Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

by Oliver Burkeman

We live in an era where appliances and software supposedly make our lives easier. “Yet, paradoxically, you only feel busier, more anxious… And becoming ‘more productive’ just seems to cause the belt to speed up.”

We all have a finite amount of time in our lives—in the neighborhood of 4,000 weeks, assuming an 80-year lifespan and rounding to 50 weeks per year. “Our limited time… what Heidegger calls our ‘finitude’… isn’t just one among various things we have to cope with; rather, it’s the thing that defines us, as humans.”

“The world is bursting with wonder, and yet it’s the rare productivity guru who seems to have considered the possibility that the ultimate point of all our frenetic doing might be to experience more of that wonder.”

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Einstein’s Dreams

einsteins-dreams

Einstein’s Dreams

by Alan P. Lightman

Einstein’s Dreams is historical fiction based on Albert Einstein’s study of the relativity of time, or time dilation.  The book is formatted like a journal of Einstein’s dreams about 30 imaginary worlds where time functions differently. The book was written by Alan Lightman, a physicist and humanities professor at MIT. The author embeds observations on human behavior in  these stories. Continue reading “Einstein’s Dreams”

The Time Paradox

the-time-paradox

The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life

by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd

This book is about time perspective.  The authors say that time-balanced people are “more successful in work and career and happier in relationships with family and friends… [and] live more fully in the here and now. Such a person is able to tie the past and the future to the present in meaningful continuity.” Continue reading “The Time Paradox”