#82: Four thousand weeks.
Near pandemic’s end, life started to steadily return to normal. After what seemed liked never-ending mainstays, masks came off and handwashing stayed present but less frequent fixtures in day-to-day life. Around this time, my reading interests centered around productivity. With my daughter on the way, topics about maximizing your time understandably became immensely attractive. Books like Deep Work and Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport graced my Kindle screen and filled my workflow with productive habits. Through Cal’s newsletter, I came across a newly published book titled Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by British journalist Oliver Burkeman.
In his book, Burkeman posits that “the average human lifespan is absurdly, insultingly brief. If you live to be 80, you’ll have had about 4,000 weeks. But that’s no reason for despair. Confronting our radical finitude – and how little control we really have – is the key to a fulfilling and meaningfully productive life.”
I listened to it at the time of its publication and quickly moved on from it, but after recently listening to commentary on Newport’s podcast, I decided to check it out from my local library and give it another go. In my second listen, I found myself transfixed even more. During my first listen, my daughter was a few months away from being born, and now, with two little babies living in our house, Burkeman’s insights take root a little deeper. A particular quote gave me pause this time, and it’s something I keep coming back to, even days later: “You need to learn how to say no to things you do want to do with the recognition you only have one life.”
Long-time readers of this newsletter and those who know me best won’t find it surprising to learn that I want to be a many of things. I want to be, in no particular order:
A fantastic writer.
A detailed illustrator.
A loving father and husband.
A kinetic drummer and thoughtful educator.
A reader, a surfer, a bread baker, a martial artist, and so, so, so many other things. A new hobby or skill will appear in my life, and I have this need to dive deep into, becoming a master at every level.
Reader, you and I both know how impractical this is. A person cannot become a master at everything in their life. As the saying goes, a jack of all trades is a master of none, and Burkeman would advise that mastery of all these hobbies, skills, and traits is impossible with an average meter of only four thousand weeks.
Long, hard introspection into my values and desires is needed to determine what things I want to say yes to in my very limited time here on this rock.
Last week, A colleague of mine shared an Instagram post that I think pairs well with Burkeman’s book. The post features actor and renaissance man Jeff Goldblum being interviewed by Late Show host Stephen Colbert. Colbert asks, “What keeps you inspired?” Goldblum sarcastically regurgitates a cliché answer before striking a more serious tone when a quote by famed Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw came to mind. Mr. Goldblum begins to recite from memory Shaw’s quote:
“This is the true joy in life,” he begins with eyes closed. “To be used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, To be a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances compiling that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”
Goldblum opens his eyes and points towards Colbert while continuing, “I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and that as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.”
He goes on, “I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live, I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I’ve got a hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
The idea of life being a “splendid torch which I’ve got a hold on for a moment” really speaks to me. And there’s only a limited number of items on the list above that I deem as “a mighty one” to help keep fueling that torch for future generations. Reader, when I frame my four thousand weeks in the context of Shaw’s quote, what to devote my time to becomes a little easier.
How about you?
Thanks for reading.