Timothy Ferriss' "The 4-Hour Workweek"

The 4-Hour Workweek

  I don't typically enjoy self-help books, but people always seem to refer them or send them to me. They usually just languish on the shelf until I run out of other things to read and I'm too cheap to buy something new at the time, or I'm too unmotivated to delve into one of my American classics.

Timothy Ferriss' "The 4-hour Workweek" was referred to me by two different friends, and while I normally would have probably blown it off (and I did put it off for a while; it took my friend Tommy recommending it three times and even threatening violence if I didn't read it) I eventually decided to give it a shot. Afterall, the guys referring it are smart and successful dudes. They aren't prone to frivolent recommendations.

I LOVED the book. As I was reading, I kept thinking, "oh my God! So-and-so needs this book! Oh, so does this person!" My only slight disappointment was that it took me longer than 4 hours to read it.

While I think that Tim Ferriss is a little weird and very cocky, I have to give him credit for being a genius. The man has made a lifestyle out of getting as much done as possible with as little effort as possible. He turns slackerdom from something to be frowned upon to something to be admired. For example, he talks about his time at Princeton, and said he rarely got bad grades because if any professor gave him less than and 'A', he would create a list of 3 hours worth of questions to ask them, and do so in their office until they eventually broke and kicked him out. He said that after that, they never gave him a low grade unless they really needed to, because they didn't want to deal with him. Genius, right?

His whole philosophy is "Why spend 40 hours a week doing what you can do in four?" And he takes you step-by-step, suggestion by suggestion through how to do it. No matter the job or industry, he has tips that can help ANYONE lead a less stressful, more efficient life. From outsourcing daily tasks to easy-outs for lengthy phone calls, the book is full of tips for eliminating pointless time-sucks.

Of course in order to implement everything that Tim suggests, you have to be a little ruthless. You have to acknowledge the principal of "give an inch and they take a mile" and trim the fat of those people in your life who do this. But in the end, you'll end up with more productivity, hopefully more money and a helluva lot more free-time. And really, what's the point of working if you never have time to enjoy it?