The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss's 4-Hour Workweek and Lifestyle Design Blog. Tim is an author of 5 #1 NYT/WSJ bestsellers, investor (FB, Uber, Twitter, 50+ more), and host of The Tim Ferriss Show podcast (400M+ downloads)
I’m often asked about how I approach New Year’s resolutions. The truth is that I no longer approach them at all, even though I did for decades. Why the change? I have found “past year reviews” (PYR) more informed, valuable, and actionable than half-blindly looking forward with broad resolutions. I did my first PYR after …
Continue reading “Forget New Year’s Resolutions and Conduct a ‘Past Year Review’ Instead (#559)”
I love testing new gadgets and products. It’s an obsession. For The 4-Hour Chef alone, I tested well over $100,000 worth of gear. OCD + Amazon Prime = expensive. Why on earth do I do it? Simple–I love sharing the 5-10 things out of 500-1,000 that really work. Strange fetish, perhaps, but I get off on it. …
Edmund Wilson, recipient of both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal for Literature, was one of the most prominent social and literary critics of the 20th century. He realized, like most uber-productive people, that, while there were many behaviors needed to guarantee high output, there was one single behavior guaranteed to prevent …
Continue reading “The Best Decline Letter of All Time: Edmund Wilson”
The following is an e-mail I received from Paul Colligan, which inspired me to finally take the leap and get Facebook under control. To tame the beast and use it, instead of having it use me. I hope you find it useful, or at least entertaining. Paul, if you mind me putting this up, please …
“We don’t beat the Reaper by living longer. We beat the Reaper by living well.”
Last week, Ramit Sethi and I recorded a private videocast for a select group of readers. The three short videos below, all 2-8 minutes in length, describe our blogging tips and techniques, as well as an examination of traditional publishing vs. self-publishing. He and I have both had the privilege and tactical experience of: 1) …
(Photo: badboy69) This is continued from Part 1 of my exclusive first blog interview with the co-developers of Best Buy’s results-only work environment, which has increased output at headquarters 41% and decreased quitting up to 90% in some divisions. When you take care of your life, do you develop overcomplicated processes for getting things done? …
Continue reading “No Schedules, No Meetings—Enter Best Buy’s ROWE – Part 2”
(Photo: yum9me) Managers often ask me how to use 4HWW within corporate environments. I now have a new recommendation to add to the previous list: read the new in-depth description of Best Buy’s Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE). How did a Fortune 100 company increase productivity at headquarters 41% while decreasing voluntary turnover (corporate speak for …
Continue reading “No Schedules, No Meetings–Enter Best Buy's ROWE – Part 1”
This fireside chat at Google in London was also simulcast to their offices in Ireland, Sweden, and Moscow. It was a blast. It covered tons of topics never discussed on the blog before: proposed improvements to Gmail (please!), the real original book title, using telephone vs. e-mail, principles and case studies, metrics (including exercise), analysis …
Here are some excellent tenets of self-interested (not self-centered) lifestyle design from The Notebooks of Lazarus Long by the inimitable Robert Heinlein: Do not confuse “duty” with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt …
Continue reading “The Lazarus Philosophy: The Danger of Expectations and The Beauty of Duty”