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xerxesdgreat 's review for:
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
by Oliver Burkeman
Subtitled "Time Management for Mortals", this book is... well, it's not really about time management at all; it's a philosophy book.
While Oliver makes reference to some of the traditional time management strategies, the main idea is less about how to manage the limited amount of time people have in their life (about 4000 weeks, hence the title), and more about how to cope with the fact that you _basically_ have very little time on this planet. He repeatedly points out that doing everything is impossible, being in control of everything is impossible, and that acknowledging this frees you up to do what matters. So yes, at the end of the day it's about time management in a sense, but doesn't attempt to provide any real tactics.
Now, this approach may sound fatalistic, and I can see how younger people might not grok it, but at the age of 47 I'm... _pretty aware_ that I'm going to die and have used up (likely) more than half of my life. At the same time, there's _so much_ that I still want to do and that has caused me frustration, anxiety, and depression. Coming at it from this perspective though: accepting that you simply cannot do everything enables you to focus only on the things which matter the most. From this perspective, saying no is much more empowering than saying yes as you're able to be more deliberate about what you do.
While Oliver makes reference to some of the traditional time management strategies, the main idea is less about how to manage the limited amount of time people have in their life (about 4000 weeks, hence the title), and more about how to cope with the fact that you _basically_ have very little time on this planet. He repeatedly points out that doing everything is impossible, being in control of everything is impossible, and that acknowledging this frees you up to do what matters. So yes, at the end of the day it's about time management in a sense, but doesn't attempt to provide any real tactics.
Now, this approach may sound fatalistic, and I can see how younger people might not grok it, but at the age of 47 I'm... _pretty aware_ that I'm going to die and have used up (likely) more than half of my life. At the same time, there's _so much_ that I still want to do and that has caused me frustration, anxiety, and depression. Coming at it from this perspective though: accepting that you simply cannot do everything enables you to focus only on the things which matter the most. From this perspective, saying no is much more empowering than saying yes as you're able to be more deliberate about what you do.