The 4-Hour Workweek

The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss is a book I started reading many years ago and then wrote off. It’s not hard to see why. The top 3 reviews on Goodreads as of this writing all mention that Tim Ferriss is a douchebag. With that said, I overheard a conversation not too long ago where two of my digital nomad friends mentioned that although there is tons of outdated and just plain wrong information in this book, it also has some good advice to offer. So, I decided to give it another shot. It turned out to be an entertaining read with a few interesting nuggets of actionable advice (in between all the BS).

The book is structured around what Ferriss calls the DEAL framework. (Definition, Elimination, Automation, Liberation). Here are my takeaways from each section.

Definition

The first part of the book is about definition. Many people go through life without defining what they want from it.

This is how most people work until death: “I’ll just work until I have X dollars and then do what I want.” If you don’t define the “what I want” alternate activities, the X figure will increase indefinitely to avoid the fear-inducing uncertainty of this void.

Instead, Ferriss recommends defining what you want to do in life. What are your goals? Do you want to focus on your passion and be an artist? Spend as much time with your kids as you can? Travel the world learning new skills?

Ferriss recommends writing these down, and then defining how much money would be required to do them. You’ll often find that they are not as expensive as you might think.

He also recommends what he calls fear-setting. The idea is to define what’s the worst thing that could happen if you do what you’re considering, as oftentimes we tend to overestimate how bad it could be, but writing it down helps us realize it really isn’t as bad.

Elimination

The second part of the book focuses on elimination. More specifically eliminating things that take up your time so that you can be free to spend more time on your goals you’ve defined.

Now, I don’t condone a lot of the advice Ferriss gives in this section. After all, an actual “4-hour workweek” is probably not realistic for most people. However, I think everyone can benefit from working a little bit smarter so they can work a little bit less. There are a few tips Ferriss gives that stuck with me.

  • Identify the tasks that add the most value to your work and eliminate those that don’t (80/20 principle) This is something I can do in my own work as a project manager. It’s easy to say yes to all sorts of tasks and to focus on small details. However, at the end of the day, my work is judged based on how well I can deliver projects (on budget and on time). This means focusing on the activities that most contribute to the success of the project and trusting my team with the details.
  • Question established norms. Just because “it’s always been done that way” doesn’t mean you can’t find a better way to do things. Similarly, appearing to be busy 8 hours/day doesn’t mean you’re productive. Good managers care about results, not whether or not you appear busy or whether you complete a task in a specific manner
  • Always have a clear list of priorities when you arrive at the office or in front of your computer. This will prevent you wasting time on things that aren’t priorities.
  • Reduce unnecessary information and interruptions (low-information diet). I do this already and it is common advice from many productivity authors and influencers. (Cal Newport’s Deep Work comes to mind).
    • Batch emails as opposed to having it always open. Checking them once or twice per day is much more effective than constantly being interrupted by new messages.
    • Disable all unnecessary notifications on your phone
    • Limit or eliminate time spent on social media
    • Reduce time spent browsing and reading random web articles. It’s much better to identify a few sources you trust and choose a specific time to review just these sources. (E.g. for 30 minutes after I have breakfast on Saturday)
    • Limit time spent in meetings. Ensure all meetings have a clear purpose, agenda and are timeboxed

Automation

The third part of the book discusses automation, but in the context of this book, it refers to how you can remove time spent on tasks that you can’t eliminate (and automate your income by starting a product business, but I’ll focus on the former). Ferriss spends most of this section talking about hiring virtual assistants from third-world countries.

Note: Here again, a word of warning, especially if you are an employee. Outsourcing your own work is very likely against your contract.

While I think a lot of the information in this section is outdated, there is something to be said about automating or delegating some activities. With recent advances in AI, instead of asking yourself, as Tim does:

Look at your to-do list—what has been sitting on it the longest? Each time you are interrupted or change tasks, ask, “Could a VA do this?” Examine pain points—what causes you the most frustration and boredom?

You can now ask yourself, “Could AI do this?” I did this myself recently. I had been asked to write a Google review for someone’s services, but I kept putting it off. Then one day, I decided, ‘‘Why don’t I ask AI to write it for me?’’. A few minutes later, the review was written and I could check a task that had stayed on my to-do list for weeks.

You can also identify repetitive tasks in your work and automate them using technology. A big part of my work is helping businesses identify these opportunities for automation and implementing them.

I also think there remains some value in outsourcing some things, even in your personal life. Hiring someone to clean your house, or buying a meal kit so you don’t have to worry about meal planning and grocery shopping can free up time to focus on your goals and things you enjoy more.

Liberation

The final part of the book is about liberation, or freeing yourself from the office. In this section, he gives advice on how to negotiate a remote work agreement with your employer.

Remote work has now become much more normalized than it was 15+ years ago when the book was written. This means it is now considerably easier for employees to gain the freedom Ferriss talks about in his book. I’ve already been doing this myself for 2 years, having worked remotely from places like Mexico, Peru, and Panama.

He also discusses his idea of “mini-retirements”, the idea being that instead of waiting until retirement to do all the things you want to do, you should spread them out throughout your life, which is something that I think is important. After all, tomorrow is never guaranteed.

Conclusion

While this book has its fair share of flaws, I still took some important lessons from it. The first is to define my goals and my fears. It helps me put them into perspective and helps me live today, not hope I will live in the future.

The second is to look at the things that take up my time. Which ones move me closer to my goals? Which ones don’t? By focusing on the ones that do and eliminating the ones that don’t, I gain back considerable time while improving my results. This goes for both my professional and personal life.

The third is to question which tasks I can automate, whether it be through technology, AI, or outsourcing, so that I can focus on what’s most important to me.

And finally, that some of these points are even more applicable today, as it’s easier than ever before to work remotely and travel the world (or spend more time with your family).