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Four thousand weeks

leebyron.com

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Re: Four thousand weeks

#51

Post by minaguib »

localghost3000 wrote: post #3

I’m impressed by the beauty of this site and sophistication of the UI. However I _hate_ this type of messaging that does nothing for you except make your mental health worse. I don’t want to think about how many weeks of life I have left! Inducing existential dread is NOT what any of us need to start living our lives more fully (which I assume is the intent of this site). You wanna zone out on YouTube? Go for it. Tha…

Interesting opinion.

I was mentioning the 4000 weeks idea to a friend and how I found it interesting and thought-provoking, and their reaction was quite the opposite as it was way too dark for them.

I wonder if this idea highlights some fairly clear differences in people's personalities and mental models (at least, at the time and place in their life they're evaluating it).

Re: Four thousand weeks

#52

Post by PheonixPharts »

localghost3000 wrote: post #3

I’m impressed by the beauty of this site and sophistication of the UI. However I _hate_ this type of messaging that does nothing for you except make your mental health worse. I don’t want to think about how many weeks of life I have left! Inducing existential dread is NOT what any of us need to start living our lives more fully (which I assume is the intent of this site). You wanna zone out on YouTube? Go for it. Tha…

> Inducing existential dread is NOT what any of us need to start living our lives more fully

I’ve found, as I watch friends and family age, that learning to confront and work with this dread is essential to living life fully. Especially as decline and decay start to dominate aspects of your life more and more.

The people that I know that are uncomfortable talking about these topics progressively live in a world of fear and doubt as they age. The others, become increasingly resilient.

Arguably the single act that defines maturity is facing this dread and learning to accept and exist with it.

Until then you are living a half life, only dealing with the part of existence you find comfortable, but so much of who we are as individuals is defined by this other aspect of being.

Re: Four thousand weeks

#53

Post by skytrue »

localghost3000 wrote: post #18
FearlessNebula wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tbh I don’t think you understood the goal of this post. The idea, to me, is to remind the reader of how precious life is, and to be mindful of how you’re spending it. Whether you think about it or try to ignore it, time is ticking by at the same speed. I’m only 25 but I’ve wasted way too much time on Reddit, YouTube, and even HN, in my opinion. > As with all things, moderation. Sure, but in my anecdotal experience th…

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 spendin…

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.

Re: Four thousand weeks

#54

Post by Thorentis »

eyelidlessness wrote: post #42
Waterluvian wrote: post #10

Having kids saved me. You can’t procrastinate on raising kids. There are no sick days. I’ve never been more active in my life. Today I spent an hour running around avoiding lava at a playground. Before kids I’d of spent all that time and a lot more playing World of Warcraft, I believe.

Having a pup and embracing her as my kid feels similar. I know it’s not the same, but I sincerely think that waking up every day putting my pup first is the best thing I’ve ever lived for. Everything else is just icing I have more reason to enjoy.

A sad indictment on modern society that this paragraph is able to be written.

Re: Four thousand weeks

#55

Post by uxp100 »

tayo42 wrote: post #24
nextos wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the book have any good insights? From reviews, I kind of perceived it's only about limiting work in progress and adopting a more slow and human approach to things. I feel these insights were already brought by many industrial production methodologies, e.g. Toyota, in a more rational and less newage-y package. Am I missing something?

Its from the perspective of someone who was obsessed with productivity porn coming to terms with the idea that none of that will ever actually work. He addresses why he thinks that and supports it with different ideas. I don't think anything is new, but he takes disjointed ideas and kind of puts it all together from his perspective. I thought it was interesting and it was a quick read.

I think this is a good description. What I missed from some other comments on HN that were complementary to the book is how personal it is. I think people who are already familiar with Oliver would enjoy it best.

Some sections were so specific to a certain type of guy, but phrased as if everyone will relate to it. I still liked it overall, but it really is for "productivity porn" strivers with a certain background. I mean, I go on HN, I'm familiar with GTD and pomodoro, I'm anxious about my own achievement, I kinda thought I was that guy. But after reading 4000 weeks, I could be like, ok, wow, uh, interesting things to chew on, but these are not really my problems.

(And I am still baffled by the idea that people would look down on you for having hobbies. Is this a British thing? Do I have to ascend a social sphere to get this? Because if I am chatting with some pals, let's say could be a few other engineers, miscellaneous office workers, various retail, service and trades, well... what is going to come up? bowling, maybe model kits, horror movies, booze? Are we going to discourse seriously about public affairs? Maybe someone thinks my motor controller firmware I worked on that day is cool, but I don't really want to talk about it)

Re: Four thousand weeks

#56

Post by infamousclyde »

Thorentis wrote: post #54
eyelidlessness wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having a pup and embracing her as my kid feels similar. I know it’s not the same, but I sincerely think that waking up every day putting my pup first is the best thing I’ve ever lived for. Everything else is just icing I have more reason to enjoy.

A sad indictment on modern society that this paragraph is able to be written.

Why did you find the parent comment sad? I'm not sure I understand your sentiment.

Re: Four thousand weeks

#57

Post by ip26 »

mateo- wrote: post #6
localghost3000 wrote: post #3

I’m impressed by the beauty of this site and sophistication of the UI. However I _hate_ this type of messaging that does nothing for you except make your mental health worse. I don’t want to think about how many weeks of life I have left! Inducing existential dread is NOT what any of us need to start living our lives more fully (which I assume is the intent of this site). You wanna zone out on YouTube? Go for it. Tha…

I think it's more of the stoic "memento mori" intention. Make sure your time is well spent.

But what counts as well spent? That’s always my biggest stumbling block with this topic.

Re: Four thousand weeks

#58

Post by Waterluvian »

eyelidlessness wrote: post #42
Waterluvian wrote: post #10

Having kids saved me. You can’t procrastinate on raising kids. There are no sick days. I’ve never been more active in my life. Today I spent an hour running around avoiding lava at a playground. Before kids I’d of spent all that time and a lot more playing World of Warcraft, I believe.

Having a pup and embracing her as my kid feels similar. I know it’s not the same, but I sincerely think that waking up every day putting my pup first is the best thing I’ve ever lived for. Everything else is just icing I have more reason to enjoy.

This is so wonderful to hear. I’m so many ways a puppers is like a toddler. You can’t take days off. You can’t decide to just put it off for a while or skip the walk when the weather is poor.

Re: Four thousand weeks

#59

Post by ojbyrne »

antman wrote: post #35
localghost3000 wrote: post #3

I’m impressed by the beauty of this site and sophistication of the UI. However I _hate_ this type of messaging that does nothing for you except make your mental health worse. I don’t want to think about how many weeks of life I have left! Inducing existential dread is NOT what any of us need to start living our lives more fully (which I assume is the intent of this site). You wanna zone out on YouTube? Go for it. Tha…

Regarding the sophisticated ui, how do you change the year?

There’s an arrow right next to January 2023 in the date selector.

Re: Four thousand weeks

#60

Post by lakeshastina »

There are a few ways people take such a message - yes, life is precious, be conscious of what we invest our time in. This part makes sense.

Yet, it is worth asking, what makes for a meaning life? What makes the 4000 weeks worth it? For some, they chase wealth, power, career success, get one's name recognized, etc - these are milestones to be achieved. Things to accomplish.

Others will say, such accomplishments are not the purpose, let us accumulate as many meaningful experiences as possible. So do things like travel the world, and so on.

But it is worth reflecting, a few years from now, what really is the difference between a dream you had a few days ago, compared with an experience from, say 10 years ago? The difference is very little. Our memories are fuzzy, and to chase experiences will also likely leave us feeling unfulfilled.

Human relationships are also similarly shallow, even if we seek social connection, the odds of it being reciprocated in the manner we value, or of it lasting when we need it, is low.

So what's my point? The point is, whatever pursuits we undertake with the belief out there that something that I accomplish, accumulate or experience will bring me happiness and fulfillment is a futile endeavor.

Instead, if we can function from a state of feeling content as we live each day, whatever the circumstances, then what we do during the lifespan given to us matters little. However long or short, the inner contentment makes it meaningful.

Sorry for the long response, but wanted to share how I look upon this topic.

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