The Real Secret To A 2-Hour Work Day
I recently attended a network event as a panelist on the subject of social media. Before the panel discussion part of the evening began, a group of about one hundred attendees who work in PR and/or own a business, were mixing and mingling in the pre-show drinks and nibbles party.
I was standing in a circle talking to a group of people, all involved in running their own businesses. As we talked I noticed a difference between how these people worked to build their businesses (or at least how they talked about their work) and how I work on my business. They seem forever busy, and while they were brave enough to start their own business, the amount of labor hours they put in is significant.
The problems people have with their relationship to work became clearer when I mentioned that I’m doing a productivity course from Eben Pagan (Wake Up Productive), whom none of them had heard of.
I told the people in the circle how I often have a nap in the afternoon if my body feels like it, which got a laugh from some, presumably because they couldn’t imagine sleeping in the middle of a work day. I felt the need to defend myself and explain the nap is actually beneficial for my productivity (Eben suggests this in the course – though I didn’t need him to give me permission to take a nap, that’s for sure!).
My naps are short, usually around 20-40 minutes long and are not solid sleep, more like a dozing in and out of consciousness. I feel amazing once I get up, very clear and coherent – it’s like a reset button when you are feeling tired in the afternoon. Eben, and people he quoted, concurred about the effectiveness of napping for improved productivity.
This concept, the idea of “not working” when it’s designated work time based on what society tells you or how you have conditioned yourself, is something that lots of entrepreneurs and certainly employees have trouble coming to terms with. If you’re working for someone else then obviously you can’t just go to sleep on the job and if you are working for yourself the sense of obligation to keep producing is very strong – you feel guilty if you don’t work a 12 hour day.
Personally I got over the typical working day time structure a long time ago. Truth be told, I never really had to adopt it because I went from school, to university to running my own business at my own pace, so I never had the stringent nine-to-five mentality applied to my life, even if most people around me live that way Monday to Friday.
Do You Work Too Hard?
Toronto Meet-Up Recap – What Was The Most Common Question Asked?
Last night was the Toronto bloggers and blog readers meet-up organized between myself and John Chow.
I forced John, his readers and my readers to go to the Live Organic Food Bar in Toronto, which I realize is not everyone’s cup of tea (no meat). I was secretly curious to see what John would post on his blog about it because he always covers the food he eats when he goes out.
John wasn’t too harsh thankfully and enough people ordered food, so I think we pulled it off. Who knows, maybe I even converted some people to organic vegetarians or even raw foodists (not likely! – I’m not there yet myself).
You can watch John’s video of the event below and read his recap here -
I’d like to thank everyone who turned up. It was great as always to talk to so many like minded individuals all following the blogging path.
If you attended the event and want to keep up with anyone you met, don’t forget you can go to this Facebook event page and find a list of people who attended (or at least who RSVP’d).
A Common Thread
We talked about all kinds of topics but one thing stuck out in my mind after the event as the most common thread, something which people continued to ask me about throughout the night in some shape or form.
I have to blame Tim Ferriss for this, it’s his fault.
Everyone is dying to emulate the 4-Hour Workweek.
As testament to how much people don’t like their day job and desire travel and lifestyle freedom, I was asked how I manage to travel and blog and earn a good living running a business several times by different people. I think that has to be the greatest motivation for a lot of people to start an Internet business and one of the main reasons you read this blog.
To answer this question, last night I mentioned two factors -
4 Tips For Becoming A More Productive Entrepreneur
These tips will make you a better human being in my opinion, but you have to stay on topic, so let’s focus on business.
Over the past few months I’ve experimented with some lifestyle changes. Not all of these changes were specifically about improving my business or working life, but they have enabled me to become more efficient at what I do during the day with my work. I suspect they will have a similar effect on you if you do them too.
Some of these tips, at least on the surface, might seem a bit dramatic to some people, others will laugh and say they have been doing these things for years. Either way, please read this advice with a mindset of how you could possibly implement them to help your life and your business.
Can What You Do Today Make You Money Tomorrow?
I was having a discussion with some people about what I do for a living and again the topic of whether I really work two hours per day came up.
I was interrupted mid sentence when I was about to explain that to make money from my blogs it takes about two hours per day, but I work much more than that, when someone who knows my working habits butted in and gave a good explanation of how I currently work. It went something along the lines of this…
two hours per day, but he’s working now so
he doesn’t have work too hard in the future.“
This got me thinking about how I, err, think, when deciding what I do with my time.
I have some basic criteria when it comes to what work I choose to do, they are:
Podcast: Interview with Tim Ferriss of The 4-Hour Workweek
Download the MP3 [ 40 Minutes - 9.11 MB]
You have likely heard this name circulating all over the web lately – Timothy Ferriss, author of the 4-Hour-Workweek – who I had a chance to interview last week and I deliver today in podcast format for your listening pleasure.
Tim has been popping up on interviews at many blogs and websites, and his book and name are fast becoming standard reference points for anyone looking to break out of the 9-5 working grind and build a flexible and fun lifestyle.
Tim explains how people can live a life of freedom, spend time traveling and doing what they enjoy, and live like a millionaire while earning only a standard salary. Of course Tim didn’t just make this stuff up – he’s been living what his book teaches for years, traveling around the planet and achieving some amazing feats, including:
- First American in history to hold a Guinness World Record in tango
- National Chinese kickboxing champion
- MTV breakdancer in Taiwan
- Hurling competitor in Ireland
- Actor on hit TV series in mainland China and Hong Kong
Tim has done a lot in his 29 years, but what will interest the readers of Entrepreneurs-Journey.com is how he has progressed from working as an employee (and getting fired multiple times), to a true business owner, working ON the business a few hours a week, and not working IN the business for 60 hours a week.
I recently finished reading Tim’s book, The 4-Hour Workweek, and I have to say it’s a fantastic manifesto, especially for entrepreneurs who need to be shown how it is possible to let go and allow others take over aspects of your business, or for employees, who need to learn how to take more control and negotiate an arrangement with your employer where you can provide greater value for the company you work for, but also increase the amount of freedom you have to do other things.
This podcast interview provides a nice introduction to Tim and his concepts, I hope you enjoy it.
