“…when first got access to ‘labour saving’ devices’ like washing machines and vacuum cleaners, no time was saved at all, because society’s standards of cleanliness simply rose to offset the benefits; now that you could return each of your husband’s shirts to a spotless condition after a single wearing, it began to feel like you should…

"...the only route to psychological freedom is to let go of the limit-denying fantasy of getting it all done and instead to focus on doing a few things that count."

Burkeman discusses Martin Heidegger's ideas of humans as 'temporal' beings, i.e., that instead of talking about humans having a limited amount of time, in his view it is more appropriate to say that we are a limited amount of time because of how completely our finite time in life defines us.

Being time

Some personal notes and reflections on this excellent book on the impossibility of ‘keeping up’ with time.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER   “This is the most important book ever written about time management.”  —Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of WorkLife What if you stopped trying to do everything, so that you could finally get around to what counts? We're obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, our overfilled inboxes, the struggle against distraction, and the sense that our attention spans are shrivelling. Still, we rarely make the connection between our daily struggles with time and the ultimate time management problem: the question of how best to use our ridiculously brief time on the planet, which amounts on average to about four thousand weeks. Four Thousand Weeks is an uplifting, engrossing and deeply realistic exploration of the challenge. Rejecting the futile modern obsession with 'getting everything done,' it 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. Make your four thousand weeks count.

Alex Genov's Key Ideas from Four Thousand Weeks
by Oliver Burkeman

BURKEMAN, OLIVER (REFERRING TO WORK BY RUTH SCHWARTZ)

BURKEMAN, OLIVER

Being time

Different Perspectives Curated by Others from Four Thousand Weeks

Discover Key Ideas from Books on Similar Topics

Alex Genov's Key Ideas from Four Thousand Weeksby Oliver Burkeman

BURKEMAN, OLIVER (REFERRING TO WORK BY RUTH SCHWARTZ)

BURKEMAN, OLIVER

Being time

Different Perspectives Curated by Others from Four Thousand Weeks

Discover Key Ideas from Books on Similar Topics

Alex Genov's Key Ideas from Four Thousand Weeks
by Oliver Burkeman