Existential Time Management with Oliver Burkeman

In this episode of Minds & Mics, I talk with author and journalist Oliver Burkeman about the problem with shallow time management and how we mere mortals ought to think about managing our time instead.

You can listen to the episode in your podcast player of choice:

Show Notes

Here are some of the highlights from our conversation:

Time management for 4-year-olds
The Narrow vs Ultimate meaning of time management
The importance trap and the temptation to “clear the decks”
Anti-skills, negative capability, and the superpower that is emotional tolerance
The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking
Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic
The relationship between expectations and control
David Cain’s Raptitude
Weirdly modern conceptions of time
Meditation teacher Joseph Goldstein
Are all expectations unhealthy?
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
The case for wasting time and atelic activities
Oliver’s to-do list recommendations
Cal Newport’s Deep Work
James Hollis’ Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life
Susan Jeffer’s Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway and Embracing Uncertainty
What’s wrong with the self-help genre?
The wounded healer
Jesse Singal and cranky self-help
David Brook’s The Second Mountain
Marilynne Robinson
“Will this choice enlarge me or diminish me?”
Douglas Harding’s On Having No Head
Seneca’s On the Shortness of Life
Mary Oliver: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”