Could you be a ‘productivity geek’?
I have recently read the thought-provoking book by Oliver Burkeman: Four Thousand Weeks - Time and How to use it. Here he provides his personal definition, having been a self-confessed ‘productivity geek’:
“You know how some people are passionate about bodybuilding, or fashion, or rock climbing, or poetry? Productivity geeks are passionate about crossing items off their to-do lists. So it’s sort of the same, except infinitely sadder.”
Ouch! Despite the sad realisation that I too must be a ‘productivity geek’, I still loved this book.
It’s easy to read, engaging, and often amusing. It skillfully weaves together the author’s philosophical and personal views along with plenty of practical and pragmatic advice.
In the introduction (In the Long Run, We’re All Dead!) he encourages us to embrace the ‘outrageous brevity’ of our lives. Reminding us that, if we are fortunate to live until 80, we will have a lifespan that lasts for just 4,000 weeks.
I am a book highlighter (another sad confession) and on practically every page there were points I wanted to remember and revisit. For example:
· Recognising that the real problem isn’t that we have a limited amount of time but that we value this time ‘according to its usefulness for some future goal’.
· We have become dominated by the ‘dictatorship of the clock’, under constant pressure to use our limited amount of time in the most productive way.
· The fundamental problem about our attitude towards time is that it often sets up a rigged game in which it’s impossible to ever feel as though we are doing well enough.
· We try to manage time; to take control of it; to feel like we are in command of it; to become masters of it. But the ‘maddening truth about time is…the more you struggle to control it, to make it conform to your agenda, the further it slips from your control.’
I would certainly recommend this as a ‘must-read’ if you are interested in shifting your perspective about how you are using your time.
Highlights are also available in the excellent podcasts:
Chis Evans – How to Wow Episode 42: https://shows.acast.com/chris-evans-how-to-wow/episodes/42-oliver-burkeman
Squiggly Careers Ask the Expert Oliver Burkeman Time: https://www.amazingif.com/listen/time-and-how-to-use-it/).
Happy reading!
