Work Smarter, Not Harder: A Marketer’s Review of the Four Hour Work Week and Why It’s Still Relevant Today (2023)
First off, I am an unabashed Tim Ferriss fan.
My wife jokingly calls my dog-eared copy of the Four Hour Work Week; “your bible”.
I’ve read it so many times I can probably quote it verbatim, but I thought it would be interesting to review some of the things I’ve personally taken away from the book and apply my “CMO lens” to them e.g. what could a professional marketer can from reading this book.
Yes, I know the book is ancient.
Yes, the title is unfortunate.
No, I don’t think the book is really about working only four hours per week.
No, I haven’t yet applied all the principles successfully but I keep trying.
I do believe the Four Hour Work is still relevant today, though some of the tactics are extremely outdated now.
I’ve left out many concepts that I don’t think are relevant to Marketers also make this a book worth reading or re-reading.
1. The Four Hour Work Week: What’s the Big Deal?
The Four Hour Work Week is all about working smarter, not harder, and squeezing the most out of every hour.
But is it still relevant today, especially for us professional Marketers?
I believe it’s more relevant than ever.
Here’s why.
The core principles, like Pareto’s Law and Parkinson’s Law, apply to virtually any industry, including marketing.
Let’s dive into how these concepts can help you become more effective and efficient in generating leads, growing your brand, and driving business pipeline.
2. The 80/20 Principle: How Marketing Pros Can Supercharge Their Impact
Chapter 5 introduces Pareto’s Law or the 80/20 principle (in its current vernacular). The basic principle is 80% of your results come from just 20% of your efforts. This means that a small fraction of your work generates most of your success. Read this article on Farnum St for a great overview.
What I really like about this chapter is that Tim shows you how to apply the 80/20 principle to your work specifically with an example of how he stopped contacting 95% of his customers, fired 2%, and focused on just 3% that we’re driving 95% of his revenue.
To make the most of this principle, focus on the tasks that have the highest impact on your lead generation and brand growth. For example, if you find that creating high-quality content drives the most engagement, prioritize that over less effective tasks like cold outreach.
Here’s what I suggest you can do immediately.
Ask questions like:
- What 20% of our blog articles are driving 80% of pipeline?
- What 20% of email subject lines are getting 80% of opens?
- What 20% of slides are getting used the most by our sellers?
Making a simple list based on data, not your gut. The key drivers will be the ones that are driving 80% of the results. Data doesn’t lie, people do!
Then for each thing you find that is the key driver—triple down and STOP doing the other types. Sounds simple, but it’s hard. Trust me, I’ve failed at this more times than I can count.
3. Parkinson’s Law: Work Less, Achieve More
Chapter 5 also introduces the reader to Parkinson’s Law which asserts that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
In other words, the more time we have, the more time we waste.
The key to overcoming this trap is to be effective (doing the right things) rather than just efficient (doing things quickly).
To apply Parkinson’s Law as a marketing professional, set strict deadlines for your tasks, break them into smaller parts, and ruthlessly prioritize.
This will help you stay focused on high-impact activities, like nurturing relationships with key influencers or refining your product messaging.
In Chapter 2, Tim talks about his “SDR Hack”, where he only dialed senior executives between the hours of 8-830AM and 6-630PM, resulting in working for one hour each day but reaching 2X as many people as his peers since those were times that people were sitting at their desks to begin or end their day and Administrative Assistants had gone home already.
Speaking of which you might want to ask your SDRs when they are dialing right now 😜.
4. Combine Pareto and Parkinson’s Laws to Amplify Your Output
I love COMBINATIONS!
You get real power from combining Pareto’s Law with Parkinson’s Law. To quote Tim here.
- “Limit tasks to the important to shorten work time (80/20)
- Shorten work time to limit tasks to the important (Parkinson’s Law)”
That’s exactly what I did to write this article today.
- The Four Hour Work Week is one of the founding ideas behind this blog and my message to the world, so I prioritized it over all other articles as my first blog article.
- I gave myself a hard timeline of four hours to write, proofread, publish, and promote this article you are reading.
I also used ChatGTP to give me an outline of the article to speed up my writing process (Look for another article on this soon).
5. Outsourcing: Your Secret Weapon for Reclaiming Time
Chapter 8 introduces the concept of Outsourcing, which is critical to working smarter, not harder.
As a marketing pro, you’ve got a lot on your plate. Outsourcing can be a game-changer, freeing up precious time for more important tasks.
For example, you might consider outsourcing social media management, graphic design, or even content creation to focus on strategy and big-picture planning.
By delegating lower-impact tasks, you can concentrate on what really drives results, like honing your unique value proposition or building a killer marketing funnel.
I used ChatGTP to help me write this article and outsourced the uploading of it to my Virtual Assistant. Total time saved = 2 hrs plus.
I used those 2 hrs to plan tomorrow’s review of the Almanac of Naval Ravikant.
6. Mini-Retirements and Work-Life Balance
The Four Hour Work Week also champions the idea of mini-retirements—taking extended breaks to recharge and pursue personal passions.
I wrote a long-form article about my first mini-retirement on my Now page to inspire you.
Chapters 13 and 1 do a great job of a) showing you how to bail on your job and b) how to think about your first mini-retirement. I especially love the “mad-lib” of writing a letter to your boss when you quit.
While not everyone can take months off at a time, the concept of prioritizing work-life balance is essential for marketers and all professionals.
It’s crucial to recognize when you’re overworked and take steps to maintain a healthy work week. Regular breaks, self-care, and setting boundaries between work and personal life can help prevent burnout and keep your creative juices flowing.
Remember, a well-rested marketer is a more effective marketer.
7. Practical Tips for Marketing Pros: Applying the Four Hour Work Week Principles
- 80/20 principle: Regularly audit your activities and determine which ones yield the highest ROI. Double down on those and minimize or eliminate the less impactful tasks.
- Parkinson’s Law: Set aggressive deadlines for your projects and break them into smaller, manageable parts. This will help you maintain focus and minimize procrastination.
- Combine 80/20 and Parkinson’s Law: Drive maximum output and maximum impact in the least amount of time.
- Outsourcing: Identify tasks that can be delegated to freelancers or agencies. This will free up time for higher-impact activities like strategizing and relationship-building (or just hanging out with your family).
- Mini-retirement/Work-life balance: Prioritize self-care, maintain healthy boundaries between work and personal life, and take breaks when needed to recharge and avoid burnout.
Conclusion: Embracing the Four Hour Work Week Mindset
I just can’t tell you how much I’ve learned and taken away from this book over the years. It is truly a mindset for me.
I wish I had read it before my PhD work because I would have done everything differently.
I got better after reading the book and applying the principles as a Founder and CEO.
And as a CMO during the pandemic, I used them ruthlessly to protect my schedule and manage my team using the idea of Most Important Thing or M.I.T. (future article coming soon).
By embracing the principles of Tim Ferriss’s Four Hour Work Week, we Marketers can work smarter, not harder, and achieve greater success while enjoying a more balanced life.
I’d love to hear about your own experiences with these strategies and how they’ve impacted your career.
I respond to all emails personally. My Contact Page is here.