Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Work Week

I’ve just spent the last two hours on the couch reading a book in the sunshine with two cups of tea for company. This is my study time. How wonderful is that?
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I’m over 200 pages in to Tim Ferriss’ excellent and yet simple Four-Hour Work Week. I wouldn’t say it’s unputdownable, but there are some real nuggets in there about effectiveness and efficiency, and Tim is, well, an absolute beast and a bit of a legend. There are tasks in there for the reader to do, some of which I do and some I don’t, but I am making notes and will revisit as I go. The main take-outs:

The Strategy - Pareto's Law & Parkinson's Law

Review tasks with two focus points: Pareto’s 80/20 to prioritise work knowing that 80% of the outputs come from 20% of the inputs, and Parkison’s Law to crunch the task down to complete right before I post. As an example, I have 48 mins left for this blog. I need to keep my focus and not be distracted by my Argentinean housemates’ girly screams whilst chatting to her friends. Shit. Concentrate, man!

Work Tactics

Here are some classics, some of which I perform already such as turning off work notification sounds or email ‘message’ pop-ups, but the ones I like include:

1. Never check email at start of day (I do that right now, but have so few in my job it takes me five minutes and then I have breakfast to plan my day). Also, change to just twice a day at 12pm & 4pm. I will constrain this time to 30 minutes maximum.
2. There are too many meetings without agendas, and I need to ensure I’m getting value for being there. Last week I sat in a five-hour workshop that, although interesting, I added no value – why did I go? My manager asked me to. Need to restrict those! For each meeting I’m invited to I should press for an agenda or an outcome, or what they need from me. Perhaps I can supply the information without needing to be there at all
3. If the phone rings asking to come to a meeting, again ask for an agenda on the premise that you need to prepare to best help them get the answer they need. See above – I probably don’t need to be there at all
4. Cut to the chase on phone calls – ask ‘what can I help you with?’ or timebox the conversation ‘sorry I only have a minute, what can I do for you?’
5. Review send email rules i.e. send at 8am or some such. Email is not for chatting, and getting a response straight away with people looking to chat may not help you

Outsourcing - Your Own Virtual Assistant!

Outsource opportunities using Virtual Assistants e.g. what are the key messages within a book would be an interesting one! Tim references researching a specific price for flights or product abroad or whatever. I like it but unsure what I can use it for at present. I will need to spend more time cogitating on it when I go for my daily strolls. ​Will keep you posted as I progress through Tim’s book. 

Back to the Plan

Two weeks ago I made a plan around identifying the things I enjoyed and prioritising them. After a week spending more time reading than I have in months, taking photos without being on holiday (the two are associated hand in hand for me), I’m thoroughly enjoying myself and feel more relaxed. My plan is shown below and I’ve printed it out on a table so that I could physically mark something off which is quite satisfying and I can see the progress. It’s not fancy, but nor does it have to be.

The keen eyed will notice something that I’ve realised too . . . what happened to my goal? I’ve actually got no closer to combining my photos, travels and mental health passions. So, although I’m enjoying myself and feel like I’m progressing, and I’m certainly learning, are my tactical tasks helping to achieve my strategic goal? Nope! Time to tweak the plan!
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P.S. In the interest of transparency, I spent thirty-five minutes on a draft of the above, and another ten minutes reviewing. Twice. Then another twenty minutes posting and editing. Not exactly Parkinson’s Law in full effect - don’t hate me, Tim!


Image References:
http://www.mpowermed.com/insurance-credentialing-why-outsourcing-makes-sense/