Does Ferriss’ 4 Hours Really Work When Nomading?
by Ricardo
Newsweek recently interviewed Timothy Ferriss, author of “The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich” about, as the book’s subtitle suggests, escaping the cycle of working long hours by saying “no” to many supposed essential business tasks (ie meetings, phone calls, emails), delegating to virtual assistants and using geo-arbitrage (ie nomading) to lower your cost of living. According to the article, which few can disagree with, he states: “With the unemployment rate stuck in the double digits and with roughly 15 million Americans out of work, job security has become one of our most pressing concerns. Given this poor economic climate, workers need to find a way to become entrepreneurial and tweak the structure of their professional lives now more than ever.”
So true. We’ve been promoting this more rational way of living since 2005—and have recently published our how-to manual on how to do just that. But Tim’s formula for disengagement as specified in the article/interview would certainly need to be a measured one. Yes, working smarter and not harder is key, but be mindful on how you budget your time. For example, if you were to check emails only once a week (as Ferriss suggests), that may have a devastating affect on your business/employment—especially (we assume) if you’re telecommuting.
Shun meetings? Perhaps (I do it all the time!). Since most meetings are superfluous anyway (and amount to a pre-digital way of conveying information that can be done more efficiently with modern means of communication)—not to mention that you can train your clients to be weaned off of traditional meetings—the need for meetings (face-to-face or via Internet) become less necessary. (Instead of twiddling your thumbs at the other end of the meeting table, you could be getting real work done—or take a bike tour through that new town you’re visiting.) Here you’ll find that communicating your thoughts via email actually becomes more important. While your client is digesting your ideas, you can go out and play.
What about skipping phone calls? (That too was touted as a means to reduce your work week.) In the abstract, that too is an idea to consider. But since your clients will be weary of the fact that you’re working remotely, maintaining adequate communications with your client/employer is vital to your survival. It’s sort of like having a precocious teenager who has few responsibilities and a good financial safety net—then run’s-off for a week without letting you know the status of things. You do not need to (virtually) hold your clients’ hand all the time, but you do need to remind the person taking a chance on you (which many clients will say they are doing since you’re the one working in an island bungalow somewhere and they are not) that all is well, on schedule and in good hands.
To make it in the location-independent world indefinitely, you will need to budget your time in a way that maximizes on communication to your existing clients. Does this mean you’ll have continue working 40 hour weeks? Not at all. Cut out the activities that keep you “at the office” but un-productive. Face it, at work we spend way too much time talking, checking personal emails, hanging out at the water cooler simply to run-out the time clock. Check your business emails every morning, do your work promptly, then go play! Location-independent people are not trust fund kids on an endless holiday. They have the same responsibilities as those whose noses are grinding on the stones at home—but they balance their energies and wisdom in far more effective and enjoyable ways.
In short, it’s a quality versus quantity issue: take on a limited amount of projects, do them well, if you’re able to delegate by all means do, and say no to tasks that waste your time. You’ll find your business will thrive while you live out your traveling dreams!
