Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts

Meditations for Mortals

Oliver Burkeman

Cover of Meditations for Mortals
Meditations for Mortals
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Meditations for Mortals

Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts

Portrait of Oliver Burkeman
Written byOliver Burkeman

A four-week guide to what Burkeman calls “imperfectionism”. Instead of waiting until everything is under control, he suggests accepting your limits and doing what matters now.

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  • Published2024
  • GenreSelf-improvement
  • Key ideas5
  • Summary1 min read

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  1. 01You'll never get on top of everything

    There's always more to do than time allows. Accepting that is a relief, not a defeat.

  2. 02Don't wait for the perfect moment

    The day when everything else is “out of the way” never comes. Start the meaningful thing now.

  3. 03Take imperfect action

    Doing something small and messy beats planning something perfect.

  4. 04Treat your list as a menu

    A to-do list can be a set of options to choose from, not a pile of debts.

  5. 05Show up

    Being present for your life matters more than optimising it.

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You'll never get on top of everything

There's always more to do than time allows. Accepting that is a relief, not a defeat. Pick one small way to put this into practice before tonight.

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“A life spent chasing the mythical state of being able to do everything is less meaningful than a life of focusing on a few things that count.”

— Oliver Burkeman

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Photos via Wikimedia Commons — Oliver Burkeman: Vera de Kok · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons