How to Maximize Your Day Job While Creating a 4 Hour Work Week

Written by John Wesley - 32 Comments
Categories: book and product reviews

Note: Rather than doing a straight review of The 4 Hour Work Week (I’m sure you’ve read a few already) I’ve compiled some suggestions for how to apply the information it contains.

When Tim Ferriss came out with the promise of the The 4-Hour work Week you probably scoffed, “Impossible! Who does this guy think he is, tearing down our cultural institutions and promoting delusions of world travel and perpetual semi-retirement!” This was natural. All new ideas are initially resisted. It’s hard to accept a concept that radically opposes everything you’ve been taught about money, employment, and the ideal lifestyle. The book prompted me reevaluate my direction, and from what I’ve read, it had the same effect on many others.

Now that we’ve had time to digest the ideas, the powerful logic behind The 4-Hour work Week is impossible to ignore. Who wouldn’t want to trade those monotonous days under neon lights in a beige windowless room for a backpacking trip through the Alps or a crash course in SCUBA diving? If it’s so easy to automate income and join the New Rich, why not me too?

Unfortunately, going from a steady office job to New Rich is easier said than done. Even when you understand the concepts of The 4-Hour work Week, there is still the practical business of developing an income stream, testing, automating, and scaling to the point where you can support your ideal lifestyle with room to spare. These changes don’t happen overnight, and for first time entrepreneurs, building a business from scratch is an intimidating task. Most of us have rent and other expenses that require a steady income stream. We can’t afford to walk away from our day jobs without anything to fall back on.

Although we can’t join the New Rich today, a 4 hour work week is attainable. The beauty of the idea is that automated income can be developed on the side. If you plan on keeping your job, you don’t even have to do that much. A 4 hour work week is easier said than done, but following these simple recommendations will put you on the path to reaching your goal.

1. Develop Time Management Skills

The ability to process information quickly and effectively is the cornerstone of the 4 hour work week. Unfortunately, the typical office job trains you to do exactly the opposite. Everyone needs to look busy for 8 hours a day, so there isn’t any motivation to work efficiently. Simple tasks tend to drag on for hours and distractions are a welcome break from the monotony.

To join the New Rich you’ll need to break out of this mindset and master time management. A great place to start is batching. Instead of letting email be a constant interruption, close Outlook (trust me, it can be done) and only open it at specific times during the day. You’ll find plowing through 20-30 emails at once is exponentially faster than answering one at a time. The concept of batching can be applied to any group of similar tasks. Your biggest problem will be figuring out how to use all the spare time.

2. Investigate Niche Markets

By far, the biggest obstacle to a four hour work week is creating an automatable moneymaker, or as Tim calls it, finding the Muse. No one can tell you exactly how to do this because every person and every opportunity is unique. For someone with no entrepreneurial experience it seems impossible.

Fortunately, the book provides a framework for finding a niche market, testing it for profitability, and launching your product. If you’re interested in doing this, you need to read the book. The process is far too detailed to explain here, but the first step is brainstorming a niche.

To create a profitable business, you’ll need to solve an existing problem and reach people who need that problem solved. The best place to start is targeting people similar to yourself because you’re able understand their needs. What type of specialized knowledge do you possess? What social groups do you belong to? What past problems have you overcome? Turning these questions into a successful business won’t be easy, but the sooner you start investigating niche markets the more likely you’ll find a golden opportunity.

3. Build a Cash Reserve

Although launching a small business doesn’t require millions of dollars, it is a significant investment. Market testing, product development, manufacturing, and advertising all cost money. You can rack up thousands of dollars in credit card debt (like Tim did), but building up a cash reserve to draw from is a safer alternative.

What this comes down to is prioritizing your expenses. Would you rather eat out a few times a week, or cook at home and invest the money you save in creating your ideal lifestyle? When you think about it this way the choice is easy. Those fancy restaurants, expensive gadgets, and other superfluous luxuries quickly lose their appeal.

4. Become a Superstar Employee

You’re probably thinking, “How does this make sense? I thought the idea was to ditch the day job?” Oddly enough, becoming a better employee can help achieve this objective. If you don’t plan to leave your job this is the most important step. You need to make yourself as valuable as possible to your employer so that when you attempt to negotiate a remote work arrangement, giving you what you want will be more appealing than losing you to a competitor.

This is also important for aspiring entrepreneurs. Even if you don’t want to be an employee forever, sulking around the office won’t get you anywhere. I’m not suggesting you start putting in 14 hour days, but why not make the best of the situation? Becoming a great employee will help you develop excellent work habits, make connections you can leverage down the road, and allow you to learn what works and what doesn’t work when running a business.

5. Make use of your spare time

Above all, this is the most important point. A 4 hour work week isn’t going to build itself. Creating your ideal lifestyle will require an enormous effort with many failures along the way. There’s a reason most people work 40 hour weeks – sticking with the status quo is easy. You don’t have to do anything except show up and do a good enough job not to get fired.

What it comes down to is desire. How bad you want the life of your dreams? Are you willing to sacrifice every moment of your spare time in the present in order to liberate yourself in the future? This appears to be an easy choice, but implementing it is difficult. You’ll need to delay gratification for months, maybe years, until your hard work comes to fruition.

By writing The 4-Hour work Week, Tim has given us the blueprint to the ideal lifestyle. The rest falls on our shoulders. Can you put off enjoying your life until retirement? This is a choice everyone makes whether they are conscious of it or not. Now that you know working 40+ hours a week into your 60′s isn’t the only alternative, what are you going to do about it?

  • http://www.raceintheworkplace.com Carmen Van Kerckhove

    Great, great post! You’ve really broken it down into some practical and actionable steps.

    You might be interested in reading a brief interview I did with Tim Ferriss over at my blog, Race in the Workplace.

  • http://finallyinbusiness.blogspot.com/ Andrew

    Wonderful article. Those steps are really helpful.

  • http://www.pickthebrain.com John Wesley

    Thanks, I’m glad you both found it helpful. That’s a nice interview, Carmen. Thanks for pointing to it.

  • http://www.healthbolt.net Sara

    #4 is key – great tips, John. Make yourself an INtrepreneur – this is more valuable than just putting in long hours. (though both are good). :)

  • T.

    Oops, John. Typo there – it’s fluorescent lights (not neon) that you’re meaning.

  • http://GPMB.wordpress.com Laura Athavale Fitton

    Excellent twist John. This is the first review I’ve seen that applies the 4HWW concepts to everyday life in a ‘realistic’ (but still energizing) way.

    I would only add that the entrepreneurial “problem/need” you might end up filling with your automated business venture may in fact NOT exist. Yet. These can be much harder to figure out, and luck plays a big role, but the competition/barriers to entry can actually be less. Keep a close eye on emerging technologies, communities and platforms and ask yourself questions like: what would make this better? What would people really like to do here? etc.

  • http://www.pickthebrain.com John Wesley

    That’s a good suggestion, Laura. It’s important to keep your eyes open for opportunities, and also to try some of them. You’ll probably fail, but in failing you’ll learn from your mistakes and been in a better position to succeed the next time.

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  • http://www.mentalrefreshment.com Jonathan

    Great Post John. I just love Tim Ferris and all that he stands for. I’ve made the plunge and have gotten my employer to agree to a remote work arrangement one day a week, In a few months I’m gonna ask for another remote work day, and then who knows – hopefully I’ll be working remotely full time next year. At the beginning of your article you mentioned Tim’s concept of find your “Muse”, any luck on finding yours yet?

  • http://www.pickthebrain.com John Wesley

    Funny you asked about my Muse. You’re looking at it actually. This site doesn’t bring in enough income for me to do it full time yet, but if things keep going well I’m optimistic it will in the not too distant future.

    Nice job negotiating a remote work situation, so long as you make it clear you’re more productive at home I’m sure you’ll be able to extend it.

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  • http://www.mikkokemppe.com Mikko

    I got here through Tim’s facebook link. Excellent recommendations and ideas. I definitely need to finally get focused on the time management aspects of my life. Opening your email only at specific times seems so hard to do. But I am going to implement it right now. I have been waiting too long to do it. Thanks for the much needed inspiration!

  • Frank

    So Erin, do you practice the four hour work week? You’re promoting it. Are you living it?

  • http://ricardomrodriguez.me Ricardo

    Very well worded post and really applicable to everyday life.

  • http://www.vergilden.com Vergil Den

    This is spot on. Did exactly this. Utilizing free (down) time effectively and working remotely (leverage your team so you don’t have to be there). Was able to write a book (from thought to publication) in 2 months. Have my eBook up and running via low cost creation and publishing methods. Printer will have paperback ready in 7 weeks (this was the most costly part).

    Thanks Tim Ferris and Naseem Taleb (create your own positive black swan aka muse)

    Vergil Den

  • http://pursuitofexcitement.wordpress.com James Shannon

    This is a perfect response to the “OMG, what a scammer, 4 hour work week is impossible!!!” people. Yes, the 4HWW is possible, but you have to lay the foundation first, and this does take some WORK (only this time, you’re not investing in some old rich guy’s bottom line, you’re investing in YOUR prosperous future!

    Even if your muse only nets you a couple thousand a month, that could be all you need to live in a place like Thailand!

  • http://www.benbjones.com Ben Jones

    Great post. I’m in the process of paring my workweek down to 4 hours as I launch my business on the side. Thanks for writing.

    Ben

  • Mindy Drake

    Thank you for this insight. 4HWW is one of the most inspiring and empowering books I’ve read; when I finished, the ideas and possibilities racing around in my head just wouldn’t shut up! However, from my experience so far, the most important pieces to put into place are a solid understanding of Adwords and basic product marketing- reaching the niche, so to speak. Remember, the basics of features, benefits, and the fundamental concept that people go to Google and the web for ANSWERS first, so you must position your products as such. I’ve made great strides with Brad Geddes book: Advanced Google Adwords, and also with Google’s basic AdWords tutorial. Best of luck to everyone as the year ends, and an exciting 2011 begins!

  • http://www.genvejen.dk Genvejen

    Adwords isn’t the only option. There are other ways to build your muse. I live off mine and I have never needed to learn any adwords (although I tried it at one point and lost a few hundred $)

  • http://www.revolutionaryalternatives.blogspot.com James St. James

    Sweet Post – You did Tim proud. Many of us are in this “not yet” stage of the 4HWW. I have tested your approach over the last 18 months and it really has transformed my life. Thanks Bro.
    P.S. Check out my Blog – if you ever need a contributor let me know.

  • Adonis

    nice steps but i think you missed some points. 4hww isn’t about delayed gratification but on the oppossite about fun AND profit as Tim clearly states in the introduction of the book…