interruptions, from what I understand, and I agree. Checking email is your own choice, but the incomming email messages are interruptions. What if we elevate email and phone calls to the same interrupt value? Which is more important when they're both the same importance? Ferris seems to be saying that we can't have more than one "highest importance." Yet so many of us today "feel" (not think) that ten or twenty things ALL are equally the same importance. That's my take, anyway. Craig Landes --- Defining the undefinable. "There are 10 kinds of people in the world---those who understand binary numbers and those who don't." - Unknown --- Success = Passion, Patience, Persistence!
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