Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
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- Create Date：2021-08-07 05:18:55
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Oliver Burkeman
- ISBN：0374159122
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Summary
"Wonderfully honest 。 。 。 A much-needed reality check。" —Mark Manson， bestselling author of Everything is F*cked and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
The average human lifespan is absurdly， insultingly brief。 Assuming you live to be eighty， you have just over four thousand weeks。
Nobody needs telling there isn’t enough time。 We’re obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists， our overfilled inboxes， work-life balance， and the ceaseless battle against distraction; and we’re deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient， and “life hacks” to optimize our days。 But such techniques often end up making things worse。 The sense of anxious hurry grows more intense， and still the most meaningful parts of life seem to lie just beyond the horizon。 Still， we rarely make the connection between our daily struggles with time and the ultimate time management problem: the challenge of how best to use our four thousand weeks。
Drawing on the insights of both ancient and contemporary philosophers， psychologists， and spiritual teachers， Oliver Burkeman delivers an entertaining， humorous， practical， and ultimately profound guide to time and time management。 Rejecting the futile modern fixation on “getting everything done，” Four Thousand Weeks introduces readers to tools for constructing a meaningful life by embracing finitude， showing how many of the unhelpful ways we’ve come to think about time aren’t inescapable， unchanging truths， but choices we’ve made as individuals and as a society—and that we could do things differently。
The average human lifespan is absurdly， insultingly brief。 Assuming you live to be eighty， you have just over four thousand weeks。
Nobody needs telling there isn’t enough time。 We’re obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists， our overfilled inboxes， work-life balance， and the ceaseless battle against distraction; and we’re deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient， and “life hacks” to optimize our days。 But such techniques often end up making things worse。 The sense of anxious hurry grows more intense， and still the most meaningful parts of life seem to lie just beyond the horizon。 Still， we rarely make the connection between our daily struggles with time and the ultimate time management problem: the challenge of how best to use our four thousand weeks。
Drawing on the insights of both ancient and contemporary philosophers， psychologists， and spiritual teachers， Oliver Burkeman delivers an entertaining， humorous， practical， and ultimately profound guide to time and time management。 Rejecting the futile modern fixation on “getting everything done，” Four Thousand Weeks introduces readers to tools for constructing a meaningful life by embracing finitude， showing how many of the unhelpful ways we’ve come to think about time aren’t inescapable， unchanging truths， but choices we’ve made as individuals and as a society—and that we could do things differently。
Reviews
Sara
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I had a hard time managing my time to be able to read this book！ I think that a lot of it is common sense， but a lot of it takes some amount of time to absorb and think about how it might be applicable to one's own life。 Thus said， it's a good read for those that really want to dig deep， but I think it could have been slightly more concise。 Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book。 I had a hard time managing my time to be able to read this book！ I think that a lot of it is common sense， but a lot of it takes some amount of time to absorb and think about how it might be applicable to one's own life。 Thus said， it's a good read for those that really want to dig deep， but I think it could have been slightly more concise。 Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book。 。。。more
Chris Boutté
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What an incredible book。 I was fortunate enough to have the author send me an advanced copy of this book， and I couldn’t stop reading it。 Oliver Burkeman is such a great writer， and I first discovered his work through his previous book The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking。 I read a ton of books on psychology and mental health， and Burkeman always has such a unique take on each subject he writes about。 In this book， he discusses our struggles with time management， What an incredible book。 I was fortunate enough to have the author send me an advanced copy of this book， and I couldn’t stop reading it。 Oliver Burkeman is such a great writer， and I first discovered his work through his previous book The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking。 I read a ton of books on psychology and mental health， and Burkeman always has such a unique take on each subject he writes about。 In this book， he discusses our struggles with time management， and this is something I’ve read quite a bit about。 I’ve read various books in the realms of psychology and philosophy about how we manage our time， and I’ve even read some recent pop-psych books on millennials being the “burnout generation”。 I can honestly say that this is by far my favorite book on the topic so far， and I don’t think there’s a single person who wouldn’t be able to relate to the book and benefit from it。 I’m a workaholic who has been burnt out numerous times， and even though I’ve dialed it back quite a bit， it’s something that takes a lot of effort。 In this book， Burkeman helps us diagnose the problem by touching on subjects such as our fear of missing out， how uncomfortable we get with boredom， how capitalism has made us feel the need to stay busy and so much more。 Mindfulness， therapy， and other forms of personal development have helped me improve my relationship with work and time， and the author did an excellent job teaching me even more。 I don’t care if you’re an employee， a manager， a college student， a parent， or anyone else on earth， you can benefit from this book。 I will definitely be revisiting this book the next time it feels like life has become a bit overwhelming due to my issues with time management。 。。。more
Voyage
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I have been most impressed by this book！ I only had a small peak at its summary after being intrigued by the cover， and it immediately drew me in。 It took me a few weeks to read the book in its entirety， because it was like a delicious piece of cake， better enjoyed slowly， savouring each bite。"Four thousand weeks" is not a random title: it is the amount of time that most humans， on average， will get on this planet。 This may seem big or this may be small， but time， after all， is flexible。 Time is I have been most impressed by this book！ I only had a small peak at its summary after being intrigued by the cover， and it immediately drew me in。 It took me a few weeks to read the book in its entirety， because it was like a delicious piece of cake， better enjoyed slowly， savouring each bite。"Four thousand weeks" is not a random title: it is the amount of time that most humans， on average， will get on this planet。 This may seem big or this may be small， but time， after all， is flexible。 Time is elastic: it stretches the way you don't want it to stretch: a movie will seem to last a lot less than a visit to the dentist， for instance。 Time may not seem the run at the same speed for others， but for you， time runs at its own speed。 So rather than trying to manage time at any cost， to squeeze everything out of every minute of our time， we'd better accept the finitude of it and be grateful for every moment， without always making them productive。With hindsight， it's hard for me to precisely remember what the book was about as if it were a novel， but I feel I have gained some wisdom by reading it and will revisit the book to absorb more of its content over time。 However， I have to say I never highlighted so many passages in any book I ever read， so I will quickly review them， and point out some of the ideas that impacted me the most （or at least that's how I interpreted Burkeman's reflexions）， although summing them up in this way is obviously reductive。 Here are some of my takeaways from the first two chapters:- we should rather live in the moment and enjoy it rather than look at the "what ifs" and how much time we have left- we don't have that much time on this planet， so we don't have time to get close to perfection， or to try every combinaison that might make us the happiest， but accepting that things cannot also go perfectly might allow us to enjoy them more- the less we wait for something， the more aggravating it is to wait -- we will always find anything to be too long （going from Britain to Australia by boat is taking *a lot* less time than it used to be by boat， yet we still find it super long）， we will always feel as if you're losing time， but time isn't about squeezing everything out of it -- let's rather be grateful we have time and the opportunity to travel- one cannot master time -- time expands itself to the time we have available- we worry too much about the future （as we were taught to do） to truly enjoy the present - accepting the ways things are allows us peace of mind- we always feel we have too much to do yet we can live through it -- it's more about the way we see things than how we live them- to feel that "you've truly lived"， you don't need to experience every bucket list experience， but to enjoy what you had/have the chance of doing。 You won't be able to do most of what life has to offer， and so what？ Life has limits， but it doesn't make it any less valuable， on the contrary。To conclude， I would congratulate to the author for such a beautiful， reflective， thought-provoking， illuminating book， which I will surely read time and time again until I become a little wiser ;） And special shout out for including varied sources， and being sensitive to include minorities' ideas。*I received an ARC and this is my honest opinion* 。。。more
Rachel Leigh
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Many thanks to NetGalley and Farrar， Straus and Giroux for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review！This was a marvel to me。 It was a lot of information to take in， and it kind of blew my mind。 Burkeman somehow managed to cater to my obsession-with-time-usage side while still reminding me that it is all， in the end， useless and futile。 So many points I want to go back and reference。4 stars because I got pretty lost in the Heidegger （although Burkeman predicted that would ha Many thanks to NetGalley and Farrar， Straus and Giroux for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review！This was a marvel to me。 It was a lot of information to take in， and it kind of blew my mind。 Burkeman somehow managed to cater to my obsession-with-time-usage side while still reminding me that it is all， in the end， useless and futile。 So many points I want to go back and reference。4 stars because I got pretty lost in the Heidegger （although Burkeman predicted that would happen）。 。。。more
Sara G
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Oliver Burkeman call himself a productivity geek。 As he describes it， “you know how some people are passionate about bodybuilding or fashion， or rock climbing， or poetry？ Productivity geeks are passionate about crossing items off their to-do lists。 So it’s sort of the same， except infinitely sadder。” His newest book， Four Thousand Weeks， is like a self-help book designed to help recovering productivity geeks recognize the emotional and mental traps laid by other books like “Getting Things Done，” Oliver Burkeman call himself a productivity geek。 As he describes it， “you know how some people are passionate about bodybuilding or fashion， or rock climbing， or poetry？ Productivity geeks are passionate about crossing items off their to-do lists。 So it’s sort of the same， except infinitely sadder。” His newest book， Four Thousand Weeks， is like a self-help book designed to help recovering productivity geeks recognize the emotional and mental traps laid by other books like “Getting Things Done，” “Eat the Frog，” or “The Four-Hour Workweek。” Drawing more from the field of philosophy than from time management， he systematically rebuts the arguments of Taylorist time management systems and instead provides suggestions for recreating “productivity” as a concept that encourages building communities and helping “geeks” find meaning in life。As a productivity geek myself， I’ve been following Burkeman for a while。 I’ve enjoyed his similar book The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking and his occasional newsletter articles。 While Four Thousand Weeks covers similar， sometimes repeating ground， I am still glad that I read every word of this book。 It is the rare “self-help” book that would not have been better as a bullet point list or an article。 I enjoyed slowly struggling with these ideas， the pleasant voice of Burkeman nudging me on， and discussing them over beer with my partner。 I highly recommend it not just to geeks like myself but to anyone who struggles with FOMO or a classic mid-life crisis。 。。。more
Possibly in Michigan， London
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Now and then I pick up a time management book and don't finish it because I'm like 'I should really be doing the thing I'm putting off' or the method of time management would actually take a lifetime to institute making it better to carry on screwing up and getting only one thing done。 This book by Oliver Burkeman is perfect for me， and anyone else who has the same problem because they suspect that a） they'll never get on top of 'things' and b） they won't be satisfied even if they can fit in eve Now and then I pick up a time management book and don't finish it because I'm like 'I should really be doing the thing I'm putting off' or the method of time management would actually take a lifetime to institute making it better to carry on screwing up and getting only one thing done。 This book by Oliver Burkeman is perfect for me， and anyone else who has the same problem because they suspect that a） they'll never get on top of 'things' and b） they won't be satisfied even if they can fit in everything （which they really can't）。 This is a time management book for people who are really suspicious of time management books， basically， but who are also beleaguered by the prospect of their time 'running out' and not 'using' it in the right way。 The first half of the book is really good。 Burkeman points out we can't possess time - we can't waste it， put it aside， carve it out， etc。 Really really crudely， we *are* time。 Burkeman makes a lot of fleeting references to philosophy and to Buddhist concepts without really committing to any （I would genuinely love to know which principles he applies to his own life）， but I think it's a pretty powerful idea， that if we understood ourselves as our time， we would be more careful with what we pay attention to and what we allow ourselves to be distracted by。 He is good on distraction — how it's a way of avoiding discomfort。 I did think that every time I come to a difficult patch of work， I immediately go into the kitchen and start grubbing for snacks instead。 When we really commit to something that is very difficult and that we *want to do* （and requires cutting other things out of our lives） we're confronted with our finitude。 This is it - the project might not work out， it might not be a success。 The second half I found less effective。 It really sets out the idea that our time is made meaningful by other people。 There's a fascinating example of a Soviet experiment of a five-day week designed to keep the factories going， four days at work， one day off - all workers were assigned different starting days （signified by a colour）， which meant that it was only possible for friends to meet up， in some instances， a few days a year， unless they were lucky enough to get the same starting day。 I would have been interested in learning about its impact in more detail but it was sufficiently unpopular that it was acceptable to complain about in Pravda， so that's probably enough。 There are other examples like this， to demonstrate how our time is actually experienced differently with other people， in a way that allows us to experience it， ourselves as time， rather than feeling it 'slipping by'。 But this half was marred for me by a tendency that's slightly less annoying earlier on。 In talking about our fixation on the future， for example， he frequently says things like 'of course， this principle doesn't apply if you're a cleaner where it makes sense to be focused on the future， but isn't it crazy that an architect plans her career with one project after the other to reach a particular point of her career'。Ultimately， I think a time management system that really got to the bottom of our attitudes and fears about time and 'losing' it would be grounded on the principle that *everyone*， regardless of their job and background， should be able to live in the same way， and not feel that they are somehow less valuable and less able to do what they really want to do （I don't mean big projects， I mean spend time with family， for example）。 That probably involves tearing up society and our ideas about the value of work and status in the first place。 He does reference some of these movements to challenge work as identity but not in any detail， and if he did， it wouldn't be a book aimed at。。。a hypothetical you that is very much like a freelance writer or someone who has enough control of their life and enough resources to step back from their work。 It's not forceful enough to argue that we should all be able to do that。 For that reason， the book's not satisfactory to me。 There are other books that challenge a lot of the underlying assumptions here or give scary， invigorating examples of what it would mean to live your life exactly as you wanted to。 In particular， read David Frayne's The Refusal of Work and Strangers Drowning by Larissa MacFarquhar。 Both of these are political books and the first somewhat academic， but both really get to the questions that the format here really can't。 I think the book has some hard truths， but not for everyone！ 。。。more
Jess
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