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Oliver Burkeman

What Oliver Burkeman thinks about ambition

@oliver-burkeman · 13 positions · 0 changes of mind

British writer on time, limits and attention, author of Four Thousand Weeks and Meditations for Mortals and formerly a Guardian columnist. He writes the newsletter The Imperfectionist at oliverburkeman.com.

Oliver Burkeman did not write this page.

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8 dated positions, 2021, in their own words. Our reading of what Oliver Burkeman has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. by

    Our readingDistraction is not something done to you: you turn to it willingly, to escape the discomfort of the thing you actually care about.

    Their wordsyou don’t get dragged away against your will. You surrender willingly.

    ↗The truth about distractionoliverburkeman.com 1st of 3 in this piece

  3. by

    Our readingBlocking apps and personal rules do not cure distraction, because they close the escape route without touching what is being escaped.

    Their wordsThis is why most anti-distraction hacks – web-blocking apps, noise-canceling headphones, personal rules – never seem to work very well.

    ↗The truth about distractionoliverburkeman.com 2nd of 3 in this piece

  4. 2 days earlier

  5. by

    Our readingA life with a perfect record is not merely unlikely but already impossible, because the years you have spent cannot be undone.

    Their wordsthe perfectionist's fantasy of reaching her deathbed with a perfect record of accomplishments under her belt isn't just extremely unlikely, but doomed from the start

    ↗There's no such thing as a fresh startoliverburkeman.com 1st of 2 in this piece

  7. by

    Our readingYou are never really multitasking: at any moment you can only be doing one thing, and the strain comes from pretending otherwise.

    Their wordsWhat's true of both the crisis situation and the daily situation is that at any given moment, you can only ever actually be doing one thing.

    ↗List one task, do it, cross it outoliverburkeman.com 1st of 2 in this piece

  9. by

    Our readingThe only thing a productivity system can do for you is help you choose slightly better what to do right now.

    Their wordsIn the end, the only point of any personal productivity system, goal-setting technique or "life planning" exercise is to help you make a slightly better decision about what to do, right now

    ↗List one task, do it, cross it outoliverburkeman.com 2nd of 2 in this piece

  10. 1 day earlier

  11. by

    Our readingNobody can get on top of everything, because you are part of the everything you are trying to get on top of.

    Their wordsThe reason you’ll never get on top of everything is because you’re inextricably enmeshed in the "everything" you’ve been struggling to get on top of.

    ↗How to stop trying to escape realityoliverburkeman.com 2nd of 2 in this piece

  12. 2 weeks earlier

  13. by

    Our readingNobody can consistently do more than about three or four hours a day of work that demands serious mental focus.

    Their wordsyou almost certainly can't consistently do the kind of work that demands serious mental focus for more than about three or four hours a day

    ↗The three-or-four-hours rule for getting creative work doneoliverburkeman.com 1st of 2 in this piece

  15. by

    Our readingThe valuable skill is stopping and recovering while the work is still unfinished, not the capacity to push yourself harder.

    Their wordsThe truly valuable skill here isn't the capacity to push yourself harder, but to stop and recuperate despite the discomfort of knowing that work remains unfinished, emails unanswered, other people's demands unfulfilled.

    ↗The three-or-four-hours rule for getting creative work doneoliverburkeman.com 2nd of 2 in this piece