The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
No, this really isn’t an official parenting tips book. But I read it anyway because my workweek is way longer than 4 hours (more like 24/7) and anything that will help me cut back on all that overtime is definitely a plus.

I know this book was all the rage a few months ago - but like anything else around here - I get to it when I get to it. So if you missed all the hoopla the first time around then you are at the right place.

Anyhow, in a nutshell, Tim’s methods of reducing a workweek down to four hours can be summed up in two words - efficiency and delegating. If you don’t waste time on all the mundane tasks, and completely eliminate the unneccessary ones then you will free up a lot of time in your day. If you delegate the mundane, even better.

The problem is that, in order to make this work, you need to have a pretty good business sense. You also need to have a good idea for a business that will take off, and you need to be willing to take risks. After all, income is well, - important.

If you are fresh out of college - the methodology in The 4-Hour Workweek is great for you. But if you have one or two or three or four children to support and you kind of need health insurance, or college is looming in the not too distant future, hmmm, it is a little risky.

However, if you already work from home or stay at home and even if you don’t, The 4-Hour Workweek offers some good advice, that could qualify as hidden parenting tips, for getting things done quicker and in a more efficient manner. Things like checking email often and taking phone calls as they come in are all big time wasters. Stuff is another time vacuum. And if you have a family then chances are you have a lot of stuff. I spend a good portion of each day putting things away. Imagine if we just got rid of a lot of that “stuff”. Think about the time you would gain.

And delegating is another thing that I don’t do often enough as a parent. Sure the job may be done quicker if I just do it myself - but I may be doing everyone a disservice with that attitude. My kids are more than capable of taking over some of the responsibilities of the house. My husband is a sweetheart and already does a fair share of house upkeep - but sometimes delegating to the husband is also necessary. And those volunteer activities - PTA, Board of this or that, fundraisers, etc. - lots of room for delegation!

So, parents do have something to gain from The 4-Hour Workweek. But now that I can do one of my jobs in four hours, I wonder what parenting tips exist for handling the other 21 jobs that I juggle as a mom!