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<h1 class="post-title entry-hint-parent">
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
</h1>
<div class="post-meta"><span title='2022-09-21 07:35:24 +0530 IST'>🗓 September 21, 2022</span>&nbsp;·&nbsp;2 min&nbsp;·&nbsp;🔖&nbsp;<a href="/tags/non-fiction"> non-fiction</a>&nbsp;·&nbsp;<a href="/tags/productivity"> productivity</a>
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<div class="post-content"><p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4452417243">Check it out on Goodreads</a></p>
<hr>
<p><img loading="lazy" src="/images/four-thousand.jpg#center" alt="Four Thousand Weeks Cover" title="Four Thousand Weeks Cover" />
</p>
<p>Nothing extra-ordinary in terms of content, but special when you think of the book as a compilation of useful frameworks to think about time.</p>
<p>Alas, I stumbled upon Four Thousand Weeks at such a point in my life where I&rsquo;ve already been a productivity addict for so long that it&rsquo;s impossible for me to make a fresh start. The central theme of the book - that you won&rsquo;t ever get to do all the things you&rsquo;ve set out to do so you should consciously choose and be happy about your choice - is such an aphoristic statement that no matter how you spin it, it always feels bland.</p>
<p>Having said that, the self-help ocean that this book is a part of, is filled with heaps of garbage books, so stumbling upon this one is like finding a needle in a haystack. Few ways of thinking about time and choices that I found interesting:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Don&rsquo;t think of these things as life hacks - don&rsquo;t treat life as a faulty contraption in need of modification.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>A spin on FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): missing out is what makes our choices meaningful in the first place, every decision to use a portion of a time on anything represents saying no to every other thing that you could&rsquo;ve done but you didn&rsquo;t.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>The anti-skill of staying with the anxiety of never having time to do everything.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Picking one item from the menu represents an affirmation rather than a defeat. The fact that you could&rsquo;ve chosen a different and perhaps equally valuable way to spend this afternoon bestows meaning on the choice you did make.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>A hobbyist is a subversive: they insist that some things are worth doing for themselves alone, despite offering no payoffs in terms of productivity or profit.</p>
</blockquote>
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