Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

The most striking difference between Oliver Burkeman’s book and other time management guides is that Burkeman insists that both temporal and personal limitations exist and that there can be no progress without accepting them. Whereas other time management advice, such as Stephen Covey’s, placates the human anxiety of running out of time with platitudes about being able to do all the little things when we have done the big ones, Burkeman offers no such consolation. Instead, he quotes the writer Elizabeth Gilbert, who says that “you need to learn how to start saying no to things you do want to do, with the recognition that you have only one life” (78). Burkeman contextualizes Gilbert’s pronouncement throughout the book, first by declaring that this life is due to last on average only about 4,000 weeks and then by showing us how we will not even get that amount of time to do the things we want because much of it will be frittered away in circumstances beyond our control.

Then, while other productivity gurus advertise their belief in the infinite ability of each individual human to accomplish their most cherished dreams, Burkeman professes that “maybe you simply lack the stamina or talent or other resources to perform well in all the roles you feel you should,” bringing up the uncomfortable subject of our personal limitations (30).