Over ten years ago I read the Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris and it blew my little mind.
At the time I was trying to grow my freelancing business through sweat and hustle. I worked long hours and was - for the most part - an absentee parent. I remember answering client emails only a few hours after having a c-section with my first born and my second child was placed in daycare when she was only two months old because I was working nonstop.
The idea that one could make money and support themselves with only four hours a week was radical to say the least.
It seemed unbelievable, but extremely appealing to someone who had ground themselves down - and so I set my compass firmly towards it.
I determined myself to build a business that would give me this level of time freedom.
It would take me eight years to get there. And in 2022, I finally cracked the “code”.
I finally had the freedom of my days.
I finally was able to be fully present with my kids.
For the first six months, working less than four hours per week was amazing.
I spent my days reading, gardening, meditating, exercising and visiting friends.
But after about six months of this, things started to go downhill.
I started to feel bored - a feeling I hadn’t felt for almost twenty years.
And slowly fell into apathy.
I have since come to realise that total time freedom is not the promise land we make it out to be.
In fact, retirement, as a whole, is a scam.
For we are meant to create, or rather MADE to create. To be immersed, hands in.
I’m not talking about overwhelm or busyness for the sake of busyness, neither of these solve for anything.
But neither does detachment from work.
Taking almost two years “off” working minimal hours has messed with my flow in ways I can’t even begin to explain.
It’s made me lethargic, and dimmed my hunger.
While this may come across as patronising, in the same way as someone with wealth saying “mOnEY woN’T make yOu haPPy “, take it from me: total freedom of your days is not the solution to your burnout.
Work is good. It’s healthy. It keeps the belly full and the mind sharp.
And while I don’t know Tim Ferris personally, just based on his content and work output, I can almost guarantee you he is working more than four hours per week.
Not because he financially has to.
But because he understands that true fulfilment comes not from escaping work, but from engaging in meaningful work.
To those of you whom have I led astray the past two years directing you towards this total time freedom business model, I apologise, I was wrong.
Fill your time with those things that give you purpose and meaning, understanding that hobbies and coffee dates with friends will only take you so far.
Creating value is what you are here to do, shirking away from this will only send you adrift.
And so, to that, I set a new compass, twenty hour workweeks - a happy medium.
Expect to see a lot more from me going forward
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