If we live up to 80 years we would have lived around four thousand weeks. That is true… but I did not think about it till I read Oliver Burkeman’s book ‘Four Thousand Weeks’…. Time Management for mortals…. The book reminds us about both time and our mortality.

The first thing I did as soon as I started reading is to figure out how many weeks do I have left… And I figured I have just a little over 1500 weeks…. Two thirds is over…. and between starting and finishing the book I have lost one more week.. As Oliver says.. our life.. the human life is so short.. insultingly short…. Now the question is how do we see time when our mortality is evident…

I am sure we will see time differently.. as a scarce resource…. but the question is how will we use our time… Will we rush in to get more things done in that short time… manage every minute of our life….? Will we slow down so we can really experience the passing time… What will we do….

As I read the book I started feeling about time and space….. not space and time as they say in science… time and space…. If you are used to having calendars and blocking time… which I am sure many of us working in the corporate world do…. Time is being converted to space on calendars.. So when we are allocating time.. we are in fact allocating space on the calendars…. Time and space….

Mortality does not have to make us feel bad…. it is what it is for now… we have longer lives than what many of our ancestors did… though my great grand uncle is turning 102 in January 2022…

It is not what all we do in an hour.. it is about making them meaningful.. it is not about stuffing everything and more…. it is about the impact we create as time passes…

Our relationship with time is something we all need to explore…. I cannot give you my calendar and ask you to live by it…. My version of productivity might not make sense to you… your life and your time are yours and mine is mine…. we both have our relationships with it….

In my case the 4000 week calculation makes me think of a few things… one is that I won’t be able to do everything…. it is even more important to choose what I want… What I achieve is not what matters… how that impacts others is what matters… Spend time with those you love…. be honest and be transparent….

If you read the book may be you will be able to find your own relationship with time… irrespective of how many weeks is left….

Categories: Life, On Life

Tags: Four Thousand Weeks, mortality, Time Management, weeks