Review – The 4 Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical about The 4-Hour Workweek (4HWW) when I picked it up. I figured it was going to be a gimmicky book on how to make money fast and easily on the internet. In fact, some of the book is about that particular topic. However, I found that I did learn a lot from Timothy Ferriss about time management (even though he says to forget about time management) – a skill that I’ve been lacking recently.

The Illusion Of Working Only Four Hour Weeks

I want to start by pointing out that by reading this advice book by Timothy Ferriss, you are not going to be able to work only four hours a week. The title of the book was selected because it did well while testing online using Google Adwords. A process he describes in detail in chapter 10 of the book.

With that in mind, Ferriss believes that people shouldn’t wait until they reach the last parts of their life to enjoy it. He wants us to cut down on the things we do repetitively that wastes a lot of time, and use that time more wisely. Ferriss encourages what he calls “mini-retirements” so that we can experience what it’s like to escape our work routines and embrace living.

The Meat And Potatoes

Have you thought about how much time you spend with tasks that just keep you busy? How many times a day are you checking and responding to e-mail? How much time do you spend browsing the internet or updating your status on Facebook? How much time do you actually spend working, efficient and productive?

Of course, if you work in an office environment, all of these questions probably apply more to you than someone who works construction. But, the morale of the story is that we waste a lot of time. Ferriss wants us to limit the time we spend to tasks that are unimportant, creating rules for ourselves to manage interruptions.

1. Complete your important tasks first.
2. Don’t multitask. Instead, batch your tasks to reduce start-up costs (in this case, it means the cost of the time it takes to jump from thing to thing)
3. Limit yourself to checking and responding to e-mail twice a day, if not less.
4. Silence your phone when you’re working and let it go to voice mail.
5. Be more assertive and direct.

Get Rich Quick On The Internet

I don’t think so. I know, Ferriss’ point is not to get rich either. He says it’s not about money. Really, he wants you to make enough to finance your “Dreamline.”

Readers need to keep in mind that his stories of people making $10,000 a week with two hours of effort are ultra-success stories; rare and few between. If you are interested in trying to start an online business, the takeaway should be the process of testing to find a niche. I think people who read this book may walk away thinking that they’ll be able to rake in cash without much effort. Trust me, starting a website for the first time, even a WordPress blog, has a learning curve and will take some time to learn. I probably have spent more time managing this site than writing for it. It’s something that’s just starting to tilt the other way.

Most of the resources Ferriss notes are outdated. Some don’t even exist anymore, and some cost money which will turn readers like me away. I went though the book after reading it and visited all the websites listed – I bookmarked three.

I’m sure that there are people out there with unexplored niches that can put his techniques to use. But for the majority of readers, we can serve ourselves better by getting a better job through improved education and living within our means.

Leaving The Office

Go ahead and try it. I’m going to guess that your boss will tell you to get back in the office or you can go appeal for unemployment benefits. That’s all I really have to say on that.

Applying The New Rich Lifestyle

Here are all the unimportant tasks I’m guilty of doing while producing this post:

• I read the Wall Street Journal and looked to see how the market was doing today.
• I checked my e-mail, even responding to a advertising solicitation while writing this. I promptly shut down Outlook.
• I checked Facebook and Twitter.
• I checked my website stats.

All things that could have waited until later, or another day. I think I’m going to take steps to schedule tasks again, giving myself blocks of time to do certain things on particular days. If there is one thing I learned from this book, it’s to spend less time on the unimportant things that take up most of my time (see the 80/20 rule in the book).

I think this book is a worthwhile read. It can help with identifying what is important in your life and give you ideas on how to set up processes to reduce time waste. I’d focus on the first two steps of Ferriss’ DEAL process that will help you define your life and eliminate time sinks. You should approach automation and liberation with skepticism. Oh, and don’t even both with a virtual assistant unless you actually have a need for one.

Have you read the book? What are your thoughts? Have you taken action using the 4HWW resources or tips? What was the outcome?