5 Time management tricks I learned from years of hating Tim Ferriss

,

I have hated Tim Ferriss for a long time. I have hated him since we both had editors at Crown Publishing who sat next to each other and I heard how difficult he is.

I didn’t blog about it because first of all, I’m sure the buzz about me is that I’m difficult, too. And also, his book, The 4-Hour Workweek, was a bestseller and mine wasn’t. So I figured people would say that I’m jealous. And really, what author is not jealous sometimes? I mean, every author wants to write a bestseller.

But at this point, two years later, my hatred goes way beyond jealousy. My hatred is more selfless than that. And while I do understand that Tim is great at accelerated learning, the time management tips I have learned from him stem from the energy I have spent hating him:

1.Don’t hang out with people who don’t respect your time
This all started at SXSW conference in 2007, right before Tim’s book came out, when he was promoting the hell out of it to bloggers. Of course, this was not a bad idea, and to be fair, Tim was brilliant to start this book marketing trend. But that is beside the point. He approached me after my panel and said, “Can I get you coffee? I’d love to talk with you.”

I said, “Uh. No. I have plans.”

And he asked who with.

I wasn’t really sure. I knew there were cool people to hang out with after my panel, though, and I knew he wasn’t one of them. I gave a vague answer.

He said he was also meeting three people, and he name-dropped them. I can’t remember who they were. But they were fun, interesting, and I wanted to have coffee with them. So I said okay.

Then Tim couldn’t find them and I had coffee with only Tim.

Then I realized this was his strategy all along.

I told myself not to be pissy. I told myself bait-and-switch is the oldest sales tool in the world, and it’s my fault for falling for it.

I even wrote a blog post that included his book.

2.Cut to the chase: Tell people who are full of sh*t that they’re full of sh*t
When his book came out, there were vacuous, annoying comments all over my blog directing people to his book. Like, “The topic of priorities is an interesting one. I like how Tim Ferris handles that in his new book,blah blah” and then there’s a link to the book.

At this point I knew Tim, sort of. And I called him on his phone and told him to tell his employees to stop spamming my blog.

First he implied it was his fan base and he had little control.

I said that I thought he was full of sh*t.

He said he’d make sure there were no more comments like that on my blog.

3.Self-centered people are more likely to waste your time
Really, when I found he was spamming my site, I didn’t call him first. First, I emailed him. And I got some sort of crazy response about how he is only checking email twice a day and then instructions on what to do.

I emailed him back to tell him that I do not want automatic emails from him every time I try to contact him.

Which generated another, identical response about how he doesn’t check mail.

So I called him to tell him that he is generating spam back to me to tell me about his email checking and I don’t care. If he wants to check twice a day, fine, but don’t clog my in box with emails about it.

He said he’d take me off his list.

I am STILL getting this sort of spam from him. But the scope has widened. For example, now, he has commented on my blog and he forgot to say that he doesn’t want to be alerted to new comments. So every time there’s a comment, he spams everyone in the comments string, telling them that he doesn’t answer his email.

It’s insane. I cannot believe how many automated announcements I receive saying that Tim does not have a Blackberry. (Yes, the email really says that.) What if we all sent automated emails like that? Email would be totally nonfunctional. What if Tim just shut up about his email and if he thinks its fine to answer twice a day, then he should do that? And not spam everyone about it.

4.Productivity is about meeting your goals, not getting out of doing work
The week that Tim actually works a four-hour work week will be a cold week in hell. Tim got to where he is by being an insanely hard worker. I don’t know anyone who worked harder at promoting a book than he did. But the thing is, he didn’t call it work. Somehow, sliming me into having coffee with him to talk about his book is not work.

Fine. But then his four-hour work week is merely semantic. Because everything Tim does he turns into what the rest of us would call work, and he calls it not-work. For example, tango. If you want to be world-record holder, it’s work. It’s your job to be special at dancing the tango. That’s your big goal that you’re working toward. How you earn money is probably just a day job. So most weeks Tim probably has a 100-hour workweek. It’s just that he’s doing things he likes, so he lies to you and says he only works four hours. He defines work only as doing what you don’t like.

It’s childish. It’s a childish, semantic game. And it reminds me of him winning the Chinese National Kickboxing Championships by leveraging a little-known rule that people are disqualified if they stop outside the box. So he pushed each of his opponents outside the box to win.

He is winning the I-work-less-than-you game with a similarly questionable method: semantics.

5.Time management is about making time to connect with people
The idea of time management only matters in relation to how important the stuff is that’s competing for your time. The stuff that makes time management the most difficult is relationships. Which Tim does not excel in.

Fine. Not everyone has to be good at making real connections.

But Tim runs around telling people who have lots of relationships competing for their time how to think about work/not work, forgetting that in the real world, where people are not assholes, time management is not an equation or a semantic game because relationships really matter. And figuring out how to judge time in terms of competing values is the hardest thing of all.

Tim is all about time management for achievement and winning. But there are not trophies or measurements for relationships. There is only that feeling that someone is kind. And good. And truly connected.

And Tim is not.

1054 replies
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  1. John Dunn
    John Dunn says:

    I actually do like Tim Ferriss and I find his work interesting. However I completely see where you are coming from. I laughed pretty hard at 3,4 and 5. Great post!

  2. Lover - Haters Hater
    Lover - Haters Hater says:

    You have read this comment even though you may not post it.
    Shame on You. Increase your popularity at Tim’s expense. with so many comments. I hope you dont post mine. However thats what people like you will be. Not Tim Ferris. BTW I heard his audio book 1 month ago and have re heard it 5 times since. I now play sections of it whenever I beleive that I am loosing track. There are sections that are questionable but he does not at any point in time say “Dont question my techniques”. Nor does he say “This is the only way to ……. your way is bull” Why hasnt no one thought about scenarios from his book where he mentioned of the ultra “New Rich” CEO’s. He never said that they are di**He**s for managing companies. He is all for “Do what you like (muse) without complaining – in the real world. GROW UP ORIGINAL HATERS.

  3. incurable hippie
    incurable hippie says:

    I sometimes feel like the only person in the world who hasn’t read this guy’s book, and this is the first time I have read anything at all critical. I’ve been suspicious of how someone can have such an uncompromisingly, unfailingly ‘inspirational’ effect on so very many people. It seems he maybe just has the gift of the gab.

    Thank you for your honesty, I appreciate it, and can stop feeling guilty for not reading the book because I didn’t want to believe the hype!

  4. scastelli
    scastelli says:

    I wonder if you cry babies could cry any more, Tim Ferris helped me change my life for the better – and attacking someone for the world to hear is just as low as the reason you seem to be attacking him for. Grow up and deal with life – you only get out of it what you put into it.

  5. Amanda Karvelsson
    Amanda Karvelsson says:

    This is funny to read, but you sound bitter…he’s extreme but he’s a quick thinker…and what does his success take away from you? You might want to loosen up a bit. I don’t think I’ll come back to this blog; but his is always positive and upbeat and never trashes others. :) Laugh more, and maybe you will write a bestseller one day!

    He has never said work is bad in itself, he only points to choosing your work, not doing what you feel you must to do to get ahead in corporate America. Unfortunately looks likes you are building a career on the latter. Don’t limit yourself so much!

    • Anonymous
      Anonymous says:

      The point is that if everyone acted as selfishly and narcisstically as this man, the world would be a HORRIBLE place to live. Its already moving that direction, we don’t need someone to further popularize the values and attitudes….

  6. MT McGregor
    MT McGregor says:

    I try not to let the word “hate” come out of my mouth or mind. If you follow Anthony Robbins, we are ultimately what we focus our attention on.

    An entire article premised on hate and anger at another persons personality, style, behavior, whatever, is a shitty way to make a point or teach anything really.

    Good ideas spoiled by a vile approach.

  7. Sarah
    Sarah says:

    So, Tim Ferriss kind of annoys me and I found his Tedtalk to be less efficiently structured and generally applicable than I wanted. I thought your tips would have been insightful and meaningful, but this kind of airing of personal grievances or complaints under the guise of ‘management tricks’ is ridiculous.

    Re-title the article and stop wasting people’s time. And automatic responses, while frustrating, are part of the email. Deal with it.

  8. Magilla Gorilla
    Magilla Gorilla says:

    I am so thankful someone with some degree of following has the cojones to come out and say what a piece of marketing drivel the book in question is. I am very sorry, though, that as is true of marketing schemes, “any press is good press”…the more his book gets discussed, the more money he makes and the longer he stays on the NYT bestseller list…so arguably saying anything at all contravenes my real wish. This book was given to me by a friend…my real wish was that my friend could return it and get a full refund so that neither she nor I would be contributing to this individual’s bank account and NYT bestseller ranking. I think Tim should pay me for the time I spent reading his book. Exploitive, self-aggrandizing, and to anyone with an eye for marketing, unquestionably, utterly cynically, written for the sole purpose of bald self-(financial) enrichment. Granted, Penelope is probably making a buck or two off of ad pageviews by starting a controversy, but thank God. To me this is kind of like the Oprah/”Million Little Pieces” scandal…someone has to start talking about it for the truth to come out.

  9. Kelli McCauley
    Kelli McCauley says:

    I was told to check out the 4 hour work week yesterday because they knew we use a lot of VA’s in my company and apparently Tim does too. I’d seen the book last year – a guy was reading it in the Jacuzzi at a resort in Hawaii. I teased him about being in a Jacuzzi with his wife, in paradise and reading a business book. I guffawed at the title (eye catching but sure to be an empty promise). So today I went to his site f0r 60 seconds and it immediately made my stomach turn. Being a leadership consultant, he promotes most everything we stand against. I read your post and my spirits lifted. Excellent way to make treasure out of trash!

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  12. Elish
    Elish says:

    I went to college with Tim Ferriss and he was a complete egomaniac. Every time people would be dancing and having fun, he’d jump into the middle and start breakdancing so that everyone had to stop having fun and watch him. I guess he’s still making people stop having fun and pay attention to him.

    • Anonymous
      Anonymous says:

      Pretty much confirms what seems to obvious. He is a classic narccisist. Selfish, grandiose, needs adoring attention, high need to feel or be perceived as “special”, must associate only with other “special” people, etc. etc.

  13. Elish
    Elish says:

    I went to college with Tim Ferriss and he was a complete egomaniac. Every time people would be dancing and having fun, he’d jump into the middle and start breakdancing so that everyone had to stop having fun and watch him. I guess he’s still making people stop having fun and pay attention to him.

  14. Gregg
    Gregg says:

    So you criticise the guy for his shameless self-promotion and then use his name to elevate your online profile and drive traffic to your blog. Classic.

  15. Jobs in the Gulf
    Jobs in the Gulf says:

    Time management presents a challenge to many families. You have children to shuttle around, feed, clothe, dress, and love: the big problem is that you get only twenty-four hours every day, just like any other parent.

    Effective time management makes the household run smoother reduces stress levels, and gives you more opportunities to spend quality time with each of your children. These tips will help you, and the rest of the family, make the most of those precious minutes

    First, you need to figure out your priorities. What’s more important to you: a regular mealtime or homework? When you have a good idea of what should come first, second, third, et cetera, you can organize your family’s schedule accordingly.

    gulfjobscout.com

  16. Jennifer Minnelli
    Jennifer Minnelli says:

    There was a critical piece in the New Yorker about Tim Ferriss…I found the comment about the “4-Hour Relationship” amusing and I’m sure you did also!

  17. Jennifer Minnelli
    Jennifer Minnelli says:

    There was a critical piece in the New Yorker about Tim Ferriss…I found the comment about the “4-Hour Relationship” amusing and I’m sure you did also!

  18. Jennifer Minnelli
    Jennifer Minnelli says:

    There was a critical piece in the New Yorker about Tim Ferriss…I found the comment about the “4-Hour Relationship” amusing and I’m sure you did also!

  19. Jennifer Minnelli
    Jennifer Minnelli says:

    There was a critical piece in the New Yorker about Tim Ferriss…I found the comment about the “4-Hour Relationship” amusing and I’m sure you did also!

  20. Firstdodson
    Firstdodson says:

    I’ve only seen Tim’s Rogan appearance, and this post makes a lot of sense, but is it not possible that overcoming the time-depleting ritual of an arbitrary 40-hr-per-week job using semantics to simply alter the reader’s perspective of their own reality to a form in which dreams seem much more possible is an okay thing? If it’s the case, surely Tim should probably admit that it is what you say: how to get the job you want but don’t imagine you could get. But even if he doesn’t, there could easily end up a substantial percentage of readers perceptive enough to totally understand the semantic trick being played. It’s not at the reader’s expense, but at the snoozing society’s for letting them all get away with it. Or maybe Tim’s just a dick. Maybe we’re all a bit of a dick.

  21. Modemwarrior
    Modemwarrior says:

    I found this site because I was trying to find out if my suspicions are true. From reading the comments on his ‘scientific speed reading’ blog, I get the strong impression that he’s spamming his own blog.  Anyone else notice that?

  22. Scott
    Scott says:

    Wow so where exactly did the hating start? Since you implied that you disliked him before you’d met him. Also your points for disliking him seem odd like the title of his book which in it tim states was the publishers choice (his original title “drug dealing for fun and profit” was a joke about his old job) and openly admits to not working four hours a week and advises others not to either. That’s over half of your argument gone because I didn’t judge a person or book by its cover like you seemed to have.

  23. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    Brilliant! I have also hated Tim Ferris since I first read his first book years ago (got it used from a friend so as not to add to his bottom line). I knew nothing of this man, but within about 10 pages it became it became painfully clear that:

    a) he is totally 100% full of shit

    and

    b) he is a self-promotion master and that is pretty much the extend of his gift

    c) he is a total douchebag

    Since I have a very sensitive bullshit detector and a very low tolerance for self-promoting narcissistic assholes, I took an immediate dislike to him. All his quoted “achievements” are fake, based on technicalities, hacks, etc. Everything that makes achievement worthwhile is stripped away in lieu of gaining the actual title without any of the actual skill or experience. Its the ultimate American way.

    Sadly, he is part of a whole crap of fantasy-peddling lifestyle gurus targeted towards American men. “You too can be James Bond, just buy my book.”

  24. Shockobo
    Shockobo says:

    Didn’t even know about this clown until I heard his pretentious ass on a podcast. I knew immediately what he’s about, himself. I’m just glad Adam Corolla shut him down a few times to play some cheesy music.

  25. 4-hour workweek, my ass
    4-hour workweek, my ass says:

    Your post sounds crabby but it’s not. It makes some good points. The scary thing about self-promotion in this age of media over-consumption is not that if you bang the pots loud enough, the crabs come out. It’s that they’ll buy a book on crab cuisine because the noise was so loud.

  26. the digger
    the digger says:

    You are my new personal hero! I read some of that book, not all.  I got a little excited but then none of the things Tim wrote about seem realistic to me and my suburban life.

    I worked in bookstores in Australia from 99-09 and have observed all these books do is help  the author make a lot of money.  They seem to think they have the ‘key’ to life/happiness/weightloss/men/women and need to share it with the world. But their key only worked for them because they figured it out for themselves.

    The best self help book anyone could buy is an blank A4 exercise book.  

  27. Timothy fan
    Timothy fan says:

    hahah timothy is a cool :) Probably he’s dancing or riding a motorcycle in the Bahamas while you’re bitching around :)

    I do respect him a lot !

  28. Henrietta
    Henrietta says:

    Perceptive & honest.
    I would say that Ferris has a psychopathic & narcissistic personality.
    Outsourcing to the poor is completely unethical.
    I was a proffesional dancer, & am a martial artist, & I can tell you that there are many “world championships”, not all of which are credible.
    He is good at accelerated learning, but he is not a good dancer – among other things, you can see a narcissistic disconnect from his partner.
    This is not about jealousy or bitterness; in these often nasty times I think we need to get wiser to people with flaws which are dangerous to others.
    I wonder if any of the hating comments are outsourced?!
    Thanks P.

  29. Henrietta
    Henrietta says:

    Perceptive & honest.
    I would say that Ferris has a psychopathic & narcissistic personality.
    Outsourcing to the poor is completely unethical.
    I was a proffesional dancer, & am a martial artist, & I can tell you that there are many “world championships”, not all of which are credible.
    He is good at accelerated learning, but he is not a good dancer – among other things, you can see a narcissistic disconnect from his partner.
    This is not about jealousy or bitterness; in these often nasty times I think we need to get wiser to people with flaws which are dangerous to others.
    I wonder if any of the hating comments are outsourced?!
    Thanks P.

  30. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    Oh yes, he is full of B.S. Time management is about your ability to focus on your tasks at hand. Today we have email and cell phones that waste our time. Each person must make sure they put the email and cell phones away why the important tasks at hand get finished on time

  31. Romano0323
    Romano0323 says:

    If people don’t recognize this, then they deserve to waste their time and money on this guy’s load of shit. Come on, people….understand that this guy comes from ultra privileged background (east/south hampton) so he never had to endure any of the struggles the “Everyman” and was free to “explore” whatever he wanted. I recognize that this guys true talent is marketing, but all he’s doing is preying on the weak and lazy and exploiting their desires to do well with least amount of effort. It’s simply pathetic that this guy has developed such an avid following. There are really that many drones out there? Come on people, open your fuck in eyes! Just like this blogger said, the guy coins “work” as stuff you don’t like doing….sorry pal, most of the world has to work had everyday to be able to provide and take care of themselves and their families. This guy has no concept of that. We’d all love to be able to live a lifestyle where we could explore and focus on our deepest interests, but you most people aren’t handed that opportunity like this guy.

    I totally understand that this guy is very intelligent, a hard worker, and very ambitious but the fact that people just eat his shit up like he’s uncovered the miracle way of life when no one else could is just sad. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it, life is hard and for most of the world, it takes A LOT of hard work to get where you want and to be able to focus most of your time on things other than making a living.

    People, just recognize and understand there are no short cuts in life and this guy doesn’t have “the answer” you’re so desperately looking for.

    • Irish overseas
      Irish overseas says:

      While I agree with a lot of the comments about Tim maybe not being the most selfless person around, I still think there is some value in his ideas. You don’t have to be a slave to the system. Why not travel and take take mini retirements, work less hours, try different things. It works for me, and I’m definitely not from a privileged background. And I’m a much happier and a better person to be around for my loved ones because of it.

  32. LMD
    LMD says:

    I love this article!  I had no idea who Tim Ferris was (though I’ve seen his book) and when I came across the name did a websearch and this article came up. I not only feel like I have been introduced to his book, but also that I realized I don’t actually want to read it.  Sure this is a bit snarky but it comes from an honest place.  It is a breath of honesty and realism that is missing from so many business books today.  It seems like all I read is about doing activities that promote an image (and if actual good comes out of it great).  This article alone is making me check out the rest of the blog. But first I need to go to Amazon and find your book.

  33. Jennifer
    Jennifer says:

    I read the 4 hour work week and I thought it was the most heinous way to make a living outside of stealing pensions. A pyramid scheme crossed with snake oil selling crossed with Amway. Tupperware parties have more integrity because at least you end up with something useful.

  34. Alejandro
    Alejandro says:

    Typical hater. 

    You condemn in others that which you fear in yourself. I thought the number one rule in the publishing world was never to burn bridges. 

    Hope Tim is never a gatekeeper for you or you’re screwed. Also, you sound very damaged. Like a girl who thinks every guy at a bar who talks to her is trying to rape you.

    I wish you the best in life, truly. 

  35. small business seo
    small business seo says:

    I just came for your Mashable article.  All I have to say is OMG.  Your article about diversity will surely get you a lot of press.  Not sure if this will be the type you want.  Good luck with that.

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