Oliver Burkeman’s best-selling book ‘Four Thousand Weeks’ has inspired me to take a new perspective on time management for the year ahead. So at this time of New Year’s Resolutions, here’s what I have learnt and aim to apply:
‘Do the next and most necessary thing’ or, ‘Do the next right thing’. Rather than dither between the many options that are available to me, I will decide to do what is right, based on what seems my most important criteria - then get on and actually do it.
‘Attend to the sensations of discomfort’. This means one shouldn’t seek distraction from the mental or psychological discomfort that arrives when you need to focus on something you want to achieve. If I accept that I won’t succeed in realising my ideal, I may as well just get on and do what I can do. And I will consciously notice the discomfort or difficulty (e.g. in thinking hard, writing, creating, preparing etc) and push through it rather than let myself be distracted. I can’t blame my smartphone - before I ever had one, I found myriad other ways to distract myself.
‘Seek novelty in the mundane’. Without the benefit of travel to give me fresh experiences, I can only increase the intensity with which I observe my current more limited world. I aim to slow time down by making everyday moments hold more richness.
‘Choose what to fail at’. I have often asked clients who over-commit themselves, ‘When you say YES to something, what are you saying NO to?’ Burkeman’s version helps me decide in advance what I will not pursue, even those things I would quite like to do, in order to be able to focus on what matters most, or achieve what I want the most.
Don’t think of Time as your resource to be spent, but rather think of it as your Life to be lived. ‘Time is a river that sweeps me along but I am the river…’ (Borges).
Do read the book if your interest is piqued. It could improve your relationship with time; I thoroughly recommend it.