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Tim Ferriss is among the most popular writers around on productivity, picking up skills, and escaping the 9-5 lifestyle.

His first bestseller, The 4-Hour Workweek, came out of his own experience of going from working long hours, seven days a week to figuring out how to run a business more efficiently.

But even for people not ready to take that step, Ferriss has some valuable tips for figuring how to get dramatically more done in less time, leaving more room to get ahead, relax, and do the things that make you happy.

If you're spending 12 hours a day at your desk, and still not finishing your work, it's time to make a change.

Getty ImagesIt's incredibly simple to fall into easy habits, or just do things the way you're trained. Ferriss writes:

"If everyone is defining a problem or solving it one way and the results are subpar, this is the time to ask, What if I did the opposite? Don't follow a model that doesn't work. If the recipe sucks, it doesn't matter how good a cook you are."

For example, Ferriss had huge success making sales calls only at 8:00-8:30 in the morning and from 6:00 to 6:30 at night because he got around "gatekeepers" and directly to executives.

Interest, energy and ability go up and down all the time. Trying to work through it when you're miserable is unproductive.

The way many of our jobs and careers are planned leads to doing the same thing for hours, even years on end. It doesn't account for the fact that people aren't built to work that way.

Your interest and ability to do a particular job or task varies over time. It's more effective to plan for it than to simply try to work through it, or spend unproductive hours staring at a screen.

Design your work day, and potentially even your career to take that into account.

Doing less is not being lazy. Don't give in to a culture that values personal sacrifice over personal productivity.

Getty ImagesOften, our workplace culture places way too much emphasis on face-time, late evenings, early mornings, and eating lunch at the desk as a sign of hard work and dedication.

Long hours show neither. There's a big difference between being productive and being busy. Instead of measuring the amount of work you do, measure results in terms of the amount of time, and eliminate the less important things that take forever.

Eliminate work for work's sake.

Stop putting hard choices off because of timing. It kills productivity.

There's never going to be perfect time to quit a job, ask for more responsibility, or take on a risky new project.

Waiting for the perfect moment is simply a delaying tactic that keeps you preoccupied. Pro and con lists serve the same function. Take the leap and course correct as needed. The consequences are rarely as bad as you imagine.

Ask people for forgiveness instead of for permission.

Getty ImagesWaiting for someone else's approval is the easiest way to delay or avoid something you don't really want to do. That way, you can blame inaction or failure on them instead of yourself.

And if you do want to do it, but think someone will deny you, just go for it. Unless the damage is catastrophic, you'll be able to fix things or apologize. People are hesitant to try new things, but once the ball's rolling, they'll rarely stop it.

Emphasize what you're good at rather than trying to correct weaknesses.

The majority of people are better than average at a few things, and pretty bad at others. Trying to improve weaknesses will only lead to small improvements. You might move in the direction of average, or mediocre.

But focusing on your strengths makes you exceptional in one area, which is far easier to leverage. Do what you're best at rather than wasting time on repairing things.

Figure out how to use stress rather than letting it make you less able and confident.

Bad stress, like a yelling boss or destructive criticism is definitely negative.

But without a certain level of stress, you're unlikely to get motivated. Examples of good stress include role models that push you, and taking the sort of risks that expand your comfort zone.

People who avoid all stress end up never taking a risk and failing.

Don't choose unhappiness over uncertainty. Define the worst case scenario to change this.

Getty ImagesUnhappiness is certainly unpleasant. But uncertainty is scary. Most people will opt for the former, and never follow through on resolutions.

You just replay everything that can go wrong, and don't end up doing anything due to pessimism, fear, and insecurity.

An easy way to overcome this is to precisely define the exact worst that can happen if you radically change your work life. You could get fired, struggle to pay your mortgage, or have to sell your car.

But when these scenarios are defined instead of vague fears, you'll usually realize how unlikely they are, and be able to make concrete plans to avoid them.

Watch out for fear disguised as optimism.

One of the biggest ways people avoid change is with false optimism, the idea that things will get better over time. If you're miserable now, it's likely you're using optimism as an excuse for inaction.

Are you better off than you were a week, month, year ago? If not, things are unlikely to change without major action on your part.


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