Those of you that are fans of author and podcast host won’t be surprised when hearing about this popular title. For those unfamiliar, Tycoon titan Tim Ferriss, from the Tim Ferriss Show and the famous 4-hour series very first foray into success was the 4-Hour Workweek. I will give you a short-but-sweet summary of this insightful novel below that basically was years ahead of its time.
Summary of The 4-Hour Workweek
The 4-Hour Workweek made working from home and online side hustles “cool” way before most of the world needed to switch mainly to remote work. Tim-Ferriss’ flagship book speaks on many different aspects but brings to light simple themes with a focus on mindset and life philosophy.
You are given the tools to succeed in this book with such gems as eliminating most of your “filler” work, being location-agnostic and having a great work-life balance while even earning MORE money!
Below we will speak about Ferriss’ three themes, Elimination, Automation and Liberation that are the core fundamentals of the 4-Hour work week.
Using real-world examples and parables, Tim’s book is not just a novel that you read cover to cover. In fact, the very first few lines of his introduction is to use this as more of a guide and a reference that you can come back to later.
It includes blogs, articles, examples, agendas and other tools and sheets that are necessary for your success. As you go through the summary, and if you decide to pick up the 4-Hour Workweek, remember that it is not a race.
Take your time and test different things. You will be on your way to financial freedom slowly, but surely.
The 4-Hour Workweek Principle 1.: Elimination
The first core that Ferriss presents is the need for Elimination.
What exactly are we eliminating? Fluff, Filler and non-sensical work that comes with most of our day jobs.
The premise of this book is aimed more at office workers but also is useful for everyone if they decide to work remotely. In a comically placed first point, “Illusions and Italians” contains a comical parable with this key message: forget about time management.
Ferriss believes you shouldn’t manage your time because, well, you shouldn’t be taking more than you can handle, and you should NEVER be doing “busywork”.
Two other key points are keeping a low-information “diet”, that is, reducing your consumption of news and external information and focusing only on 1-2 things.
One personal point I took from the final point “Interrupting Interruption” is to flex your “no” muscle. Refuse politely, and with a valid concern if work is too much, and to pick a certain time of day to do all my work, without interruptions or distractions. This, in essence, is how you boil a 40-hour workweek into a 4-hour workweek.
Favourite idea from The 4-Hour Workweek: Automation
Ferriss goes on to speak about automation, which is the toughest, fun and most rewarding part of his book. He speaks about leaning everything down to the bare essentials and outsourcing the rest.
In this section of the 4-hour workweek, we really get a taste of how inefficiently an office or a day job is run, and how much of our day is cluttered. In fact, with work from home, you’ve probably noticed that an 8-hour workday can be boiled down to one or two hours on most days.
In “Automation” we learn about great tips and secrets that automate and increase your income, working from anywhere “Geoarbitrage”.
The most helpful of this section was how to build an online business (which he recommends to sell products) and hiring VAs.
Virtual assistants are extremely helpful workers that can be hired as needed or even a full time basis. They can be outsourced to do tasks such as admin, email, meeting transcription, setting dates, filling orders and confirmations.
Tim Ferriss goes a little overboard and even has a few “Lead VAs” to manage his virtual assistants.
The 4-Hour Workweek Principe 3. Liberation:
The liberation portion of the 4-hour workweek is a gratifying one. If you’ve read the previous section and set up your workweek, virtual assistants and found a product/service to sell online (or any other remote business) you can now transition into your “New Rich” life.
For most, this includes traveling or working from different locations. The “Laptop on a beach” dream is definitely real and is within reach, but not without setting up the tracks in the previous sections.
He speaks about tips to gradually negotiate with management to work from anywhere (much easier now during recent world events), killing our job and embracing a mobile lifestyle. The key theme here is running your business and/or your job without you having to be there.
This is where the 4-hour workweek gets its name, Ferriss believes you should only need to dedicate 4 hours every Monday to emailing, checking and re-organizing your work.
Less is fine, more is not. The rest of this section speaks about how to fill the void in your life without the presence of work, which includes passion projects, bucket lists, and dreams and aspirations you’ve had since childhood.
Should I read the 4-hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss?
The answer will almost definitely be a yes. The only ones who will not benefit from this book are those who enjoy being present and hands on in their line of work.
Most office workers entrepreneurs, side-hustlers, or those that want to break free from their office, home or need more sources of income will absolutely gain more than they need from this book, including the confidence to step away and turn their active income into passive income.
Overall is the 4-Hour workweek worth buying?
This book is overwhelmingly positive and is a global phenomenon for a reason. There aren’t many people that you talk to that haven’t at least heard of the 4-hour workweek or Tim Ferriss.
The gold mine is the links at the end of his book, which contain more online resources and an active community of those who are trying to break free from the 9-5 grind like yourself.
The only parts that are a little lackluster are the vagueness on some of the “muses”, which is the section of the book when choosing an online business to run, but it is made up for in the further reading of his external resources listed.
Should I read the entire book?
4-Hour workweek does an amazing job with its DEAL method, Definition, Elimination, Automation and Liberation. It is a book that should be used as a reference and guide that you can come back to at any time.
Honestly, I still do myself many years later for reference. The step-by-step guide of how to liberate yourself and have your business run itself is priceless, and the blog, article and bonus material more than make up for any sections you find shortcoming. Happy reading!
