As you know, we have been reviewing Tim Ferriss’s 4-hour Workweek and the personal transformation process: DEAL. Up to now we have covered Definition and Elimination, and today we are going to narrow in on Automate – the hardest chapter to implement.

I started off by saying that implementing the concepts in Automate is the hardest, and I do believe that. We as human beings are so engrossed by the works of our hands, it is difficult (albeit a sin against the corporate gods) to pay others to do our work. As a business owner, that’s par for the course. But for an employee, there is that fear that you could get caught, or
shunned for not doing the work you are paid to have completed. Emphasis on ‘paid to have completed’.

But before we really dig into the meat and potatoes of your income automation architecture, I need you to do something. I need you to do an exercise and this single exercise will change everything for you as we move forward in the DEAL process.

Write Instructions to be Followed

Let’s say that you have a house full of plants and so you have to water those plants every once in a while. When you go about watering the plants this next time, what I need you to do is write the instructions for how to water the plants. This process is not only clarifying for you, but it also allows you to communicate with others how you do the things you do. And you don’t have to only do it for the plants, how about your pet snake? Or your laundry? Or how about… you get the idea.

Take the day, or the next couple of days, to write out instructions for everything you do around the house.

Happy hunting.