Four Thousand Weeks - Time Management for Mortals

Four Thousand Weeks - Time management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York (2021).

Consider reading this if you want straight talk about “time-management.”

The main premise:  Oliver Burkeman’s wonderful book is a thoughtful often humorous reality- check about the facts that no technique will allow us to fulfill all of our aspirations and that we must choose what really matters and let the rest go. This book offers ideas about how to approach the difficult part of the aforementioned equation – that is, figuring out what and how to release or neglect the “bright shiny objects” of our over-filled lives that ultimately don’t matter much. He approaches this in two parts: Part I – Choosing to Choose (with chapters like “Facing Finitude” and “Becoming a Better Procrastinator”) and Part II – Beyond Control. He ends with an appendix on “Tools for Embracing Your Finitude” with winning suggestions such as, “Serialize, serialize, serialize” (focus on one big project at a time), “Decide in advance what to fail at,” and “Be a ‘researcher’ in relationships” (adopting an attitude of curiosity that enables us to listen).

I love this book because it is funny, smart, and full of important ideas that have everything to do with living with a sense of joy and purpose. If like me, you tilt towards being an opportunity-junkie and often find yourself overwhelmed by too many good things, read this book. 

 Oliver Burkeman comes to this work honestly. He is a British author and self-professed “productivity geek” who formerly wrote a weekly column on “productivity” for the newspaper The Guardian. He ultimately awoke to the reality that while time-management techniques helped him get more done, they also created openings to add even more tasks on his list – a vicious cycle that did not deliver a life of meaning and happiness that he really wanted. And if what this guy says resonates with you, sign up for his twice-monthly email refreshingly called The Imperfectionist. https://www.oliverburkeman.com/the-imperfectionist

What about you? Consider sharing a recommendation and something about how it has helped you live with purpose.