The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss

February 21, 2008May 20, 2022

The Best (and Worst?) Autoresponders of 2007

89 Comments

Topics: E-mail Detox, Low-Information Diet

Reflecting or deleting e-mail can be an art form. (Photo: marinegirl)

An increasingly popular approach for escaping the inbox is the routine use of e-mail autoresponders.

Love it or hate it, reflecting or deleting e-mail can be an art form.

I’ve collected some of my favorite autoresponders of 2007 from Gmail and included them below.

The styles range from polite and hat-in-hand to direct and full-frontal, and include examples from both employees and business owners… Names have been changed.

February 19, 2008January 16, 2020

I WANT YOU to Become the Editor of a NY Times Bestseller and Travel the World for Free

82 Comments

Topics: 4-Hour Case Studies, The Book - 4HWW, Travel

I’d like to invite you to leave your personal mark on The 4-Hour Workweek. After 31 printings (!) and more than 25 languages, you can put your signature on a global phenomenon… and travel the world for free… Continue reading “I WANT YOU to Become the Editor of a NY Times Bestseller and Travel the World for Free”

February 18, 2008January 16, 2020

How to Stop Checking E-mail on the Evenings and Weekends

55 Comments

Topics: Low-Information Diet

[Reposted from Lifehacker, where I guest posted this article this morning.]

Investment bankers aren’t known for their impulse control.

Several global firms in Zurich don’t allow their bankers to check email more than twice per day. The reason is simple: the more they check email, the more compelled they feel to send email. Technologist Robert Scoble has said that for each email he sends, he gets 1.75 to 2 messages in return. This phenomenon highlights the unscalable nature of most time-management approaches: striving to do more just produces increasingly more to do.

Fifty email messages beget 100, which beget 200 and so on. It’s impossible to manage this with a results-by-volume (or frequency) approach. There are two cornerstone behavioral changes for reversing this trend Continue reading “How to Stop Checking E-mail on the Evenings and Weekends”

February 17, 2008January 16, 2020

Dating without Speaking? The Weird World of Eye Gazing Parties

31 Comments

Topics: Filling the Void

Michael Ellsberg invented a singles event called Eye Gazing, which took off like an addiction in NYC (“NY’s hottest dating trend” according to Elle) and has been featured in media around the world, ranging from CNN to The Guardian and others.

It is similar to speed dating but different in one fundamental respect—no speaking is permitted.

It involves looking into the eyes of each partner for 2-3 minutes at a time. If you go to such an event, as I did for the first time last Tuesday night, it becomes clear how uncomfortable most people are doing this. I don’t think it’s necessarily the best way to meet your match (and it can attract some strange people, especially in SF), but it’s a very telling social experiment.

For the next two days, test gazing into the eyes of others—whether people you pass on the street or conversational partners—until they break contact.

Here are three tips… Continue reading “Dating without Speaking? The Weird World of Eye Gazing Parties”

February 13, 2008January 16, 2020

7 Tips for Fighting Information Overload (Plus: Competition Winners)

34 Comments

Topics: Low-Information Diet

Do you feel like this when you see your inbox?

[Watch the video first, but this is what caused it]

Here are 7 tips for avoiding information overload from Ron Geraci:

1. Spot the signs. Feel alone even as you communicate with people all day? That’s a signal technology is dominating your life.

2. Take baby steps. Try being inaccessible for short spurts to see what happens. The world probably won’t implode.

3. Repeat these four words: “I have a choice.” People who say, “My boss wants me to be reachable after 8 p.m.” are likely exaggerating the control others have over them.

4. Set limits. Rein in office e-mail and instant message traffic. Who truly needs 35 daily FYIs on the Henderson case?… Continue reading “7 Tips for Fighting Information Overload (Plus: Competition Winners)”

February 11, 2008April 30, 2021

Learn to Eat Chocolate with the Real Willie Wonka

98 Comments

Topics: Filling the Void

Theobroma–“Food of the Gods”

Two weeks ago, I decided I wanted to be the real Charlie in the Chocolate Factory.

Two reasons: 1) because it seemed like fun, like when I decided to play with monkeys not long ago, and 2) because I wanted to learn the little-known art of eating and choosing chocolate, which I could then share with you. It’s a simple way to seriously upgrade your Valentine’s experience.

Since I use Scharffen Berger gourmet chocolate for most of my truffle making (70% cacao), I tracked down their most famous chocolate maker, Brad Kintzer, and convinced him to take me behind the scenes for a tasting.

Below are four video clips that explore everything from pairing with scotch and the taste trail of dark chocolate to the importance of blending cocoa beans for the perfect chocolate…

February 9, 2008January 16, 2020

Insane Superhuman French People

81 Comments

Topics: Physical Performance

(Found via Coudal Partners)

The land of frog legs and baguettes has produced, in recent years and unbeknowst to most, some of the worlds most mind-numbing acrobats. I found the above video last night and had to share it. Two questions:

What the hell are kids eating in France?

[Postscript: readers have noted in the comments that this first video was actually in Mexico, though some also claim Brazil.]

If you could have the physical capabilities of any athlete in the world, who would you choose?

I might opt for another French lad named Junior. I used to breakdance (at about 1:40 of this video), but he is superhuman. The clip below is from the Red Bull BC One competition of 2004. Be sure to watch the whole thing or jump to 2:40 — you won’t believe the move in the last five seconds… Continue reading “Insane Superhuman French People”

February 7, 2008January 16, 2020

No Girl? How to Express Your Man Crush on Valentine's Day Instead

64 Comments

Topics: Filling the Void

V-Day street cred.

No girl for Valentine’s Day? No worries. Problem solved.

Like millions, I’m enjoying National Singles Awareness Day as Lone Ranger this year, and it bothered me at one point. But then I realized…

V-Day isn’t about Y chromosomes. It’s all about sharing the love–period.

Why not show some Fight Club-style feelings for your homies with the testosterone-rich but heart-rending “I Man Crush You” T-shirt or Hoodie? 100% of profits for all products in February go to Camp Sunshine, a retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses… Continue reading “No Girl? How to Express Your Man Crush on Valentine's Day Instead”

February 6, 2008January 16, 2020

The Choice-Minimal Lifestyle: 6 Formulas for More Output and Less Overwhelm

102 Comments

Topics: Low-Information Diet

Photo: CyboRoz

I was stressed out… over dog cartoons.

It was 9:47pm at Barnes and Noble on a recent Saturday night, and I had 13 minutes to find a suitable exchange for “The New Yorker Dog Cartoons,” $22 of expensive paper. Bestsellers? Staff recommends? New arrivals or classics? I’d already been there 30 minutes.

Beginning to feel overwhelmed with a ridiculous errand I’d expected to take five minutes, I stumbled across the psychology section. One tome jumped out at me as all too appropriate—The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen or read Barry Schwarz’s 2004 classic, but it seemed like a good time to revisit the principles, among them that:

-The more options you consider, the more buyer’s regret you’ll have.

-The more options you encounter, the less fulfilling your ultimate outcome will be.

This raises an difficult question: Is it better to have the best outcome but be less satisfied, or have an acceptable outcome and be satisfied? Continue reading “The Choice-Minimal Lifestyle: 6 Formulas for More Output and Less Overwhelm”

February 6, 2008January 16, 2020

Seeking Suggestions and Case Studies for New 4HWW (Plus: Twitter Giveaway Winners)

79 Comments

Topics: The Book - 4HWW

O Hai, my new copy editor. (Photo: easyAlchemy)

It’s nice to be focusing on writing again.

I am finally putting together the revised and expanded edition of The 4-Hour Workweek! A lot has happened since it was first published in April 2007, and quite a few cool updates will be included.

I’ve already incorporated many of your suggestions, but I’d love more of your resources and stories! Please take a second to look at the following three questions… Continue reading “Seeking Suggestions and Case Studies for New 4HWW (Plus: Twitter Giveaway Winners)”