4-Hour Work Week (Still A Thing?)

Dear friends,

The 4-hour workweek was a concept popularised by Timothy Ferriss in his bestselling book. The idea is to design a lifestyle that allows us to work less and have more time for the things we love. But the book was written in 2007, does it still hold value? I would argue it holds even more value today than it did over a decade ago as it’s easier to achieve with today’s technology. Let me explain.

The 4-hour work week is not about working less and earning less, but rather, it's about working smarter and more efficiently. It's about finding ways to automate our income streams, so we can work less while still earning the same or even more. Just to preface, I do believe the model works better if we have a more creative, freelance, or entrepreneurial career as opposed to a traditional career.

The four main areas Timothy relies upon to achieve a 4-hour work week are: outsourcing, having multiple income streams, focusing on high-leverage tasks, and eliminating distractions. Let’s briefly discuss each.

One of the key principles of the 4-hour workweek is outsourcing. Instead of trying to do everything ourselves, we can outsource tasks to others, such as virtual assistants (or AI robots), who can handle them for us. This frees up our time to focus on the things that truly matter. For example, this could be using Zapier to automate simple tasks such as sending a new customer/subscriber welcome resources or introductory emails. It could also be hiring a virtual assistant in Bali to execute administrative tasks on your behalf.

Another important aspect of the 4-hour workweek is creating multiple passive income streams. This can include things like content creation where your content becomes digital assets, or selling digital products/courses where you build once and sell multiple. It can even be old-school methods like rental properties. By having multiple streams of income, we can reduce our dependency on our primary job and have more freedom to work less. For example, courses like Visualise Value and creators like Ali Abdaal make 7 figures annually from applying these strategies.

In addition to outsourcing and increasing income streams, it is critical to focus on the most important tasks. This is often referred to as the Pareto Principle which states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. By focusing on the most important tasks, we can get more value in less time. Here’s a simple way to apply the 80:20 rule from James Clear (author of Atomic Habits):

Finally, it is important to eliminate distractions. This means turning off notifications on your phone, closing unnecessary tabs on your computer, and setting boundaries for when you will and will not check your email. By eliminating distractions, you can increase your productivity and focus on the tasks that are most important. Arguably, this is more difficult in 2023 than it was in 2007 when the 4-hour work week was conceptualised as we are increasingly more connected with devices in our pockets, wrists, and even ears. But, there are tools like ‘Do not disturb’ and apps like Todoist, Forest, and SelfControl which can help eliminate distractions and time-block.

Ultimately, the 4-hour work week is about creating a lifestyle that allows us more time for the things we love while still earning a good income. It’s definitely not about earning a passive income or getting filthy rich. It’s a clever way to free yourself from the shackles of life and get more value from life. We can free up time to spend on our health, relationships, and life experiences without falling short of making ends meet or having a certain degree of financial freedom.

What do you think? Is the 4-hour work week still worth pursuing a decade later? Is there a better model that works better in the current climate? Smash reply and let me know.

Disclaimer: This article was written in part by ChatGPT, and in part by me. I fleshed it out and did a vibe check. Thoughts? I would love to get your feedback.

Quote 🧠

If you haven’t already realized it, the Dip is the secret to your success. The people who set out to make it through the Dip — the people who invest the time and energy and effort to power through the Dip — are the ones who become the best in the world. — The Dip by Seth Godin.

Link Up 🔗

AeroPress — Sleek and simple. Make quality coffee on the go or at home.

The 12 Week Year — Solid book on reframing projects and getting more done.

Burning fat — Great thread on stuff that actually works for losing visceral fat.

Podcast Ep — Tim Ferriss and James Clear discuss all things habit building.

As always be safe, and be happy.

Warm regards - Yath 🤟🏾

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