Oliver Burkeman is a British journalist and writer based in New York. He is well known not only for his amazing books, but he also wrote a popular weekly column on psychology called “This Column will Change Your Life” which was printed weekly between 2006 and 2020.  

Oliver joins Eric for a third time on the show, and in this episode, they discuss many things, including his new book, “Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals”

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Oliver Burkeman and I Discuss Time Management for Mortals and …

• His book, “Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals”
• How we invest more energy and focus on trying to escape certain feelings
• Finitude and understanding that life is finite
• Time and how we relate to it as something we have and use
• The idea that we are time rather than we have time
• Accepting the truth of your finitude allows you to live more in the present
• Confusing meaningful with extraordinary
• Cosmic insignificance therapy suggests that we reexamine the threshold of what makes a meaningful life
• Our tendency to want to define and measure what is meaningful in life
• How the pursuit of using time well can lead us to live in the future rather than being present
• Asking ourselves if something is expanding or contracting to us
• The modern attention economy and being aware if we are choosing where our attention goes
• How the things that matter most to us can provoke unpleasant emotions that lead to seeking distractions
• The problem isn’t how things are, but rather how we think they should be
• Trying too hard to be present in the moment 
• Accepting the impossibility of complete control 

Oliver Burkeman Links:

Oliver’s Website

Twitter

Oliver’s Posts

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If you enjoyed this conversation with Oliver Burkeman, you might also enjoy these other episodes:

Oliver Burkeman on Modern Time Management (2019)

Oliver Burkeman (2014)

Living Between Worlds with James Hollis