The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich

by Timothy Ferriss

Slowing down doesn’t mean accomplishing less; it means cutting out counterproductive distractions and the perception of being rushed.

There are no more chains—or excuses—to hold you back.

If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems. And that’s a big mistake. —FRANK

MISTAKES ARE THE name of the game in lifestyle design.

Separate your environments—designate a single space for work and solely work—or you will never be able to escape it.fn1

Not performing a thorough 80/20 analysis every two to four weeks for your business and personal life

Striving for endless perfection rather than great or simply good enough, whether in your pe...

Focus on great for a few things and good enough for the rest.

Perfection is a good ideal and direction to have, but recognize it for what it is: an impossible destination.

Any rut you get into is one you can get yourself out of.

Surround yourself with smiling, positive people who have absolutely nothing to do with work.

There is nothing the busy man is less busied with than living; there is nothing harder to learn. —SENECA

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. —STEVE JOBS,

You’d better slow down. Don’t dance so fast. Time is short. The music won’t last.

Life is not a race. Do take it slower. Hear the music Before the song is over.

Oftentimes, in order to do the big things, you have to let the small bad things happen.

Just remember: If you don’t have attention, you don’t have time.

I know from experience that any problem found in the inbox will linger in the brain for hours or days after you shut down the computer, rendering “free time” useless with preoccupation.

Be focused on work or focused on something else, never in-between.

Time without attention is worthless, so value attention over time.

Even when you’re not traveling the world, develop the habit of letting small bad things happen. If you don’t, you’ll never find time for the life-changing big things, whether important tasks or true peak experiences.

Let the small bad things happen and make the big good things happen.

One of the most universal causes of self-doubt and depression: trying to impress people you don’t like. Stressing to impress is fine, but do it for the right people—those you want to emulate.

Adversity doesn’t build character; it reveals it.

Related: Money doesn’t change you; it reveals who you are when you no longer have to be nice.

It doesn’t matter how many people don’t get it. What matters is...

Opportunities abound in bad times as well as good times.

Trip enjoyment is inversely proportionate to the amount of crap (read: distractions) you bring with you.

The more options you consider, the more buyer’s regret you’ll have. The more options you encounter, the less fulfilling your ultimate outcome will be.

This raises a difficult question: Is it better to have the best outcome but be less satisfied, or have an acceptable outcome and be satisfied?

Considering options costs attention that then can’t be spent on action or present-state awareness.

Attention is necessary for not only productivity but appreciation.

Too many choices = less or no productivity Too many choices = less or no appreciation Too many choices = sense of overwhelm

1. Set rules for yourself so you can automate as much decision making as possible

2. Don’t provoke deliberation before you can take action. One simple example: Don’t scan the inbox on Friday evening or over the weekend if you might encounter work problems that can’t be addressed until Monday.

3. Don’t postpone decisions just to avoid uncomfortable conversations.

4. Learn to make nonfatal or reversible decisions as quickly as possible.

Set time limits (I won’t consider options for more than 20 minutes),

Total deliberation time, not the number of decisions, determines your attention bank account balance

1. Do not answer calls from unrecognized phone numbers.

2. Do not e-mail first thing in the morning or last thing at night.

E-mail can wait until 10 A.M., after you’ve completed at least one of your critical to-do items.

Do not check e-mail constantly—“batch” and check at set times only.

6. Do not over-communicate with low-profit, high-maintenance customers.

If you don’t prioritize, everything seems urgent and important.

I recommend you leave the phone at home if you go out for dinner.

9. Do not expect work to fill a void that non-work relationships and activities should.

Work is not all of life. Your co-workers shouldn’t be your only friends.

Focus, get the critical few done, and get out. E-mailing all weekend is no way to spend the little time you have on this planet.

PROFITABILITY OFTEN REQUIRES better rules and speed, not more time.