Time Freedom and “The Four-Hour Workweek”

9 min readSep 30, 2021

High-Level Overview:

How do your decisions change if retirement isn’t an option? Life is meant for living, not working. Tim Ferris ushers in a new philosophy of the New Rich that provides the ingredients (income, time and mobility) for taking back our lives while still providing for our loved ones. While seemingly outdated at times, this blueprint still proves to be the gold standard in finding your way towards time freedom.

My Personal Reaction:

(I’m writing this from Cancún)

This book as been on my list for a while now. I’ve always known that corporate America wasn’t for me and that I wanted to pursue financial freedom, but for some reason The Four-Hour Workweek seemed gimmicky from a glance. Wow am I glad that I decided to give it a second look. Tim Ferris gives us a virtual blueprint to the success that we all want, but don’t know how to get. Each chapter ends with questions to ask yourself, or action items to accomplish, as well as tools and tips to kickstart your journey.

He begins the book with a section helping you define your Why (Definition). This is absolutely critical for continued strength in the journey towards financial freedom. It is the bedrock and springboard of every endeavor. Without it, our efforts fall flat. He gives us an exercise called “Dream-lining,” that outlines out future goals and aspirations, and their dollar marks to getting there. This sets up our journey with specific measurables to work towards. But don’t think of this as a one time exercise, it should be refined constantly and meticulously as our lives ebb and flow.

Living in the 21st century we are subject to more distractions that anyone previously in history. Information overload is a huge hurdle in achieving our dream lives. We are constantly draw off course by the stimulation that presents itself so effortlessly in our midst. Eliminating and simplifying is crucial. Lock in your goals and run towards them with blinders. I really resonate with this idea. Tunnel vision is something that I’ve been given as a gift and a curse. In this sense (from Tim’s idea), it is truly a gift. Being able to run towards one thing and block out everything else is something that not everyone is able to do, and that’s why Tim dedicates a large portion of the book to helping us understand the importance of Eliminating unneeded noise.

An idea that I absolutely loved was “Mini-Retirements” (Chapter 14). Once the principles of this book are implemented, work is optional. But eliminating work is not the end-all-be-all, pursuing what is meaningful is. That could be work, or taking a mini-retirement to an underdeveloped country to build an orphanage and preach the gospel to children.

“Decreasing income-driven work isn’t the end goal. Living more — and becoming more — is.”

One of the bigger takeaways from this book for myself was how to create a business muse in the Income Autopilot Sections.

“Our goal is simple: to create an automated vehicle for generating cash without consuming time. That’s it. Finding our muse.”

This step is crucial and greatly increases passive income. I was so enamored by this idea that I proceeded to fly through these sections and spend hours brainstorming product ideas that will accomplish this muse. My best ideas were test prep material for Colorado real estate exam, a yield farming guidebook, and a camping cookbook.

Summary of DEAL:

D for Definition

Turns misguided common sense upside down and introduces the rules and objectives of the new game. It replaces self-defeating assumptions and explains concepts such as relative wealth and eustress. Who are the NR and how do they operate? This section explains the overall lifestyle design recipe — the fundamentals — before we add the three ingredients.

E for Elimination

Kills the obsolete notion of time management once and for all. It shows exactly how I used the words of an often-forgotten Italian economist to turn 12-hour days into two hour days…in 48 hours. Increase your per-hour results ten times or more with counterintuitive NR techniques for cultivating selective ignorance, developing a low-information diet, and otherwise ignoring the unimportant. This section provides the first of the three luxury design ingredients: time

A for Automation

Puts cash flow on autopilot using geographic arbitrage, outsourcing, and rules of non-decision. From racketing to the routines of ultra-successful NR, it’s all here. This section provides the second ingredient of luxury lifestyle design: income.

L for Liberation

Is the mobile manifesto for the globally inclined. The concept of mini-retirements is introduced, as are the means for flawless remote control and escaping the boss. Liberation is not about cheap travel; it is about forever breaking the bonds that confine you to a single location. This section delivers the third and final ingredient for luxury lifestyle design: mobility.

Important Quotes and Ideas:

Step 1: D is for Definition

[Big Idea] “Defining the overall lifestyle recipe of the new rich”
Money is multiplied in practical value depending on the number of Ws you control in your life: what you do, when you do it, where are you do it, and with whom you do it. I called this the “freedom multiplier.”
The New Rich aims to distribute “mini retirements” throughout life instead of hoarding the recovery and enjoyment for the fools gold of retirement. By working only when you are most effective, life is both more productive and more enjoyable. It’s the perfect example of having your cake and eating it too. Personally, I aim for one month of overseas relocation or high intensity learning (tango, fighting, whatever) for every two months of work projects.
Focus on being productive instead of busy.
The timing is never right, just do it and correct course along the way.
Ask for forgiveness not permission.
Emphasize your strengths for multiplication.
It is fear of the unknown outcomes that prevents us from doing what we need to do. Define the worst case, accept it, and do it.
Doing the Unrealistic is easier than doing the Realistic: It’s lonely at the top. Ninety-nine percent of people in the world are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for the mediocre. The level of competition is thus the fiercest for “realistic” goals, paradoxically making them the most time and energy consuming. It is easier to raise $1 million than it is $100,000. It is easier to pick up the one perfect 10 in the bar than the five 8s.
To have an uncommon lifestyle, you need to develop the uncommon habit of making decisions, both for yourself and for others.

Step 2: E is for Elimination

[Big Idea] “What you do is infinitely more important than how you do it. Efficiency is still important, but it is useless unless applied to the right things.”
Slow down and remember this: Most things make no difference. Being busy is a form of laziness — lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.
1) Limit tasks to the important to shorten work time (80/20). 2) Shorten work time to limit tasks to the important (Parkinson’s law).
There should never be more than two mission-critical items to complete each day. Never. It just isn’t necessary if they’re actually high impact.
Learn to be difficult when it counts. In school as in life, having a reputation for being assertive will help you receive preferential treatment without having to beg or fight for it every time.

Review (pg 112–113 for details):

Create systems to limit your availability via e-mail and phone and deflect inappropriate contact.
Batch activities to limit setup cost and provide more time for dreamline milestones.
Set or request autonomous rules and guidelines with occasional review of results

A is for Automation

[Big Idea] “Outsource your life — remote management and communication are critical skills for the new rich.”
Remember — unless something is well-defined and important, no one should do it. Eliminate before you delegate. Never automate something that can be eliminated, and never delegate something that can be automated or streamlined.
Principal number one is to refine rules and processes before adding people. Using people to leverage a refined process multiplies production; using people as a solution to a poor process multiplies problems.
Golden rule number one (for VAs): each delegated task must be both time consuming and well-defined. If you’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off and sign your VA to do that for you, it doesn’t improve the order of the universe.
Golden rule number two (for VAs): on a lighter note, have some fun with it. Have someone in Bangalore or Shanghai send emails to friends as your personal concierge to set lunch dates or similar basics. Harass your boss with all the phone calls and strong accents from unknown numbers. Being effective doesn’t mean being serious all the time. It’s fun being in control for a change. Get a bit of repression off your chest so it doesn’t turn into a complex later.
Income Autopilot action plan and notes in next section.

L is for Liberation

[Big Idea] “Find mobility through the combination of previous efforts.”
Don’t stay in a job you hate that’s sucking the life slowly out of you.
The mini retirement entails relocating to one place for 1 to 6 months before going home or moving to another locale. It is the anti-vacation in the most positive sense.
“In the experience of those I’ve interviewed, it takes 2 to 3 months just to unplug from obsolete routines and become aware of just how much we distract ourselves with constant motion.”
Though you can upgrade your brain domestically, traveling and relocating provides unique conditions that make progress much faster.
“I (Tim Ferris) rarely travel anywhere without deciding first how I’ll obsess on a specific skill…I tend to focus on language acquisition and one kinesthetic skill.”
Language learning deserves special attention. It is, bar none, the best thing you can do to hone clear thinking.”

Top 13 New Rich Mistakes:

Losing sight of dreams and falling into work for work sake.
Micromanaging and emailing to fill time.
Handling problems you’re outsourcers or coworkers can handle.
Helping outsourcers her coworkers with the same problem more than once, or with non-crisis problems.
Chasing customers, particularly unqualified or international prospects, when you have sufficient cash flow to finance your non-financial pursuits.
Answering email that will not result in a sale or that can be answered by a FAQ or auto responder.
Working where you live, sleep, or should relax.
Not performing a thorough 80/20 analysis every 2 to 4 weeks for your business and personal life.
Striving for endless perfection rather than great or simply good enough, whether in your personal or professional life.
Blowing minutiae and small problems out of proportion as an excuse to work.
Making neon time sensitive issues urgent in order to justify work.
Viewing one product, job, or project as the end all be all of your existence.
Ignoring the social rewards of life.

Action-Steps and Guidelines:

Fundamental Rules of the 4-hour workweek pg 31–37

Overcoming the fears of living the 4-hour workweek life pg 46–47

Dream-Linining Worksheet pg 57–62

Techniques for reading faster: pg 89–90

Elimination tips and tricks pg 113–116

VA guidebook on pg 141–143

Resources for VAs on pg 145–148

Income Autopilot tools and tricks pg 174–178, 191–197, 217–222

It’s not nearly as expensive as you think to travel abroad. Check figures on pg 260–261

Flight hacks pg 263

Bare essentials packing list on pg 266–267

Mini-Retirement tools and tricks 277–286

Places for zeroing distractions pg 298

Minimalist packing on pg 318–319

Blueprint for decision making pg 321–324

9 habits to stop now pg 324–327

11 tenets for reaching (or doubling) profitability in 3 months pg 327–332

Outsourcing your inbox pg 332–335

Processing Rules for VAs pg 336–344

Cultivating Selective Ignorance

Go on an immediate one-week fast.
Develop habits of asking yourself, “Will I definitely use this information for something immediate and important?”

Filling the Void, what am I doing with my life?

Revisit growing zero: Do nothing. (pg 298)
Make an anonymous donation to the service organization of your choice.
Take a learning mini-retirement in combination with local volunteering. (For the duration of this trip, note self-criticisms and negative self-talk in a journal. Whenever upset or anxious, ask “why” at least three times and out the answers down on paper).
Revisit and reset dreamlines

What are you good at?
What could you be best at?
What makes you happy?
What excites you?
What makes you feel accomplished and good about yourself?
What are you most proud of having accomplished in your life? Can you repeat this or further develop it?
What do you enjoy sharing or experiencing with other people?

Based on the outcome of steps 1–4, consider testing new part- or full-time vocations.

Full-time work isn’t bad if it’s what you’d rather be doing. This is where we distinguish “work” from a “vocation.”
Recapturing the excitement of childhood isn’t impossible. In fact, it’s required. There are no more chains — or excuses — to hold you back.