Book Review: Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman

This book changed my relationship with time.

This book changed my relationship with time. It is more philosophical than all the other books on time management that I've read. And indeed, the major problem with time is how we think about it.

According to this book, the average lifespan of a person in the west is 80 years. That's about 4,000 weeks in a year.

So, the average person has just 4,000 weeks in a lifetime.

If you are in your 20s, you've spent up to 25% of your weeks. You've spent over 1000 weeks already. You have just 3,000 weeks left.

If you are in your 30s, you've spent up to 37% of your weeks. You've spent over 1,500 weeks already. You have just 2,500 weeks left.

If you are in your 40s, you've spent up to 50% of your weeks. You've spent over 2,000 weeks already. You have just 2,000 weeks left.

About 90% of the audience on this page are within this age range, 20-40.

(I recommend you do this calculation for yourself. Multiply your age by the number of weeks, then subtract from 4,000.)

A lot of people never think about how much time they have. And they live their lives assuming they have so much time. They believe that five years is far away. They assume that 40 years birthday celebration is far into the future.

This is a time illusion. We don't have much time. And because we never realize how little we have, we spend so much of our time pursuing things that don't matter, we struggle through life pursuing objectives that do not make us happy, and we waste our precious time trying to do everything.

This book will draw all the vain things we do with time into your consciousness. You will look at life from a new plain. You will realize that;

It would be best if you stopped trying to do everything, for you can't do anything.

You need to begin doing the things that matter to you intentionally, or you will never do them.

You need to realize that choosing to do things, especially vain ones, is choosing not to do important things.

When you decide to read, it means you are choosing not to watch movies. When you choose to watch movies, it means you are choosing not to read.

You need to realize that the most important thing you have is time. You've to make the best of it.

Reading through it, I learned to prioritize my family over everything else. It should not be that I am creating family time out of all my schedules. No, family time should take over my life, and I should be making time for other things out of my engaged family time. Family is everything. The most important people who will present testimony about our lives are those who lived with us, our family.

Another important insight I grabbed from this book is how NOT to TO EVERYTHING. This sounds odd, especially for a Nigerian. Our culture has taught us that it is better to lie to someone than to tell them the truth. We know we will not attend that seminar, but it is better to lie and say we will be present and not attend. We know that we can't meet up with the deadline, but we should lie and say we will try our best when we know we can't.

This book delivered me from this. If I can't meet up, I tell you kindly; I cannot meet up. It doesn't hurt or bite; it sets both parties free. Of course, one does not need to say this boastfully; you can reject things in the kindest words possible.

You can say, "Thank you very much for inviting me. I love what you do; I always look forward to participating. Unfortunately, I am currently busy with a schedule; I cannot be present. I am hopeful that I will be present another time."

Another thing it has delivered me is the barrage of messages from Facebook, Whatsapp, Emails, etc. As you get busier, all of these things increase. Everyone wants your attention on either of these apps. It is overwhelming.

Coupled with this, I am now a stay-at-home dad with a daughter that wants all my attention. Children are like these. Parents will know. This has caused me to rethink my time and plan out everything more. There is time for messages, time for comments, time for posts, and time for reading. I cannot waste any minute anymore.

Now, I am wiser; I have strategized for them. There are times for each one- specific times to reply and respond.

I have just 4,000 weeks. I cannot do everything. You have just 4,000 weeks. You cannot do everything.

The big question is, what will you do with your 4,000 weeks? I hope you make the best of it.

Read this book if you want help with time management.