# The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/4-hour-workweek/ 2 people recommended The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss in Hacker News comments, 5 had mixed feelings and 14 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 12 months, in 2 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. 1 of the 2 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Reasons not to become famous (2020)”. **Verdict:** Criticized more than recommended: critics say its four-hour workweek promise is unrealistic and discourages ambition; those who recommend it cite ideas on delegation and thinking like an owner. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. ## What people warn about - Promises a four-hour week unrealistically (5 comments in the sample): "I personally have a hard time taking anyone seriously who claim things like "4 hour work week" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46346596)) "the gist of "the 4-hour work week" is to write a book about working only 4 hours a week" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48567498)) "4 hour work week, rich dad poor dad, get rich quick books are nothing but trash" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46347756)) - Encourages shirking work and employers (4 comments in the sample): "people who read “Four Hour Work Week” and thought they were going to do their jobs from their iPhone while traveling the world" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46085571)) "If he’s part of the movement that has people ripping off employers and their co-workers like that then, frankly, screw him." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46346487)) "His Four Hour Work Week book encourages readers to talk their boss into working remote" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46346238)) - Blamed for failed ventures (3 comments in the sample): "It was enormously influential and was likely involved in every one of these failed entrepreneur's ventures" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47800927)) "I blame Tim Ferriss and his "4 hour work week" book." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47801529)) "the 4hww was such a damaging read for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46108650)) - Scam or profiting from readers (2 comments in the sample): "Isn't the rest of the book just drop shipping and selling supplements with high margins?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48561065)) "pointed out he explains the scam he’s running on his own readers" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47261587)) ## Why people recommend it - Good insights for a freer life (2 comments in the sample): "I think there are some good things in the 4-hour Work Week but the concept as a whole is problematic" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48560674)) "it had many good insights that lead to me living a freer and more fulfilling life" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48568129)) ## Other self-help books people recommend - [How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie](https://hackerapproved.com/p/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people/): 50 recommend, 13 mixed, 23 criticize - [Atomic Habits by James Clear](https://hackerapproved.com/p/atomic-habits/): 18 recommend, 1 mixed, 2 criticize - [The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr](https://hackerapproved.com/p/easy-way-to-stop-smoking/): 8 recommend, 1 mixed, 0 criticize - [Feeling Good by David Burns](https://hackerapproved.com/p/feeling-good/): 7 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss", https://hackerapproved.com/p/4-hour-workweek/ (2 recommend, 5 mixed, 14 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.