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How to Outsource the Inbox and Never Check Email Again

fourhourworkweek.com — Let me explain the basics, followed by tips and exact templates for outsourcing your own inbox

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  • jarinudom, on 03/31/2008, -18/+6Tim Ferriss you are a god among men
    • artsyave, on 01/22/2008, -11/+1Agreed! So inspirational.. I love the template he's sharing.
    • pieinthesky, on 01/22/2008, -1/+15Really? I thought he sounded like a self-important windbag myself...
    • kmb1794, on 01/22/2008, -1/+14This is revolting. This guy is a dick.
    • cleverboy, on 01/22/2008, -0/+1I liked this part:
      " Have you assistant set things up for you in Google Calendar."
      How about, have YOU assistant grammar check your blog entries?
      Who am I kidding, I manage to do that typo every week at least once.
  • adryenn, on 01/22/2008, -14/+1I'll save 40 hours a week and increase my human interaction 1000 fold! :) THANK YOU! How can I repay you? :) Lunch in SF?
  • shauncorleone, on 01/22/2008, -6/+11I especially like this part:
    "Get over yourself. Checking e-mail isn’t some amazing skill that you alone possess.
    In fact, checking email is like everything else: a process."
    • SuperWinner, on 01/22/2008, -4/+24"I get more than 1,000 e-mail a day from various accounts.."
      What is this guy doing, signing up for every spam list on the planet?
      • altcountryman, on 01/22/2008, -1/+4He runs a business, writes books, and contributes content to a number of websites and blogs, all about how people can be more productive and get more out of life. How could he *not* get 1,000 e-mails a day?
  • krist0ph3r, on 01/22/2008, -10/+0this is amazing. it's quite possible to apply this technique without a virtual assistant, just a good set of rules that i follow myself...till i become successful enough to have my own VA :)
  • chrisb7, on 01/22/2008, -19/+2If you haven't already, buy 4 Hour Work Week now! Here's the Amazon.com link: http://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Workweek-Escape-Live- ...
  • foxhaze, on 01/22/2008, -0/+37I don't receive email, because I have no friends. :(
    • SpickSlayer, on 01/22/2008, -3/+0Poor Michael Schwank. :(
    • Thorpe, on 01/22/2008, -0/+7I bet spam is your friend. Well, for me anyway.
      • altcountryman, on 01/22/2008, -0/+5Me too. I have a lot of rich friends who want to share millions with me! Damn, I'm popular!
    • smacksaw, on 01/22/2008, -0/+2I guess Pownce is going to be a big hit for you.
    • yawaramin, on 01/22/2008, -1/+1Or you're Don Knuth.
  • busch30pack, on 01/22/2008, -9/+2Wife
  • lieutenantmudd, on 01/22/2008, -1/+20Is an instructional article on managing your life at all applicable to most Diggers when the bulk of the advice requires an assistant?
  • JamesWilson, on 01/22/2008, -0/+11I would NEVER give my paypal password to ANYONE let alone someone overseas!
  • foxter, on 01/22/2008, -0/+34I'll have my assistant(s) read this article and brief me on it. It'll take 1/10th the time. Hey, I should blog about this great new idea!
    • korea, on 01/22/2008, -1/+3Think about how many people outsource their lawn care work! What a silly use of the term.

      How many people in the professional world work at a company that would feel comfortable with an employees giving e-mail access to a third party external to the organization? Besides, until visual voice mail, could having an assistant mill through e-mail only to read it to your voice mail really an effective use of... well, anything?

      Spamming digg with the 4 hour work week blog is probably fodder for a second book about how awesome Tim is viral marketing or organic SEO. No thanks, Tim. Like your assistant and the rest of Bangalore, I'd rather be reading your e-mail.
    • Grimdotdotdot, on 01/22/2008, -1/+2I get my assistant to do my blog.
    • sackU, on 01/22/2008, -0/+6My assistant is too busy to help me. She outsources her work to turkey
  • Havoc737903, on 01/22/2008, -1/+5Because, you know, your average Joe needs assistants to help with their inbox.
    I'm drowning in a sea of mail here.
    Somebody, please, bail me out.
    Psh.
    I do get annoyed though if more than 30% of my mail received is spam. I try to keep that ***** under control.
  • j34nn07, on 01/22/2008, -1/+5Don't have mail problem : don't need a penis enlargement pill or Viaaaagraaaa
  • notcarsondaly, on 01/22/2008, -1/+10Um, every executive I have ever known has someone else handle their email. Why is this new to anyone?
  • cbeach, on 01/22/2008, -1/+15"I have a private personal account that I use for sending e-mail to my assistant and communicating with friends. It’s almost always empty."

    Judging Mr Ferriss by his "about me" page, it's not surprising that his "friends" inbox is almost always empty. How aloof and self-involved can one man be?!
    • joelhardi, on 01/22/2008, -0/+1Let's put him in a steel-cage match with Tony Robbins or White Goodman and find out!
  • 89vision, on 01/22/2008, -1/+9Where the ***** do I get an assistant?
    • Jonjonr6, on 01/22/2008, -0/+0And can she be hot and give happy ending?
  • jokerjo, on 01/22/2008, -3/+1Very very nice way of using other people's time in exchange for a pay. Well I don't mind using my spare time to check on your email as long as I am paid. That said, anyone wants to hire me? FOR HIRE, HUMAN E-MAIL ASSISTANT. ICQ#335765734
  • KarateMedia, on 01/22/2008, -0/+27This will be incredibly useful once I can afford to hire an assistant.

    Seriously, it took that many words for this guy to say, "Have your lackey handle your email"?

    What a revolutionary concept, know only to a select few - such as every executive at my company.

    I never say this, but... how the hell did this make it to the front page?
    • manicallday, on 01/22/2008, -1/+2It's like a pyramid scheme for emails.
  • orangetiki, on 01/22/2008, -2/+3I got a great way to never check e-mail again. USE THE TELEPHONE!!! Call your friends. Actually be a friend
    • Nougat, on 01/22/2008, -1/+3Telephone calls demand that I spend at least thirty minutes in a row with my attention focused in one place, and they expect the other person to do the same. I don't have that kind of time, and I don't put that kind of demand on other people. Phone calls are for when you know the other person isn't sitting at a computer, and you need a piece of information.
  • metamorfoza, on 01/22/2008, -1/+2after reading this I sudddenley feel so insignificant. I think I am the only one who actually reads spam, so that I could justify the existance of my email accounts.
  • munkyxtc, on 01/22/2008, -1/+13what a douchebag; obviously he paid some of his email lackeys to Digg this story and get it pushed the front page. Buried as spam; DIAF.
  • brextastic, on 01/22/2008, -0/+6america has gotten so lazy that we are having assitants check email for us?
    dear lord
  • trusk, on 01/22/2008, -0/+3Outsourcing your email account including all your personal data and paypal account just to comment every single blog comment is indeed very effective...
  • manicallday, on 01/22/2008, -2/+2I need a VA for my Pownce account. That ***** is blowing up like crazy.
  • PurpleSfinx, on 01/22/2008, -0/+10I'll repost the article:

    "Hire an assistant to do it for you."
    • PurpleSfinx, on 01/22/2008, -1/+3PurpleSfinx, you are a god among men.
      Also, I'm going to buy your book which is available now from all good bookstores!!!!!!!!
  • jazzboyrules, on 01/22/2008, -0/+6How is this article relevant to diggers? If someone finds this article implementable, then he/she better outsource digging.
  • Matt2k, on 01/22/2008, -1/+6Decent idea, but no way in hell would I want to work for this guy. Did he really write his process in third person like this?

    "If Tim says “Call me back”. CALL HIM BACK, do not send an e-mail. This is an important point; as Tim has lost thousands of dollars because someone e-mailed him instead of calling him and he does not always have e-mail access because he is traveling a lot."
    or

    Q: What is your optimal response rate?
    A: Same day. I’m bringing you on to respond quickly.

    I mean, I get the idea, and I don't disagree, but the way it's phrased is extremely obnoxious.

    Also the first few comments on this story are obviously staged. ***** that.

    So Matt2k, who is always busy doing super important things, buried this story.
    • 3Den, on 01/23/2008, -0/+0Those are instructions gleaned from various places likely. I've used the third person to explain similar things to my own staff - it works, and it's not being rude. It gets the point across.

      When you hire a personal assistant, especially someone you are likely to ever meet other than online, it's important to be clear. If what is important to you is that you always get called back on time, and that you always get same day responses, then you need to make that fact clear, or the relationship won't work out.

  • Nougat, on 01/22/2008, -1/+10I hate these stupid articles about how I would be so much happier if I would just spend less time in front of a computer. First off, this one is worthless, because its lynchpin is *having someone to do your bidding.* What if you can't afford to pay someone to be your bitch? What if you are someone's bitch? Apparently this guy only writes to an audience of the rich and powerful. Blow me.

    And stop telling me what I should be doing to be happy. "It’s not fun, and it keeps them from higher-impact or more rewarding activities." It *is* fun. Between working at a desk, commuting on the train, putting the kids to bed, and keeping up a household, email, forums like this one, and instant messaging is the only way I have to get thoughtful adult human interaction. Without electronic communication, I would be *more* cut off from humanity, not less.

    How about this: you quit setting up and going to lengthy meetings where everything gets talked about and nothing gets done. With all the free time you gain, you can spend more time *being productive* and *interacting with people on a personal level without trying to sell them something or convince them to be productive so you don't have to be.*

    Jesus.
    • mahdaeng, on 01/22/2008, -2/+1The whole point is that if email is fun for you, do it. If it's not, find a way around it.
  • HanSolo69, on 01/22/2008, -2/+11What a ***** douche bag.
  • ponyfreak, on 01/22/2008, -0/+2Just a few weeks ago there was a submission on the front page about a blogger who got his email hacked and lost his domain (and thus his whole livelihood). I would think long and hard before giving somebody the keys to your whole business, not to mention your paypal and amazon accounts.
  • fLUx1337, on 01/22/2008, -0/+2Maybe somebody should tell him another way to say "outsource your inbox", maybe umm "secretary"....?
  • returnofthemac, on 01/22/2008, -3/+3wow. that was retarded.
    this douche has an assistant.
  • Tibin05, on 01/22/2008, -0/+2I can't see that I'll ever have enough email to go through all this BS!
  • cbeach, on 01/22/2008, -1/+1The challenge: find and expose this dude's personal email address..
    GO!
  • hollerith, on 01/22/2008, -0/+5I'm hollerith's assistant: he said to write 'double-you-tee-eff, question mark'.
  • PabloIV, on 01/22/2008, -2/+3This guy is a self involved asshat who evidently doesn't directly manage a damn thing and fallates large men in the middle of the night.
    Even with his assistant he only checks his e-mail twice a day? I have Thunderbird open on my second monitor 24 hours a day besides having all my e-mail auto checked every 5 minutes on my PPC. If I looked at my business (I as everyone here I infer have multiple accounts) account twice my day my phone would be ringing all day. This guy's a douche and a self-important dumbass.
  • Javlington, on 01/22/2008, -2/+1How to outsource the inbox and never check email again:

    have someone else do it. ORLY?
  • sembetu, on 01/22/2008, -2/+3**Disclaimer: I have read "The Four Hour Work Week"**
    I honestly don't know how this got FP'd. The book is good, but this information without the relevant background information on WHY this would make sense or WHY you would ever need to do this or HOW you get to that point is pretty empty. It's like going to a cooking class where you learn to warm up a meal that was cooked earlier by Wolfgang Puck. You miss all the points that make it worth your time to show up, and you don't learn anything. I suggest (IF you are interested in this sort of radical lifestyle modification) go read the book. Even better, do it over a couple of weeks by going to the bookstore and reading it while you take notes. It is a short read, and your notes will more than suffice to get the knowledge you need from the book.

    Anyway, for the majority of us who work our normal 40+hrs, and have 2.5 kids etc. This will fall mostly on deaf ears.
  • w1bmw, on 01/22/2008, -1/+1MOM! CHECK MY EMAIL! NOW! AND BRING ME SOME CHEEZY POOFS!
  • rogerbly, on 01/22/2008, -0/+5Tim is the real deal. If you read his "4 hour work week" book, you will understand why you need a virtual assistant in order to live the lifestyle he describes in the book.
  • wunderdog, on 01/22/2008, -2/+2Very impressive. Does your assistant go to the restroom for you also?
  • shauncorleone, on 01/22/2008, -1/+4The issue here is that most of the naysayers have no desire to ever free themselves from their computer screen, PPC or GMail account. Hiring a Virtual Assistant is not yet a mainstream idea though to a certain level it can be affordable to most anyone. The point of the entry is that if you have automated your life and your income as Ferriss has, and thus only need to work a couple hours per day, the majority of your e-mail will not be so important that you can not have someone else organize the important messages and address the rest themselves. The vast majority of us, if we looked through our e-mail for a couple weeks, would see that the world does not start and stop with the inbox.
    The point: You can hire other people to handle the mundane parts of your business for you, freeing you to live your life and only address the most pressing matters. You don't have to, and I'd wager that most of Digg has severe separation anxiety issues with their Mac.
  • roflcopters, on 01/22/2008, -2/+1Buried because I don't have a personal assistant, and neither do a majority of other people.
  • mstrebe, on 01/22/2008, -1/+1This is absolute garbage. Outsource your inbox? How about delegate the portions of your job that you don't have time for to an employee? All this idiot is doing is merging his own email with email that should be going to people who work for him, and introducing the job of having some person filter what amounts to a single gigantic corporate inbox. This isn't "a good way to save time", it's a bad way to not properly delegate organizational responsibility and separate yourself as an executive from work that you shouldn't even be doing. Real business people have known how to do this since the beginning of organizations, but god forbid a web entrepreneur actually learn something real about plain old business.
  • myfanwy, on 01/22/2008, -0/+3stupid bastard. does an assistant come for free? no, he has a wage. this is the same as getting anyone to do anything, from your ironing to managing stocks or cleaning the car. how the hell is this news? and he's arrogant too

    next week, how to outsource trouser pressing: get your butler to do it
  • jon3k, on 01/22/2008, -0/+2God I can't stand this guy. Congratulations, you're the only person in the world who has someone else manage their e-mail and uses a ***** PDA without internet access. Go sell another book and maybe you could afford to buy a blackberry. If you don't see the value of your PDA being able to synchronize all this information wirelessly then you're a complete twit.
    • ainsworthboyle, on 01/23/2008, -0/+0I'm getting a faint hint that you're missing the point.
  • Goobernutz, on 01/22/2008, -0/+2# Cage fighter in Japan, vanquisher of four world champions (MMA)
    # First American in history to hold a Guinness World Record in tango
    # MTV breakdancer in Taiwan
    Could this guy be any douchier?
  • kcap122, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1If you can afford to/are important enough to have an assistant, why would you do anything yourself anyway? Isn't that what they're paid for?
  • bhilton, on 01/23/2008, -0/+0Anybody who willingly positions themselves to where they have 6-8 hours of email reading a day, should think about trying to get a real life.
  •  

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