What will you do with 4000 weeks?
Let me start with a confession: I enjoy going to the office during some weekends. Nobody is around, so it is peaceful and quiet. I have access to a comfortable desk with a big screen. And there is free coffee (not the best, but of acceptable quality). The relaxed atmosphere allows me to focus on my work, which mainly involves writing blog posts for my Avian Hybrids website. Moreover, I create a physical separation between work (at the office) and life (at home and elsewhere). It might sound counterintuitive, but weekends at the office lead to a good work-life balance.
Occasionally, I run into a colleague at the office during the weekend. We then apologetically mumble the reasons why we are at the office in the weekend. But why should we apologize? We are all grown-ups that can make their own decisions. Right?
Societal Pressure
The taboo of working on the weekends can be traced back to societal pressures. At some point, we decided that the week should be divided into five working days and a two-day weekend (see this Wikipedia-page for a historical overview). Deviating from this societal structure often leads to disapproving looks and questions about work-life balance.
These reactions to weekend-work are part of a larger issue: societal pressure to do or achieve certain things. Apparently, we should all get married and have children. We should all go on exciting and adventurous holidays. And don’t forget to share all the highlights of your life on social media (see figure below).
Similar external pressures are also present in academia where you are expected to follow the classic career path from PhD to postdoc to tenure track. Once in the tenure track rat race, you have to supervise a certain number of PhD candidates, publish countless papers in high-impact journals, and develop engaging education.
Four Thousand Weeks
With all these external pressures from society, people try to do as many things as possible. We are constantly busy. Running from one meeting to the next. Joining social events with people we don’t really like. And posting our achievements and “happy” moments on social media. We never take the time to slow down, reflect and enjoy the present moment.
Recently, I read the book “Four Thousands Weeks: Time Management for Mortals” by Oliver Burkeman. The title refers to the approximate number of weeks in a life of 80 years (52 weeks x 80 years). When you realize that you only have four thousands weeks, you look at time management in a different way. It is impossible to do and experience everything. Instead, you need to make choices. Focus on a few things that really matter to you.
You Do You
Over the years, I have learned to ignore societal pressures and do my own thing. I decided not to enter the tenure track system but to focus on education (which I really enjoy). I realized that I don’t enjoy long holidays. I prefer to spend some time with my family in Belgium. And I don’t need to have every weekend filled with “exciting” social events or “life-changing” experiences. I prefer to read books and write blog posts during some weekends.
Of course, everyone is different. You will most likely make other decisions on how to spend your four thousand weeks. But do take a minute to reflect. What are you doing because of societal pressures? And what are you doing because you genuinely enjoy it?
Make sure that in the end you do you.
jente ottenburghs 