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Working Less is Giving Me More
By Todd | April 25, 2007
Most of us in startups think the more we work… the faster the company will grow. While effort can be directly linked with success, Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek suggests limiting your inputs, outsourcing your tasks and working less hours can actually grow your business!
Amid the Twitter explosion at SXSW, I had the pleasure of hearing Tim speak. I must admit when his speech started, I was on my Mac happily using IM, emailing clients and “working.” I remember somewhat following along, then he related blackberries to a cocaine addiction. I laughed, because I have a Treo and I have two other cell phones and despite my phone being superior to the BB… I know that addiction all too well.
So, I closed my Mac and began to really listen as Tim spelled out the steps he took to work less and significantly grow his virtual pharma organization. He talked about applying the 80/20 rule to my customers, finding commonalities with the best ones and firing the bad. He also discussed geo-arbitrage and defining a lifestyle that is not only scalable, but actually enjoyable! At this point, he had me dialed in and I feverishly took notes on his tips and witty insight on how our culture “rewards” those who put in long hours.
He wrapped up his talk with a challenge to our crowd. The person who implements his suggested changes in the most dramatic fashion over the next 48 hours wins a free trip anywhere in the world. Since I’m an uber-competitor and felt like the past hour had described my email-filled, workaholic life… I decided to take his challenge. I’m happy to say I actually did win that free trip and have enjoyed emailing back and forth about my ongoing changes.
What changes have I made and how dramatic are they? Well, there are too many to name here, so I’ll only give you the top three concerning business.
1- I set an alert on my computer to help evaluate my tasks. The alert asks if the task I am doing is actually productive, busywork or a crutch activity. The results in week one, were scary and still can be (stinkin’ IM!!!)
2- After evaluating my clients, partners and business ventures, I found I needed some big changes. I broke the lease on a warehouse, killed two of my smaller ventures, renegotiated two client contracts and ended a relationship with a startup partner.
3- I freed up my time by outsourcing work to Ukraine, India and negotiating now with a resource in Cyprus.
Do I work only four hours per week? No and my life isn’t totally different, but many positive changes are beginning to take root in my daily routines. If you want more information, buy Tim’s book or drop me an email, todd[at]outsidethevalley[dot]com and I’ll tell you more about how I’ve applied Tim’s techniques.
If you don’t take my word for it, listen to his SXSW podcast, watch his talk at Web 2.0 conference (via Viddler) or read more from these guys: Business Pundit, Brian Oberkirch, Yahoo News andDavid Seah.
Topics: Books |
April 26th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Congratulations on your win (and your changes)! This is amazing stuff. I’ve been thinking about how I could implement some of his ideas at my organization (and how it could benefit me as well as the company).
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:44 pm
[…] more time saving ideas, check out Todd’s post “Working Less is Giving Me More”) Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and […]
May 2nd, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Hey Todd,
Excellent post! Outsourcing nowadays in a good idea on how to lessen your work but gaining more. Practical idea indeed. This goes with the fast technology advancement, having good employees online.
About Tim’s book “The 4-Hour Work Week”, it’s a great work. One of a kind! I recently ordered a copy of it, and if you want you can order directly at http://snipurl.com/1ilc1, since they have faster delivery.
Keep up the good work Todd.
Best Regards,
Samantha