Tim Ferriss’s 4-Hour Workweek – Book Review

title and author: The 4-hour work week by Timothy Ferriss – Book Review

Content Synopsis:

The overriding theme of what Ferriss calls T4HWW (The 4-Hour Workweek) is the idea that we are wrong to kill ourselves by working more than 50 hours a week and taking only two weeks of vacation a year, if any, and saving all time. good times for “retirement” to occur at some uncertain time in old age. Ferriss argues that with a few work and lifestyle adjustments it is entirely possible to reduce work hours significantly, take frequent “mini-retirements” of three to six months or more, and enjoy life to the fullest before anything hits. old age thought.

To that end, he offers various tips and techniques for working from home, automating your business or working through outsourcing and offshore software, and stopping the accumulation of a lot of “stuff” and replacing it with a lot of really interesting and enriching experiences. .

For example, instead of working all week to pay for toys like boats, caravans and luxury cars, you can rent an apartment in Berlin, enjoy its local culture, learn its language and have many European adventures. Or you could rent a place in a South American city and do the same. You can easily choose from the Asian options. You can go from one to the other. The opportunities are endless and often cost less than living in the US.

Although this book is primarily intended for Americans, it could apply to people of any nation. The book operates on two levels. On one level, it offers a kind of hobo life with few ties or connections that may appeal to a young single person, but may not appeal to families with children at all. On another level, it offers many tips, tricks and techniques to reduce your workload and enjoy your own time.

His job reduction ideas can work well for people in information businesses like writers and designers. It can also be adaptable to certain professionals who do not need to see their clients to serve them.

For people in traditional retail businesses or professionals serving a clientele that expects personal contact, most of Ferriss’s ideas simply don’t work. Most medical providers, government employees, and retail workers would not be able to reduce their work hours because they are paid in part for the time they spend “on the job.” You can only do so much with automated systems and from a laptop in a coffee shop.

At its best, this book will challenge you to think outside the box about your career and how you spend your time. He offers many tips and ideas that many can use to improve their work and personal lives. He offers insights that make international travel more feasible than many may think. On the downside, fully embracing the Ferriss model would be very upsetting for most people, depriving families of the stability and connection to a homey neighborhood that many value so highly.

And the 4 hour work week, well some could pull it off using almost all of their techniques. But for most of us it is an illusion. Because it’s technically possible and apparently Ferriss has lived through it, I can’t call it totally misleading, but for many the changes needed to get there would cost too much.

Readability/Writing Quality:

The writing style is very good. It is easy to read. It is well organized and uses real life examples of how others have adopted his ideas. Ferriss is also very funny and will make you laugh at least once in every chapter.

Notes on the author:

Tim Ferriss is a writer and businessman who has written for various newspapers and magazines, including the Wall Street Journal and Business Week. He is also a guest speaker and has run his own multinational firm since 2003.

Three great ideas that you can use:

1. To the extent that you can take extended work vacations or mini-retirements, you can enrich your life and avoid burnout at a job.

2. Most of us don’t make major lifestyle changes or travel a lot because we don’t understand how to do it and out of fear. With proper planning and the right technique, we can lead much more interesting lives and travel the world, unless we choose to stay in jobs that prohibit it.

3. You can free yourself from many mundane tasks, from checking email to paying your bills, by outsourcing to trusted sources in the US or, more cheaply, to companies in India and Asia. Ferriss explains how to do this and how not to do it.

Disclosure Information:

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss, copyright 2007, 2009 by Tim Ferriss. Published by Crown Publishing, a division of Random House.

Rating of this book

Overall book rating: Very good

Writing style: Easy to read and understand.

Utility: Some parts of the book will be useful to almost anyone. Other parts of the book may be of limited usefulness depending on one’s limitations and choices.