Meditations for Mortals
Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts
by Oliver Burkeman
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Pub Date Oct 08 2024 | Archive Date Nov 08 2024
Description
A map for a liberating journey toward a more meaningful life—a journey that begins where we actually find ourselves, not with a fantasy of where we’d like to be—from the New York Times bestselling author of Four Thousand Weeks
Addressing the fundamental questions about how to live, Meditations for Mortals offers a powerful new way to take action on what counts: a guiding philosophy of life Oliver Burkeman calls “imperfectionism.” It helps us tackle challenges as they crop up in our daily lives: our finite time, the lure of distraction, the impossibility of doing anything perfectly.
How can we embrace our nonnegotiable limitations? Or make good decisions when there’s always too much to do? How do we shed the illusion that life will really begin as soon as we can “get on top of everything”? Reflecting on quotations drawn from philosophy, religion, literature, psychology, and self-help, Burkeman explores a combination of practical tools and daily shifts in perspective. The result is a life-enhancing and surprising challenge to much familiar advice—and a profound yet entertaining crash course in living more fully.
To be read either as a four-week “retreat of the mind” or devoured in one or two sittings, Meditations for Mortals will be a source of solace and inspiration, and an aid to a saner, freer, and more enchantment-filled life. In anxiety-inducing times, it is rich in truths we have never needed more.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
“Meditations for Mortals offers a bracing and refreshing antidote for what ails high achievers. With crackling wit and counterintuitive wisdom, [Oliver] Burkeman shows that it’s okay—and often smarter—to do less, let some goals slide, and embrace our imperfections. This book is both a comfort and a challenge—exactly what our trying times demand.” —Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Regret
“More than a book of ideas, Meditations for Mortals offers a practical path toward personal transformation—one that helps you sidestep the shallow allure of frenetic busyness and find a liberating joy in the limits and imperfections of life. A must-read.” —Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author of Slow Productivity and Deep Work
“I follow Oliver Burkeman's personal, literary, and journalistic adventures into wisdom with admiration and exhilaration. Now he brings us a ‘retreat of the mind’ in a very special book. We should all read this, preferably in the company of others—for the sake of our aching world as well as the state of our souls.” —Krista Tippett, host of On Being
“Oliver Burkeman has a way of giving you the most unexpected productivity advice exactly when you need it.” —Mark Manson, bestselling author of Everything is F*cked and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
"Full of wisdom and comfort. I enjoyed every page and read it in a single sitting. This is a really important book about embracing truth and reality." —Chris van Tulleken, New York Times bestselling author of Ultra-Processed People
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780374611996 |
| PRICE | $27.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 208 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Reviewer 965833
“Meditations for Mortals” by Oliver Burkeman is the kind of talking-to many of us (well, I) need. No, you can’t do it all/be it all/have it all — get over yourself. Life is finite, so instead of being busy for the sake of busyness, slow down and think about what you actually want and need. Perhaps let go of some old goals, do less, and stop trying to be perfect. The book is laid out in an essay-a-day format, and each offers practical tools and ways to think about productivity, decision-making, and embracing our limitations, all on the way to living the life we really want.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Jessica P, Reviewer
In four thousand weeks, Oliver Burkeman told us that life is finite and that since we’re all going to die at some point, we should stop trying so hard to be productive. Yeah he’s optimistic like that. Meditation for mortals is the perfect companion to that book. Here Oliver expends on the idea that in the grand scheme of things, stuff that we think is so incredibly important is probably not in reality.
I love the format of this book (and I really want a physical copy now, so that I can keep it on my bedside table), there’s a chapter for every day and it’s like a course that lasts a month. A course that will teach you to do less, which is not something we see that often.
That book was obviously written for me and all the people pleaser perfectionists of the world (spoiler : trying to do it all won’t make us happier) and while I don’t see how to make my brain believe it’s a good idea, there are a few things that I really want to start doing : treat your to do list as a menu, treat your to read list as a river not a bucket, work on caring less about others (people you know and what people are doing around the world), learn to let distraction happens and stop trying to plan every single minute of your day (this one hits hard).
Also the author mentions Studio 60 (the tv show) to illustrate a point which makes it a fantastic book : everyone should watch that show.
Charles D, Reviewer
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.
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