4,000 Ideas: Chapter 1 of Four Thousand Weeks

🐌 ⏳ 🐌 ⏳ 🐌 ⏳ 🐌 ⏳

Do you ever have an idea for a book and then immediately jump to signing copies and winning awards? I’ve even had that feeling with projects that don’t have any public component. I have an idea. I’m excited about it. But instead of enjoying the process, I immediately feel like I should already be done with it, even though that makes no sense. We all probably feel the temptation to rush to the end and add unnecessary stress by adding a false sense of urgency to a project.

Eigenzeit

In Chapter One of Four Thousand Weeks, Burkeman mentions eigenzeit, the German idea that there is a certain amount of time inherent to a process, whether that’s writing a book or raising a child. There is no rushing the process, and trying to be efficient is not really the point. As Burkeman says, “meaningful productivity often comes not from hurrying things up but from letting them take the time they take.”

Flow

Burkeman also references the idea of “deep time” in this chapter, which sounds similar to Csikszentmihalyi’s term “flow,” but is a little more neutral. Flow is always pleasant and energizing right? Or maybe it’s more subtle than that. In a recent newsletter, Ingrid Fetell Lee said, “Flow doesn’t resist difficulty, nor does it succumb to it. It smooths the hard edges, looks for paths of least resistance, channeling turbulent energy toward vitality and creation.”

Deep Time

In contrast, I think “deep time” can apply to anything where you’re not sure how much time has passed and pushing to meet milestones isn’t possible. It sounds more cyclical than linear. I imagine deep time being sort of like “deep air.” When you’re in it, you’re not aware that you’re breathing it. You just accept it as part of your world. For thousands of years, deep time was the norm. No one thought about calendars or clocks, because they didn’t exist. There was no way to “fit more into the day.”

We can still experience deep time today, whether it’s getting up every few hours to care for a newborn, tending to a garden and watching it evolve over the years, or publishing a book. (Have I mentioned publishing is SLOW? It can take YEARS just to write a book, and then several more to sell and publish it.)

Whatever your creative practice looks like…

Eigenzeit, flow, and deep time are essential parts of living a creative life.

The central truth of Burkeman’s work is that our time is limited. One thing I appreciate is that he doesn’t pretend accepting this hard truth leads to enlightenment or peace. He is clear that, “Time pressure comes largely from forces outside ourselves; from a cut-throat economy; from the loss of the social safety nets and family networks that used to help ease the burdens of work and childcare; and from the sexist expectation that women must excel in their careers while assuming most of the responsibilities at home.” But being clear eyed about whether it’s possible to be efficient, rush, multitask, or otherwise “manage time” in some way is still helpful, even if we aren’t always able to shake off the external pressures that tell us it is possible. Because “so long as you continue to respond to impossible demands on your time by trying to persuade yourself that you might one day find some way to do the impossible, you’re implicitly collaborating with those demands.”

In other words, slowing down is an act of resistance—and it might be the best way to create something meaningful.

---

Journal Prompts and Discussion Questions

• Does your creative work involve real deadlines or do you give yourself deadlines? Do deadlines help you make progress or add pressure?

• Do you rush to finish your creative projects or have you found a way to let your projects “take the time they take?”

• Where do you feel the most time pressure from? How do you shake off those demands?

• When do you experience deep time? Do creative moments help you find flow? Do you lose track of time during those moments?

• Which concept appeals to you most? Eigenzeit, deep time, or flow? How can you bring more of this energy to your creative work?

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

See you in the comments section!

PS

This is the second post in 4,000 Ideas: The Oliver Burkeman Book Club for Creatives. It’s free to everyone, but the other posts in this series will be exclusive to paid subscribers. If you enjoyed this post, please consider upgrading to paid so you can join us for more juicy discussions. And if you’re already a member of 4,000 Ideas, forward this post on to a friend. OB fans unite!

---

Nebula Notebook is a place to meet kindred spirits, get inspired, and learn how to find ease and joy in the creative process—even when life is bananas. 🍌🍌🍌

---

✏️ PS—The fastest way to grow as a writer is to book a manuscript critique or a creative coaching session with an expert. My clients get agents, sell books, and win awards. They also learn how to enjoy the creative process, so they can keep going when life gets hard. 👏