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The Case Against Time Management

Ignore the “productivity bros” and find inspiration to reclaim your time and attention, with advice from Jenny Odell, Oliver Burkeman, and more.

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Amy Maoz

Read when you’ve got time to spare.

Image by Nuthawut Somsuk / Getty Images

There’s No Such Thing as Getting Ahead

The idea that we’re running behind unless we’re always running toward the next best thing and our next best self doesn’t just bypass the million ways our time is shaped and spent. It limits our ambition.

Time Management Won’t Save You

Time management promises that if we become more efficient, we can make space to accommodate all of our to-dos. And yet, time management is like digging a hole at the beach: the bigger the hole, the more water rushes in to fill it.

What Is ‘Time Activism’—and Why Do We Desperately Need It?

When did the productive use of time begin to be a measurement of human worth?

You Can’t Control Time, but You Can Change Your Relationship With the Clock

Good time management begins with accepting your mortality. It's not the only step in the process, of course, but according to author Oliver Burkeman, it's an essential element that many a productivity-minded or optimization-inclined individual often forgets.

What If Instead of Trying to Manage Your Time, You Set It Free?

“I’m really trying to work against an instrumental view of time,” says Jenny Odell, who is 37, “where it’s either something that is going to help you or hurt you.”

BONUS READ: What Even Is Time? An Explainer

Our perception of time is changing constantly. Here’s why—and how to harness the power for good.

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