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.
The point of 4 hour work week is to get a life while you’re working not work as an end all to having a life. You can look at just about everything we do as being either work or play; why not tip the balance and do more of what you love? As someone who has always been into cheating time to more life (especially in the days I worked for someone else), I found Tim’s book inspiring; don’t particularly care how chooses to live his personal life.
Did you know that Tim Ferris is a bonafide asshole?
Also, lance stratton – above – is a bonafide asshole and Tim Ferris’ official sucker-in-chief
I just found this article. I am amazed at how long you were able to contain yourself. I looked over his blog for ten minutes and wanted to vomit. I could not stop thinking ‘what a hideous looking, short person’. Besides personally finding him to be an unattractive, self-absorbed, Napoleon complexed little child, I was surprised to read here how people were lost at the way he won his kickboxing competition. He lost me at ‘Personal outsourcing firm in India’. Not to disrespect people from India since I have some really awesome friends from there, but even they agree they are not too great on the phone. I thought it to be outright thoughtless and disrespectful of people trying to get in touch with him. To be given someone they potentially cannot understand? He is obviously too cheap to care about the fact that people have been in need of employment in the US long before the economic crisis. And Wow! Neither business nor a fan can even reach him by email? Oh yeah, great guy.
I don’t know where to begin. I’ll keep this short. Tim has his assistants help him with time consuming tasks (research, etc.), when fluent English is necessary (email response) he has a Canadian assistant do it for him. He has the email responder set up to inform people that email is NOT the same as IM and should not be expected to be returned instantly (if you have an emergency CALL him).
In point 4 you say that Tim has a 100-hour work week some times (due to training for Tango, kickboxing, etc.) What Tim is trying to tell you in the book is that he ENJOYS these things. It’s not that he wants to get out of working hard for something, it’s that he wants to get out of the office so he can pursue some passions (tango, kickboxing, etc.). Many of his passions include minimal work such as wine tasting, traveling, trying new restaurants.
It’s not redefining work. It’s freeing up your time so you can still get paid, AND pursue your passions.
I suggest reading the book again and see if you have the same opinion. If so, that’s fine…you’re entitled to it. Just don’t let the hating get out of hand.
Having disdain go unfiltered is ok. She said she worked with him before, not just read his book/blog once. Ergo, the comments are warranted, seeing its her blog, and a recount of her direct experience rather than a simple one-off impression.
You sound very angry, and I think you have reason to be.
Good Stuff.
I think goals are so important in time management. You have to know where you’re going if you’re going to manage to get there.
fantastic stuff! to be really annoyed listen to this interview. No matter how cool or productive he is, his daily routine is quite sad.
Wow.. this is my first time on this blog and the first post I read. I will definitely be coming back. My feeling was that most people worshiped this guy.
Having read 4hww (from the library), I can only imagine that he unleashed his army of outsourced lackeys to pimp his book. Clearly he should have sprung for more original comments:)
my reading went:
————–
tim, me
————–
tim, everybody
————–
then i scrolled down here and left this
Penelope,
I have to step to Tim’s defense on the coffee trick; you are adorable and worth spending coffee time with, so however he managed to pull that off, I’ll give him the credit for doing it.
Relationships are much easier to maintain when you are doing what you enjoy, which Tim does while the cash comes in from a company he does not have to “manage” in order to produce cash. And if you are good at relationships, you know instinctively that having “free” time, better put, control of what you can choose to do, you can choose to spend that time with someone that interests you, like an attractive and intelligent woman over coffee.
I doubt semantics is truly the cause of Tim dramatically changing his income and gaining the ability to pursue what interests him. His book is subtitled “Escape 9-5 . . . ” which I think he’s done. Work is doing what others want for compensation, “non-work” is situating yourself so that money comes in regardless of what you personally do, and that’s what he’s worked to. Tim could have the flu for weeks or die and no one would know it. Despite attempts to raise him on email.
Nonetheless, I find you intriguing and have bookmarked your site.
Mookie
Tim is a master at selling and marketing. I read his book and I have heard him speak. His tactics and strategies for self-promotion are effective, just like the other professional self-promoters like Oprah, Madonna, Tony Robbins, Obama, Suze Orman etc. It is called Branding and he is well on his way to becoming a household name for a new generation with a new voice and a new perspective.
My grandmother used to have an expression for people like Mr. Ferris. “Yeah, that boy rode out West on a covered wagon, shot a wild indian and shook hands with the President, didn’t he?”
I won’t say that the Ferris book was of no value. It did spur me on to a freelance writing business that has fed and housed me pretty well over the past eighteen months. However, I do think that Ferris is a bit short on substance.
All due respect, you sound like a jealous girlfriend. You got an auto-email from him because you proactively emailed him…TWICE! (acording to your summation)
Listen, ALL self-help books prey on people who are desparate enough to seek guidance from a stranger, so it is what it is. Personally, I wouldn’t get any satisfaction from finding a loophole in the rules (kickboxing), but can’t you agree that there is some merit to the story? That often times people get stuck because they are not looking beyond the same strategies as a zillion others, so why expect a different outcome?
To say that you HATE him (which is exactly what you say)sounds like jealousy, envy, and a case of ‘it should’ve been me’ syndrome.
He makes some interesting suggestions in his book though comes across as an utterly contemptible git who has spawned equally reprehensible followers with their lame ‘get rich quick’ schemes and confidence tricks. His 4 hour work week leaves far too much time for him to wank on about how great he thinks he is. Give me Bill Gates or Martha Stewart or any other great American Entrepreneur over this Second-hander. That kickboxing win is absolutely disgusting – he’s actually proud of it! What a complete fake, I hope he gets a good beating sometime, jumped up prick. He’s brought little of value into this world.
Discovered your site by chance Penelope, is very good mate :)
Great post Penelope. Just discovered your site via a friend’s referral.
I don’t throw the hate word around and certainly wouldn’t throw it at Tim as the principles I’ve learned in his book have considerably change my life for the better.
I think more people have something to gain from Tim’s life-in-the-extreme then they have to lose by becoming caught in a sort of meta-pursuit.
I’ve always figured Tim’s life is either A) Nowhere near as extremely productive as he makes it out to be. (My life is certainly less interesting than my Twitter followers may believe it to be.) or B) Actually is as extremely productive as he makes it out to be.
If the first, then more power to Tim for leveraging semantics and marketing his product (himself) so well.
If the later, than it is thus a life I wish not to have, but this is strictly a personal choice stemming from my unique desired outcome.
Productivity is, for me, simply a means to an end. The end being positive experience which can and does happen inside of every moment…be it on either side of the 80 or the 20.
I just finished reading the 4-hour workweek and I have to admit that it has given me hope that someday I’ll be able to “retire” on passive income. However, my logical side says that it will only be possible by working my butt off for the next 10 years or so.
The book probably caters to the “get rich quick” crowd that aren’t willing to put in this effort. Most people will read this book, but few will actually make it happen for them. There are dreamers and there are doers – that’s what it comes down to.
This post was awesome–thank you!
One other point: Tim Ferris’ approach is a slap in the face to freelance writers and researchers in the U.S. By outsourcing these tasks to India, how can we compete? By taking low-ball jobs off Craigslist? (That’s Tim’s other suggested source of outsourcing help. Figures.)
And as for relationships–well, those take “work,” don’t they?
Frankly, Ferris’ life on endless world tour, constantly seeking new “vocations” (i.e., unpaid work), sounds exhausting to me. The jet lag alone would kill me.
I don’t care that Tim Ferris wants to live this way. I just don’t think he’s someone worth emulating.
I’m a freelance writer, Debbi, and I’ll be honest, I’m really not all that afraid of foreign competition. I’m an American, but 3/4 of my own clients aren’t in the US, anyway! So, I’m the “outsourced competition” what with the pound and the Australian dollar being stronger than the US dollar at the moment.
The whole “outsource to India” thing? It’s unlikely in the extreme that anyone but someone whose first language IS English can possibly compete with my work. If it isn’t and they’re THAT good, they deserve to be competition, and I’m a better writer for that extra spur.
The point of going freelance, IMHO, is that you’re willing to slug it out in the free market. If you need a protected job, I don’t think being a writer is really a good career match.
I’m not as afraid for myself as I am for the independent information professionals I know. Most of my writing clients have come from referrals and in-person networking–in short, from relationships I’ve built with others (the very approach that Ferriss shuns). But things like market research, legal research, database construction and maintenance, Web design–these are all things the Indian virtual assistants claim they can do. I’m probably overstating things by saying a domestic worker has no competitive edge, but encouraging people to seek cheap labor (either foreign or domestic and without explaining the additional value you lose by doing so) is, at the very least, a simplistic approach. If enough people believe they should follow Ferriss’ advice, it just hurts us all, by turning our services into commodities with work going to the lowest bidder.
I know what you’re saying about the issue of quality. I know I can write better than a cheaper writer who doesn’t have my command of the English language. However, Ferriss doesn’t seem to care about this. In fact, in one part of his book, he actually says that his virtual assistants in India “are more than capable of writing this section, so I’ll just mention two guidelines and leave the mental hernia of detail work to them.” That’s a direct quote from the book and it shows how little Ferriss cares about the reader. He can’t even be bothered to write his own book. He’d rather spend that time watching Family Guy. (That’s also straight from the book.)
Having employees is basically outsourcing anyway. It may shorten your profit margin but it increases your ability to do work, effectively increasing your earning potential.
Some things definitely should be outsourced though, like a good massage. No-one wants to do that by themselves.
Above comment very rude and stupid. And I love how the rudest assholes on here never have a link where we can see why their opinion matters AT ALL. Perhaps there is a connection between being unnecessarily rude, and tiny penises?
And by the way, Ms. Trunk—you are smokin’ hot, and I have above average intelligence.
Tim distinguishes between a muse and a vocation.
A muse makes your basic money you need to live your lifestyle design now — which usually takes less money than we think. This muse is what takes 4 hours a week.
A vocation is your mission or passion. You may or may not make money with it. But your vocation is what you choose to invest your whole self into regardless of money. Your muse is what allows you to immerse yourself in your vocation — at least until it pays you enough to replace the muse.
Tim’s supplement business is his muse. The 4HWW phenomenon is his vocation.
The problem I have with the 4HWW is that it takes a whole lot of people usually working full time to make your muse run. Who do the outsourcers outsource their work to?
This doesn’t make the concept evil, but it does show its shortcomings as a lifestyle unattainable by most. Now, for those who use their muse to free themselves up to give to the world in their vocation, they can take extra satisfaction in knowing they are providing a good means of living for some who are glad to have it, even though they may never live the 4HWW life themselves.
In an ideal world everyone would be paid well for their vocation, with everyone doing work suited to them, and with all needs being met thereby. Maranatha.
hey – you GO girl with your brazen opinions! Loved reading this and could not even finish his book abd it all became mumbo-jumbo to me. All I know is it produced a gaggle of people wondering what they were doing wrong and feeling bad about themselves after they read it.
Ditto on the last comment. And, Sarah, your question about who does the work if everything gets outsourced was one that occurred to me, as well, even before I tried to read the book.
All this talk of “muses” vs. “vocation,” though–back to semantic distinctions. It’s all forms of work. The difference is some work you’re paid for and some you either do for free or hope to get paid for eventually (like music or creative writing).
But the notion that someone who must work to support Ferriss’ (so-called) 4-hour work week could look upon it as a noble calling, even though they can never hope to live like that, too? I’m sorry but–no, there’s nothing noble about being used like that. In fact, it’s exploitative.
For what it’s worth, I wrote a column about Ferriss’ book and philosophy on my Web site. When I finished it, I happened across this blog post, so I included a link to it. And, with apologies for my recursiveness, I’ll include a link to my Web site here: http://www.debbimack.com/
I’m not saying that it’s noble to support someone else living that lifestyle. Doing work well, that you enjoy, regardless of what lifestyle the person you are working for lives, constitutes noble work (assuming it’s not inherently evil work).
What is noble is providing jobs for people by outsourcing work, and paying them decently for their context, so that they enjoy their lives according to their values.
My international and mission experiences have taught me not to judge quite as readily as I might from my American value set and experiences.
People in other cultures are quite happy to do the work we outsource to them, because they are good at the work, and it is better than other alternatives, and it provides the means to bettering their families’ lives. You need only read the response of a competent outsource writer on his blog to see what I mean.
I personally know one outsource worker who was able to buy an SUV and upscale her life because of her new outsource work.
And their is a difference between a muse and a vocation. A muse is a business that supports your lifestyle, where your knowledge is utilized to create a viable business, but most of the processes are handled by someone else. It supports your living needs.
Your vocation is what you are passionate about and invest in. Hopefully everyone has a vocation and does not merely lay around in the sun. Your vocation may or may not produce income. But your muse frees up your time for your vocation.
For me, since I am interested in philanthropic work, the distinction is quite useful. I am plannning for my philanthropic work to be self-sustaining financially, but my muse pays my own expenses so that I can pour most of my time and energies into my vocation. It is also fine for your philanthropic work to pay your expenses, but it is so much easier to build your vocation once you have your muse in place.
I’m partway through the book and all I can say is… Amen, sister.
The things you said are not polite sometimes but I should admit that mostly you’re right. Life is too short to spend it on that kind guys.
You should have courage to say “get out” or they’ll spoil your life.
Wonderful tips Penelope. Although, personally, I don’t mind Tim Ferriss. But, I take everything he says with a grain of salt, just like all opinions I take in.
– Grant S.
Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater! There must be a lot of bitterly jealous people out there who are comparing themselves to Ferris, given some of the ugly posts and language here. I’ve heard him speak live. He’s an a fascinating guy who has a lot of ideas, some good, some not so good, and some of which won’t work unless you are self-employed (or desire to be) or have unusual flexibility in working for somebody else.
I’ve yet to read a business or “self-help” book that didn’t have something that didn’t sound kosher or didn’t work for me. The point is to take what works for you and ignore everything else. If I learn one useful thing from a book or a speaker, then it’s been worth my time and money. I’m judicious in my expenditure of time and money; I do my homework first before investing in a book, tape, video, or live event to ascertain its value, or I indulge when any risk has small downside (low cost, little time, etc.)
Take advice from people like Ferris in an intelligent manner, not blindly!
Way to call 4-hour out for what it is. The dude makes money selling snake-oil “neural accelerators” and works a lot more than 4 hours a week.
@GrantS – I agree, take what works and leave the rest. One can read every self-help book in the world, but no action = no results.
I follow Tim’s blog and enjoy watching how he learns. It doesn’t work for me, but it’s entertaining and makes me feel as if “I” too am capabable of things I haven’t considered.
“When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.”
-Wayne Dyer
“When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.”
-Wayne Dyer
So, if someone’s selling snake oil, we’re not supposed to say so? We’re bad people to point out that the emperor has no clothes?
I’ve never said Tim had nothing to offer. Just very little. Other than that, most of his advice is crap, imho.
One of my English teachers reccomended his work and I wondered who he was and came to this site. I guess I learned a lot about him and his work here than actual his work, lol.
omg thank you for confirming what i felt intuitively about this book.
also, on his blog, he references the guy who wrote “the game” as some sort of respectable source…ick
THANK YOU!!! I have read his book and I have read his blog. There has always been something that feels inherently wrong to me about his approach to life. I always feel slightly dirty and greasy after reading his “life coaching” ideas. He preaches a lot of “short cuts” sometimes at the expense of actual learning real skills.
It seems that he only cares about winning… but not so much in respecting the actual process of getting there. For example, he wrote a post about freezing his sperm in case he dies, his friends can inseminate someone with HIS sperm so his DNA can live on. Basically, he cares about having his DNA survive more than rising a child with TLC. This is to me is the definition of narcissism.
I don’t understand why there are so many people, SMART people recommending his books and calling him a “guru”. To me, he is no better than the pick up artist on MTV. It’s no surprise he is buddies with Neil Strand… Two cons still can’t make a right….
The second point you gave is really very true and it can really save a hell lot of time.
Hate is so close to pasion
Tag of this post: “Productiviy.”
My god…
Your soap opera i so boring as (now I think could be) your book.
Soap opera add value to readers?
Tim’s book do?
(I wish Tims or you or anybody pays me for writing this. Mail me, grab some good bucks and I Paypal anybody. Im the best mercenary commentary on the net if you pay the price. But sadly this is for free, by now.)
“Smart girl kicks they own 4ss and blame the shoe.”
What a surprise you are not a bestseller yet.
Sometimes hates is love with fear
(or envy, same dog.)
And you have benefits for what all the crap you say he does to you! Check this out.
Is not so bad to be bad. It helps people. It helps you. Thats your message?
You hate Tim. He loves himself.
Maybe that’s the trick?
Or maybe you give luck. What can I do to you hate me?
Im writing my book too!
I just saw Tim on TED. I was struck by the lack of substance and then amused by the false modesty. What a pity. Who let the dogs in? I then visited his website, and it took only a few minutes to see Ferriss for the carney that he his. How sad for all his fans. I thought the bar has been set a little higher for these guys.
Oh Tim Ferriss.
I really do like this guy. He’s got some great advice. I’m glad you find it useful yourself!
— Casey
Raw Foodist
Ok – LOVE this, love your perspective. Are you going to the mediabistro circus event where Tim is speaking so you can ask him a question about building relationships?
Tim Ferris is the truth
I too had the misfortune of buying his book. Still sitting on the back of the toilet in case I run out of toilet paper.
Oh how funny. I can’t count how many times I’ve picked up this book wanting to buy it only to change my mind, thinking the dude must be full of it.
Shelly
Cheap Sewing Machines
I agree with you about the whole automated email thing – rather than sending out an email saying you only check your email twice a day – which is annoying – I prefer to go offline for an hour or so a day to reply to the daily emails. People get used to your pace of replies – and if it’s really urgent then they’ll be someone who has your number anyway and can call you.
Although I really liked Tim’s book, I wouldn’t doubt that everything you say in your post is true. Even so, I think you sound like a royal bitch in your delivery.
While I disagree with you about the definition of work (I would work 80 hours a week if I could do it from anywhere I wanted – I love what I do, and when it doesn’t feel like work, it’s not work), I agree that he’s totally disingenuous…just like a lot of the “blogging” and “social media” experts out there.
Wow. After reading your blog/rant, you seem like a jealous, snooty c*nt trying to make a case against this guy by employing the same kind of “semantics” you accuse him of using. You hated him… before you even met up with him for coffee!? Whoa! With an attitude like that, I’d be surprised if anyone invited you out for coffee!
Some of the most successful companies in the biggest industries in the world were started and thrive because of loopholes. And loopholes exist because laws and rules exist; they’re part of the same system. Tim seems to be playing by those same rules, however questionable you perceive them to be.
The bottom line is this: Tim is achieving though he clearly makes excuses for the “questionable methods” and/or behavior he used to do so… while you fail and make excuses for yourself that blame the world/system/people around you for your failures instead of the one common denominator: you.
PS. I’m curious. After receiving “some sort of crazy response about how he is only checking email twice a day and then instructions on what to do,” what kind of moron are you to email him YET AGAIN to “tell him that I do not want automatic emails from him every time I try to contact him,” and then act surprised that this “generated another, identical response about how he doesn’t check mail”?
Did you really expect his auto-reply to distinguish your email from all of the others? Why? Oh, because you were behaving like a self-important asshole? Well, now. That would make sense.
– “Ericunt”