[localghost3000]

I’m 45. Wife. Kid. The works. Painfully aware of how precious life is. 20 years ago when I was your age (which btw feels like only a few years ago…) this type of content resonated a lot more with me. I assume it was because the concept of aging was still pretty abstract. Now I’m in the shit so to speak.

My point is that I’ve seen a million of these. Hell I’ve read 4K weeks! You’ll get no argument from me that spending your time wisely is important but try to keep in mind that making the most of Every Second Of The Day is a sure way to make yourself miserable. I should know. I’ve done it. So, the intent of this page might be to inspire, but for a lot of folks it will trigger unnecessary existential panic.

I guess just try to remember the very wise advice from LOTR: “not all who wander are lost.”

[tayo42]

> spending your time wisely is important but try to keep in mind that making the most of Every Second Of The Day is a sure way to make yourself miserable.

That was the whole point of the book though? Stop trying to make the most of every second and do what you think is important.

[localghost3000]

I'm not critiquing the book. I am critiquing the site.

[skytrue]

It’s great you read 4000 Weeks, but as others have mentioned, I’m not sure you gathered the major takeaways. 4000 Weeks is about embracing finitude and accepting that you can’t do everything. The notion is freeing, because once you acknowledge you are finite, you can then make conscious decisions about how you want to spend your time. The intent of the book is to encourage people to choose time wisely, not “fill every day”. It very much has a quality over quantity kind of message. As an ADHD sufferer/chronic procrastinator/perfectionist type, I found it incredibly helpful and freeing to acknowledge that you will never be able to create everything to an unrealistic perfect standard, so instead focus on the things that matter the most to you.

[localghost3000]

> It’s great you read 4000 Weeks, but as others have mentioned, I’m not sure you gathered the major takeaways.

I've commented this many times but I'll say it here again: I am not critiquing the book. I understand its message fine. I am critiquing the site.

[bentcorner]

I'm in the exact same phase of life as you. Same age, mortgage, kids, wife, etc.

Recently I've been feeling distracted at work and unable to commit anything to completion, especially since I've been WFH since you-know-when. It's been a blessing to not have a commute but at the same time demands more of my concentration. At the same time, I have a hard time saying no at work. Throughout the day I tend to flit between tasks, along with starting/stopping work altogether as my mind wanders.

I like the message this article brings. One thing I definitely don't do is think about things I've completed.

I've talked to a counselor about this. They've gotten me to think about being more graceful to myself about my concentration and my work. I don't know if I'm there yet but we'll see.

[didgetmaster]

I don't know if it really matters if you are 20, 40, or 80; we can get caught up in certain traps no matter what our age is. Experience is definitely something we should be able to tap into later in life, but we can be stressed and feeling like we need to do much more than we are capable of even when we are 'old'.

I have a little startup and I keep a 'TODO' list of features to implement, bugs to fix, things to test, documentation to write, etc.. I could stress out because the list never seems to get any shorter. Every time I cross one thing off the list, I think of two more to add. Instead, I try to focus on what I can accomplish that day (or that week) and stop when I have spent a certain amount of time on it.

If I am in an ambitious mood, I might speed many hours tackling a single issue. Other times, I can go a whole week without ever opening up the IDE. That is OK! I have the luxury of not depending on the startup for financial survival. I also realize some others do not share this freedom so I don't criticize them if they feel stress and overwork on their project. I just work at my own pace and try to gain satisfaction on what I am able to accomplish.

I try to apply this technique to other areas of my life as well.

[FearlessNebula]

That’s a good point. Whenever I’ve felt existential dread it’s been soothing to know I can improve myself and live life in a better way. However if you’re already in what you consider to be an ideal state, you don’t have any wiggle room. And with a wife and kids on top, you have others who depend on you and also your own attachment to those people, which makes it all the more difficult to acknowledge that life is finite. All of the above which I haven’t experienced for myself.

[localghost3000]

"Ideal" is pretty far from what I would call my state :) I will however say that I wouldn't go back to any earlier point in my life given the choice. The only thing that I _truly_ miss is the 6 pack abs and being functional on 2 hours sleep.

[ofcourseyoudo]

very strange that you've read "Four Thousand Weeks" but associate it with "making the most of Every Second Of The Day" which is the precise opposite of its philosophy

[localghost3000]

Re-read my comment dude. I'm critiquing the site. Not the book.

[ofcourseyoudo]

The site literally says "Practice Doing Nothing."

[localghost3000]

And has a counter for how many weeks of life you have left.

[nativecoinc]

> I’m 45. Wife. Kid. The works.

Should someone who is 45 years of age who has none of those things perhaps visit that website?

[localghost3000]

I guess that depends. Do you want those things and feel like time is running out to get them? If so, maybe not the best for your mental health.