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 female is such an emotional creature…
Wow man your just a jealous hater. Get a life. Tim is awesome and his techniques work
I’m just now reading Tim Ferris’ book “The Four Hour Workweek” and I think most of the comments on this blog miss the main point he’s making.
First, concerning the kickboxing, his technique is as old as the hills and has been widely used in competitive wresting. It’s a matter of course to dehydrate and lose weight before the weigh-in, and then re-hydrate before the match. That doesn’t make it right, it only makes it VERRRRRRY common. Focusing all the blame on Tim overestimates the extent of his asshole-ishness and underestimates the number of assholes out in the real world.
Second, he’s not saying, “Be like me. Do what I’ve done.”
His main point, which in my opinion makes itself heard loud and clear above all the noise of questionable techniques, is: “Think differently. Your current way of thinking and living is not the only way, and maybe not the best way FOR YOU. Start thinking more laterally and you’ll see that there are other possibilities.”
He gives examples not just of things he’s done but also what others have done, inlcuding someone who makes his living from an online business that requires 2 hrs/wk and who is therefore free to devote himself full-time (unpaid) to being an animal rights lobbyist.
Don’t like his kickboxing technique? The DON’T USE IT IN YOUR LIFE. Like the idea of setting up an online business? If not, then don’t do that either. Like the idea of lobbying for animal rights? If so, maybe his book can help you in that direction. Run with the book’s ideas that are good for you, and reject those that don’t work for you. But most of all, get your brain working to think of other possibilities.
The book’s real value is to get us out of the rut of our habitual thoughts and ways of living and onto new thought patterns that can expand our horizons and improve our lives. He talks about kickboxing and lobbying not to convince us to do those things, but simply to give us some idea of the range of possibilities and to get our creative juices flowing.
Phrases like “the rat race”, “mid-life crisis”, and “same shit, different day” are common for a reason. The reason is that lots and lots and lots and LOTS of people are unhappy with their life, their job, their commute, etc. And they are unhappy at least partly because they are in situations not of their making. For example, nobody asked me, and I bet nobody asked you, if working 40 hours a week is okay; somebody else made that decision, and now that’s the way it is. We find ourselves in these situations that are set up not to our benefit, and little by little it wears us out.
What Tim is saying is “Change those situations that don’t benefit you, or get the hell out!!!!” Just because somebody else wants 40 hours a week from us doesn’t mean we have to give it to them. Just because someone is calling you or emailing you right now doesn’t mean that you have to answer right now. We shouldn’t feel compelled to structure our lives according to all these external demands. We have a say about how our lives are set up, what we do, when, how, how long, etc.
So, his point is: The rules that govern your life do not need to be the rules that somebody else thought of without asking your input. You have a say over those rules, too. Think of yourself as an equal partner in this world, and face the world eye to eye and re-negotiate the rules. Don’t let the world intimidate you into living a life that is not full of passion. There are ways to spend the bulk of our time NOW (and not waiting for retirement) doing things that we are passionate about rather than things that bog us down, that stress us out, or that otherwise don’t serve us.
It’s our job (although the book gives us tips) to figure out what excites us, and it’s the book’s job to give concrete suggestions for making more time for those things and less time for the non-serving things.
His message is not about jet setting, bending rules, or living an unreal high life; it’s about living our lives passionately, whether that means dancing Tango in Rio or lobbying for animal rights.
Mike, I couldn’t have said it any better man.
You live the market driven, society directed lifestyle. It’s a fake reality – that’s the point of Tim’s book and why it’s so popular, not his tips on time management.
Why do you “hate” Tim? I’ll bet you waste more time watching commercials on TV than you ever wasted on Tim – and you even pay for it. You have some serious issues to work out with yourself pal.
Give you an example, check out the feet of barefoot laborers in 3rd world countries and compare them to yours. Notice something? That’s right, your feet are narrow with stunted toes and theirs are wide, big toed, and strong.
Why are your feet so retarded looking? Well, you wear crappy, overpriced, underscienced shoes.
BTW, I quit my 6-figure job at a Fortune 500 2 years ago and moved to Siberia – and I’ve circled the globe twice since. I’m writing this from Germany, and I couldn’t be happier. I’d give you a link to my blog, but I wouldn’t want you telling the world that I’m spamming your site now would I?
Sadly, right on target. It took me a while to figure out Tim’s game.. but yes it is all some marketing cross-sell internet marketing. Pretty sad when you start connecting the dots.
I for one enjoyed Tim’s book. Since I have never met him, you might be right about him not being able to connect and being self centered.
However, the book is really good and does in my view give a good reason to pursue the internet and its benefits.
On time management… I think Stephen Covey covers this splendidly, it is not about saving time here and there, it is about doing the right thibgs. That’s how you really save time.
Thank you for writing this.
Tim’s exaggerations and lies deserve to be exposed. Don’t know if anyone else has mentioned this, but Tim’s claim to speak 5/6 languages stinks of bogus.
I am a fluent German speaker who has tested Tim’s supposed German fluency. Via email, but still, I can tell you that over and over he refused to reply in German, always responding in English. When I pushed him, asking why he never replied in German, he gave me some bull about never speaking German with non-native speakers (I’m american). I thought it was pretty obvious that his skills were far below fluent.
We’re on to you Ferriss.
You know, I’ve worked hard all my life and tried to do the right thing. But all I really have to show for it is a long string of bosses, some good and some terrible, and an expertise in something that does not particularly get me out of bed in the morning dying to do — I’m just good at it, and experienced. Little that I’ve done for “the love of it” has the ability to make even a small living….
So the way I’ve traveled is to get a job in a place with this skill and training, and then there I was — though I still didn’t have the freedom to set my own schedule, or be my own boss, and most of my time was still spent doing something I didn’t find particularly rewarding. I accomplished this through accepting total job insecurity in foreign countries and more or less trading savings ability for location, since the places which pay highly for this skill are terrible to live in, and the places you’d like to be tend to pay almost nothing.
The problem is that when I was doing what I wanted to do, where I wanted to be, or learning something that DID get me out of bed in the morning, I was making pretty much nothing, which led to a cycle of doing that skill that did make money.
The idea that you could work an internet business and not be consumed by it, therefore freeing you to pursue financial security as well as the things and places that make life fascinating, is the theme of his book and what makes it so attractive.
(I’m a second degree black belt, and the criticism of him for winning a tournament by weight control and unconventional techniques is silly, by the way — one of these lighter weight guys who had spent 20 years practicing their spin kicks “9-5” could have easily have dodged a push and given him a brand new face. His point was to play to your strengths in a competition, any competition; not to be orthodox for the sake of orthodoxy or attempt total “absolute well-roundness”, which is guaranteed to produce mediocrity. The tango criticism was similarly misdirected — if you want to dedicate yourself to the “spirit of Tango”, then presumably contests, as in Martial Arts, are not what it’s all about. If you’d like to get in the Guiness book of records, and have a great time doing it, then a contest is just a vehicle…. The only thing unethical would be representing yourself as a “life long devotee” when what you had done was win a contest — which in his book, he did not seem to do.
Where the book has fallen down a little to me is that most of it is sort of an existential journey about rejecting the “9-5 work hard and live after you retire” philosophy in favor of doing what you have to do to make money without it consuming your time and energy while you balance that with seeking out and doing what you truly find fulfilling now.
This is an extremely easy sell, a least to me, though he has some great quotations to back him up ranging from Seneca to Mark Twain to the occasional successful modern businessman.
Where the book is light is in the process of establishing that internet business, that “muse”, as he calls it, which is an internet buininess mostly automated so that it can produce the freedom to search your soul and follow your star in the present rather than the distant future, wherever you may find it.
Ah, that’s the rub. The desirability of such a thing is not difficult to build a case for. It’s only real competition is the person who finds total satisfaction in a single profession — let’s say, writing an advice column and adding to daily to produce a life’s work, for instance. In that case, they are happy workaholics since they want nothing more than to be what it is they are.
The big question is can a motivated, intelligent, hard working person actually invent a muse and carry on with their life relatively free and independent and not consumed by the process? Can we all do it is not a valid question — we don’t all want to do it, for one, and there is no one thing that we can “all” do, anyhow. The question is can any given, hard working, intelligent person dedicate themselves to this and do their version of it successfully?
For anyone who doesn’t want to do that, the book is merely advice to focus on what is important at work and try not to get to caught up in it….
Awesome comment!
Wow, you are bitter. try therapy, learn to let go.
Save time, save our money, thank for your great tricks, it help me a lots to manage my time in live and in works.
Thanks.
From your article about Tim, you sound driven, very gutsy and strong, which is a good thing.
I have some of those traits but get a conscience twinge if I speak my mind. Do you not get that twinge? Or how do you deal with it if you do to rationalize it?
I love your site its so inspiring!
Wow,
Thank you for this … I read the book and didn’t find anything spectacular that stood out. Actually, I found it quite vague and common sense in most cases. I also think that the vendors he recommends sends him “kick backs” for the referrals. Why would he promote outsourcing to other countries when there are American businesses that offer the same service (I’m referring to the virtual assistant bit, I use Red Butler).
Alex –
I love #4. “Productivity is about meeting your goals, not getting out of doing work.”
There are so many lazy people out there, that one is refereshing to hear.
I agree with #4. You can work all the hours in the day, but if you are not working toward what you want then it is just the same as if you sat around doing nothing.
Seriously, you’re exactly right. I agree with you on every point, people like Tim are just…. well, you know.
Tim Ferriss’ stupid book has bred legions of idiots and business wannabe’s who squandered their money on expensive vacations and unneeded tech support from India (outsourcing someone to find you a date? Truly Pathetic).
This statement really hits home for me “4. Productivity is about meeting your goals, not getting out of doing work”. So many people avoid work not actually working as much as possible but trying to pass their activities off as work.
Even though I don’t know this Tim, it seems he’s got a nice kick in the ass (or between his legs). Ouch.
I’ve read many books but these must be the straightest tips I’ve seen so far.
Anyone interested in Rhniplasty ? :D
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I know exactly what you mean, when someone just does so much better it makes you sick. Still, what goes around comes around..
You know what? I think I hate Tim too!
Thanks for making me smile!
Chloe
Just wondering…if everyone did what Tim says they should do –
1. Who are the doctors/nurses/emt’s?
2. Who picks up the garbage (I do not think that can be done over the internet)?
3. Who is the teacher? Can the professors at Princeton work 4 hours? (Although that tenure is nice…)
I could go on and on and on. People – he is selling a gimmick to sheeple. And the sheeple buy it. That is all. The fact that it is even analyzed is kind of funny. There is so much in the world that everyone, frankly, could have tons and tons of money – but then, there would be a lot more M***erFu**ers and that would be hell on Earth. We have enough of those already. A surplus in fact.
BTW – I am a lawyer who figured out a way to really work 4 hours a day (and take tons of vacations)….and I do not do anything like Tim. Oh, and I don’t cut corners, have really good relationships with people that are real and not on the Internet and tell the truth.
Back to surfing the net just for fun ’cause I have the time to do it!
This is a great article, although I am a big fan of Timothy Ferriss. I think your article is great, but I also think that Timothy Ferriss’s book is a gold mine of information. In the business that I just started, it is very important to establish relationships, but at the same time, I don’t want to create relationships with people that waste my time.
Right now I am building my business, while still working my part time job. I have been a bit abrupt or cut throat at times with getting work done and dealing with certain people, but since I only have a finite amount of time to do it in, I have to get things done as soon as I can get them done, so that I can have some free time. His book was also the inspiration and reason I wanted to start an online business.
He is in affect one of my heroes and inspiration, he is not afraid to speak his mind, question the norm, and often gets incredible results because of it. I have seen from how he speaks at seminars, and even on some of his videos, he does give off a bit of arrogance, and rudeness. Instead of hating or attacking him, maybe you should try to help him out if you ever run into him. A lot of people out there don’t know what they don’t know, if you ever run into him again, try bringing these things up in a respectful polite manner.
Besides, I have learned quite a deal from his blog, which is all free, and his book is packed with value and information. A lot of the stuff on his blog, he could charge for or make into a product but he doesn’t and through his own work and experimentation has produced some incredible blog posts.
While I am not disagreeing with you, and you do have some awesome points, for those that hate Timothy Ferriss, why not try to respect and understand people for their differences and not hate them for it.
Lots of anonymous folks bitching on this woman’s blog. Her observations are based on experience with the man. This carries more weight than nameless monkeys hurling bite sized verbal poo then slinking away.
Let the nameless monkeys say whatever they want to.
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Like possibly most people who got something out of Tim’s book, I’m really not bothered what kind of a guy he is personally. Most books these days have ideas that work and others that either don’t, or not for oneself, including Tim’s book and your book. His ideas have been pretty thoroughly argued against by people who disagreed with them already, but his personality is not really relevant to that process. Priests need good personalities for their brands, career advisors much less so.
Having said that, cult-ish leaders who inspire naively slavish followers generally do have personality flaws. They also tend to be supersuccessful at selling their stuff. And I like your time management tips :)
Excellent post!
Nice post, I truly appreciate the observations.
You sound like a lesbian man hater, jealous that he (and his book) is successful AND SEVERELY pissed off that he gets to make money all while doing the things HE LOVES TO DO! Which is not work. Obviously something you spend to much time doing, without the success you desire. Stop spending so much time hating, and more time making money and yourself happy. Maybe take a vacation, get some strange ass (or rug, whatever you prefer) and start enjoying YOUR LIFE and stop worrying about what other people do with theirs. Seems this route worked for somebody, eh?
“You sound like a lesbian man hater, jealous that he (and his book) is successful AND SEVERELY pissed off that he gets to make money all while doing the things HE LOVES TO DO! Which is not work. Obviously something you spend to much time doing, without the success you desire. Stop spending so much time hating, and more time making money and yourself happy. Maybe take a vacation, get some strange ass (or rug, whatever you prefer) and start enjoying YOUR LIFE and stop worrying about what other people do with theirs. Seems this route worked for somebody, eh?”
Chill out! It’s just the internet, no need to get so angry.
Sounds like Ms. Trunk is angry that Tim Ferriss is able to what he wants when he wants, all while minimizing his work hours. Stand you up for a date because he was in Argentina, did he?
I think Penelope is exactly the type of person Tim tells us NOT to be like in his book.
Take a chill pill, Penelope.
And pick up a copy of The 4 Hour Work Week. You might learn a thing or two.
I can’t really say that “hating” someone makes you right. I hope you don’t think you are.
Penelope, Penelope, Penelope! I am a woman, and I agree, your comment sounds like sour grapes. Tim Ferris might be autistic, a sociopath, or a very self-centred and dysfunctional person. I don’t know as I haven’t met him, but most very successful people do tend to have some “personality flaws”. In fact, the sharper the sword, the hotter the flame, or the more gifted and single minded and special a person is, the worse are their flaws.
But Tim did something very democratic and “giving” in my mind – he shared knowledge that has so far been shielded from the masses by the fortunate few. He is sharing some very important secrets of success – think differently; lead, don’t follow; take courage; believe in your vision and follow it passionately; think laterally on everything; question everything; forge your own path. I for one am really thankful to read his account. His being young, fairly inexperienced in life, and not a father of children makes it all the more interesting. It’s “fresh off the press” of his idealistic zeal. At 48, I found it a refreshing shot in the arm. It changed my life in a single weekend.
Personaly, I liked #4 statement.
Don’t hate – do love.
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Fantastic article, I hate wasting time! Loved reading it.
Regards,
Mr Muscle Mass
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Wonderful how you have used Tim’s name to get people to go to YOUR blog – seems you have learned Tim’s lessons well!
You make interesting points but hating someone is also a waste of time in itself isn’t it?
Yes, I believe that most people would define “work” as what don’t always want to do but have to do to get paid. And they would not define “doing what you want to do” (learning Tango, etc) as work. While shortcuts are not always good, they can often save you many hours of your one and only precious life. I think there is a lot of tremendously good advice in Tim’s book which, if self-tailored to the individual can indeed help people to (as Joseph Campbell put it) “follow your bliss.” I have reduced the time I spend doing “work” I’d rather not do to about 6 hours a week, and I don’t think that has turned me into an “asshole”, on the contrary, it has made me happier and has given me more time to cultivate more profound relationships with my friends and family. Thanks Tim!
I agree with you 100% I can’t stand doing things for people that feel that my time isn’t as important as what they need. Most of the time what they want because it wasn’t a need at all.
haha, fun read. Didnt check out Tim’s stuff but I don’t really need it. All you really need is a balance between work-life and i think it’s really important. bringing work back to home was what I usually do but now I don’t do that anymore. It didnt work out for me! Learning through experience is way better for me.
Having read his book. I wish I had googled him first. As a lifelong martial artist and business owner I find titles, and accomplishments well in the realm of BS. Not everyone can find a niche,and capitalize on it. Duplicating business success is like finding a perfect piece of fruit at the supermarket possible, but not an exacting science. Variables will always exist.
PS his youtube self defense videos are hilarious
When it comes to love and hate, my favorite philosopher, Blurtso the donkey, says, “There’s enough pumpkin pie for everyone.”
I’ve read Tims Book and so I can understand you but I think I can understand Tim too. Dancing Tango won’t make you any money (okay it COULD… but you know what I mean right?) – so it’s not work. For Tim working is defined by making money and not by doing things he don’t like (making money CAN be big fun)!
You know why you don’t have written a bestseller? Maybe because you only sell 10 books a hour and working 50 hours a week while Tim is selling 1000 books a hour and working 4 hours a week. Is that about time management? Efficiency? Leverage?
To be honest I didn’t like all the business stuff from Tims book but the time management tips are really awfull and I’am using them often.
This is the most whiney blog post I have ever read. If someone completes their goal because of a shortcut they found to work, consider spending your time looking to make your own life easier instead of bitching that someone isn’t playing “fair”.
Time management is about making time for connections. That’s interesting.
For Tim working is defined by making money and not by doing things he don’t like (making money CAN be big fun)!
This is the most whiney blog post I have ever read. If someone completes their goal because of a shortcut they found to work
Thanks for the post… a lot to take in but def worth the read!
That’s the problem of being in a “sales” position. You have to know when to turn your sales pitch off. Otherwise you’re just annoying to people.
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“over 13,000 followers on twitter and actually follows ZERO”
Well This is amazing !!