Pages: 416, Kindle edition
Published: August, 2011 (current edition)
Cover Rating: 3/5
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Last month was all about work and productivity. The older me (self two years ago) would be scared of the term of productivity. Since the start of this year, I am reading and learning about how in this new economy one can manage work-life balance and a lot depends on being productive since productivity is directly proportional to your well-being which comes from you being a happy person.
As the title suggests, The 4-Hour Work Week is about redesigning your work and life so you can work wilfully and play in between. In my work field, I have seen a lot managers and wanna be entrepreneurs who try really hard to balance everything out and often they fail and suffer and that suffering leads to an obnoxious life.
Tim starts this Book by questioning the ideology of traditional retirement, this is what we have seen and childhood but that does not mean we have to adopt it. He does an amazing job by pointing out the changes this world has come across and how the upcoming generations handle it. He provide suggestions to change and leave behind the traditional retirement. He even provides a term for those who are willing to adapt as ‘New Rich’ — rich in terms of life. As a reader of Tim’s books and blog I find this suggestion does have an effect on his overall life. Following stoic lessons he often talks about Memento Mori in his other book Tools of Titans, and often in his podcasts and blog.
Tim suggests that one must consider the idea of ‘mini-retirements’ instead of planning to retire only in the end. This does mean that you take off of significant amount of time and leverage from that. He provides suggestions in this case too and enough emphasis on being rich in terms of life, not monetary.
Some people might argue that this book produces a message that Work is evil and following your passion necessarily means doing as little work as possible such that one can spend more time spending their hard-earned money. I disagree with them completely. Nor the ideology of following your passion suggests that. The goal of this book is not eliminate the work you surround yourself has to be likeable. Outsourcing one’s mediocre tasks is creating jobs for someone and reducing the amount of time you spend doing them. There is a full chapter in the book, in opinion of Tim, that talks about virtual assistant agencies and other outsourcing services. If the author have used these services that does not mean you have to. Some might not even fall in your paradigm and have nothing to do. A simple example is, you might be using a tool or a utility for a task in your MacBook that you pay for but your friend does not. The analysis here will be viable only if what amount of time you and your friend doing the task and how much importance that task holds for you and your friend individually. Or an activity like paying bills which occurs every month.
After reading the whole book, the takeaway from this book is that the Time is the most valuable asset. It is the only currency that we lose and do not gain. It is the only thing every person in this world has common with. There are some practical key-points here in this book that are applicable and might contribute to your happiness gradually.
Either you love or hate your work, or are neutral towards it, I suggest you give this book a consideration amount of time.
4 out of 5!
If you have read this book or planning to read, I suggest you read these books after this for a better understanding the concept of ‘New Rich’.
- The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off, and Financing the Life You Want
- Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
I call this ‘New Rich’ trilogy.
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