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1.12k reviews for:
The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich
Timothy Ferriss
3.4 AVERAGE
1.12k reviews for:
The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich
Timothy Ferriss
3.4 AVERAGE
Second time I've read this book and I get something out of it each time. Just a fantastic book to shape your ideas of what your work day should look like, what your worth is, and how you want to spend your time.
It's a little dated because it was released so long ago, so ignore most of the links in there. But the concepts are sound.
It's a little dated because it was released so long ago, so ignore most of the links in there. But the concepts are sound.
slow-paced
I’m not sure I can adequately express how much I hate the tone of this book.
I was looking for a book that critiques the Protestant work ethic, reminds us not to dream of labor, and give tips on how to curate presence and efficiency so that we have more time to connect with people in the world. What I found was essentially an enslaver’s manifesto—his main tip is to underpay brown women to overwork for you (including emotional and relational labor) so you can be a disengaged, selfish rich white “capital C” Capitalist. I’m telling you, this book belongs in the libraries of plantations.
As I read I kept thinking of Kant’s frame of ethics (“what if everyone did that—would it be ethical?”) and how unethical his suggestions are from that framework. This book is premised on a certain class/social group/gender accessing more resources BECAUSE others around them are accessing less. The theory is inherently elitist; it is not scalable, it is meant for a specific type of work done by a specific demographic of people.
Somebody please write the other book I thought this would be.
I was looking for a book that critiques the Protestant work ethic, reminds us not to dream of labor, and give tips on how to curate presence and efficiency so that we have more time to connect with people in the world. What I found was essentially an enslaver’s manifesto—his main tip is to underpay brown women to overwork for you (including emotional and relational labor) so you can be a disengaged, selfish rich white “capital C” Capitalist. I’m telling you, this book belongs in the libraries of plantations.
As I read I kept thinking of Kant’s frame of ethics (“what if everyone did that—would it be ethical?”) and how unethical his suggestions are from that framework. This book is premised on a certain class/social group/gender accessing more resources BECAUSE others around them are accessing less. The theory is inherently elitist; it is not scalable, it is meant for a specific type of work done by a specific demographic of people.
Somebody please write the other book I thought this would be.
This was thought-provoking and polarizing. I’m not sure of how ethical some of Ferris’ advice is, but it’s nonetheless a good recount of his version of “success”. I really like how he challenges conventional work and champions being different is good thing.
While there were some good nuggets about productivity, focusing your attention, and prioritization, I found the tone a bit arrogant. For a different type of person looking for a different thing, maybe the practical tips would have been useful but I honestly skimmed this at best.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Re-rated: I'm not sure the latter chapters provide much assistance. Instead, the main draw is the first few chapters that describe ways to be more efficient in your work. Chunking and delegation are really the keys to this book.
This book was mildly entertaining, enough to get me through it at least. However, I don't think I'm about to start a drop-shipping company selling knitting instruction for metalheads just yet. ;)
The thing that the author seems to be unable to grasp is that some jobs really *can not* be done remotely. I used to be jealous of my work-from-home friends in Boston, but as a laboratory scientist, my job was just not remote-able. I mean, I suppose I could buy thousands of dollars of equipment, ventilation, and freezers. Then, buy some land somewhere remote and build an outbuilding with the proper gas hookups, fume hoods, and a backup generator to ensure my -80 freezers never lost power, but at that point it would be nearly impossible to get funding since I wasn't part of an established group, and research science operations rarely make money. Not to mention the electric bills!
I guess to put these principles into practice I need to have a job where I spend all my time on a computer.
The thing that the author seems to be unable to grasp is that some jobs really *can not* be done remotely. I used to be jealous of my work-from-home friends in Boston, but as a laboratory scientist, my job was just not remote-able. I mean, I suppose I could buy thousands of dollars of equipment, ventilation, and freezers. Then, buy some land somewhere remote and build an outbuilding with the proper gas hookups, fume hoods, and a backup generator to ensure my -80 freezers never lost power, but at that point it would be nearly impossible to get funding since I wasn't part of an established group, and research science operations rarely make money. Not to mention the electric bills!
I guess to put these principles into practice I need to have a job where I spend all my time on a computer.
Ironically I received this book as a gift from my former boss when I quit my job working for him and struck out on my own. It's a pretty good book. Some of the advice is a little dated and not all the advice really translates but there are great ideas and resources in here. I'm glad I read it.
