Do You Really Want a Four Hour Workweek?

'Work' is the stuff I 'have' to do. Where I can do it, yet it's out of my strength areas. If I can keep it down to four hours a week - I'm Skipping! :-)))

The other stuff is play... just like very little kids do. Deeply absorbing and engrossing and worth lots of repeats. Yeah.

So, for me, the answer is Yes - to a four hour work week.

(Totally sideways - is the Jonah mentioned in the post above the same one that went whale-riding? After getting out of such a queasy situation, had he no gratitude?!)

Hi Ray !
"Idle hands are the Devils workshop" ....or it goes something like that. I say this a bit tounge-in-cheek, but there is a point to this for me. I find that when I am not busy, I get into trouble....I take up more new projects that I have no business trying to involve myself in.
If I am not working toward a goal, I just naturally find more work to do. Aaakkk! Stop the madness....stay busy!

I used to think that I wanted a 4 hour work week (after reading the book), but now I think I'd be bored. 4 hours is a blip of a week...I don't even know what I'd do the rest of the time.

Exactly Ray... it's all about doing something you love. Once you get to the point where "work" is what you would do anyways - even if you didn't have to work - you're in a good place!

I really liked Tim's book and I had a number of takeaways from 4 Hour Work Week that have helped me become more productive and efficient.

For example, Tim introduced me to the idea of a "Low Information Diet." Since reading 4 Hour Work Week I have become very mindful the number of email lists I am on and the amount of media that I expose myself to on a daily basis. It's amazing how much you can get done when your mind is free and you limit the number of emails in your inbox.

Like others have said, I like the idea of having the "Option" of a 4 hour work week. And that is why I decided to become an entrepreneur. It's about having "Control" of your life and being able to live life on your own terms . . . . and not having to answer to "The Man" in the ivory tower.

I really enjoy reading your blog, Ray. Your content is short and to the point -- and you make me "Think."

Best Regards,

Jon Poland

Ray,

I think the thing people want, which Ferris describes in his book is the ability to choose a 4 hour week if you want. Let's face it Ferris is no way working 4 hours per week... heck he does more interviews and speaking engagements than that.

As for me, I put it in more than 4 hours yesterday on one copy project. But like you, I get great satisfaction from the work. And when the client emailed this morning and says he likes it, that feels good too.

I used to be a handyman and although I was pretty good at it, I hated doing it. With writing, I can put in a 10 hour day and I get more into it as the day goes on.

So if it's work you hate then 4 hours is a good goal. If it's work you love, throw out the clock.

Sean

Interesting point Ray. I pondered this a couple of years ago when I read the book and realized that I liked a lot of the things that I do just as you mention. That said, I also like the concept that is at the core of the book about outsourcing the things you don't do well and creating systems that make things run more effectively.

My final conclusion was that using the principles of the Four Hour Workweek has a lot of value for individual projects within your business, i.e., seek to make each one run smoothly enough that it requires very little of your time, thereby gaining leverage to do what you love and do best with the time you choose to work!

Yes I agree Ray,

There are too many cool things to be doing that take more than 4 hours a week. i think you need to be able to enjoy your work. That being said it's nice having the income coming in so that you dont have to worry if you need to take some time off to do whatever you want.

Gavin

I've thought about this question often throughout my life. I personally believe work is a gift from God, and that we should work and enjoy it as much as we can.

Without work, we would never be able to experience that feeling of fulfillment and gratification that comes with a job well done.

You make a good point, Ray. It's the reason I've never been interested in that book.

I like working. While some might say their work doesn't really feel like work, the fact is, I like the feeling of earning my money.

If I wasn't earning, I simply wouldn't do the work I do. I'd do something else.

There's only so much you can 'enjoy' with all the time in the world.

And I certainly don't want to spend all my time just lounging.

What a great question! Do I really WANT a four hour work week?

Like you, I love what I do and can't imagine giving up some of those activities. So I'm going to answer it this way...

I would love to have the OPTION of a four hour work week. I mean, next to having the option of a zero hour work week, wouldn't that be the ultimate in financial independence? Work if you want to, don't work if you don't want to. For me, that's the answer. Just having that option. Sweet!

Best regards,

David Blaise
http://www.sledgehammermarketing.com

Well said, Sean! While thinking about all this, I ran across this bit of wisdom from the great James Michener:

“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he's always doing both.”

Hi Ray

I always view my 4 hrs as doing the less enjoyable tasks that I have not found good outsourcers for (my accounting and paperwork I need to sign is top of that list), otherwise I am like you: I love creating products and creating to solutions to new problems.

The fact I get paid to think is one of the many things I am grateful for on a daily basis.

AJ

I'm with you Ray, I wouldn't want to work a 4 hour week as I love what I do and it's not work, it is my passion.