You Get Only 4,000 Weeks

Bench on Lake Michigan

"Assuming you live to be eighty, you’ll have had about four thousand weeks. Certainly, you might get lucky: make it to ninety, and you’ll have had almost 4,700 weeks" - Oliver Burkeman, "Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals."

I seem to plan my time in chunks of weeks. I always have. As I think about that fact and look back at all my planning I’m now thinking I may have done it all wrong. I’ve lived and planned almost 3,000 of my allotment of 4,000 weeks. Planning is not going to give me one more minute of time. Being more productive just gives me more to do and I miss the weeks ticking by. Maybe I should instead plan for less, actually plan to find more things to ignore, allow me to focus on beauty and relationships rather than time and planning. Focus on what others are doing around me and what others may need rather than success. Focus on wonder rather than tasks.

We are so programmed and brain washed about what life is about and how to be successful. It even seems uncomfortable thinking about not planning to get more done.

All of human civilization, going back to the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia has happened in only 310,000 weeks. I have lived 1% of that total time. 1% of all civilization. If you live to a very, very old age, you may be able to pull down 2% of that time.

"Our lives are mere instants even on a geological time scale, let alone a cosmic one, we will all be dead any minute." - Thomas Nagel, philosopher

I’m enjoying reading this book. Join me if you have time this week. (See what I did there??) “Four Thousand Weeks: Time Managment for Mortals” by Oliver Burkeman