Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

Very thought-provoking book by a reformed workaholic. Not about how to get more things done but how to live with an awareness of time and feel better about it.

Excellent book on personal time management, not work, not everybody else but you. Take a good look at your life and how you live, enjoy the time you have and stop feeling guilty. This books gives some fine examples and direction, not too deep but just enough to make you think! Thank you #NetGalley for the book to review.

This was a book with admirable intentions and backed with solid and well researched evidence but it jut took way too long to get to anything approaching practical advice about how to step away from the traps it describes.

I've never considered that my life is effectively four thousand weeks and it's incredible how the impact of a statement is influenced by the language we use.

The book covered a lot and was what was on the label. Perhaps I would have liked more but I recognise authors can't deliver to every single reader.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks so much to Vintage for letting me read Four Thousand Weeks. This is a time management book that focuses not on productivity hacks or mastering your time, but about accepting the fact that your hours are limited, and there's a limited amount of stuff you can fit into them. It sounds depressing, but for the first part of the book, it genuinely felt like someone was elucidating my thoughts: so much of the author's insights resonated with me, and I felt like every single sentence taught me something. The second half of the book was less striking and revelatory, simply because of my own personal circumstances and mindset, but I don't doubt it resonated with other people just as much as the first half did for me. Also, the appendix gives great tips for practical time management within an actual, non-idealised life that I really appreciated.

The book starts with the scary premise that typically we only have about four thousand weeks on this earth. Saying that is not surprising we struggle to fit everything in!
An interesting read, although I found all the ‘theory’ talk about the lack of time a bit boring at times. Some very interesting points and helpful tips.
Thank you to NetGalley and Randkm House UK for letting me review this book.

The average person has around four thousand weeks on Earth. Having pointed this out, author Oliver Burkeman details how much time we spend on various activities, how we get stressed and fret about things totally out of our control and how we are never, ever going to get everything done.
This is an interesting read, a lot of the things being explained, are common sense and yet how many of us really think about it? The same point is made again and again in a way, but sometimes you need to read content like this to step outside of your day to day existence and take a critical look at it.
I’m glad that I spent a little bit of time from my four thousand weeks to read this excellent book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

This was an interesting read, and something a little different for me. The premise of the book is to show how self-defeating it is to aspire to complete all the jobs on your list so that you have more time to do other things. Burkeman points out that the more you clear, the more jobs appear and that if the average person only has four thousand weeks to 'spend', then we should try to use our time more wisely and accept that not everything can be, or needs to be, done at all!

He takes the email inbox as an example: pointing out that if you become 'tremendously efficient at answering email, all that happens is that you get more email.' In fact, your efficiency can be counter-intuitive as you earn a reputation of being someone that gets a job done quickly and therefore may start to receive even more email because you are efficient!! I liked this argument and will no longer feel guilty if I am not responding to mail in a timely manner.

Burkeman's writing has been fully researched and he quotes many other philosophers of time management to make his point, repeatedly. I was sold on the idea that we need to accept to have lists of task as an ongoing item, but wanted help and recommendation on how best to manage this stress. I was 80% of the way into the book before I got any suggestions, so felt somewhat cheated that the books is repetitive in its overall message, though backed by a wide range of similar writings.

The first chapter and from 80% onwards were most useful for me in this book.

A self help book that requires you to stop and evaluate your time and look at everything you cram into it. He points out that if you live to 80 you have four thousand weeks to time manage. I loved his views on the pandemic and how it is valuable to apply things we have learnt during this time. Thought provoking.

I do not generally read much nonfiction but am so grateful that I was granted an ARC of Burkeman’s latest book as it proved an illuminating read. The book explores how we can meaningfully address our overly busy, time-poor lives. The introduction of his novel makes reference to philosopher Martin Heidegger’s metaphysical concept of the ‘finitude’ of human life, something many of our 21st century contemporaries try to negate by cramming ever more into the 4,000 weeks, or 77 years that human lives average.
Although each of the chapters is filled with ideas worth pondering and translating into meaningful ideas for your life, parts 1 and 2 resonated the most with me. In Part 1, ‘entitled ‘Choosing to Choose’, Burkeman reminds us that we can choose our individual perceptions of time, although it takes courage and some personal sacrifices to remain in control of our lives. This honest, proactive approach is nothing new and yet so difficult to advocate. Meanwhile, the chapters in Part 2 entitled ‘Beyond Control’, discuss themes of what most readers have come to know as ‘mindfulnesss’: focusing on small, unspectacular tasks and deriving enjoyment from them, and developing resilience and patience as a result.
For everyone who is looking to alter their life in small, meaningful steps, or who just wants to take some time out to ponder their increasingly frantic 21st century lifestyle, this book is deal. Warmly recommended, and my thanks to publisher and NetGalley for the free ARC in return for this honest review.

This is such a fascinating and thought provoking book. I don't think it's one where you can just 'read' it from front to back but one that needs to be savoured slowly. There are so many valuable nuggets to ponder on, delight in and apply to my own life that I had to keep going back and re-reading those parts. Already I am starting to implement some of these words of wisdom into my everyday life. I know I easily get distracted, spend far too long looking at Facebook and then regretting that I missed out on doing what I set out and really wanted to do instead. I am thinking more of the true and rather scary fact that life is short and that we will never ever be able to fit into it all the things we'd like to and therefore have to let some things go. Which 'things' is the question. The author writes well, clearly and with passion and humour and this made the book a delight to read and it will be a treasure to keep and to dip into on a regular basis which I know I shall be doing. There is too much on offer here to absorb in a first reading so I am going to enjoy re-reading this, and benefitting from it, for a long time to come. I'm already recommending it to family and friends.

This is not another "top 10 life hacks: how to cram more activity into your day and make the most of your life" book. It's much, much better, and more reflective and thoughtful, than that. It asks good questions and has some insightful things to say. I recommend you read it!

Having read my fair share of books full of tips for how to better manage your time, I was intrigued by this book's promise to take a different approach. And while there's nothing all that groundbreaking here, the author does introduce some ideas that made me sit back and think about things a little differently. It doesn't matter how organised you are, how many lists you make or what time you get up in the morning – ultimately, we have the time we have, and we can only do as much as we can do. I like the author's approach of encouraging the reader to think about time a little differently. Instead of coming up with a gimmicky quick fix or the ultimate morning routine, this book is about reflection and understanding, ultimately, that we'll never get everything done.