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If there is a defining diagnosis for our diseased relationship with the modern world, it’s this: we’re making failed attempts to manage our lives based upon a diluted understanding of how time works and what it means to live meaningfully.
This malady—busyness without satisfaction—has reached epidemic proportions.
I can certainly relate. Despite deriving tremendous purpose from my work, my family, and many things outside the strictures of employment, I still find it difficult to simply relax and enjoy this incredible life I’ve built. There’s always more to do than I can possibly get done, which leaves me anxious, distracted, and more prone to lower emotions than my circumstances warrant.
This is confounding. And I’m not alone.
My guest today is Oliver Burkeman, a journalist, author, and the mind behind Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals and his latest book, Meditations for Mortals. As a former columnist for The Guardian, he has written extensively for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and now publishes a twice-monthly newsletter called The Imperfectionist, in which he shares insights on productivity, mortality, the power of limits, and building a meaningful life in an age of bewilderment.
“Time is not some resource that we’ve got to make the most of. All we actually have is the moment that we’re in.”
- OLIVER BURKEMAN
Today, we explore:
- Our Broken Relationship With Time
- Why Productivity Isn’t A Moral Imperative
- The Philosophy of Imperfectionism
- People Pleasing As Narcissism
- The Path From Overwhelm To Agency
The visually inclined can watch it all go down on YouTube. As always, the audio version streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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Peace + Plants,
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Thank The Team: I do not do this alone. Send your love to Jason Camiolo for audio engineering, production, show notes and interstitial music; with additional audio engineering by Cale Curtis and additional music by Moby; Blake Curtis & Dan Drake for video, & editing; graphics by Jessica Miranda & Daniel Solis; portraits by Davy Greenberg, Grayson Wilder & Gizelle Peters; copywriting by Ben Pryor; and theme music by Tyler Piatt, Trapper Piatt & Hari Mathis.
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