Subourbon Mom

4000 Weeks

I was recently talking to a friend and asked what he was reading.  He said 4,000 Weeks – Time Management For Mortals.  Apparently, it’s a book about the challenge of how best to use our four thousand weeks, the average length of a human life.

So I started thinking – how do I want to spend my remaining weeks? I immediately had visions of world travel, novels and stories I want to write, things I want to buy (and sell). I’m in my 50’s, so my weeks are dwindling.  If I’m lucky I’ve probably got somewhere in the neighborhood of 1300 weeks where most of the big ideas would still be options.  

I will still be working for the next 350 weeks or so, assuming all goes well. There are very few weeks in those 500 for world travel and other big bucket list items.

The pressure is on.

But I would caution that thinking of time in that way could have some unforeseen repercussions:

Creating bucket list goals that may not be attainable or that takes away from current “quality” time being spent in other ways.

Minimizing the value of spending time doing regular-life things.  Doing chores allows you to appreciate the result of those chores. There is satisfaction in accomplishing little goals as well as huge life-changing ones.   

Minimizing the value of being part of someone else’s quality time. If we all have limited weeks, it may be hard to appreciate the value of being part of someone else’s bucket list item or lifetime goal. Walking the dog may not always be the grandiose or high-quality way we’d like to spend our time, but to the dog it means everything.

Instilling unnecessary regrets for “wasting” time in the past.  Regrets over the fact that you spent an entire weekend watching Beavis and Butt-Head are wasted thoughts. Those hours at the very least provide a roadmap for how you might manage your time differently moving forward.

   

But if you still have regrets, think about it this way: what if you did spend that time trekking to New Zealand or climbing mountains or whatever you think is the high-quality way you should have been spending that time? You don’t know if it would have been as amazing as you think it would, or what you might have missed in the interim, or even if the things you define as quality time now would be the same as what was important or vital at that time in your life.   

Forgetting to be grateful for what you have in your day-to-day life. Instead of begrudging the fact that you have to spend half your Saturday going to the dump, picking up laundry and grocery shopping, consider the fact that there are many, many people who would love to be able to do those things, if only they had a car, or the funds, or didn’t have a disability or other circumstance preventing them from doing so. Instead, take a second and appreciate that you are able to do those things at all.

It’s always a good thing to stop and check your roadmap.  Make sure you’re still heading in the direction you want to go and that you’re on track to hit your goals before you run out of gas.

Just don’t forget to look out the window.   

And for God’s sake stop spending your time reading books about how to spend your time. Read something you truly enjoy.

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