Monday, March 10, 2014

The 4-Hour Workweek

Author Timothy Ferris is one of the most resourceful people I've come across. Having been impressed by his book The 4-Hour Body a few weeks ago, I decided to check out his other book The 4-Hour Workweek, and I was not disappointed.

While the books are on totally different topics, Ferris' style is unmistakable. Each chapter begins with an anecdote that illustrates a problem, and goes on to discuss the solution, and finishes with a number of resources (often apps or websites) the reader can use as tools to help solve the problem as it pertains to him.

The 4-Hour Workweek is all about using your time better. Your standard of living is all about what you can produce, not how much time you spend producing it. To that end, Ferris offers a great number of techniques for doing more with less.

While I think it's unlikely that any one person would take up all of Ferris' suggestions, I also think it's unlikely that someone could read this book without being intrigued enough to try out at least some of his recommendations. Myself, I was already familiar with some time management techniques Ferris discusses, but I still found a bunch of new stuff I hadn't heard of, some of which I'm trying out now.

If I have one criticism it's that Ferris spent entirely too long justifying the reason for the book. If someone has the inclination to pick up a book called "The 4-Hour Workweek", he's probably already sold on the idea that saving time is a nice idea. But I'd say it took about a quarter of the book before I was through what I'd call the "justification" chapters (plural).

Nevertheless, I think the book is a great tool for someone who knows what they're looking for. It can be treated like a reference guide - just read the chapters in which you're interested, and I think you'll find the time spent reading it to be very worthwhile.

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