The 4-Hour Workweek

I listened to Tim Ferris' “4 Hour Work Week” via Hoopla audiobook, so thank you to the library!

I'm just going to say it: Tim Ferriss is a blowhard and reminds me of so many C-suite individuals who claim that they deserve massive compensation packages for being them, but without providing any demonstrable value to the organization.

Below are my thoughts about the book as I listened to.

Avoid direct communication as much as possible. We are supposed to avoid talking to people at work (as an employee or consultant), answer emails once per week, and tell people who call to email.

Set a huge hourly rate. To be one of the “new rich,” just say that your billing rate is $5,000 per hour. It doesn't matter if you're doing anything for that rate! Ha!

Create short deadlines. We are told to ignore minutae and create impossibly short deadlines for activities. Like “The Magic of Tidying Up,” Tim clearly has no understanding of accounting, which is all about minutae. I suppose this book is for management consultants, who I have generally found to do nothing.

Improve cash turnaround with automation. Nice tip for non-accountants: lockboxes are great, low-cost ways for businesses to speed up cash turnaround and standardize documentation.

Stop multi-tasking and to set a firm time that you leave. After working in Corporate America for almost 20 years, management thought that I was constantly available because I wasn't married and didn't have children. Once I started setting a time I had to leave for salsa lessons or book clubs or yoga, management stopped overloading me (and gave me more staff!). This tip seems simple on its face, but it really a good way to manage one's day to keep a decent work-life balance. Who cares if you're leaving to go soak in a warm bath or to go train for an iron man?

Low information diet. The most useful tip in the book! “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” However, simply not responding to voice mails and only checking emails once per week is insane. When you are your business, you must be an information bottleneck, as Tim describes it, or you won't understand what is going on in your business. It is true that it is a good idea to delegate when you have proper staff, but if you are a one-person operation, there is nowhere to outsource. The author even outsourced the decision about who to choose for President of the United States; it's a great idea to acquire other's opinions including those who have a similar and a different mindset. However, in this age of high volume questionable information, it is worthwhile to check sources yourself as opposed to just believing what everyone else says. If I believed the vast majority of my relatives, I would have voted differently and would believe all kinds of insane things (and be quite racist, to boot).

One week media fast. He is totally right that reading an hour of fiction (or non-fiction) before bed is a great way to relax and close down the day. Research indicates that using computers or smart phones or televisions when trying to wind down actually stimulates brain waves and makes sleep less restful.

Only check email twice per day. HAHAHA. Hilarious. This tacti does not train others to be more effective. It tells people that you aren't interested in providing information when needed. Perhaps checking email fewer times per day is a good idea, as opposed to checking email every minute. However, not checking it in the morning or at other times during the day is irresponsible given that there is phone call screening directing those who wish to communicate with you to email you.

No meetings. HAHAHA again. Sometimes, I find meetings to be very helpful. Not everyone communicates well over email and there are follow-up questions that are important to discuss. Asking to sit out once in awhile works, but not every single time.

Miss deadlines. Missing a deadline DOES NOT work in accounting. Oh, sorry, I decided not to do your financials! Oh, sorry, I decided not to do your tax return on time. Fees, schmees! Who care if you lose your non-profit status in your state. It saved me time and I batched wheeee! Sorry, but that is nonsense. Batching is a good idea, which requires that you organize like tasks and complete them together, as opposed to starting from scratch each time you do a task.

Declutter. Hilariously, he recommends decluttering and reducing the number of possessions to free up physical weights to support more traveling and being more efficient. This is right in line with the Marie Kondo method and has some truth. Who doesn't feel better by getting rid of items you don't need and someone else can? It is true that you don't get as distracted by a bunch of stuff and can more quickly choose clothing or navigate through the house when there isn't stuff everywhere. However, the point is so that you can travel with almost no posessions. I like having different shoe options for going to the pool, touristing, and a fancy dinner.

To sum up, spend as little time with people that you work for, work with, and who work for you, as well as friends, relatives (even your immediate family – definitely use a virtual assistant to correspond with your spouse about interpersonal issues).