Four Thousand Weeks: Embrace your limits. Change your life.
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- Create Date：2022-03-17 00:52:48
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Oliver Burkeman
- ISBN：1784704008
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Summary
The average human lifespan is absurdly， outrageously， insultingly brief: if you live to 80， you have about four thousand weeks on earth。 How should we use them best？
Of course， nobody needs telling that there isn't enough time。 We're obsessed by our lengthening to-do lists， our overfilled inboxes， the struggle against distraction， and the sense that our attention spans are shrivelling。 Yet we rarely make the conscious connection that these problems only trouble us in the first place thanks to the ultimate time-management problem: the challenge of how best to use our four thousand weeks。
Four Thousand Weeks is an uplifting， engrossing and deeply realistic exploration of this problem that draws on philosophy， literature and psychology to cover the past， present and future of our battles with time。 It goes far beyond practical tips， and its many revelations will transform the reader's worldview。
Drawing on the insights of ancient philosophers， Benedictine monks， artists and authors， Scandinavian social reformers， renegade Buddhist technologists and many others， Oliver Burkeman sets out to realign our relationship with time - and in doing so， to liberate us from its grasp。
Of course， nobody needs telling that there isn't enough time。 We're obsessed by our lengthening to-do lists， our overfilled inboxes， the struggle against distraction， and the sense that our attention spans are shrivelling。 Yet we rarely make the conscious connection that these problems only trouble us in the first place thanks to the ultimate time-management problem: the challenge of how best to use our four thousand weeks。
Four Thousand Weeks is an uplifting， engrossing and deeply realistic exploration of this problem that draws on philosophy， literature and psychology to cover the past， present and future of our battles with time。 It goes far beyond practical tips， and its many revelations will transform the reader's worldview。
Drawing on the insights of ancient philosophers， Benedictine monks， artists and authors， Scandinavian social reformers， renegade Buddhist technologists and many others， Oliver Burkeman sets out to realign our relationship with time - and in doing so， to liberate us from its grasp。
Reviews
Ariel （mermaidforbooks）
，
The title of this book is actually a bit of a trick。 Instead of being about time management， it's central premise is really more about accepting and working within the idea that time is finite。 You will never clear your to do list， you will just naturally have time for your passion project， you will not have infinite time on this earth。 That premise was really the main draw of this book for me。 In a short time， the author lays out the philosohpical basis for the idea of finitude of time and why The title of this book is actually a bit of a trick。 Instead of being about time management， it's central premise is really more about accepting and working within the idea that time is finite。 You will never clear your to do list， you will just naturally have time for your passion project， you will not have infinite time on this earth。 That premise was really the main draw of this book for me。 In a short time， the author lays out the philosohpical basis for the idea of finitude of time and why that should be both a comfort and a motivation for us。 We don't have enough time to finish our infinite to do list and self-improvement projects， so the focus should be on the things we really want to count in our lives。 I listened to this as an audiobook， and I didn't find the actual text of the book all that compelling， but the idea of accepting and enjoying the limited amount of things we can accomplish in a day was compelling。 I think I'll be working to embrace that mindset going forward。 。。。more
Paki
，
Calling this a book on time management feels like a slight misnomer。 It really is more of a philosophical guide to embracing finitude， mortality， and uncertainty。 Taking notes from Stoicism and Buddhism， it calls for mindful action and making hard choices over the impossible standards of hustle-culture and the capitalist paradigm。
Kris
，
It IS a good book， but I am probably not the target audience。 Being retired， my time is my own。 Also， as a cancer survivor， I have worked on coming to grips with my mortality and what I value most。 I liked Burkeman’s premise， but I feel like I’ve heard it before in one form or another。 And he does， in fact， cite many authors and philosophers。 He does a good job of putting it all in one place。 Certainly， there were sections that spoke to me as reinforcement or reminders of how I want to live。 It’ It IS a good book， but I am probably not the target audience。 Being retired， my time is my own。 Also， as a cancer survivor， I have worked on coming to grips with my mortality and what I value most。 I liked Burkeman’s premise， but I feel like I’ve heard it before in one form or another。 And he does， in fact， cite many authors and philosophers。 He does a good job of putting it all in one place。 Certainly， there were sections that spoke to me as reinforcement or reminders of how I want to live。 It’s a valuable read for those in the throes of family and/or career。 3。5 。。。more
Chitrak gangrade
，
Should have been a blog post。 Page to content ratio is bad。Basically， if you only try to optimize， you'll be anxious。 So decide what you want to do and take time out to chill。 Otherwise life will pass you by。 Should have been a blog post。 Page to content ratio is bad。Basically， if you only try to optimize， you'll be anxious。 So decide what you want to do and take time out to chill。 Otherwise life will pass you by。 。。。more
Jon Yeo
，
Well researched and written。 The real value is in the Appendix so stick with it
Sarah
，
I LOVED this。 Finally， a “self-help” philosophy read I find instantly applicable to the everyday， and for everyone。 It‘s a more appealing and realistic exploration of the cliche， “be here now。” As you read， you feel your mental desktop of anxious “must-do”s getting swept clear。 Note: author is former productivity columnist for the Guardian， this is his turning point in realizing “productivity” should become a passe word。 More on that in the book。
Lori
，
One of my fav books of the year， so far。。。Oliver Burkeman gets it。
Martin
，
"I’m aware of no other time management technique that’s half as effective as just facing the way things truly are。"This is a not typical 'personal-development' book。 It does not really fit into the genre， as it does offer only few concrete practical tips （a drawback of the book）。 More than anything else， it is sort of an essay - a pretty harsh critique of consumerism - and it can be quite eye-opening at bringing us to consider how much of our 'time management' problems we ourselves manufacture b "I’m aware of no other time management technique that’s half as effective as just facing the way things truly are。"This is a not typical 'personal-development' book。 It does not really fit into the genre， as it does offer only few concrete practical tips （a drawback of the book）。 More than anything else， it is sort of an essay - a pretty harsh critique of consumerism - and it can be quite eye-opening at bringing us to consider how much of our 'time management' problems we ourselves manufacture by not filtering expectations thrown at us by those who hope to sell us something。 （You probably also have the reverse experience - often you would believe that solution to a problem must be buying something - and this book is a good reminder that， generally， new shoes will not make you a runner）。 Another main message of the book is that， besides tons of stupid things， there is also plenty of great things that we could be spending time on， and that no matter how hard we try， we will never manage to accomplish more than tiny fraction of them。 What's more - if we try to push too many of these great tings ahead simultaneously， the chances are we will spend lot of time on 'logistics， rather than getting the most important work done。 The author uses language very well。 Humor， often self-depreciating， appears frequently throughout to liven the text which makes the reading enjoyable on its own。 The book also appears well researched and the author lends poignant quotes frequently to illustrate his point。 。。。more
Kitty Dowding-Youngman
，
Fab-u-lous！
Brian
，
Helpful book to reorient your approach to “productivity。” It’s probably an overall four star book but reading it at the right time in my life I had to give it a five。 Writing these words 6 months after reading， I would have to say this was the start of my journey slowing down， not trying to do everything， and being slowly productive。
Joanna
，
A 250-page reality check: The earthly lifetime of a human is finite （4，000 weeks， on average） and we simply cannot do everything there is to do in that time。 There are more tasks to do， more places to see， more experiences to have， more causes to impact than we could ever actually achieve。 So: Burkeman reorients us to the reality of time， the way conveniences actually condition us to accept fewer and less meaningful moments， and how our battle for control of the future isn't helpful。 This is not A 250-page reality check: The earthly lifetime of a human is finite （4，000 weeks， on average） and we simply cannot do everything there is to do in that time。 There are more tasks to do， more places to see， more experiences to have， more causes to impact than we could ever actually achieve。 So: Burkeman reorients us to the reality of time， the way conveniences actually condition us to accept fewer and less meaningful moments， and how our battle for control of the future isn't helpful。 This is not an anti-technology， anti-social， or only for people without day jobs。 This is a look at how to be a human and （as one historical resource he references） How to Live on 24 Hours a Day。 Only one caveat: He makes conclusions about belief in an afterlife and how it affects an understand of our time on earth that I—as someone who stakes everything on an afterlife and the Person I'll be with for the whole of it—found a little baffling。 I think he misunderstands the Christian faith， so his conclusions about a few things around that aren't as accurate or as rich as they could be。 But the rest of the book， strangely， tells the truth the Bible tells us: We are created beings， not God。 We are finite， not infinite。 We are not sovereign and all-seeing。 And those limits are for our great good。 。。。more
jo
，
I might not have appreciated this book at a different point in my life， but found that right now， musings on our relationship with time from a recovering productivity addict kind of hit the spot。 :）
Angie
，
A time management book that is less about increasing your productivity and more about adjusting your mindset to recognize and accept the limited time you have。 It's refreshing to see an approach that allows you grace for letting things go， shifting your priorities， and and admitting that a lot of "wasted time" is really important for our wellbeing， creativitiy， and relationships。 Those looking for practical tips won't really find them here， and the overall message， while good， was also repetitiv A time management book that is less about increasing your productivity and more about adjusting your mindset to recognize and accept the limited time you have。 It's refreshing to see an approach that allows you grace for letting things go， shifting your priorities， and and admitting that a lot of "wasted time" is really important for our wellbeing， creativitiy， and relationships。 Those looking for practical tips won't really find them here， and the overall message， while good， was also repetitive over the course of a whole book。 。。。more
Sylvie Schepens
，
Veel beter dan verwacht op basis van de cover。 Echt een aanrader！
Jonny
，
Loved this book！ A reality check on our finite amount of time， our cultures crazy assumptions around productivity and what it means to live a meaningful life
Robert D
，
This is a book that every productivity addict （which I count myself among） should read。 It's not another time-management/productivity-hack book detailing all the little tricks you can use to fit yet more （mostly unnecessary） things into your already jam-packed schedule。 In fact， it's the exact opposite。 It's a book about embracing the fact that you have a limited time on this planet and realizing that you will never， ever get most of the things on your to-do list done。 It's about coming to terms This is a book that every productivity addict （which I count myself among） should read。 It's not another time-management/productivity-hack book detailing all the little tricks you can use to fit yet more （mostly unnecessary） things into your already jam-packed schedule。 In fact， it's the exact opposite。 It's a book about embracing the fact that you have a limited time on this planet and realizing that you will never， ever get most of the things on your to-do list done。 It's about coming to terms with the fact that you're going to need to make the hard choices involving what to focus on in your life and what to simply let go of。 If you keep focusing on the little things， in order to "clear the deck" for the really important things all will require your full focus， you may realize that you never actually get to the more important things because the deck will always fill up again with less important things。 Burkman， an admitted "productivity geek in recovery" acknowledges that it will not be easy to come to terms with your "finitude" （limited time on the planet） and let go of the delusion that you can get everything done in that time。 It will take time to shift your perspective。 But if you can do this， a saner， happier life--with more time for the people around you--awaits。 。。。more
Meredith
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Very helpful。 Lots of great ideas。 I will need to reread it every few years。 Notes for myself: Ten tools for embracing your finitude-Adopt a “fixed volume” approach to productivity。 It’s better to begin from the assumption that tough choices are inevitable and to focus on making them consciously and well。-Focus on one big project at a time and see it to completion before moving on to what’s next。-Decide in advance what to fail at。 You’ll inevitably end up underachieving at something， simply beca Very helpful。 Lots of great ideas。 I will need to reread it every few years。 Notes for myself: Ten tools for embracing your finitude-Adopt a “fixed volume” approach to productivity。 It’s better to begin from the assumption that tough choices are inevitable and to focus on making them consciously and well。-Focus on one big project at a time and see it to completion before moving on to what’s next。-Decide in advance what to fail at。 You’ll inevitably end up underachieving at something， simply because your time and energy are finite。-Focus on what you’ve already completed， not just on what’s left to complete。-Consciously pick your battles in charity， activism， and politics。-Embrace boring and single-purpose technology; choose devices with only one purpose， such as the Kindle e-reader。-Seek out novelty in the mundane。 Pay more attention to every moment， however mundane。-When presented with a challenging or boring moment， try deliberately adopting an attitude of curiosity。-Whenever a generous impulse arises in your mind—to give money， check in on a friend， send an email praising someone’s work—act on the impulse right away， rather than putting it off until later。-Practice being ok with doing nothing。 。。。more
Tracy
，
So many great takeaways from this but my favorite is the idea of "strategic underachievement" which is deciding in advance what you give yourself permission to fail at。 My shoulders automatically relax when I read that sentence:） Honorable mention also goes to the author's suggestion to "consolidate your caring" which is to say that because we as individuals have a finite capacity， we might be more effective in the world （and less stressed and overwhelmed by all that needs "fixing"） if we stoppe So many great takeaways from this but my favorite is the idea of "strategic underachievement" which is deciding in advance what you give yourself permission to fail at。 My shoulders automatically relax when I read that sentence:） Honorable mention also goes to the author's suggestion to "consolidate your caring" which is to say that because we as individuals have a finite capacity， we might be more effective in the world （and less stressed and overwhelmed by all that needs "fixing"） if we stopped focusing on EVERYTHING that's wrong and instead try to consciously choose what charity or type of help to offer in our spare time。 To reframe it in our minds this way is anxiety relieving and frees up energy to focus on doing the good that is particularly meaningful to each of us。 。。。more
Analese
，
I loved how different this was from normal time management books and it gave some really good， unique insight。 The part I’m still hung up on is the sort of y motivational tone it had to it。 I thoroughly enjoyed the appendix with suggestions and I would recommend this book。
Art Thomas
，
This book is very different than what I expected and that's a great thing。 A good description is it's an anti-efficiency book。 I thought it dovetailed well with meditation with an emphasis on living in the moment with the knowledge that you only have so much time。 Appreciate the fact that you're alive， and your short time on this mortal coil should be maximized。 That doesn't mean maximizing your work productivity or checking boxes though， but instead means making sure you are living the life you This book is very different than what I expected and that's a great thing。 A good description is it's an anti-efficiency book。 I thought it dovetailed well with meditation with an emphasis on living in the moment with the knowledge that you only have so much time。 Appreciate the fact that you're alive， and your short time on this mortal coil should be maximized。 That doesn't mean maximizing your work productivity or checking boxes though， but instead means making sure you are living the life you want to live。If you read enough books like this you tend to see the same stuff over and over。 This isn't the case with 4KW （I just coined that alphanumeric acronym）。 There isn't bumper-sticker sayings and catchphrases of encouragement。 It's a book to be absorbed and really change your worldview。 I'll be referring to it here and there to re-center myself。 。。。more
Arif Gipson
，
Excellent read
Tricia
，
I liked this book a great deal。 While the message could not be more serious， the author’s sense of humor and writing style makes it more accessible。 And， of course， it is not a time management book in the traditional sense。 I hope that I remember some of the book’s points， especially about planning for the future。
Nuniflex
，
This book is a lot。 Just at a glance at the harrowing title and synopsis you know you're in for a depressing ride。 Past the unnerving description is a stone cold serious 1:1 with the author and you。 This is more than a simple self help book。 It's coming to terms that you'll never be able to do everything you want and that one should avoid impossible goals。 Life is， on average， just 4000 weeks。 Many chapters here hit close to home and provided some unreal insight for me。 For now， I give it four s This book is a lot。 Just at a glance at the harrowing title and synopsis you know you're in for a depressing ride。 Past the unnerving description is a stone cold serious 1:1 with the author and you。 This is more than a simple self help book。 It's coming to terms that you'll never be able to do everything you want and that one should avoid impossible goals。 Life is， on average， just 4000 weeks。 Many chapters here hit close to home and provided some unreal insight for me。 For now， I give it four stars simply because I'm not sure I grasped all of this books contents。 I'll revisit it later and see if its tellings came to fruition。 。。。more
Dhiraj Sharma Nyaupane
，
"The most fundamental thing we fail to appreciate about the world。。。is how bafflingly astonishing it is that it is there at all。 The fact that there is anything rather than nothing。。。We've forgotten to be amazed that things are in the first place， that a world is whirling all around us。 This fact， the fact that there is being to begin with， is the brute reality in which all of us must be constantly stumping our toes。 But instead， it almost always passes us by。" "The most fundamental thing we fail to appreciate about the world。。。is how bafflingly astonishing it is that it is there at all。 The fact that there is anything rather than nothing。。。We've forgotten to be amazed that things are in the first place， that a world is whirling all around us。 This fact， the fact that there is being to begin with， is the brute reality in which all of us must be constantly stumping our toes。 But instead， it almost always passes us by。" 。。。more
Katherine Mac
，
Cruised through this in two sittings。 I laughed， I sighed， I smiled。 This is a must read for anyone who has ever claimed they're too busy （for any reason， at any time）。 I'll be sure to reread this book annually。 Cruised through this in two sittings。 I laughed， I sighed， I smiled。 This is a must read for anyone who has ever claimed they're too busy （for any reason， at any time）。 I'll be sure to reread this book annually。 。。。more
Lars Ankile
，
A nice book with a good thesis。 Only felt that it had a lot of fluff and was not as actionable as I would think and prefer。 Still， do not regret reading it。
Christof Damian
，
I heard about this through a podcast interview with the author。 It was still not what I expected， but in a good way。 It is about how we deal with the limited amount of time we have on earth and about good or bad ways to deal with it。 A lot of it will sound familiar and he quotes a lot of authors who have written about related topics。 My quick summary would be:- enjoy everything you do in the moment for what it is- choose a few things to focus on - don't worry about missing out on opportunities， I heard about this through a podcast interview with the author。 It was still not what I expected， but in a good way。 It is about how we deal with the limited amount of time we have on earth and about good or bad ways to deal with it。 A lot of it will sound familiar and he quotes a lot of authors who have written about related topics。 My quick summary would be:- enjoy everything you do in the moment for what it is- choose a few things to focus on - don't worry about missing out on opportunities， you can't avoid it anyway - just don't worry so much- everybody is winging it I think this book could have been a lot shorter， but probably because I am still optimizing for time and sometimes things just take as long as they take。 。。。more
Hayden Powers
，
What a change of pace。 As a recovering self-help/time-hack book junkie， this book is a conceptual 180 from all I've read before it。 I was drawn to this book due to the high praise it has received， as well as the many mentions of it being in a more philosophical realm; one that has changed some of its readers entire relationships with time。 It has done this for me as well， but it has mostly changed how I view myself as a human。 He brings in a mix of ancient wisdom with modern day， all centered ar What a change of pace。 As a recovering self-help/time-hack book junkie， this book is a conceptual 180 from all I've read before it。 I was drawn to this book due to the high praise it has received， as well as the many mentions of it being in a more philosophical realm; one that has changed some of its readers entire relationships with time。 It has done this for me as well， but it has mostly changed how I view myself as a human。 He brings in a mix of ancient wisdom with modern day， all centered around different perspectives on what it means to live a fulfilling life， what it means for us to experience the unease of dealing with the fact we are cosmically insignificant and finite， how our society has pressured us （especially with the advent of the internet and social media） to "live life to the fullest" without defining explicitly what it means to do such a thing， and how striving for this false dilemma （you either live to your fullest potential with unrealistic standards or you submit to shameful mediocrity with no in-between） is quite counterproductive in the grand scheme of things。 The book is sectioned out in 20-page chapters， which helps time-conscious readers plan out when to begin and when to stop， and also proves further that Oliver took careful thought into the layout of the books content。 I love authors that do this， but I will say that throughout the book I felt that the chapters bled together。 Whether or not this is to the readers taste， it was fairly difficult for me to remember in which chapter I read a certain thing， because they all just felt like one steady stream of consciousness and the chapters were merely breakpoints。 Whether or not this is a criticism is completely subjective。 I personally like to have more of a topic focus per chapter。 I am also sorry to criticize Oliver's writing style。 It is clear he came from an internet-article authorship background， as it shows throughout his unnecessary contraction of words and phrases that sound casual， but don't quite fit the tone of a book that is as deep as this one。 Other than these mild criticisms that hardly make a dent in my high opinion of this book， it is a well-deserved 5-stars。 I will certainly be passing my copy around to my friends and family。Also， who can beat the edgy title of this book？ It perfectly encapsulates the content。 I just had to throw that in here somewhere！ 。。。more
Ashley Quaale
，
I think this book probably could have been half as long。
Russel
，