Let me be honest—I picked up Four Thousand Weeks thinking it would be another time management guide filled with tips to hustle harder, wake up before the birds, and somehow finish 100 things before breakfast. But Oliver Burkeman? He flips that entire idea on its head.
This book doesn’t tell you how to do more. It tells you—brace yourself—you’ll never get everything done. And somehow, that’s the most freeing thing I’ve read in a long time.
The Main Punch: You’ve Got About Four Thousand Weeks
Burkeman starts with a simple but slightly unsettling idea: if you live to be 80, that’s around four thousand weeks. That’s it. That’s all the time you’ve got. No cheat codes, no secret extensions. You can either try to manage every minute like a control freak or finally admit—you’re human, and you can’t do it all.
For someone like me, who’s constantly juggling work, notifications, side projects, and wondering if I should learn a new skill every weekend, this hit hard.
The Myth of “Getting It All Done”
We’re conditioned to believe that if we just organize better or download the right app, we’ll eventually get “on top” of life. Burkeman calls that out as a fantasy. According to him (and I agree now), you’ll never be fully caught up. And maybe that’s not a problem. Maybe that’s life.
At one point, I literally looked at my to-do list, laughed, and closed it. Not because I gave up—but because I finally got that it’ll always be there, no matter how many hours I throw at it.
Choosing What to Miss Out On
Burkeman talks a lot about trade-offs. Every “yes” you say is a “no” to something else. Simple, but it hits different when you realise you’ve been saying yes to things you don’t even enjoy—just because of guilt or FOMO.
He suggests leaning into the idea that you’ll miss out on 99% of things in life—and that’s completely fine. In fact, it’s necessary. Instead of chasing everything, focus on the few things that actually matter to you. Not your manager. Not your neighbour. You.
Stop Treating Life Like a Project Plan
One of the book’s biggest ideas is this: life isn’t a checklist to complete. It’s not a waiting game where you get all your stuff done first and only then deserve to relax. It’s happening now—in the middle of unread emails, pending bills, and cluttered desks.
That whole mindset shift? Game changer.
What I Took Away (and What You Might, Too)
Look, the book isn’t a “how-to” in the traditional sense. It won’t give you time-blocking templates or morning routines. Instead, it gives you clarity. These are a few takeaways I’m keeping close:
- Don’t overload your schedule trying to squeeze everything in. It’ll only leave you burned out and grumpy.
- Start fewer things—but actually finish them.
- Make peace with boredom. Not every moment has to be useful. You’re allowed to sit and stare out the window.
- Sometimes, the best use of time is being fully present with whatever (or whoever) is in front of you.
Conclusion
Four Thousand Weeks made me pause—not to plan better, but to rethink why I’m so obsessed with productivity in the first place. Burkeman doesn’t offer productivity hacks. He offers perspective. And that perspective? It’s something most of us didn’t even know we needed.
It’s a refreshing, honest read—smart, slightly philosophical, and surprisingly comforting. If you’ve ever felt guilty for not “doing enough,” this book might just help you breathe easier. It did for me.
