Against Time Management: Four Thousand Weeks
Or why listening to audiobooks in your Uber won't solve all your problems
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman
I expected some helpful time management times from this (“During your Uber home from work, listen to audiobooks on 2x speed while shaving for the next day; if you are particularly busy, put your dinner in a plastic bag and eat it while you are showering”). Instead, I got a book about the finiteness of life and how we’re all going to die - and was thrilled with it. As someone into time management and “efficiency”, I found that Four Thousand Weeks provided a needed discussion of its limitations.
In short, Burkeman argues that our focus on managing time and using it well makes us less in control of time and less satisfied with how we spend it.
This is a relatively modern problem: for much of history, people didn’t think of time as a thing or try to manage it. You lived your life, getting done what needed to get done each day. If you were a farmer, you’d get up with the sun, get done what you could during the day, take a nap if you wanted one, and go to sleep. The concept of “getting things done” didn’t exist - your work was infinite, so you didn’t even stress about productivity. In contrast, we conceive of time as a resource, as a thing - we visualize it as a clockface, an Outlook calendar, or a to-do list. We try to gain mastery over it, which 1) leads us to be unsatisfied with what we’re doing (“did I spend today in the most productive way”?) and 2) makes us less present and less likely to enjoy life as we’re having a meta-conversation in our head about what we should be doing and what we’ll do later as opposed to enjoying the moment.
Our focus on being more efficient doesn’t really work anyway, as work begets more work. If you answer your emails faster, you get more emails back. If you take care of one item on your to-do list, another pops up. Compounding this is our obsession with convenience; when there is a convenient option, we feel guilty doing anything else, even if we enjoy it more. Even if we enjoy preparing elaborate dinners, we do so less often as we can order food or prepare something quickly with our fancy new kitchen gadgets. As life gets smoother, our tolerance for rougher things - waiting in line, conversations we don’t find fascinating - becomes lower and lower.
One reason we procrastinate or seek distraction is to alleviate boredom in the moment. Why does boredom bother us so much? Because it reminds us of our finitude, the fact that we won’t live for ever, can’t control everything, and whatever we are experiencing - whether our job or chores - is really it, is the thing itself. It’s for this reason, he argues, the internet is such a powerful distractor: it is limitless and infinite and there is always another tweet to absorb or picture to like. We do it even if we don’t find it fun, as it makes us feel unconstrained. Put otherwise, distractions aren’t why we’re distracted, but “just the places we go to seek relief from the discomfort of confronting limitation.” And when we’re not working, we need to make our downtime productive or we feel like we are wasting our time.
So, what solutions does he offer?
First, focus being present and mindful (not a huge surprise). When there is an uncomfortable moment and you want to distract yourself, at least ask yourself why you are doing it. He (like many others) suggests deeply focusing on whatever is bothering you as a way to get through it
It’s hard to force yourself to “be more present” because this in a way takes you away from being present as you are now having a meta-conversation about whether you are present or not. Instead, he suggests “noticing that you are, in fact, always already living in the moment anyway, whether you like it or not.” I didn’t fully understand this, so my interpretation is just “remind yourself that this is it.”
Take up a true hobby. Burkeman says a true hobby is one that “should feel a little embarrassing” as this likely means it’s something you’re doing for its own sake as opposed to an extrinsic reason. Think about building a model railway set or collecting stamps. This is a way to make your life joyful and claim it for yourself
Remind ourselves that our lives are insignificant in the broader scheme of the things, which gives us permission to make meaning in ways that we want. We don’t need to “make a dent in the universe,” but can instead find everyday things such as preparing meals for our kids or our work truly meaningful
In terms of tactical advice, a few things he mentions are:
Strategic underachievement - figure out what areas of your life you want to fail at in advance (e.g., lawn care, house organization, ambitious fitness goals). This will allow you to use your energy more effectively and also not feel bad when certain things that “should” get done don’t.
Practice doing nothing, aka meditating1
Keep two to-do-lists, one “open” and one “closed.” The closed one is priorities and should have 10 items, tops. The open one should have everything else. There is no expectation that you ever get thru the open one
Our focus on the future leads us to never be satisfied as there is always another “when I get this, I’ll be happy.”
I really enjoyed this overall and its points resonated with me. While a lot of this is present in many other mindfulness / self help books, I thought the focus on “finiteness” and our relationship to time itself was interesting and new. I do find it easy to jump into planning mode, thinking about what I need to get done when and how I’ll “get through” the next week. But the next week is the thing itself!
A few final reactions / thoughts:
I do wonder if embracing boredom / “finiteness” is the most effective approach. I’m reading a book called Reality is Broken right now which argues that games are intrinsically more rewarding and engaging than reality, so we should try to make reality more game-like (think step tracking or math games for kids on iPads). On its face, getting people to learn a skill through a fun iPhone app feel more sustainable and effective than telling them to sit down with a textbook and embrace / pay attention to the sensations of impatience they feel. That being said, do you want to live in a world where everything is gamified and the few things that aren’t feel even more boring / intolerable?
The best time management books I’ve read (I Know How She Does It comes to mind) actually have similar ideas to Four Thousand Weeks: 1) don’t let anyone else tell you what “normal” is; 2) embrace and take time for moments of joy and pleasure, and 3) de-prioritizing some things is important and gives you more time for what matters to you
I still do think elements of “time management” are useful, as they can free up time to do the things that are valuable to you. I think the issue is when 1) time management becomes “the thing itself” as opposed to a tool to allow you to expand the meaningful parts of life; 2) you start viewing your downtime and the things you enjoy via a time management lens as well.
I spent a meaningful amount of time and energy earlier this year trying to organize a family holiday card. I wasn’t able to finish it on time and felt guilty and ashamed about “not having it together” even though it wasn’t that important to me. Don’t expect one from me next year. I won’t even feel bad about it.
I don’t think you’re allowed to publish any kind of self help book without recommending this; meditating is to our time what “strengthening your core” in the gym was to the 2000s.