GetQuik Blog

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

To Do to Done

The demands for time has created a pressing need for an effective strategy to keep track of everything.

Calendars:

Using Outlook or Google Calendar has helped keep track of the many events, calls, and time based "to do" items.

Contact Management:

Facebook, LinkedIn, Outlook and our mobile phone contact lists allow us to quick find and connect with our personal and business contacts.

Event Management:

Facebook and Evite allow us to quickly find, calendar and plan our events.

Even with all these powerful tools, our "to do" lists continue to stay full. It has been 6 months or so since I first read "4 Hour Workweek" by Tim Ferriss, and I recommend this book for anyone who wants to get things done more effectively. I have been surprised at how effective Ferriss' techniques have been. Here are a few things that I have been working on:

1) NOT checking email first thing in the morning and multiple times through the day.

Email is such a distracting force, that it drives your day, rather than allowing you to manager your time. Set aside some time in the afternoon to deal with your email and you will find that you are getting way more done due to this "batching" process.

2) Do Nothing!

There is the item that is perpetually on your "to do" list, yet it never is important enough to take priority over the more important tasks or the emergencies cropping up throughout the day. TAKE IT OFF YOUR LIST! Most likely nothing will have changed, except you have one less thing to stress about.

3) Get your Important, yet Challenging Tasks done first.

The item that you need to get done that won't go away (i.e. filing taxes) is looming. Get it done. Not only will it free your mind making you more effective, but it will make you feel better.

Changing your work habits are not easy, but once you get accustomed to suggestions (1) and (2), it gets easier and easier to stick to these best practices. The hardest change to implement is suggestion (3). If you are able to use Ferriss' game plan, you will see major results in a short period of time, and your stress level will decrease significantly.

Labels: 4 hour workweek, tim ferriss, time management, to do lists, work productivity

¶ 8:55 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

Thursday, February 28, 2008

In Other Words

Does business advise from the 60's and 80's apply today?

After reading Peter Drucker's classic "The Effective Executive" (1966) and "In Search of Excellence" (1982) - Thomas J Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr., I would answer "yes".

First a short review of the two books.

Drucker's "Effective Executive":

(disclaimer - Drucker's concepts are simple. Drucker's genius is his ability to present these common sense ideas into startling epiphanies. This review does not do justice to his book.)

Time Management: Record where your time goes (having someone else record your time is best). Are you satisfied that your time is being spent on essential and high impact activities? If not, find the time wasting activities and delegate or simply quit doing these activities.

Focus on Contribution: Effective executives focus on results not effort. This point leads back to time management. Just because an executive is working long hours or dilligently, does not ensure he or she is adding significant value to the organization.

Maximize Strenths: Rather than lamenting an employees mistakes and weaknesses, an effective executive appreciates this employees strengths and finds ways to utilize their strengths accordingly.

Make a Decision: Effective executives are good at analyzing a problem and then taking decisive action. They do not fall into the analysis-paralysis trap. The worst mistake it inaction.

"In Search of Excellence"

Close to the Customer: The top performing company have a strong emphasis on listening to their customers in order to innovate and service their customers more effectively.

Entreneurship: Excellent companies encourage, nurture, and champion innovation. Passionate employees with wild ideas are allowed to experiment and are not chastized or penalized if the project winds up failing.

People Focused: Excellent companies treat their employees with respect and trust. Rigid controls and procedures are absent from these top performing companies.

Value-Driven: The top companies have a guiding mission statement, often created by the original founder. The focus is on this mission over all else, including market valuation and profits.

For those looking for more modern version of these business concepts, I found some interesting similarities between these books and other best sellers.

Drucker's "Effective Manager" offers much of the time management ideas found in last year's best seller "4 Hour Workweek" by Tim Ferriss. "4 Hour Workweek" benefits from the fascinating accomplishments of Tim Ferriss.

"Built to Last" (1997) by James Collins and Jerry Porras is extrodinarily similar to "In Search of Excellence". Although Collins and Porras determined their list of excellent companies using a different technique than Peters and Waterman, the list of excellent companies overlapped closely. Both books have in depth profiles on IBM, 3M, and HP. The fact that "Built to Last" and "In Search of Excellence" came to similar conclussions on what makes a great company, lends further weight to the findings of both of these books. For the record, all 4 authors attended Stanford's MBA program. For someone who has not read either of these books, "Built to Last" is considerably more readable and memorable.

Technology, globalization, and communications have dramatically changed over the last 50 years, yet many business concepts remain constant. To turn a phrase, those who study history may learn to benefit from it.

Labels: 4 hour workweek, built to last, in search of excellence, peter drucker, robert waterman jr., the effective executive, thomas peters

¶ 9:34 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

A Dangerously Good Book

Tim Ferriss has delivered a provocative book: "The 4-Hour Workweek." This NY Times bestseller challenges assumptions about work and life.

The question. "Why work live a slave for 15-20 years?" Ferriss suggests that this work now for rewards later proposition is flawed. He recommends taking frequent mini-retirements and smelling the roses throughout the journey called life.

There is a saying, "work smarter, not harder." This books gives practical tips for delivering results with less effort and time. Through automation, outsourcing, batching, and intelligent delegation, Ferris has turned his nutritional supplements business into a cash machine while he pursues new advenures around the world. Ferriss has been a world-record holder in tango, a national champion in Chinese kickbooking, and speaks six languages. He uses unconventional methods to produce unparalleled results. Ferriss is one of a kind. He has the ability to have laser-focus for short periods of time, which he recommends as a better way to work.

The challenge. First you must know what work is high impact, and what work is busy work. Ferriss provides some ways to evaluate your work routine to analyze this. Once you do figure out what work is high impact, you must be disciplined to concentrate on these high impact tasks without getting drawn into the distractions of busy works and interruptions. Eliminate the busy work, outsource the non-essential, and automate repetitive tasks.

Working at a startup requires long hours, passion and intensity. However, even or especially an early stage company should be looking for ways to streamline and scale. Talk with any Sand Hill VC, and one of their key questions is "how are you going to scale this business." "The 4-Hour Workweek" provides answers to these questions.

Labels: 4 hour workweek, automation, mini-retirements, outsourcing, tim ferriss

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