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THE 4 -HOUR WORKWEEK
Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Feb 17, 2008 by DEBBIE KELLEY
Designated e-mail time.
"Do Not Disturb" sticky notes on office doors.
Polite ways to redirect a conversation.
Saying goodbye to problem clients.
Telecommuting.
A handful of local converts to "The 4-Hour Workweek" best-seller swear by these seemingly simple tools for getting a handle on runaway workdays.
Bernard Sandoval is so taken with Timothy Ferriss' book that he's created a manual for employees at Sandia, the Colorado Springs advertising, marketing and design agency he owns. He's also urged colleagues to read it and is offering to train business owners on the secrets of the techniques.
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"It's incredible -- it changes work life. Some are skeptical, but those who try it are liberated," he said of the book, released in April by Crown Publishers.
Three months after "The 4-Hour Workweek" was launched, it hit No. 1 on The New York Times and Wall Street Journal business bestseller lists.
It's not hard to figure out why, Sandoval says: The lifestyle changes suggested in the book are effective in freeing up work time for more meaningful pursuits.
Moreover, Sandoval and other local business owners who are following some of the book's advice claim it's helped them improve relationships with clients, increase business and streamline operations.
Subtitled "Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich," the book is based on Ferriss' guest lectures at Princeton University. The basic premise is that by defining careers, identifying dreams, eliminating time wasters and automating certain tasks, anyone can become liberated from the daily office grind and do things such as spend more time with family or indulge in "mini retirements" -- extended vacations or volunteer stints. Thus are born "the New Rich."
Just a few years ago, Ferriss said in an e-mail interview, he was an underpaid, overworked cubicle dweller stuck in the corporate rat race. Following his own advice, Ferriss now runs a sports-nutrition company from wireless loca- tions around the world and carries under his 30-year-old belt a national championship in kickboxing and a world record in the tango.
The changes at Sandoval's office are evident. A few months ago, Sandoval said he would not have had time to sit down and talk about a book.
Now, three months after restructuring his daily routine and asking his nine employees to buy into the same process, piles of files and papers have disappeared from Sandoval's desk because the work is done. His four computers, along with his BlackBerry, no longer demand immediate attention. He trusts employees to do their jobs without constant monitoring.
"My stress level has gone down tremendously," Sandoval says with a smile.
But breaking out of the "work harder" mentality shunned in the book isn't easy.
"It's conventionally accepted that all successful businesspeople work long days," said Bob Shinn, owner of Dublin-Blue, a local Web site-development company with five employees.
So naturally, he thought the book's title was "a ridiculous premise."
Davin Neubacher, owner of Navakai, a local company with 12 employees that supplies technology support to small and medium-size businesses, had the same thought.
"At first, it comes across as another one of those self-help books," Neubacher said. "I felt so guilty about my co-workers seeing the book on my desk I took the cover off. I didn't want them to think I was lazy, trying to create a bunch of shortcuts so I didn't have to work. But it's not about being lazy -- it's about being more efficient."
The book isn't for everyone, Sandoval said. Just those who "are willing to admit that their work life is out of control -- they're working too many hours and have too much stress, too many distractions and can't spend the quality time they want on their work."
Limiting interruptions,
micromanagement
Sandoval, Shinn and Neubacher pulled tools from the book that they thought would best improve their companies.
For Sandoval, that meant addressing interruptions, some 90 a day, just internally.
"Literally every five minutes someone was coming in my office," Sandoval said. "It's like a badge of honor to be so busy. But I wasn't getting anything done and was struggling with work until 9 at night and on Saturdays."
The solution?
He's no longer the point person on every decision.
"Some of the interruptions don't happen because I've removed myself from the critical path of being a crutch. Self-important people feel they need to be a part of every decision. I don't do that anymore -- I'm here for critical questions, which is two out of 20 times, not 19 out of 20 times," Sandoval said.
Shinn also has embraced the idea of trusting employees to do their jobs, without needing his approval. "Employees are empowered to work autonomously and resolve most problems that used to require my attention," he said.
Stopping information abuse
Instead of checking e-mails 35 times a day, Sandoval checks three to five times a day, at designated times.
