Work Backwards

“This is a rare book: both profound and useful” —Seth Godin

Life-changing guide to a more fulfilling work life, inspired by cultures and companies around the globe

If you're feeling overworked, disengaged or apprehensive about the future of work or your career path, Work Backwards: The Revolutionary Method to Work Smarter and Live Better is the perfect guide to question the way you think about your workplace and put yourself on a track to a more fulfilling life. Written by Tim Duggan, media entrepreneur and author, who has helped thousands of individuals create their ideal lives through his renowned workshops, this book takes readers around the world to see how different cultures interact with work, revealing how we can implement new ideas to improve our own approach.

In this book, readers will learn:

• Why reversing your thinking about work can have such an oversized impact using the three things you need to live a fulfilling life right now
• How to easily reset your life-work balance to use tools like remote, hybrid and flexible work properly
• What leading research says about work and happiness and how to put theory into action

Entertaining, inspiring and highly practical, Work Backwards: The Revolutionary Method to Work Smarter and Live Better earns a well-deserved spot on the bookshelves of all individuals who are seeking to not just tolerate work, but love what they do.

Introduction: The end 1

Harsh truths 5

Wrong direction 9

A better way 13

Default mode 16

Work Backwards 19

Life

The games we play 24

A life worth living 29

We can’t unsee 37

Make life work 42

Work Backwards Step 1: Create a MAP

Meaning 50

Meaning at work 54

Job crafting 58

Meaning outside work 62

Purpose vs meaning 64

Anchors 67

Know your anchors 70

Anchoring yourself 72

Priorities 78

Life–work balance 82

Full circle 84

Coming full circle 99

IRL Exercises: Life 102

Money

Happy go lucky 120

Work-and-spend cycle 124

Work Backwards Step 2: Know your ‘enough’

Handy man 134

Money and happiness 138

Backwards Budget 141

IRL Exercises: Money 148

Work

Ceiling cracks 156

1. We are overworked 161

2. We are disengaged 163

3. We are apprehensive 166

Myths and realities 171

Your future of work 177

Work Backwards Step 3: Use the right tools

The upside-down swan 180

Reframing the tools 188

Tool: Remote working 190

Tool: Hybrid working 200

Tool: Flexible working 211

Tool: Four-day work week 221

Tool: Career breaks 231

Tool: Sabbath time 241

Tool: Artificial intelligence 247

Tool: Better meetings 254

IRL Exercises: Work 259

Conclusion: The beginning 269

Endnotes 273

Acknowledgements 289

About the Author 291

Index 293

TIM DUGGAN is an optimist who loves thinking about big ideas. He has co-founded several digital media ventures, most notably Junkee Media, one of Australia’s leading independent publishers. He is the Chair of the Digital Publishers Alliance, an industry body that represents 150 top media titles.

It doesn’t matter in which industry or where - too many of us are overworked, disengaged and apprehensive about the future of work. In his new book Work Backwards: The Revolutionary Method to Work Smarter and Live Better, bestselling author and entrepreneur Tim Duggan argues that we approach work and life the wrong way around.

Fuelled by a powerful realignment that questions the way we traditionally think about and interact with our workplaces, this book takes readers on a journey around the world from America’s top universities to the streets of Helsinki, from museums in Mexico to Sydney’s golden beaches to explore how, and why, we work. Some of the topics explored in this book include:

• Why reversing your thinking can have such an oversized impact and the four things you need to live a fulfilling life right now
• How to easily reset your life-work balance and use tools like remote, hybrid and flexible working properly
• Why now is the right moment to experiment with work and how a new army of people are rethinking their relationship with work

Building on Tim’s work with some of the world’s leading businesses like Netflix, Canva and American Express, along with his experience helping thousands of people succeed with his renowned global workshops, this book contains valuable, practical tools to work better, along with exercises anyone can do to help them bring theory into real life.

Containing expert guidance from some of the world’s leading work and happiness researchers, Work Backwards: The Revolutionary Method to Work Smarter and Live Better is an essential guide for anyone seeking to live a meaningful life and take advantage of this once-in-a-generation opportunity to reclaim their life from work.

“Take your time and savour every page, it will change you for the better.”
—SETH GODIN, author of This Is Strategy

Your guide to reimagining your relationship with work

In Work Backwards: The Revolutionary Method to Work Smarter and Live Better, media entrepreneur, author and optimist Tim Duggan delivers a blueprint to reinvent the way you think about work and life. This book takes you around the world to explore how different cultures and people approach their careers, providing essential perspectives and numerous “a-ha” moments to put you back on the right track.

You will learn how to easily reset your life-work balance, the best way to use tools like remote, hybrid and flexible working properly, and why right now is the perfect moment to experiment with how you work. Along with expert guidance from the world’s leading work and happiness researchers, this book contains practical tools and straightforward exercises so you can start putting the theories into action today.

Work Backwards: The Revolutionary Method to Work Smarter and Live Better is an essential read for all workers, regardless of role or industry, who want to discover and implement a brand-new approach to their career path.