The 4-Hour Workday: How Working Less Can Achieve More

Image generated with OpenAI by the author

  I used to think the longer you hustle, the more you achieve.

  There is some truth to that, but the extra time isn't as important as it might seem. We wake up, work out, go to work, come home, make dinner, go to bed, then repeat. It's a fast-paced world we live in.

  Many business and hustle gurus promote working 16-hour days. According to them, it encourages more productivity and provides an opportunity for your side hustle.

  It can feel daunting.

  Like I said, there is some truth to what they are saying. If you work a full-time job, you're stuck there for 8 hours. When you're building a business during this time, the extra hours are necessary.

  Other times in business, you need to put in that extra time. They are great for short sprints, but beyond that… you're asking for burnout.

  I used to believe all of this was needed when you wanted to leave your day job. Work a few hours before your day job, work your 8 hours at your day job, then another several hours after your day job.

  I was wrong.

  Now I've come to a new thought on work and time. The goal is to create a business that allows me to work no more than 4 hours a day.

  Imagine that… To work only 4 hours… It's the dream.

  I first heard the idea from Dan Koe, and it makes total sense. Life is about enjoying the time we have with our loved ones, and bringing something positive and productive to the world while you're at it.

  And if we can make a decent income, even better.

  It's not as simple as working 4 hours a day.

  The four hours are used for highly focused lever-pulling work. You don't do anything else during that time. This means no social media, no games, no distractions.

  This brings us to Parkinson's Law.

Parkinson's Law

  This law is the adage that work expands to the time allotted. If you give yourself five hours for a task, it will take you five hours to get it done. If you give yourself one hour to complete the same task, it will take you one hour to get it done.

  The more time you give yourself, the longer it will take to complete it.

  It reminds me of the Star Trek Original Series conversations between Scotty and Captain Kirk. Scotty would tell the captain that it would take eight hours to fix something, but he could get it done in five.

  Limiting the time you use realistically for your work forces you to get more done in a smaller timeframe.

  This law has caused my productivity both on my personal work, and my office job to sky rocket. Sometimes I try to challenge myself to get all my tasks at my day job done within four hours. I've lost count of the number of times I've accomplished this, allowing me to move forward with other projects earlier than expected.

  The idea of the 4-hour workday takes Parkinson's Law into account, which is why it can be done.

  More elements come from NOT grinding all day, every day.

Leisure Time Leads to More Creativity

  If your mind is on work twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, it limits where your thinking can go.

  I learned this the hard way.

  The need to bring more success to my life had me thinking about how I can do more with different businesses. Working a full-time job, I felt I needed to spend my time before and after work focused on my side gigs.

  It limited my ability to think about how to approach problems, causing me to think in circles. Eventually, I'd give up under all the pressure, and not get to where I wanted to be.

  It would burn me out.

  Leisure time is needed. It puts our brains into a different mode, allowing our thoughts to expand.

  Have you ever been in the shower thinking about something completely different, and suddenly a solution to a problem just hits you? It's similar to that. Taking your mind off the problem clears your thoughts, giving you the ability to approach things differently later, often seemingly out of nowhere.

  I needed to learn this from experiencing it on my own. Time away from the work and grind was needed for me to see it.

  The best part, I see more growth and consistency in my endeavors today more than ever.

Life Isn't About All Work And No Play

  My side gigs used to be my main focus before and after work. This left no time for other things. My wife would complain about how we didn't do anything together.

  At the time, I thought she didn't understand.

  I was partly correct. Yes, she didn't see my perspective, but I also didn't see her perspective. This didn't allow us to meet in the middle.

  Life is about doing the things you enjoy and spending as much time as possible with the ones you love.

  I wanted to have the time and resources to do these things with my wife and family. That's why I felt I needed to work as much as possible.

  Now I see things more clearly.

  Forcing a limited timeframe for work, allowing Parkinson's Law to work for me, and keeping time for my wife and family.

The Tools

  I needed to figure out what was needed to achieve a 4-hour work day. The answer comes as a set of tools to keep me on track and focused.

Timer

  The first tool I started using was a timer. I currently use an app named "Flow" from the Apple Apps Store. It's just a timer app that lets me customize how much time it will count down until it suggests a five or so minute break.

  You can use any timer app or your mom's old kitchen timer. You don't need anything fancy.

Calendar

  Having a calendar to set your schedule will help you within certain time frames.

  I use my calendar to set reminders for when I need to be doing certain tasks. Using this with a timer keeps me on track.

  If you schedule your first working hour with one task, let's say writing, but your second hour is another important task, let's say building a website. It keeps you within your time to get the first task done before the next one.

  It helps with the mental game of getting what you need done within the time frame, Parkinson's Law in effect.

  These don't need to be full hour-long blocks either. Keep Parkinson's Law in mind here. If you're positive you can get something done in only twenty minutes, only block out twenty minutes. You can use the rest of the hour block for other shorter tasks.

 Limitations force more creativity than you might realize.

  Scheduling my work time has helped me stay on track and expand my creativity. It's like gamifying my productivity. Can I get it done before the time is up?

Consistency and Discipline

  Show up every day, even if you don't want to. Most people give up before they've hit success due to impatience.

  Leisure time has helped me be more consistent and disciplined because I don't allow myself to burn out. As long as I put in my time for focused work, I don't pressure myself to overcommit.

  The 4-hour workday is a flexible idea.

  It's not just keeping everything within 4 hours, it's about using the time NEEDED for your work without burning yourself out.

  I see it as a guide to keep my life balanced while building my dream.

  I've committed my life to building on my terms. This gives me the time to spend with my wife and family without regret.

  How would you approach your 4-hour workday?

  Let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts.