Publisher’s
write-up:
‘What if you tried to stop doing everything, so
you could finally get round to what counts?
Rejecting the futile modern obsession with
'getting everything done,' Four Thousand Weeks introduces readers to tools for
constructing a meaningful life by embracing rather than denying their
limitations.
Drawing on the insights of both ancient and
contemporary philosophers, psychologists, and spiritual teachers, Oliver
Burkeman sets out to realign our relationship with time - and in doing so, to
liberate us from its tyranny.
Embrace your limits. Change your life. Discover
how to make your four thousand weeks count in 2024.’
Four Thousand Weeks – as the title says, is a
book on time management for mortals by the former journalist Oliver
Burkeman. Life is finite but our ambitions are not. It is not uncommon
to find ourselves feel guilty for not clearing out our “to do lists” or chasing
our ambition while doing our daily job – all within the finite life that we
have. With hustle culture on the rise, the author tries to make the
point that life would be a lot better if we accept that it is finite and we
would not be able to achieve everything we intend to.
The title of the book – four thousand weeks is
a reference to the average life span of a human being – with 4000 weeks amounting
to approximately 77 years. It is split into fourteen chapters, where the author
makes his case, as to how the modern world has this obsession over productivity
– often tied to capitalism. An example I would give is the efficiency myth at work
that the author talks about – that if an employee completes their tasks within
the given time, they do not get more time, they are given more tasks. The
author gives several contemporary examples, on the unreasonable expectations we
have of ourselves and to accept that “settling down” is not bad but is
something positive.
I liked the idea of the book, and also the
message that the author was trying to convey. I have been through the cycle of “productivity
obsession” and thinking of life as a permanent “personality development” quest,
feeling guilty every time for simply relaxing. I felt the author also gave
several contemporary examples, relatable to the current readership, such as Amazon
– and their obsession with having their home page loaded as fast as possible (which
is a question of seconds). This is a book that came out in 2021 and I read it
in 2025, and thus one thing that is missing from the book is the interactive AI
models that we have today.
However, I felt that the book was long and that
the point that he wanted to make was already made by the seventh chapter. The
title was also a “clickbait” – given he did not talk about the “short lifespan”
barring the introduction and it was more about time management and far less
about our mortality. On that note, any number put on time would feel short –
suppose the title had been 672 000 Hours – people would have had the same level
of alarm over the fact that we live less than a million hours.
The appendix, with the ten suggestions on time management,
was interesting and I felt they were practical. It was however not aligned with
the tone of the book, given the author was telling us to ignore most of the advice
related to “time management” from books and influencers and in the end, gave a
set of advice himself, like every other author on this subject.
To conclude, I would say that the book is a
good read and is helpful if one wants to get out of the obsession with
productivity. The book has its flaws, but in the end, the reader has something
to take away. On that note, I would award the book a rating of seven on ten.
Rating –
7/10
Have a
nice day
Andy
