Hi Friends,
Below are 4 things taken from Tim Ferris’s “4 Hour Work Week.” These ideas support a both a “Lifestyle Business” and More Effective Management. Things for an entrepreneur like you (or me) to think about. Thought you might find interesting.
Christian Rovsek
CEO, Founder
855-88-FIRST
Use the 80/20 rule: 80 percent of the results come from 20 percent of the time and effort.
Daniel Goodman / Business Insider
Working incredibly long days but still feeling like you have work to do is a sign that you’re doing something wrong.
Ask these two questions, inspired by economist Pareto, to get back on track, Ferris writes:
“What 20% of sources are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness?”
“Which 20% of sources are resulting in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?”
That helps you identify tasks or customers or relationships that you should just drop in order to focus on what makes you productive and successful.
Most problems solve themselves. Stop making an emergency out of everything and “cultivate selective ignorance.”
Most of the information you get isn’t data designed to help you solve problems. It’s a distraction, and frequently beyond your control.
The more you limit information to the former, the less time you spend looking, absorbing, and responding to things that aren’t productive. Try consuming less media, and limiting the emails or phone calls you take to ones that immediately impact your current task for most of the day.
One trick is to answer emails twice a day, at noon and 4 in the afternoon.
Don’t make people ask you for permission. Clearly delineate when you absolutely need to and avoid otherwise.
When you have people that report to you, it’s incredibly easy to get overwhelmed with requests, or to micromanage them with the usually mistaken belief that they need it.
You have to train people to behave otherwise, because nobody else will. Clearly delineate what sort of things you can and will help with, and let people know that they have autonomy. Most will respond positively to the increased power.
Consider a remote personal assistant. Outsourcing isn’t just for companies.
Daniel Goodman / Business Insider
In an age where pretty much the entire world is connected by the Internet, it’s cheaper than you think to outsource certain tasks to a virtual assistant. Whether it’s to do research, fill out spreadsheets, or set meetings, it’s worth considering.
Basically, if you can hire somebody at eight to ten dollars an hour that allows you to focus on something that earns you more than that, you should.
It’s simple arbitrage.
