#826: Q&A with Tim — Supplements I’m Taking, Austin vs. SF, Training for Mental Performance, Current Go-To AI Tools, Recovering from Surgery, Intermittent Fasting, and More

When sequencing becomes the remedy

Tim Ferriss’s reflections move quickly between the practical and the philosophical, yet one thread ties much of the conversation together: sequencing. Whether he’s recovering from a decade-old elbow injury, launching a small boxed party game into thousands of retail shelves, or rethinking nutritional orthodoxy, Ferriss repeatedly frames problems as systems that become solvable when broken into the right order of actions. Sequencing is not mere checklisting; it is the art of choosing the few high-leverage moves that change the shape of a challenge.

Practical protocols for healing and high performance

The most intimate section of the conversation is medical: Ferriss describes a lateral epicondyle repair, and then maps the short arc of recovery with the same method he uses for startups. First, clear congestion—light lymphatic massage and electrical pumping devices like the Mark Pro. Next, manage inflammation and tissue remodeling with targeted supplementation and sleep optimization. Finally, reintroduce controlled stress: blood-flow-restriction (BFR) training to preserve muscle without heavy loading, followed by gradual isometrics and grip work. The tension is palpable—how to accelerate recovery without blowing the repair apart—and the resolution is a disciplined timetable, guarded by professional oversight and the humility to sit still when that is the right move.

Tools and tradeoffs

Ferriss is candid about the fuzzy middle of biohacking: peptides, NAC, alpha-lipoic acid, and pragmatic use of THC/CBN for nighttime pain. He balances curiosity with caution—calling his stack ‘‘informational’’—and emphasizes the value of cross-referencing literature, consulting surgeons, and using objective markers like body composition and strength to judge progress.

Rethinking nutrition: why intermittent fasting grew on him

Initially skeptical, Ferriss describes a conversion to a disciplined 16:8 intermittent fasting window after a period of ketogenic dieting produced unexpectedly strong biomarkers and performance metrics. The insight is specific: fasting can coexist with muscle if paired with resistance training and concentrated protein intake inside the eating window. The old myth that the body can only absorb 30 grams of protein per meal is questioned; in practice he relies on larger meals and fast protein shakes to meet daily needs while maintaining or building strength.

How a thoughtful use of AI changes the questions you ask

Ferriss treats modern AI as an evidence-synthesis assistant rather than a sole authority. His workflow: run focused searches on consensus.app to gauge the conviction of published literature, cross-check with multiple large language models, then present the distilled findings to a human expert—surgeon, scientist, or coach—with a short summary and specific questions. That protocol changes the nature of expert consultations: instead of flinging hypotheses at busy professionals, you arrive with a curated dossier and a request for perspective.

Context matters: where you build and why

On geography and startups, he offers a nuanced verdict: San Francisco still has the highest density of AI talent and the fastest feedback loops for venture-backed, technically sophisticated companies; Austin, however, can be an excellent base for hardware, fintech, or a life lived across hubs. His practical suggestion: treat time in Silicon Valley like a paid MBA—short, concentrated, and then port the relationships and learning back to a lower-cost home base if that fits your life.

The craft of product placement and playful seriousness

Coyote, his new compact game, becomes a case study in retail mechanics. Small box size, tag placement, and regional merchandising explain wildly different sell-through rates. The first answer is always data collection: photographs of shelf placement, adherence to planogram, and small experiments on box sizing and visibility. The creative lesson is complementary: making room for delight—an inexpensive, repeatable social ritual—can be as valuable as any high-minded productivity tool.

Philanthropy, fasting, and the subtractive approach

Ferriss’s philanthropic advice cuts against performative largesse: don’t wait until you have a fortune; differentiate budgets for feel-good giving versus impact-driven efforts; treat some philanthropic bets like venture investments with learning and network return. His broader epistemic preference is subtractive: investigate interventions that remove harm—fasting research, emissions reduction, and compact scalable protein—as often as we build new layers on top of broken systems.

Closing thought: small experiments, lived ethics

Across medical protocols, entrepreneurial choices, and creative experiments, Ferriss is arguing for a mindset that privileges hypothesis-driven small bets, disciplined sequencing, and the patient willingness to do less in order to accomplish more. The most consequential moves are often invisible day-to-day—saying no to an immediate payday to protect a week of immersive learning, or choosing to sit still in the early recovery weeks—and those choices shape the kind of life work that endures. He leaves the reader with a quiet insistence: the highest returns often come not from relentless addition, but from careful subtraction and the courage to order the work well.