How Many Weeks?

In titling his book Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, author Oliver Burkeman is referring to 76 years, the approximate length of life for human beings. Burkeman emphasizes how short our lives are, how many choices we have regarding how to spend our precious time, and our difficulties with using our time wisely. Numerous narratives and examples show the reader the conflicts that arise when people prioritize various aspects of work, such as struggling to empty one’s email inbox only to find that any temporary success is overpowered by a proliferation of email responses that tend to require vastly more time. Burkeman uses some humor to express his points, and he makes a lot of sense!

Another of Burkeman’s arguments focuses on where people focus, as in viewers of the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum in London focusing their phones and cameras on the exhibit at the expense of actually looking at the exhibit. Thus, the tourists trade their time during the in-person experience for creating the possibility of reviewing the experience later. This argument appears in various formats throughout the book, reminding the reader that there is often a trade-off between the “now” and the future, the photo opportunity and the experience.

Burkeman explores and quotes numerous philosophers throughout the book. At one point, writing about Parkinson’s Law, that “…work expands to fill the time available for its completion,” Burkeman says “…it’s the definition of ‘what needs doing’ that expands to fill the time available.” On the Paradox of Limitation, he warns that the more you try to control your time, the more stressful, empty, and frustrating your life can get! His recommendation is that, in life, the best thing to try to do is to accept the finitude of life and your limitations and accept the way things really are. In his chapter on finitude, Burkeman defines it as facing the fact that work proliferates, and you can’t do it all. He suggests surrendering and acknowledging what you give up instead of trying to do more.

Our discussion was lively! Patricia said the book had good advice as to how to cope with your time pressures. She gave a copy to her son for Father’s Day! Dennis said that he was considering giving a copy of the book to his son-in-law, who works long hours and might be considered a workaholic. Cindy said her daughter complains about work calls bothering her during her time off. Joyce said she gets work-related calls even though she shouldn’t. She indicated that the unsolicited calls can make her feel important, but that setting boundaries is important.

Some comments highlighted the wisdom that we bring to our discussions. As to when to continue reading a book to the finish and when to quit reading a book and use your time for something else, Dennis and Carla both said they stop reading books that make them feel bogged down. Patricia suggested this is a way of eliminating what isn’t worth your time and helping you to use your time well. Cindy noted that we have to make choices. She brought up the Cheshire Cat statement from Alice in Wonderland, which I had noted in researching about 4000 Weeks while preparing to present the book at our discussion: “If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t matter which road you take.” Flo said that if she becomes impatient with something, such as an unassembled purchase, she gets help. Thus, we learn as we get older and wiser.