As a philosophical read about our perception of time and how we spend it, this is a very good book. As a practical read for embracing and living with the book's stoic worldview, where time is fleeting and we will do very few things in our life, little guidance is provided. There's good philosophical discussion about time and how we use it. There's good advice on how to prioritize what's important to us. But I guess my main irk was that so many of these passages are drenched in nihilism. I genuinely couldn't tell if the author thought that our more "meaningful" lives amounted to anything worthwhile, or if he felt that life was completely devoid of any meaning. So I recommend this, but be in the right headspace for it.

Burkeman skips the block scheduling and singletasking to remind us that we're all dead soon and should settle on a few things to focus on what's important. He's already been through a history of over-optimization and hyper-productivity, and has come to the apparent realization that none of it matters. Our need to feel more and more productive leaves us living in an existential and anxious state. The more we're able to confront our finitude (and uselessness?), "the more productive, meaningful, and joyful life becomes". I liked his different ways of putting time in perspective, like how the Renaissance was six (centenarian) lifetimes ago. Some related topics covered were procrastination, prioritization, and patience.