The low information diet

Answering your e-mails only once a day and keeping phone calls to a bare minimum can slash your working week to just four hours, according to a book that is taking overworked America by storm.

The claim is made by Timothy Ferriss, a 30-year-old American who sells dietary supplements and who prescribes a ruthless "low information diet" founded on such tenets as conducting business by the old-fashioned medium of the telephone and ending multi-tasking.

The book, to be published in Britain next April, has been most enthusiastically received in America's Silicon Valley and gadget-loving Japan - an indication, perhaps, that the longing for technology cold turkey is strongest among the most addicted.

The Princeton graduate is no Luddite, and conducts most of his business through the internet. But he is a fierce critic of what he calls the traditional "deferred-life plan" of "slave, save, retire" and instead promotes the benefits of regular "mini-retirements".

Indeed, the single Ferriss regales readers with tales of his international jaunts to go diving, kickboxing and tango-dancing in a series of anecdotes that may seem little more than fantasy to an average employee with a family and a mortgage.

Long hours

His book, The 4-Hour Workweek, is proving an easy sell to Americans, who work an average 42.8 hours per week - compared to 41.7 in Japan and 39.5 in Britain - and enjoy only two weeks' holiday a year.

But there is no denying his promotional skills. He made his money selling people the prospect of improved physical performance through nutrition supplements and now he is selling the promise of a less-work, more-play lifestyle.

Although Ferriss insists that a four-hour week is an achievable goal, he also offers the less ambitious prediction that readers could slash hours from their professional schedule by following his advice.

Like any star of the American self-improvement speaking circuit, Ferriss peppers his exhortations with accounts of his life before and after he saw the light of simplification.

The transformation took him from 14-hour days and earnings of $40,000 (Dh146,680) a year to his famous four-hour week and $40,000 a month, he says, although that could owe as much to hitting on a successful business formula as to an act of self-discovery.

He reels off a series of his own achievements that he claims his principles made possible - the vanquisher of four world champions in no-holds-barred cage fighting; a world record in tango; a national Chinese kickboxing champion; and an actor and television host in Asia.

Among his fans in Britain is Ryan Carson, who runs a website conference company based in Bath. "The idea that if you give yourself less time you will get more done was a real eye-opener," he said.

Carson has already switched his 10 employees to a four-day week and outsourced his research and personal assistant tasks to India. Others are more sceptical. "It just shows how many delusional people are out there," said Matthew Hampton, a computer programmer from New York.

Mini-retirement

Ferriss has recently returned to California from a "long overdue mini-retirement" trip to Britain, Europe and Japan. His conclusion?

"I took a complete 10-day media fast and felt like I'd had a two-year vacation from computers. Just remember: if you don't have attention, you don't have time. Did I have time to check email and voicemail? Sure. It might take 10 minutes.

"Did I have the attention to risk fishing for crises in those 10 minutes? Not at all. Time without attention is worthless, so value attention over time."

The plan: Checklist for success