I guess if they are rewarded sufficiently so that they can retire early it might be worth it, but if not, why bother?
4 Hour Work Week
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I guess if they are rewarded sufficiently so that they can retire early it might be worth it, but if not, why bother?
Not read the book, but I'm a contract software developer and am leaving my current contract at the end of this month and taking some time off until the new year.
Going to do a bit of freelance work in the meantime, but I'm also planning to take the time just to relax for a bit, not have to worry about whether my train will be delayed in the morning and have some time for myself.
Going to do a bit of freelance work in the meantime, but I'm also planning to take the time just to relax for a bit, not have to worry about whether my train will be delayed in the morning and have some time for myself.
Deleted member 66701
Deleted member 66701
I don't - I work 30 hrs a week and have all the school holidays off (no, I'm not a teacher).
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I'm only indispensable for as long as it takes to find two people in Bulgaria to replace me. That's the trouble with IT - there's always someone cheaper, so your goal is to make yourself useful enough that they don't want to hire them!
I've been lucky though - I've done most of the 'seeing the world' that I wanted to do so the work doesn't bother me (aside from always feeling utterly shattered)
Not sure we all do this though. I worked hard (80-100hr weeks with no annual leave) earlier on in my life because I enjoyed my work and that what I wanted to do. Now I chill out and work when I want - it is just a matter of priorities really. I am tree-hugger so don't need to pay for a car, I don't really have expensive tastes in life, use the library, listen to the radio, prefer to spend time with my children than spending money on myself etc. I now value my time more than my job.
The thing to remember though is that it cuts both ways. Yes you may work towards a happy retirement and not make it but you can also reach a retirement with no way of really supporting yourself and not being of an age to dig yourself out of the mess you have got yourself in. Work if you need to for money, work if you need to because you enjoy your job ... if you work 80 hrs a week and you enjoy your job you are not working and adding the associated stresses on yourself though ... I would have hated to gone through life and felt like I did not achieve something but that is a personal thing of which I suspect we all have different goals.
I don't think it's all BS, but there are certainly so such thing as "get rich quick" schemes - everything will always be hard work (if it's worth doing).
However, it's all about how you structure your life and want to live your life. A friend recently graduated, and is doing freelance web development and picking up clients whilst travelling the world - he left nearly 6 months ago and so far he's been to Turkey, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and has settled in Hong Kong at the moment. It's not quite the 4 hour work week but it's probably 20-25 hours and he's doing it whilst going to interesting places around the world etc.
However, it's all about how you structure your life and want to live your life. A friend recently graduated, and is doing freelance web development and picking up clients whilst travelling the world - he left nearly 6 months ago and so far he's been to Turkey, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and has settled in Hong Kong at the moment. It's not quite the 4 hour work week but it's probably 20-25 hours and he's doing it whilst going to interesting places around the world etc.
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I completely agree that people are always looking for get rich quick schemes and I would certainly say this book isn't one of those. It takes you through the processes of freeing up time and using time better so that you get more done in less time.
Tim quotes an example of when he worked cold calling people to sell them something (can't remember off the top of my head). He found that starting work an hour earlier or finishing an hour later allowed him to by pass PA's and secretaries who shielded him from being able to speak to who he was actually calling for.
I see no reason to be debt free or have something to fall back on to give this a try. They are just excuses not do something. The book doesn't say that you must quit your job, it explains how to free yourself some time within your current situation to explore income automation to allow you the flexibility and free time to do whatever you want!
Although the book is called the 4HWW that's not the goal. The goal is to have the right work / life balance for you and to challenge the way that we all live our lives.
Tim quotes an example of when he worked cold calling people to sell them something (can't remember off the top of my head). He found that starting work an hour earlier or finishing an hour later allowed him to by pass PA's and secretaries who shielded him from being able to speak to who he was actually calling for.
I see no reason to be debt free or have something to fall back on to give this a try. They are just excuses not do something. The book doesn't say that you must quit your job, it explains how to free yourself some time within your current situation to explore income automation to allow you the flexibility and free time to do whatever you want!
Although the book is called the 4HWW that's not the goal. The goal is to have the right work / life balance for you and to challenge the way that we all live our lives.
I think this is a problem right here, no-one is indispensable in the company. Many people think they are, because they "work hard", "do a good job" and suck up to management, but in reality all that happens when they leave is someone steps up to fill their shoes, maybe makes a few mistakes but the business continues as before. HR these days goes to great pains to make sure that no-one is indispensable, I believe they call it "talent management succession planning" /facepalm.
I guess they expect long term rewards but end of the day in some sectors those are the hours that are required. Interesting you talk about retire early, is that even a goal for a lot of people these days? I can't imagine sitting back doing nothing, can't think of anything worse to be honest.
By the time i'm 40 I reckon i'll be able to take a step back but certainly wont consider early retirement, guess it depends on the personality.
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If Fred does 60 hrs a week to generate sales of £70k and Bill can generate £150K by doing 40 hrs whose most indispensible? Bill is working smarter to regularly beat the sales targets of everyone else.
Now if Bill says to his boss, "hey I think I can continue to generate these same figures but I don't need to work out of this office to do it, shall we do a trial for 2 weeks / a month and then review it" is Bills boss going to flatly say no or look at his past performance and consider his request?
I used to work as a software consultant delivering solutions to end clients on site. This work involved long days and lots of travel. I decided that I wanted to change this lifestyle as I never got to see my wife and friends. (This was all before reading the book I hasten to add!)
I took a contract 300 miles away from home and we then sold our flat in Brighton and bought a detached house in the midlands. There was concerns about what would happen if the contract ended but I knew that i would get another job, no matter what. If need be I have no issue with working in McDonalds, on the tills in Tesco, sweeping the roads or all 3 if that's what it takes. At the end of the day we all look at the worse that could happen but rarely in life does the worse happen!
In 2006 my contract role turned into a permie role and I'm doing something I love. Our change in lifestyle and move saw us looking at how we could work smarter. My wife, who is a qualified chef, and I decided that in 2009 we'd look at moving into starting our own business with the aim of beating her original wage but from the luxury of our own home. In the first 12 months that we had been doing it her income was consistently above what she earned when doing a full time job. We generate a full time wage with very little input and feel we can only go on from strength to strength.
I'm not here to preach about the book or say that everything Tim says is right. We were already doing a lot of what the book advocates but I found it useful to read some of the thinking and suggestions that the book provides and think if that you are already thinking about this kind of change of lifestyle the book might help but as with anything you have to be the kind of person who wants to change things.
Why spend your life working? What is the point? I aim to retire by 50. Can't think of anything worse than working till I'm 65. And I enjoy my job!
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I'm retiring in 8 yrs, when I'm 40.
I certainly wont be doing nothing though - the kids will be 11, 10 and 8! Plenty to do.