Oliver Burkeman | Time Management for Mortals

Mentally Flexible

My guest today is Oliver Burkeman. Oliver is the author of the New York Times bestseller Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, which is about embracing the finite nature of life and finally getting around to what matters most. He is also the author of The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking and Help!: How to Be Slightly Happier, Slightly More Successful and Get a Bit More Done. For many years Oliver wrote a popular column on psychology for The Guardian called, This Column Will Change Your Life. He currently writes a newsletter called, The Imperfectionist, where he discusses productivity, mortality, and building a meaningful life in an age of distraction. Oliver is also a contributor to Sam Harris’ meditation app, Waking Up.
Some of the topics we explore in this episode include:
- How Oliver’s work overlaps with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Oliver’s background and how it helped him understand what doesn’t work regarding time management
- The idea of paying yourself first with time
- Making our peace with not being able to do everything that matters
- The importance of finding value in experiences themselves
- How our limitations are connected to distraction and impatience
- Oliver’s new book that he is currently writing

—————————————————————————

Oliver’s website: https://www.oliverburkeman.com/

4000 Weeks: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374159122

Twitter: https://twitter.com/oliverburkeman

—————————————————————————

Thank you all for checking out the episode! Here are some ways to help support Mentally Flexible:

You can help cover some of the costs of running the podcast by donating a cup of coffee! www.buymeacoffee.com/mentallyflexible

Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It only takes 30 seconds and plays an important role in being able to get new guests.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentally-flexible/id1539933988

Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentallyflexible/

Check out my song “Glimpse at Truth” that you hear in the intro/outro of every episode: https://tomparkes.bandcamp.com/track/glimpse-at-truth