Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) was a German philosopher and a controversial figure, given his membership of the Nazi party. While Burkeman acknowledges this was “an exceptionally poor life choice” on Heidegger’s part, he still finds value in the philosopher’s conception of time (57). Rather than regarding time as a possession and thereby something we can own and control, in Being and Time (1927), Heidegger wrote that we are time and that we should be grateful that we have any of it at all on the planet. For Heidegger “our limited time isn’t just one among various things we have to cope with; rather, it’s the thing that defines us, as humans, before we start coping with anything at all” (59). Thus, whether we like it or not, our lives are bounded by birth and death, the latter potentially arriving at any time.

Heidegger’s work is important for Burkeman’s reevaluation of time management, as it shifts our attitude from one of lack to one of appreciation. Moreover, Heidegger’s work illuminates the extent of the restriction on our choices in time by pointing out that our future is already limited by the decisions we have made in the past. While Heidegger’s conception of the human as “Being-towards-death” is not fashionable in a death-denying culture that champions limitless possibility, Burkeman embraces it as an honest way of engaging with life and time (60). Adopting a Heideggerian approach also assists with living in the present over the future. This is because the present is here while the future is uncertain and unreliable. 

Stephen Covey (1932-2012) is a self-help author with a focus on time-management and is best known for his 1989 bestseller The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Burkeman charges Covey’s later book, First Things First (1994), with sparking one of the major false promises of productivity movement: the notion that if we do the most important tasks first, we will then have time for smaller responsibilities.

Popular contemporary self-help gurus including Marie Forleo espouse a version of Covey’s advice, advocating that people prioritize their important life projects above the seemingly urgent tasks that the day throws up, such as responding to emails. Covey’s approach is arguably also behind the recent trend for elaborate morning routines that begin as early as 5:00am, as people try to squeeze in activities of personal importance before the working day begins and makes its demand on them. Indeed, despite his disparagement of Covey’s approach, Burkeman himself offers similar counsel in his advice to not focus on completing a to-do list over working on one important project. Still, the difference is that while Covey seems to promise that adopting his strategy means that a person will be able to accomplish everything they set their mind to; Burkeman insists on the reality that there will always be too many important things to prioritize and that sacrifices must be made. While the difference between the two approaches may appear to be one of tone, the reality is a difference in outlook: Covey envisions a lifestyle of limitless efficiency, while Burkeman insists on embracing our radical finitude.