What To Do with Our 4,000 Weeks?

On learning the freedom of missing out

When it comes to work, I am a “think-of-a-goal, make-a-list, and make-it-happen” kind of person. (Check out my post Short Cycles, Long Game to check out one way I make goals.)

It’s like designing a game, except I get to decide what the milestones and goals are, and what winning means.

But, inevitably, I run into the problem of playing too many games, aka dealing with too many projects.

Everything starts to scream for my attention.

New ideas keep popping up. Ongoing projects keep going. Opportunities spring up. To top it off, life likes to throw me surprises, demanding attention and time.

I want to do it all.

Most of the time, I can handle things alright. But there are times when no amount of meditation or whale soundtracks can fix the overwhelming feelings.

This is where Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals comes in handy.

What’s 4,000 weeks? That’s roughly 77 years, an average human lifespan.

So, the bigger question is, how should we live this incredibly short, blink-of-an-eye life?

Everyone is different, but one thing is for sure:

We can’t do it all.

“Since every real-world choice about how to live entails the loss of countless alternative ways of living, there’s no reason to procrastinate, or to resist making commitments. Loss is a given. That ship has sailed – and what a relief.”

I love this quote from the book. It’s a reminder that while I can definitely make plans, there will always be things I can’t get to, and that’s okay. Forget FOMO. Missing out is actually a gift. This is when I make choices about how I spend my finite time. Hopefully, most of the time, I choose how I spend that time based on what I value. Sometimes, my hands are tied, and I have to make hard choices.

That’s okay.

That is how life works.

It’s the same when I make comics and graphic novels. There are so many visual choices for each panel. What I leave out shapes the story as much as what I put in.

As Elizabeth Gilbert has said, “You need to learn how to start saying no to things you do want to do, with the recognition that you have only one life.”

This year, in between deadlines and obligations, I find myself spending much more quality time with people I love and things I find wholeheartedly enjoyable.

Snippets of life so far this year. Thank you for journeying with me.

I remember listening to a Michelle Obama podcast interview, where she mentioned that she was caring for her aging mother in her last year when her mother said to her one day, “Wow, this went fast.” And when Michelle Obama asked her what went fast, her mother replied, “Life.”

Peaks or troughs, they are all part of this 4,000 weeks voyage.

Happy travels.

I love this photo. It’s taken in 1990, when Voyager 1 took a photo of Earth from deep space (beyond Neptune’s orbital distance). Carl Sagan coined this tiny speck “the pale blue dot.” It’s a reminder to all of us to cherish what we have and to take things in the cosmic perspective.

I am super excited to be working with Joy Peskin at FSG on a middle grade graphic novel series called Furry Tales about cats and dogs and history! I look forward to sharing more with everyone in the future. (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ*

Have you read Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, or similar titles that help you reframe and reflect on life? Share in the comments below.