The 4-Hour Workweek
The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferrissby Tim Ferriss
Shares rank 6 of 22 self-help books by recommenders
Praised for ideas on delegation and thinking like an owner; critics say its four-hour workweek promise is unrealistic and discourages ambition.
Praised for ideas on delegation and thinking like an owner; critics say its four-hour workweek promise is unrealistic and discourages ambition.
21 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 14
- approval share
- 33%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 0.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Good insights for a freer life
“I think there are some good things in the 4-hour Work Week but the concept as a whole is problematic”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?” “it had many good insights that lead to me living a freer and more fulfilling life”
Comment from 17 Jun 2026 in “Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Promises a four-hour week unrealistically
“I personally have a hard time taking anyone seriously who claim things like "4 hour work week".”
Comment from 21 Dec 2025 in “Reasons not to become famous (2020)” “the gist of "the 4-hour work week" is to write a book about working only 4 hours a week”
Comment from 17 Jun 2026 in “Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?” “4 hour work week, rich dad poor dad, get rich quick books are nothing but trash”
Comment from 21 Dec 2025 in “Reasons not to become famous (2020)” - Comment from 22 Dec 2025 in “Reasons not to become famous (2020)”
- Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges”
Encourages shirking work and employers
“people who read "Four Hour Work Week" and thought they were going to do their jobs from their iPhone while traveling the world”
Comment from 29 Nov 2025 in “Confessions of a Software Developer: No More Self-Censorship” “If he’s part of the movement that has people ripping off employers and their co-workers like that then, frankly, screw him.”
Comment from 21 Dec 2025 in “Reasons not to become famous (2020)” “His Four Hour Work Week book encourages readers to talk their boss into working remote”
Comment from 21 Dec 2025 in “Reasons not to become famous (2020)” - Comment from 21 Dec 2025 in “Reasons not to become famous (2020)”
Blamed for failed ventures
“It was enormously influential and was likely involved in every one of these failed entrepreneur's ventures”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “The "Passive Income" trap ate a generation of entrepreneurs” “I blame Tim Ferriss and his "4 hour work week" book.”
Comment from 17 Apr 2026 in “The "Passive Income" trap ate a generation of entrepreneurs” “the 4hww was such a damaging read for me”
Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “Tim Ferriss Promised Freedom. Indie Hackers Are Selling Shovels” Scam or profiting from readers
“Isn't the rest of the book just drop shipping and selling supplements with high margins?”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?” “pointed out he explains the scam he's running on his own readers”
Comment from 5 Mar 2026 in “The Self-Help Trap: What 20 Years of "Optimizing" Has Taught Me”
Other self-help books people recommend
The four most recommended other self-help books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How to Win Friends and Influence Peopleby Dale Carnegie | 67 | 25 | 73% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Atomic Habitsby James Clear | 20 | 2 | 91% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Easy Way to Stop Smokingby Allen Carr | 9 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Feeling Goodby David Burns | 8 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| The 4-Hour Workweekby Tim FerrissThis page | 7 | 14 | 33% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
24 of the 26 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“so much of what came out of it felt like it wasn't actually adding value to society”
“The 4 hour work week isn't life”
“it had many good insights that lead to me living a freer and more fulfilling life”
“the gist of "the 4-hour work week" is to write a book about working only 4 hours a week”
“Isn't the rest of the book just drop shipping and selling supplements with high margins?”
“I think there are some good things in the 4-hour Work Week but the concept as a whole is problematic”
“The author apparently never read Tim Ferriss’ The 4 hour work week which not only whiteboarded some of the described schemes 20 years ago”
“I blame Tim Ferriss and his "4 hour work week" book.”
“It was enormously influential and was likely involved in every one of these failed entrepreneur's ventures”
“pointed out he explains the scam he's running on his own readers”
“makes out that's possible but was actually working like 16 hours a day”
“4 hour work week, rich dad poor dad, get rich quick books are nothing but trash”
“The Tim Ferriss book also has defensive advice about working extra hard to impress your boss”
“I personally have a hard time taking anyone seriously who claim things like "4 hour work week".”
“how much it becomes about offloading work to the team and performing poorly”
“Much of it is fanciful and unrealistic.”
“If he’s part of the movement that has people ripping off employers and their co-workers like that then, frankly, screw him.”
“Looking back it's a mixed bag - the ideas teach you about delegation and thinking like an owner, but the bigger message that work sucks and you should figure out how to avoid it kinda hurts people who would be more ambitious.”
“His Four Hour Work Week book encourages readers to talk their boss into working remote”
“The four hour workweek was inspirational for me starting my own business in 2009.”
“must have been duped by the 4 hour work week bs”
“is this just a joke about Brooks having a 4-hour workweek?”
“the 4hww was such a damaging read for me”
“people who read "Four Hour Work Week" and thought they were going to do their jobs from their iPhone while traveling the world”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.