(1 minute read)
Time feels like an unstoppable conveyor belt, bringing us new tasks as fast as we can dispatch old ones.
EDWARD T. HALL
While many advocate for the tried-and-tested ‘hacks’ and time management strategies which can help bring us closer to closure on many of our incomplete projects, there is an underlying reality that there will always be new tasks to replace the old.
Indeed, author Oliver Burkeman recently claimed, “becoming more productive just seems to speed up the same conveyor belt.”
It’s a stark reality that each commitment we make requires us to defer any other possible use of our time for that period or event. Burkeman believes that our obsession with productivity ‘hacks’ is because it allows us to avoid facing reality and keeps alive the illusion that we are limitless and can do all things! However, keeping this illusion alive comes at a cost. We may never truly decide what matters (most) to us or have clarity on the type of life we’d like to live.
In accepting that we may never get everything done, we can focus on living a life more intentionally
Burkeman goes on to share 3 benefits of adopting a new approach to managing ourselves, and our never-ending task list.
- We can stop trying to get to the end of infinity.
- We can stop investing time and actually spend it.
- By no longer pretending we can do everything, allows us to do something.
(Source: ‘Four Thousand Weeks – Time Management for Mortals’, Oliver Burkeman.)