The author introduces the four‑hour rule, an idea that comes from the book The 4‑Hour Work Week.This does NOT mean working only four days a week. It means working with full focus for just four hours a day. When you have a clear deadline, your output during these four hours becomes much more significant.
First, you cut out the things that waste your time and energy. Then, within these four hours, you set clear priorities to make the most of your time. And you must work with 100% focus during this period — this is one of the biggest differences between humans and animals.
The second key point is focus. You need to be conscious of your current state. Once you understand why you’re not performing well, you can find a solution —for example, by shifting your attention, doing something positive, and using your work to create a better state.
Another big difference between humans and animals is that we naturally want to learn and understand more.
The author also uses the concept of entropy, which measures disorder in a system. We make schedules and plans to reduce entropy in our lives,to keep our system organized and our goals clear, just like a sentence is made of orderly phrases and words. A well-designed schedule shapes our work and life, making our system stable and efficient.
This four‑hour philosophy also protects our mental health, energy, and time —all of which are consumed when we take action.That’s why we must keep testing and adjusting our plans, to make sure we use our time and energy efficiently.
We also need to turn important activities and hobbies into routine through practice, so they happen automatically, without forcing ourselves. And we need a clear vision to outline our long‑term direction.
I really agree with the author’s view on time management: If you have two or three emergencies every week, your time management is failing. If everything is a top priority, then nothing is truly prioritized, and you may finish nothing at all.
You should not be controlled by other people’s goals or tasks. Learn to say no, stick to your own plan, and leave time to create and express your creativity.
The author’s daily routine is very practical: He uses 45‑minute or 90‑minute focused blocks for writing. In the morning, he checks platforms and replies to emails. As a YouTube vlogger, he comments under top creators’ videos to grow his audience —and he treats this as focused work, because it gives him inspiration.
On weekends, he reviews his ideas and topics, and keeps improving his schedule to make it more personal and clear. He also writes down all his ideas, topics, and inspirations immediately, so they can later become specific content.
He combines work with relaxation, like listening to lectures to find new inspiration. He writes down habits he wants to build in his to‑do list, turning them from plans into reality.
The core of his four‑hour system is simple: Each day, you work with 100% focus for four hours on your highest‑priority tasks. After these four hours, you stop doing important work unless there’s a real emergency. You only do small, trivial tasks, and reply to messages casually.
Every day, you should set aside time to spark inspiration and enter flow state, so you can bring your focus back to deep work. Your daily routine is built from these structured schedules, so you should turn important ones into lasting habits.
The author also shares small tips to improve focus: Wear a hat to narrow your vision and stay concentrated; wear noise‑canceling headphones to block distractions and fully focus.
He believes 5:00 to 7:00 in the morning is sacred time —no need to reply to messages, just fully focus on work like writing. This time is extremely valuable.
This method finally builds a sustainable system that brings consistency and happiness. I totally agree.
I used to focus intensely all day and then need long breaks. On holidays, I would just shut down completely. This year, I want to change and build a sustainable system for my long‑term life.
You can also use Notion to outline your four-hour schedule.
If every morning when you wake up, you already know exactly what you’re going to do next, it will reduce chaos and give you clear direction. This way, you can work smoothly every day. That’s why we need to use Notion to plan out these four hours.
Nowadays, more and more people find that their progress is slowing down as they get older.
Here’s a useful tip: use a physical notebook.Take a pen and write down everything you do each day—even the most trivial things.
This helps you see exactly where your energy is being spent. When you look at what you’ve done, you’ll notice conflicts and inefficiencies. You can then remove the things that aren’t important—the ones that consume your energy, your time, and even your life.
After that, restructure and rearrange your routine so you can achieve more and become more productive. Cut out the truly unnecessary things, so your mind feels clear and focused.
Long-term weekly plans are also necessary.
This is what I learned from a video, and I tried to retell it to you. I hope you can polish this for me, give me some advice, and maybe provide the correct version so I can practice right away and improve my spoken English as quickly as possible.
重点修正 & 口语提升建议
- entropy 你想用它表示 “混乱”，但日常口语很少用，更自然：
- reduce chaos / bring structure / give you direction
- anthropic
- clear mind / focused / organized
- Fuck thing → 改为 trivial things / unnecessary things / unimportant tasks
Today I want to share the four-hour work rule I learned. This idea comes from the book The 4-Hour Work Week. It doesn’t mean working only four days a week, but working highly focused and efficiently for four hours each day. As long as you have clear deadlines and goals, your output during these four hours will be extremely high.
First, we need to cut out things that waste time, drain energy, and have no real value. Then, during these four hours, we set clear priorities and use time on what really matters. And we must be 100% focused during this period — that’s one big difference between humans and animals.
The second point is focus. We need to be aware of our current state, understand why we’re not efficient, and then adjust actively. For example, we can shift our attention, do something positive, and use the work at hand to get back on track. Another essential difference between humans and animals is that humans have curiosity — we’re willing to keep learning and understanding more.
Theauthoralso mentions the concept of “entropy”, which simply means the level of disorder in a system. Making plans and schedules is actually about reducing chaos in life, making life more organized and goals clearer, just like a sentence makes sense only when words are in order. A good schedule makes our life and work more stable and efficient.
This four-hour philosophy essentially protects our mental health, energy, and time. These resources are limited and will be consumed as we take action, so we need to keep testing and adjusting our plans to ensure efficient use. At the same time, through repeated practice, we can turn hobbies and important tasks into daily habits so they happen naturally, not by force. We also need a clear vision to plan our long-term direction.
I really agree with theauthor’s views on time management. If two or three emergencies keep happening every week, your time management is failing. If everything is marked as top priority, then nothing has real priority, and you may finish nothing in the end. Don’t be led by others’ goals or tasks. Learn to say no, stick to your own rhythm, and set aside time for creative work.
Theauthor’s own habits are worth learning from. He uses focused blocks of 45 or 90 minutes for writing. In the morning, he checks platforms and replies to emails. As a content creator, he comments under videos of top creators to attract audience, and he treats this as focused time because it inspires him. On weekends, he organizes ideas and topics, and keeps improving his schedule to make it clearer and more suitable for himself. He also writes down inspirations, titles, and content immediately to avoid forgetting — these fragments can finally become complete works.
He also relaxes actively while working, such as listening to lectures for new ideas. He writes habits he wants to build into his to-do list to turn ideas into reality.
The core of his four-hour method is simple: every day, be 100% focused for four hours only on highest-priority tasks. After these four hours, he stops important work unless it’s an emergency. The rest of the time is only for small, simple tasks that don’t require high focus, and replying to messages casually.
Every day, set aside time to inspire yourself and enter a flow state, bringing your attention back to deep work. Our daily life is made up of clear schedules, and we should turn important arrangements into stable habits.
Theauthoralso shares small tips to improve focus: wearing a hat to narrow vision and stay concentrated; wearing noise-canceling headphones to block distractions and fully enter the zone. He believes 5–7 a.m. is golden time — no need to reply to messages, just fully focus on writing or creating. This time is extremely precious.
This method finally builds a sustainable system that makes people more stable and happier. I totally agree. I used to focus intensely all day and then need a long break. During holidays, I would just shut down completely. I hope to change this year and build a sustainable life and work system to keep long-term.
We can also use Notion to plan these four hours. If you know exactly what to do next when you wake up every morning, you will reduce chaos and have a clearer direction, so you can move forward smoothly every day.
Now more and more people find that the older they get, the slower their progress becomes. Here’s a practical method: use a physical notebook and write down everything you do every day, even small things. This way, you can clearly see where your energy goes. When you look back, you can find conflicts and inefficiencies.
Then you can cut out unimportant things that waste time and energy, rearrange your life, and become more efficient and productive. After removing truly unnecessary things, your mind will be clearer and more focused. Long-term weekly plans are also necessary.
