Gawker: getting things done

37signals will soon stop working entirely and achieve infinite productivity

Jackson West — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:20:00 EDT

The Chicago-based Web application development shop 37signals is only working four days a week, and say they've become even more productive. Sadly, I don't think Owen would be receptive if I suggested in Campfire group chat that Valleywag adopt a similar schedule. [37signals]

Your Bangalore-Based P.A. Will Give You A Wake-Up Call!

Sheila — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:20:36 EST

Finally. As people keep noticing, now people who don't really need personal assistants can act like they do, thanks to South Asia. New offshore personal-assistant services in Bangalore are available to cater to your rinky-dink small-business needs, the Times reiterates today.

You can have them do things like "conduct research, monitor the Web, make appointments and even give [you] a wake-up call and tell [you] to get some exercise." All this can be yours for $15 an hour!

But buyer beware: sometimes this veritable army of Girl Fridays can be a little rough around the edges, as the Indians "don't always have the greatest client service skills or business acumen or accents." (That's not true! The guy who called me three times last week demanding that I pay my overdue credit-card bill had a perfect accent).

An "entrepreneur" who hired one of them to "book him a cheap trip to India, perhaps using local knowledge" was unhappy when his slacker PA simply emailed a list of prices from Travelocity. Now he's totally out 30 bucks.

What's with this trend? Oh, we know who to blame: "Like many others using the services, Ms. Levy was inspired by two books: Thomas L. Friedman's "The World is Flat" and Timothy Ferriss's "The 4-Hour Workweek." Aren't we all!

Is The "Four Hour Workweek" Guy On To Something?

Emily Gould — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:00:51 EST

So the cover article in this week's Sunday Styles section was about this guy Timothy Ferriss, who has become a guru to the rich nerds of Silicon Valley by advocating an "information diet"—"his methods include practicing 'selective ignorance'—tuning out pointless communiqués, random Twitters, and even world affairs (Mr. Ferriss says he gets most of his news by asking waiters)." Though he admits to not practicing what he preaches, his disciples say that adhering to these rules makes them feel "peaceful." Could this advice help me do my job better and faster? I had to wonder.

Well, one of the things I hate most about my job is reading and then regurgitating Sunday Styles articles. So after I read the one about Timothy Ferriss, I took Timothy's advice and asked a waiter to sum up the rest of it for me. Actually, a retail clerk, but same difference.

There was one problem: she hadn't read the Style section either. "I just looked at it, I didn't read it. I read Arts& Leisure! Want me to sum it up anyway?"

"Sure, go for it," I said.

"Okay," she said, "Well, there's probably an article that's like, 'Is information technology affecting our relationships and how we dress for the winter? What part do blogs play in all this (style, relationships, etc.)?' An article about leggings probably called 'What happens after leggings?' and some pictures of some cool headphones. Oh, also one of those love life articles about meeting your future inlaws and do you still want to date this person now that you know their parents are judgy WASPs, culminating in the author's realization that s/he her/himself is a judgy WASP?"

Close enough! All the time I've saved? I am going to use it to update my Facebook status and send out some resumes.