80/20 Strategies for Web Marketing, Business Systems, & Personal Productivity
This is a true story. I read the book over two years ago and worked like a dog to put his ideas into action. Now, I reveal exactly how it went down in my Five Part Series on the legendary Four Hour Work Week…
New to this blog series? Be sure to read the first two installments here:
Living in Berlin was everything I hoped for and more! I got an apartment. I took German language classes at a local school. I met plenty of Germans and fellow ex-pats. I took side trips to some of my favorite European destinations. I even met my girlfriend there. We both lived in Berlin and came back to the US together at the beginning of October 2009. In short, I had a blast!
But my original plan to go abroad and work just four hours per week or so came with some major problems…
First, there were general business issues.
When problems come up and you’re the guy on top, you have to solve them – especially when your business systems are fairly new. I’ve been in business for a long time, but this was the first time I had many other people working “for me” that I had to manage. This stuff simply could not wait if I expected to keep the trains running.
Of course, a true 4HWW business eliminates as many “people problems” as possible by not dealing with people at all, but my business is marketing services and people are essential to what we do.
Then, there were my issues.
Not working is not as easy as it sounds, people. Believe you me. After I got to Berlin, I spent the first month or so just aimlessly exploring, meeting new people, and frittering away the days. At a certain point, that got a bit boring. The language classes helped but not working at all was challenging. Still, it was very good for me to experience this. I got to let a lot out of my system and I’m a stronger person now because of it.
A four hour work week is possible, but it really should NOT be the end goal. If you’re an entrepreneur, you really should enjoy building a successful business. IMHO, you should enjoy doing it over and over again. Working should be something you enjoy, not something you’re trying to avoid…
But I do believe in working smart, not hard.
One of the key points in The Four Hour Work Week is learning how to delegate. Every business owner needs to learn how to delegate tasks to others to free up his or her time to focus on really critical things: marketing, new products, networking, etc.
At the end of the day, this is the real message of Tim Ferriss’ book: work smart and not hard as an entrepreneur so you can focus on the top priorities and stop wasting your time on frivolous #&!@.
What it all boils down to is this: The Four Hour Work Week is basically an expanded case study on Pareto’s Principle (aka Pareto’s Law) or the 80/20 rule.
The 80/20 rule says you should always look to maximize results by understanding where most of your results originate. As Tim Ferriss puts it…
That’s the message folks. To be a great entrepreneur in an era of information overload, you have to learn how to 80/20 everything — your email, your contacts, your personal life, and especially your daily business-building work.
As we all know, many of the examples in Tim’s book are a bit ridiculous. Stephanie was also keen to point out that getting in touch with Tim Ferriss is a bit like trying to contact the gatekeeper to heaven. There’s definitely something a bit disconcerting about someone so impersonal in his networking style.
But I do believe a lot of the examples and suggestions inside the book should be considered more of a bootcamp style regimen than a framework for the rest of your life. Try out the 4HWW suggestions, put them into action, and then do what works for you.
In the next installment of this series, I’ll show you exactly how I modified The Four Hour Work Week model to work for me and how you might do the same! Stay tuned…
Related posts:
Love the series, Jason! I have always been a bit skeptical of the idea of a four hour work week, but I like how you show that the book is about much more than that. I haven’t read it personally but I just ordered my copy of the new revision.
So are you still working four hours per week?
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Hey John! Although I have definitely had “four hour work weeks” in the past, my current workflow is pretty focused. These days, I’m working about 4-8 hours per DAY! This is quite a change from my “mini-retirement” period while living in Europe for 7 months.
Then again, this is exactly how I think it should be done and exactly what Tim suggests in his book: alternating work periods with relaxation periods.
Thanks for commenting!
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Jason, great post and I can totally relate to you. I’ve done the 4HWW thing and it get’s boring. Back in 2002 I sold my ownership in a company I created and moved to Hawaii to surf, and aspire to learn how to make awesome sushi. After a short period it was just boring, so I hear you about the need to find balance.
You’ve got some solid posts, I’ll be around more often.
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Glad you can relate, Spencer. Mini-retirement life can get very boring without some periods of work here-and-there. Achieving the proper balance is key. Thanks for stopping by!
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Great set of posts Jason – you are the first person I have experienced who has actually applied the teachings – I am just starting to re-read the book – first time I was in denial!!
Keep up the good work and good luck
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Thanks, Derek. I definitely applied the teachings in 4HWW, almost to a fault. I learned a lot but, as installments #4 and #5 of this series show, the most important part was adapting what worked well for me.
Let me know how your re-read goes.
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