Do you struggle with managing your time? Well, you are not alone! At least I do – more often than not. Many of us struggle with the feeling of being overwhelmed, distracted and constantly busy. But what if we are making a fundamental mistake in how we think about time and how we relate to it?
Author Oliver Burkeman explores this concept in his fantastic book “Four Thousand Weeks – Time Management for Mortals” . He argues that our struggle with time stems from our unwillingness to accept our own FINITUDE. We each have an average of 4000 weeks on this earth (hence the title of this book), and our choices do matter in how we use that time as something is always at stake.
According to Burkeman – and I couldn’t agree more – one of the central skills for constructing a meaningful & fulfilling life is learning to say no. But this doesn’t mean learning to say no only to those things that we never really wanted to do in the first place. It’s much harder than that! We need to learn how to say no to things that we really want to do. And that’s the hard part.
“Four Thousand Weeks” has been probably the most important book I read last year and it has changed my perspective dramatically. It has truly transformed how I see the past 8 years of our SHIFTSCHOOL journey and has put all the small and big mistakes I have made in a new light.
It has really had an impact on my decisions on what to say NO to – no matter how much I would love to do all the things I now consciously say no to – as my priority is more than ever my children and my family. If you are looking to transform your relationship with time, this book is a must-read.
