Ian Fleming, James Bond and the Original 4-Hour Work Week

Ian Fleming, the man who created James Bond, is by far my favorite author not just for the books he's written but also for the lifestyle he enjoyed. Ian Fleming was a master of the 4-Hour Work Week long before Tim Ferriss, author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestseller "The 4-Hour Work Week", was even a gleam in his father's eye. Ian Fleming lived the ultimate writer's life as far as I'm concerned. I've known for some time about Ian Fleming's lifestyle but it wasn't until I read Tim Ferriss' 4-Hour Work Week that I realized the Ian Fleming lifestyle could also be mine too.

According to Ian Fleming's 1964 interview with Playboy Magazine, while at his "Goldeneye" estate in Jamaica he would wake at about 7:30am, swim, have a hearty breakfast, tan for a while and then start writing at about 10am. He'd write about 1500 words before going off to snorkel the reefs. He'd return for a couple of drinks, lunch, a nap, more tanning, and another swim before writing another 500 words. After producing about seven pages for the day, he would have a couple more drinks, dinner and a game of Scrabble with his wife before retiring for the evening. In this manner, he would write a James Bond adventure over the course of just one month.

This may sound like an amazingly lazy lifestyle but I can tell you, as an author of novels, that this is the story of a particularly productive writer. To be able to write a novel in one month is right in line with some of the most prolific authors I know of today.

Though I haven't reached this level of productivity (or luxury) in my writing life, I do hope to one day reach it. In my own defense, Ian Fleming did have a comfortable income from his family's wealth in addition to his publishing income but thanks to Tim Ferriss and The 4-Hour Work Week, I now have every reason to believe that I too can someday snorkel, swim, siesta and write a novel in a month.

I'll check back in five years and let you know how it worked out.