The 4-Hour Workweek
Encyclopedia
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (2007) is a semi-autobiographical self-help book written by Timothy Ferriss
, an American writer, educational activist, and entrepreneur.
In the book's dedication, Ferriss announced that he would be donating "10% of all author royalties" to educational charities such as Donorschoose.org.
Definition means to figure out what a person wants, get over fears, see past society's "expectations," and figure out what it will really cost to get where a person wants to go.
Elimination is about time management, or rather about not managing time. This is achieved by applying the 'Pareto principle' or '80-20 Rule'
(80% of your benefits come from 20% of your efforts) to focus only on those tasks that contribute the majority of benefit, and using Parkinson's Law
(work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion) to limit the amount of actual time spent working. There's a difference, Ferriss says, between efficiency and effectiveness. The book's emphasis is on effectiveness.
Automation is about building a sustainable, automatic source of income. This includes techniques such as drop-shipping, automation, Google Adwords and Adsense
, and outsourcing.
Liberation is dedicated to the successful automation of one's lifestyle and the liberation from a geographical location and job. Incidentally, Ferriss notes that if somebody has a regular job, the order of steps will be DELA, not DEAL.
The book asserts that technology such as email
, instant messaging
, and Internet-enabled PDA
s complicate life rather than simplify it. It advocates hiring virtual assistants
from developing countries such as India
and Philippines
to free up personal time.
Timothy Ferriss
Timothy Ferriss is an American author, entrepreneur, and public speaker. In 2007, he published The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich, which was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller. In 2010, he followed up with The 4-Hour Body...
, an American writer, educational activist, and entrepreneur.
In the book's dedication, Ferriss announced that he would be donating "10% of all author royalties" to educational charities such as Donorschoose.org.
Synopsis
In the book Ferriss uses the acronym DEAL for the four main chapters. It stands for: Definition, Elimination, Automation, and Liberation.Definition means to figure out what a person wants, get over fears, see past society's "expectations," and figure out what it will really cost to get where a person wants to go.
Elimination is about time management, or rather about not managing time. This is achieved by applying the 'Pareto principle' or '80-20 Rule'
Pareto principle
The Pareto principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.Business-management consultant Joseph M...
(80% of your benefits come from 20% of your efforts) to focus only on those tasks that contribute the majority of benefit, and using Parkinson's Law
Parkinson's law
Parkinson's law is the adage first articulated by Cyril Northcote Parkinson as the first sentence of a humorous essay published in The Economist in 1955:...
(work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion) to limit the amount of actual time spent working. There's a difference, Ferriss says, between efficiency and effectiveness. The book's emphasis is on effectiveness.
Automation is about building a sustainable, automatic source of income. This includes techniques such as drop-shipping, automation, Google Adwords and Adsense
AdSense
Google AdSense which is a program run by Google Inc. allows publishers in the Google Network of content sites to automatically serve text, image, video, and rich media adverts that are targeted to site content and audience. These adverts are administered, sorted, and maintained by Google, and they...
, and outsourcing.
Liberation is dedicated to the successful automation of one's lifestyle and the liberation from a geographical location and job. Incidentally, Ferriss notes that if somebody has a regular job, the order of steps will be DELA, not DEAL.
The book asserts that technology such as email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
, and Internet-enabled PDA
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
s complicate life rather than simplify it. It advocates hiring virtual assistants
Virtual Assistance
Virtual assistance is the professional service of remote administrative office and other specialized support by a virtual assistant who works with clients in an ongoing, collaborative professional relationship.-Job description:...
from developing countries such as India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
to free up personal time.
See also
- Pareto principlePareto principleThe Pareto principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.Business-management consultant Joseph M...
- Parkinson's LawParkinson's lawParkinson's law is the adage first articulated by Cyril Northcote Parkinson as the first sentence of a humorous essay published in The Economist in 1955:...
- Getting Things DoneGetting Things DoneGetting Things Done is an organizational method created by productivity consultant David Allen, described in a book of the same name....
(GTD) - Zen HabitsZen HabitsZen Habits is one of the most visited blogs on the Internet with 200,000 subscribers, and covers simplifying, living frugally, parenting, happiness, motivation, eliminating debt, saving, eating healthily, successfully implementing good habits, and achieving goals.Zen Habits was created by Leo...