Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

Oliver Burkeman, the Guardian self-help columnist and author of the The Antidote, draws on the insights of ancient and contemporary philosophers and spiritual teachers in this entertaining and gently profound book that calls on the reader to accept that life is inherently short, and that we must learn to prioritise what is most important to us.

Oliver Burkeman previously spoke to Five Books about the best self-help books of 2020 and 2019.

Recommendations from our site

“I love this book so much. He’s an amazing writer. He was the productivity guru for The Guardian, so every single week he would try out a different productivity hack. He was obviously someone who was quite obsessed with productivity—but realised that ‘inbox zero,’ smashing deadlines, so that you can produce more and more is a trap. This book is all about his realisation that it’s all a bit of a scam: there is no finish line, no trophy for doing the to-do list every day.” Read more...

The Best Self Help Books of 2021

Emma Gannon, Journalist

“It’s a book about what we do with our limited time on Earth, how we decide to prioritise and proportion our time. To that extent it’s a book of ethics in the face of inevitable death. It’s a combination of sometimes witty, sometimes terrifying exploration of the human condition, and at the same time an antidote to those time management books that tell you how you can maximise your productivity, taking on more and more tasks and completing them efficiently.” Read more...

The Best Philosophy Books of 2021

Nigel Warburton, Philosopher