How to Work 4 Hours a Week Book: January New Year’s Readings
Are you constantly busy with work and no longer feel joy at the thought that you have become more successful? Your income has increased, but the level of multitasking has become even higher, and you can only dream of a vacation with your family? You can’t leave things unattended even on weekends and have to constantly stay in touch with colleagues, clients or partners? If you answered yes to these questions, How to Work 4 Hours a Week is definitely for you. The author undoubtedly knows what he is writing about, because he “tested" the path described in the book on himself.
In How to Work 4 Hours a Week, you won’t find "how to make a million in two days" or "how to get rich without working a day" advice. Timothy Ferris will talk about how to become more creative, learn to think differently and find much more profitable and faster ways to get the job done.
The “new rich” is the definition the author gives in his book to those people who are ready to take control of their own lives into their own hands and no longer want to put it off for later.
Timothy Ferris is a renowned writer, public speaker and traveler whose fascinating life is followed by such renowned publications as National Geographic Traveler, New York Times and Maxim. At 29 years old, Timothy runs a multinational company remotely, while constantly being in different parts of the world. In parallel with this, the author has learned to communicate freely in six languages, set a world record in tango dancing, became a kickboxing champion in China, starred in a movie in Hong Kong and is not going to stop there.
How to work 4 hours a week book
Abstract
The introduction to the book, titled "The Most Important Thing" by the author, consists of three separate parts, where Timothy Ferris answers the most common questions from readers and highlights the main reasons why you should read his book.
To simplify perception and more efficient distribution of information, the author has divided the book into four parts, called steps, and includes seventeen chapters in total. The afterword to the book was the section "Only the most important". The last part of Timothy Ferris’s book contains bonus chapters and information about the author himself.
Step I: P – problem statement
In the four chapters of the first part of the book, Timothy suggests that you do some serious work on yourself and take such important steps as:
- Internal release. The author calls once and for all to get rid of the main stereotypes, and change your own system of thinking. Abandon generally accepted standards in favor of the search for the meaning of life, self-realization and the opportunity to be useful to this world.
- Getting rid of fears. Timothy will talk about how to overcome fears such as losing your career and future pension, your business and permanent income.
- Gaining freedom of choice. True value and wealth lies in the ability to choose what to do, when to work, and where to live.
- Setting unrealistic goals. The most difficult task is much more achievable than it seems at first glance. If you set yourself an unrealistic goal, you will have far fewer competitors on the way to achieving it.
- A clear choice of goals. There may be several goals, but all of them must meet the main requirements: be specific and based on your interests, on what really fascinates you.
- Determination of specific steps aimed at achieving the goal. Calculate the possible losses in both cases: if you move towards the goal and if you refuse to achieve it. Highlight the main thing, discard fears and act right now.
- Refusal of work that takes too much time. Strive for independence, for the transition to remote work, and if you can’t, feel free to quit. The author is convinced that having decided on such an act, you will find new ways to pay your bills and make savings.
Be sure to allow yourself to rest. Do not rush, do not try to embrace the immensity on a long-awaited vacation, just live. This will be useful not only emotionally, but also financially: you will significantly reduce unnecessary spending on excursions, accommodation and meals.
Step II: L – liquidation
The book "How to work 4 hours a week" – the second part is devoted to a detailed analysis of the liquidation process. On the way to liberation and increase your own efficiency, you will need to remove from your life everything that complicates it and takes the lion’s share of your time.
The main recommendations given in the three chapters of the section are:
- Increase your productivity and free up time. Set yourself strict time limits, set a specific amount of time to complete each task. Acting in this way, you will soon realize that the allotted time is quite enough to complete the work that used to take you all day.
- Be more efficient. Act rationally, try to solve any problem on the way to the goal in the most “economical” way.
- Remember the Pareto law. 20% of all costs lead to 80% of the result. Follow this rule in everything: when choosing partners, clients, advertising and sources of income.
- Set a deadline. Cut off all low-priority tasks and limit your time to cut off anything that might distract you.
- Check your own productivity. Don’t let yourself waste your time at work. Three times a day, check that you are not distracted and really busy with the tasks at hand.
- Apply the Pareto law to information as well. Be selective, "grab" only the most important and specific, and learn to read quickly.
- Don’t let it take your time. Reading letters, writing reports, attending meetings, coordinating actions and obtaining permissions – minimize, or better, completely get rid of the things that silently take up a huge part of your time.
Remember: maximum autonomy, high efficiency and constant self-control are the main principles of a person who wants to be the master of his own life.
Step III: A – Automation
The book "How to work 4 hours a week" – the third part. From here you will learn what outsourcing of your own life is, as well as which business areas are easiest to supervise remotely.
According to Timothy Ferris, just three simple steps can free up a huge amount of your time:
- Elimination of excess
- Automation or the maximum simplification of what cannot be eliminated
- Delegation of the most time-consuming tasks, with the establishment of the exact time and requirements
However, when delegating their powers, one should not forget about security measures. When transferring your tasks to one of your colleagues, make sure that this person does not have access to your personal information: passwords, accounts or documents.
In the last chapters of this part of the book, the author willingly shares the most promising, in his opinion, areas in business. Ferris describes in detail the steps to find your niche, helps to clearly formulate the idea and defines the prerequisites for effective positioning of a product or service in today’s market.
Step IV: N – the beginning of a new life
And now the most important tests are over. The only thing left is to start a new life. In the last part of his book, Timothy Ferris will help you decide to leave your job and run away from the office.
To overcome the formed feeling of emptiness and insecurity, the author suggests starting an active lifestyle, enjoying every moment, devoting free time to your own hobbies.
Traveling is one of the best ways to fill in Ferris’ free time. Starting to get acquainted with the world around you, you can feel how bright life can be, understand your true purpose and learn to live in harmony with yourself.
In addition, in the last chapter of this part of the book, you will learn about thirteen common mistakes that the "new rich" make and how you can avoid them.
The book "How to work 4 hours a week" – summing up
Timothy Ferris’ book How to Work 4 Hours a Week is highly recommended reading by our team.
Do not hang around in the office "from call to call, live anywhere and get rich" for anyone who wants to break out of the multitasking cycle, focus on the most important thing, realize their potential and allow themselves to live a truly full life.