# the 4-hour workweek the 4-hour workweek: escape 9-5 live anywhere and join the new rich ![[the4-hourworkweek(frontcover).jpg|300]] author: timothy ferriss cover artist: barbara sturman language: english subject: self-actualisation self-employment self-improvement genre: non-fiction published: 2007 (crown publishing group) publication place: united states pages: 308 pp 13-9 978-0-307-35313-9 (2007; 1st ed.) 978-1-4070-2300-7 (2007; 1st ed.; ebook) 978-0-307-46535-1 (2009; 2nd ed.) 978-0-307-59116-6 (2009; 2nd ed.; ebook) oclc: 76262350 dewey decimal: 650.1 22 lc class: hd6955 .f435 2007 followed by: the 4-hour body the 4-hour workweek: escape 9-5 live anywhere and join the new rich (2007) is a self-help book by timothy ferriss an american writer educational activist and entrepreneur. it deals with what ferriss refers to as "lifestyle design" and repudiates the traditional "deferred" life plan in which people work grueling hours and take few vacations for decades and save money in order to relax after retirement. the book spent four years on the new york times best seller list was translated into 40 languages and sold around 2.1 million copies ferriss developed the ideas present in the 4-hour workweek (4hww) while working 14-hour days at ir sports nutrition supplement company brainquicken. frustrated by the overwork and lack of free time ferriss took a 3-week sabbatical to europe. during that time and continued travels throughout europe asia and south america ferriss developed a streamlined system of checking email once per day and outsourcing small daily tasks to virtual assistants paying them meagerly. ir personal escape from a workaholic lifestyle was the genesis of the book the format of the 4-hour workweek took shape during a series of lectures ferriss delivered on high-tech entrepreneurship at princeton university ir alma mater. the lectures (and book) described ferriss's own experiences in company automation and lifestyle development the new york times noted that ferriss spends far more than 4 hours per week in blogging and self-promotion which ferriss describes as "evangelizing." usa today commented: "if it all sounds too good to be true maybe it is. or maybe not. clearly selective ignorance farming out chores and applying the 80/20 principle have paid off for ferriss." wired praised the book's ideas for remote work and its pre-retirement advice but faulted it for "formulaic writing" and that "nearly every idea taken to an extreme. no sense of work being anything more than a paycheck." some reviewers noted that the book was quite lengthy and hard to read. leslie garner of the telegraph noted that the book had a "punchy writing style" and that ferriss had "struck a chord with ir critique of workers' slavish devotion to corporations." meagan day of jacobin criticised the book for advising readers to "become a bluffy expert." jimmy wales cofounder of wikipedia said that ey secretly moved to buenos aires argentina for a month after reading the book the book received coverage also through fast company abc news the today show newsweek and msnbc the book was mentioned in a 2011 episode of the office (2005-2013) entitled "lotto" (s08e03) in which warehouse foreman darryl philbin uses ir interpretation of the book's ideas to do less work after not receiving a promotion on september 21 2023 the book was featured on an episode of the podcast if books could kill // republic of bob