The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss
This book is packed with great advice for people who want to live life to the full without being shackled to a normal work routine - he calls it joining the “new rich”. So why am I still here - you may ask?! (Perhaps its because I actually enjoy what I do and I already set my own hours). The author gave up on the daily working drudgery and apparently has ample income from a series of practically self performing products sold over the Internet. In the book he provides tips on how you can do the same - he even gives sample scripts for those looking to quit their jobs or work more on their terms (i.e. from home or fewer hours). The most useful part of the book is the chapter where he describes ways to reduce your daily load including assessing whether something is actually worth doing, out sourcing chunks of your work to others such as on-line assistants, book keepers and researchers like Assistu in North America or b2k Corp in India. They key is productivity - you have to analyse your tasks and ask if each conntributes back to your goals. If not then don’t do them. Now I am not about to run off to a Europe for 6 months but when I do, you can be sure I will have implemented some of the strategies in this book so that I can enjoy my trip and still make money at the same time!
January 15th, 2008 at 8:19 am
You know we work to our own schedule already Mhairi - but it always seems we still work too much - a symptom of the stage of the business for sure - is this book worthwhile for Martin to read, you think? I’m compiling a reading list right now - and his big goal is definitely to work around 4 hours!
January 15th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Yes - its a quick read. I took some if it with a pinch of salt but there are some invaluable resources and suggestions in there.