Project Mojave Blog - Latest Comments in Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Nek — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 08:19:49 -0000

Great article! Thanks. I have not seen the work of Tim Ferriss before. It's a fun way to get to know about it.

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Carolyn Gerin — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 23:09:07 -0000

I love this and sent it around, you are a highly informed, witty and humorous writer...I'm stayin tuned...Cheers

Carolyn Gerin
www.antibride.com

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

koh tao — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:01:53 -0000

I really appreciate this wonderful post that you have provided for us. I assure this would be beneficial for most of the people.

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

mlambie — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:54:02 -0000

Sweet kimura in the pic...

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Google Secret Loophole — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 01:00:57 -0000

Clay sets the ... Tim's insightful and humorous story about the power of NLP!

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Dust Collector Remote — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 03:00:36 -0000

Oh!...that's great helpful, it's so right to me! Million thanks for the article,

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Dane Findley — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:57:09 -0000

Oh, man, I love this blog post. I lost count of how many times I laughed out loud! As someone who has read both of these men's books cover-to-cover (although, I own 3 copies of David's book, and only 2 copies of Tim's -- does that mean anything?), my honest response would simply be, instead of "either/or," how about "both/and?" I respect both of these Thinkers!

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Malcolm Bastien — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:04:43 -0000

Definitely found GTD complicated enough to understand in its entirety I give you that. I have 4HWW sitting on my desk that I'm lining up to read, but it seems people on the other side of 4HWW are living the life compared to those on the other side of GTD.

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Risky — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 01:12:13 -0000

What happened to my previous post? Clay - any answers?

Anyways, Great article again Clay and excellent comments. I liked the book 'Four Hour Work Week' but haven't read GTD.

What I took out of FHWW is:

What exactly am I making money for?

And I came up with this quote:-

"Grateful are those who see life in its simplicity, whose thoughts are not diluted through pop assumptions & social norms propagated through t.v, movies and media". - Risky 2008

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Mike — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 07:07:52 -0000

I've read both GTD and 4HWW. my point of view on them is that they work VERY well together.

GTD tells you how to manage your desired responsibilities, and 4HWW tells you how to minimize and/or get rid of your undesired responsibilities. this is VERY useful.

for example, if you want to be one of the world's best at something. you will have to spend thousands of hours perfecting your craft and you have to make sure that each hour is well spent.

Each system (you) has a point where the productivity factor (dave) and the effectivity factor (tim) achieve optimal output.

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Risky — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:24:33 -0000

I agree with all regarding "Clay, great article - good work man" I also want to thank everyone for their comments, it truly does open these type of books up and relaxes thought about do do do, why not just be. Do we have to 'Do' to just

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Nick — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:18:40 -0000

Great article. I haven't read GTD yet, but the 4HWW helped me quite my job and move to a tropical island. So the quite your job part is quite accurate.

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Bill Greenberg - Good Computer — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:07:38 -0000

I've read both, starting with 4HWW. Interesting stuff, but not very realistic for most people, even me. My GTD-influenced system now really helps me stay organized. Heck, if I could get out of working I would, but it's just not as easy as Tim says.

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Minnesota Magician — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:46:52 -0000

Great summary of the core concepts of both books. I have to agree with the verdict too: I learned a few useful concepts from GTD, but 4HW changed the way I look at life and work.

Very nice article.

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Billy Gallagher — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:24:38 -0000

Definitely a well written article and the timing was perfect for me as a moderate user of GTD and have just started reading 4HWW. I give credit to both for encouraging people to work smarter instead of harder. There are always new and better ways to accomplish something.

4HWW concept on outsourcing is valid in our society. In many ways, people use this and don't realize it. Just ask yourself when was the last time you harvested your own crops, cut wood down to build your own house, or built your own computer from raw materials? We don't do this anymore because we find the time required is not worth the effort, I think Tim takes this to a whole new level that is relevant in today's society.

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Tim — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:22:58 -0000

Never really got into GTD, but I just finished reading 4HWW. And in my opinion, I prefer the 4HWW.

Why ??? Well.... why would I want to do everything on the list ???? It just takes too much time to do everything. I jut prefer to be selective and ignore some other stuff. Works fine and I get more and more free time to hang out with my family.

A nice change of lifestyle where I used to be doing everything and working loads and loads. Sometimes even with the idea that I loved to work crazy hours. Which I know realise was stupid. But hitting the wall one day made me think about priorities in life and some of the "guidelines" Tim Ferris writes about, I figured out already before I read the book....

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Diana Long — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:53:48 -0000

Hi Clay,
You did a great job highlighting both approaches. I am a fan of both David & Tim's work, bottom line is do what you love, express your core genius and outsource or delete the rest. I've done a considerable amount of eliminating unnecessary meetings, memberships, etc etc lately and I feel so FREE :)
Great article,thanks!

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Sean Kearney — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:15:59 -0000

Great post and comments, Clay!

I have studied and worked to implement both systems and while I agree with those who recommend a blended approach, I am skeptical about how that would work in the long run.

While I have made incremental improvements to gain greater control at work using GTD, Ferriss's approach has inspired me to make BIG, qualitative changes.

The two big FHWW questions for me are: What would I do if I had to cut my work day by 90% or more? and If I had significantly more free time, what would I do with it? The second question has proven far more challenging than the first.

As a result, I realize that I don't want to get "things" done, I want to focus on what's most important, productive and fun. I don't want to be ready for "anything." I want to be ready for unexpected opportunities that I would have brushed off were I dutifully working through my to-do list.

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Chris Elliott — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:20:18 -0000

I have read both and agree and disagree with points in both. Parts of GTD help me keep my life in order. Parts of 4HWW help me overcome my fear of experimentation and give me inspiration for escaping the cubicle nation.

With any "self-help" book, take what works for you and use it. Otherwise toss it to the side. There are no winners and no losers.

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Rob — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:40:43 -0000

I think both systems, as does every system, provide some useful information, but you have to remember that these systems evolved by being implemented according to those guys' personal circumstances and experiences. They weren't devised and planned out first.

Therefore I think there is no single system that will fix everyone's situation and the information by itself is not enough.

As with everything the secret ingredient to either getting a grip of your life or living the life of your dreams is the one that nobody can teach or tell you. It's your own application of information you aquire. Some of it will work, some won't and you will only discover what works through action.

I believe then it is possible for any person who sets out on a path of creating their own lifestyle can provide, through sharing their experience something really valuable for others to follow, so that they find their own magic formula.

I really liked 4HWW. It has given me some good ideas.

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Casual Fighter — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:40:42 -0000

CORRECTION: Time Ferris is NOT a "championship cage fighter". He never had any cage fights, professional OR amateur. In his book, Tim refers to "demolishing" three different cage fighting champions; however, in his blog, he explained that he was talking about friendly gym sparring sessions with those champions, not professional (or amateur) matches.

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Atom McCree — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:35:01 -0000

I use both systems GTD & 4-hour. I don't do things I don't want to and I am productive at the things I choose to. They can work mostly together. Two of my favorite books. GTD is too strict and 4 hour is too dreamy. There is a middle point where they are effective and efficient

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Dragons Den — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 08:49:56 -0000

A very interesting comparison thank you. Though I am a Dave fan, your way too biased!

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Grant Czerepak — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 02:22:57 -0000

I have had a chance since my earlier posts to study these authors and their ilk for some time. They have a tendency to list all their supposed accomplishments, but these accomplishments are primarily about spending the money they have earned selling their snake oil. They have not actually done anything to contribute to the betterment of society at all.

Challenging them leads to the Ad Hoc Hypothesis. That is, when you tell them their snake oil is snake oil they provide a rationalization that in some way either you or the conditions were not right for their snake oil to work.

There really is nothing to gain from these people. I recently read the work of the first century stoic Epictetus and its all there. In fact, he offers more nuggets of truth to pick from than the collection of these contemporary bullshitters offer all together.

As well, read the work of Marcus Aurelius. It turns out that the character maligned in "Gladiator" was not him, but his son, Lucius Verus. Marcus also makes a valuable contribution to stoic thought in his collected writings "Meditations".

Read the writings of truly great men who influenced the world. Know their thoughts and their aspirations and make them your own. Forget these irrelevant snake oil salesmen. They are just chaff.

If you want to be really great explore a discipline to its horizon where the next step is into uncharted territory. Challenge the boundaries that have been erected out of ignorance as opposed to knowledge. Then you will do something humanity will benefit from.

Re: Productivity Guru SMACKDOWN: Tim Ferriss v. Dave Allen

Matthew Cornell — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:59:25 -0000

In. Freakin. Credible. My hat, sir, is off to you. Touche.