Working life

For some reason I've found myself picking up bits of info on work, offices, business etc today. Here's a couple I'd like to highlight:

I've mentioned the 4-hour work week concept before. Here's an interview with the author that gives a good overview of what it's all about. He makes a lot of sense.

Following on from that is 7 Secrets for building a successful business. It mentions some very good points about just what it takes to get to the 4-hour work week stage - or any successful business ownership level.

Another concept that's fascinated me - and makes a lot of sense - is ROWE. Results Only Work Environment. Think about it. Why does a company hire you? To get results! Yet instead of asking you to produce results, they'll ask you to turn up at certain places and times for a set number of hours. As long as you look busy... (Have a look at the "sludge" section of that article)

Yet some organizations are taking a big plunge, rebooting how everything works - and seeing fantastic results. That can well be incorporated into smaller businesses or how you manage your time - remember my post on Time vs Money? It's all about how you choose to invest both time and money - and get maximum results.

Just yesterday I was talking to my commute-sharer about priorities, long hours and stress. How life is not something you're going to live one day, but it's happening NOW. The older I get the more I realize that I can't afford to NOT live each day - I can't afford to fritter away precious time on things that aren't important to me, things I'm not passionate about. That perception is shaping how I tackle each day and what I'm willing to do (or not do) with it.

I like the way collective thought has been shifting toward finding better ways of doing things. With a global economic shake-up, perhaps now's the time to put many of these into practice.