Oliver Burkeman is my favorite self-help writer. The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking and Four Thousand Weeks are favorites in the personal development category. Probably because Burkeman doesn't really try to change you, he suggests subtle shifts in perspective which help you enjoy the life you already live. Meditations for Mortals is BRILLIANT. Once again, Burkeman is suggesting that the key to living the life you want is to embrace the life you have. Yes, there are some tweaks here and there which might prove helpful. Find what works for you. There is no quick fix, mostly because there is no fixing. This is not a guidebook so much as one human sharing their life with vulnerable honesty and offering to take your hand and invite you into your own story. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC.

I love and believe in this book so much that I will be reading it again in January with anyone who wants to join me. If you know me well-enough to have my number, text me and I'll add you to the group chat. I don't plan on having a daily in-person check-in but do think it will be helpful - and fun - to talk about what we agree with, don't agree with, what seems obvious, what we find challenging. Hopefully we can encourage each other to more fully appreciate the life we have. Looking forward to starting the new year with a new perspective!

NetGalley Review

I’m finding that a lot of meditation books are all the same and genuinely lack what I’d want in them. Western books profiting off eastern beliefs,

I must state that my review will be biased because I like Oliver Burkeman. His prior book about time management was both a confrontation and a comfort to me and this book is no different. I was confronted with the ways I have gone about situations, whether in a healthy or non-healthy way, but was comforted by the reassurance that it is all part of the process. This book was so helpful in understanding that imperfections are not something to be ashamed of, but to be embraced, much like the Japanese saying of wabi-sabi. As a recovering perfectionist, who still insists they have the time and energy of a young undergrad, and lack of responsibilities, to achieve everything, this book was a great comfort to the working-adult limitations I must acknowledge are hindering me from being young again, and that's okay; it doesn't make me any less or more.

I found this book an incredibly insightful reminder of how we fail to choose what is important to us in life as well as wise and convincingly phrased permissions to seek those things whenever possible. I often spend too much time in my head planning and doing whatever I think I should be doing rather than doing what I truly want to do. While a certain amount of this is necessary, the vast majority of it is not. Life is short, we are never in control, and we must chase joy whenever possible. While this seems obvious, humans have evolved to ignore those things quite a bit of the time, and society imposes norms that don't support them. This is not a prescriptive self-help book, but rather a gentle philosophical guide about how to approach personally realigning daily priorities and enjoying each day to the fullest. I highly recommend this book for anyone who feels they lose their way occasionally, and who doesn't? My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing me with a ARC of this book.

Prior to reading this book, I found myself inundated with various life happenings that I agonized over when the looming "deadline" approached for writing this advanced reader review. I shouldn't be going through this much turmoil over a silly, short (and uncompensated) review. The book's not that long, nothing compared to a fictional novel at least. I know this writer's style, nothing overly academic or pedantic, simple enough to get through. Why was I stressing myself over this?

It is in this mindset that I start my read only a few days before publication date. And what a read. I can't say that it completely eradicated my general anxiety in life, but it gave me some perspective with which I can ease my (totally self-inflicted suffering). Burkeman splashes a fresh coat of paint on classic philosophical viewpoints, well-packaged and well-adjusted for our modern, information bloated, hyper speed, consumerist era. The secret step by step system to taking control of your life, which I will spoil for you here, is that there is no such system at all. The limitations of human beings are such that total control is an impossible dream. When you're ready to confront it, here's a book to help you get there.

Burkeman asks: Time is finite, so what does it mean to live? This was great to read in short bits at a time.

That subtitle hooked me – Four weeks to embrace your limitations and make time for what counts.

And to be sure, the book does have an enticing layout, 28 daily meditations, manageable, bite-size philosophies to contemplate.

If Henry David Thoreau wrote this, I would have enjoyed it because we are both transcendentalists; we both share the same values. However, I don’t subscribe to the author’s philosophies.

Meditations for Mortals primarily doles out glib advice. For example, one meditation involves minding our own business.

But the world should be more loving. For example, my first job was working at Sears as a cashier. At this store, you could leave immediately after closing time if your cash registers were counted. However, an unlucky cashier might have a late customer and get stuck. This wasn’t a policy or a corporate mandate, but we would always ask the remaining cashier, “Can I do anything to help? Can I take your trash?”

This. This right here is what the world needs more of. Less judgment and more love.

I love the way Oliver Burkeman explains things and helps to shift my perspective. There were so many moments that I found myself nodding along and realizing that I was guilty of so many things that were wasting my finite time. This book was about so much more than just meditation, it's about taking back control of your time and focusing on things that are really important to you.

The book is divided into four different sections: Being Finite, Taking Action, Letting Go, and Showing Up. Each section has seven different days, so it's perfect to read and digest a little bit at a time. Both my husband and I read it at the same time and then spent a few minutes discussing it each morning over coffee. There is a lot of great information in the book and worth reading if you're looking to reclaim some of the dead weight and time suckers.

Thanks for Net Galley and the publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another success from Oliver Burkeman. I belong to a translator coaching group and recommended this book to my peers before even having finished. There is no magic process whereby you get to be in full control of your life and career. Burkeman has read widely on the subject of finitude and consolidates some great ideas from psychology, religion and other fields around his theme. This is self-help for smart people who know there's no silver bullet for mastering one's time. You can do incrementally better and accept that that's it.

I found this book very wordy, preachy, & hard to wade through. Not very helpful. #MeditationsforMortals #NetGalley

In MEDITATIONS FOR MORTALS, Oliver Burkeman, the author of FOUR THOUSAND WEEKS: TIME MANAGEMENT FOR MORTALS and the instructor of the BBC MAESTRO class on time management, provides guidance on how to make the most of one’s finite life.

The book, which includes an introduction and an epilogue, is broken down into 28 days and each week has a focus, i.e. Being Finite, Taking Action, Letting Go, and Showing Up. The structure gives the reader ample time to digest the information and decide how best to apply it. In the introduction, Burkeman states that his intention is for the book to be a kind of mental retreat, which can occur alongside regular life. The bite-sized chapters facilitate his intention. Each chapter begins with a quote which sets the tone.

This book is great to dive into anytime, but it may be especially great for when motivation is high, like at the beginning of a month, quarter, or year to take advantage of the 28-day structure.

While there’s a ton of new stuff, there’s a touch of overlap (for example embracing finitude) with some material from this other books, his newsletter, and his Maestro class, but I appreciated the refresher as well as all the new insight this book provides.

The book is great for anyone who wants to work on becoming more present and focusing on the things that matter and for people who wish to create art or write but perfectionism is holding them back from finishing projects. As a big fan of Burkeman’s philosophy and teaching style, I highly recommend this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love this book. I've thought about it at least once a day and reread portions several times. Burkeman makes excellent points for how to live a finite mortal life in our busy world.


Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

As a writer and thinker, Oliver Burkeman has carved out the intersection of two hugely popular genres, those of mindfulness and productivity. One would think these are contradictory: mindfulness being about presence in the moment, and productivity being about squeezing the most work out of the moment, yet I suspect that Burkeman and I are not the only inhabitants in that intersection. Most of us attempting to be productive also face questions of meaning and purpose that are best answered by mindful contemplation.

Burkeman's previous book *4000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals*, was a masterpiece. Burkeman identified the unique problem of being productive in a lifetime of finite duration, about how one can find purpose and meaning and live a productive life. I read the book multiple times, gave copies to my management team, and recommended it to everyone who would listen.

Burkeman has expanded and developed his ideas since *4000 Weeks*. His newsletter [The Imperfectionist](https://www.oliverburkeman.com/the-imperfectionist) is a regular meditation on these themes. I've also encountered his audio recordings on Sam Harris' [Waking Up](https://www.wakingup.com/) meditation app, where he explores similar territory.

In *Meditations for Mortals*, Burkeman continues his thoughts on how one lives a meaningful life in a busy world that pushes one to produce and consume. The book is developed into 28 chapters, and Burkeman intends for readers to read one chapter per day, making it roughly a month-long "meditation" retreat.
One is tempted to quibble with the title. Nothing in the book rises to the level of actual meditation, but it certainly does concern contemplation and mindfulness, and maybe that's Burkeman's point: mortals, those of us who are neither lamas nor arahats, can't drop everything to join 90-day rains retreats, and often struggle to fit in even 15 minutes of meditation in our busy days. We mortals must live in a world of daily carpools and stand-up meetings, and must define mindfulness in a way that brings meaning to this quotidian existence.

*Meditations for Mortals* is largely successful in this aim. Readers of *4000 Weeks* or *The Imperfectionist* will find similar territory explored here: we must use the mindfulness we have here and now, awaken as imperfect beings in an imperfect world, rather than continue to slog unaware through a distracted life. If this book doesn't have the impact of *4000 Weeks*, it is only because *4000 Weeks*'s focus on [spoiler alert] ones inevitable death after roughly 4000 weeks brought a particular urgency to Burkeman's message. Yet *Meditation for Mortals*'s message is every bit as timely: *what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?*

Fantastic book. I read a galley copy and after reading the introduction, I pre-ordered the hard copy. I have recommended this book to multiple coworkers. It’s not a fix-it-all book and does not pretend to be. It’s just a simple book of 28 days of reading. It’s something I plan to read each year. There’s nothing magical offered in the book but it provides the reader a chance to face (and accept) that our time is running out. There are no general solutions offered because none actually exist and all we are left with is the choice to embrace each moment and do what best serves us. At least that’s what I got from it.

Meditations for Mortals Oliver Burkeman (NetGalley ARC pub date 10/8) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I read this on and off, aiming at first for one chapter a day as suggested but then missing chunks and reading chunks. I am considering purchasing a hard copy as there are sections I’d like to underline or annotate. Despite it being based on some previously published newsletters (to which I subscribe), it was well put together and felt fresh and relevant. I really enjoyed Four Thousand Weeks and similarly enjoyed this book and the change up in format into bite sized concepts.

A pleasant "self-help" book that proclaims it isn't a self-help book. There's not much new here but the author's voice is kindly. With this segment of the market so glutted, this title does not stand out particularly. It isn't a bad book; it is simply not treading any new ground.

Time management books tend to miss the mark but this book was doable and manageable. I found the info to be helpful, encouraging and simple. I will be revisiting this book again and again.

There are few people out there today whose words on time management resonate with me more than Oliver Burkeman. In an age when everyone is sharing tips, tricks, and hacks to do more, and be more productive, Burkeman-rightfully-goes in the complete opposite direction. Pointing out, that not only do these hacks not make us more productive, but actually further entrench us in the endless hamster wheel of productivity that ultimately leads nowhere.

This book offers a refreshing counterpoint to our culture's relentless drive for productivity and control. Instead of constantly trying to figure everything out, Burkeman suggests embracing our limitations and finding meaning in life’s inherent unpredictability. He argues that the chaos and lack of control we often resist are not problems to be solved but fundamental parts of the human experience.

One of the book’s standout concepts that I find is Burkeman’s take on creativity and control. He proposes that focusing less on perfection and more on simply producing can lead to unexpected insights and breakthroughs. By removing the pressure to always get things right, we create more freely and unlock new creative potential.

Fans of Burkeman's previous work, Four Thousand Weeks, will recognize his writing style that uses parenthetical dashes a lot.

A new book by the author of Four Thousand Weeks, one of my favourite non-fiction books of the last few years? Sign me up. Fortunately, this was also great – not quite as excellent (the nature of the book was less focused and more scattered than Four Thousand Weeks), but still well worth reading. Short, snappy, and full of wisdom. Favourite chapter titles include:

- On staying sane when the world's a mess
- On the futility of 'becoming a better person'
- Imperfectly onward

Very much looking forward to recommending this to other readers this autumn. Many thanks to the publisher for the ARC.