How to Use Your 4,000 Weeks with Oliver Burkeman - Ep 116

Oliver Burkeman is the author of the new book, 4,000 Weeks: Time Managment for Mortals, which Adam Grant calls “The most important book ever written about time management.”  In it, Oliver argues that using your life (4,000 weeks = about 80 years) most meaningfully requires abandoning the illusion that we can—or should try to—get everything done. And that the attempt to do so just leaves us miserable and isolated. So indeed, one of the keys to productivity is deciding what to ignore.  Further, Oliver reckons, when you put your existence into the context of the enormity of the universe, you realize that many of our “plans” are just distractions from the knowledge that we will all eventually be dead and won’t be remembered for terribly long. So why shouldn’t we just spend our days taking hikes and cooking for our children? Hey, that’s not a bad question.  I am a big fan of Oliver’s deeply-informed, highly-thoughtful, and quite funny writing. On his first Crazy Money appearance, we discussed his book, The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking in which he lays out an equally counter-intuitive (well, counter-narrative anyway) that being happy starts with lowering your expectations. And that he argues leaves us with a reasonable expectation of where we actually derive meaning in our lives.  In addition to his books, Oliver wrote the "This Column Will Change Your Life" column for The Guardianfor about 14 years.  Sign up for Oliver’s newsletter here. Listen to Monty Python’s The Galaxy Songhere. Listen to Oliver’s first Crazy Money appearance here.  Click HERE to ✍️ RATE / REVIEW Crazy Money! CONNECT WITH PAUL: 📸 Instagram: >> https://www.instagram.com/crazymoneypodcast/ >> E-mail Paul 🌍 Facebook (Crazy Money Listeners Group): >> https://www.facebook.com/groups/446049973036596 About Crazy Money: Unlike traditional personal finance shows, Crazy Money is not about how to make a million bucks, how to beat the stock market, or how to save money by switching credit cards. It is about deciding what role we want money to play in our lives and how we can use it to be our best selves. Topics covered include: philosophy, happiness, contentment, meaning, dreams, purpose, success, society, mental health, Buddhism, Stoicism, the hedonic treadmill, morality, mid-life crisis, business, work, careers, authors, books, consumerism, values, capitalism, economics, investing, saving, spending, personal finance, charity, philanthropy, altruism, affluence, wealth management, culture, society, status, ambition, accomplishment, perfectionism.  Please stop reading and have a great day. Paul loves you. Get full access to Reasonably Happy at words.paulollinger.com/subscribe