>>> def duration(seconds): t= [] for dm in (60, 60, 24, 7): seconds, m = divmod(seconds, dm) t.append(m) t.append(seconds) return ', '.join('%d %s' % (num, unit) for num, unit in zip(t[::-1], 'wk d hr min sec'.split()) if num) >>> for seconds in [7259, 86400, 6000000]: print("%7d sec = %s" % (seconds, duration(seconds))) 7259 sec = 2 hr, 59 sec 86400 sec = 1 d 6000000 sec = 9 wk, 6 d, 10 hr, 40 min >>>