logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2025
40m 22s

How to make the most of a finite life (w...

TED
About this episode

There’s only so much you can do in a week – or, according to Oliver Burkeman, in the roughly 4,000 weeks the average human lives. Oliver is a journalist and author of the books Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, Meditations for Mortals, and the newsletter “The Imperfectionist.” Chris and Oliver discuss the paradox of why change can only occur once we accept that we might not be able to change. Oliver also shares how life’s mishaps can become our most treasured memories and why sharing your imperfections is an act of generosity.


For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Nov 17
How to find belonging (w/ Hanif Abdurraqib)
<p>Where do you belong and what does community mean to you? These are the central questions Chris asks poet and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib while visiting Hanif’s hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Hanif is a poet and essayist of many notable works such as <em>They Can’t Kill Us Un ... Show More
32m 52s
Nov 10
Why you need to learn how to fight in a relationship (w/ Dr. Julie and John Gottman)
“All couples fight. In fact, how they fight in the first three minutes predicts with 96% accuracy not only how the rest of the conversation will go, but how the rest of the relationship will go six years down the road,” says relationship expert Dr. Julie Gottman. Dr. Julie and Jo ... Show More
35m 40s
Nov 3
How to break bad habits (w/ Edith Zimmerman)
Edith Zimmerman is a sketchbook cartoonist and writer of the Substack newsletter, Drawing Links. In this episode, she joins Chris to talk about honesty and self-discovery. From sharing her artwork to discussing her sobriety journey to falling in love with running, Edith and Chris ... Show More
39m 32s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2024
Why you can’t ‘hack’ your way to productivity, with Oliver Burkeman
Lots of productivity advice tells you how you can cram more into your day, but accepting you can only do so much might be the only productivity “hack” that works. Oliver Burkeman, author of the smash-hit 2021 book Four Thousand Weeks, talks to Isabel Berwick about his new book, M ... Show More
21m 9s
Sep 2024
Meditations for Mortals with Oliver Burkeman
Oliver Burkeman worked for many years at The Guardian, where he wrote a popular weekly column on psychology, “This Column Will Change Your Life.” His books include the New York Times bestseller Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals and The Antidote: Happiness for Peopl ... Show More
45m 57s
Oct 2024
Oliver Burkeman - How can I more fully embrace my finitude?
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2155110/open_sms">Send us a text</a></p><p>This is a distilled version of <a href='https://examined-life.com/interviews/oliver-burkeman/'>last year&apos;s conversation</a> with the writer Oliver Burkeman. ... Show More
20m 45s
Apr 2025
How To Be Sanely Productive | Oliver Burkeman
<p>The liberation that comes from realizing that you're never going to get everything done.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.oliverburkeman.com/">Oliver Burkeman</a> is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling <a href= "https://www.amazon.com/Four-Thousand-Weeks-M ... Show More
1h 12m
Mar 2025
How To Stop Feeling Overwhelmed with Oliver Burkeman (re-release) #536
The average person has 4,000 weeks on earth. It doesn’t sound like much does it? You’re probably doing mental arithmetic right now trying to work out how many weeks you might have left. But if that sounds like a pessimistic start to this podcast, fear not. My guest today is Olive ... Show More
1h 47m
Apr 2023
Oliver Cromwell
For over 1000 years, England has been a monarchy.3…except for twelve years in the 17th century when it wasn’t.  During that period, it was ruled by a very non-royal person by the name of Oliver Cromwell.  He was a highly controversial figure during his life, after his death, and ... Show More
17m 29s
Oct 8
OLIVER BURKEMAN: Trading Control for Peace
What if the key to a meaningful life isn’t doing more—but doing less, with intention? In this powerful conversation, Michael and Megan talk with Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks and Meditations for Mortals, about the myths of productivity, the illusion of control, a ... Show More
1h 3m
Nov 2024
Why It’s Actually Good to “Settle” in Love | Feat. Oliver Burkeman
<p>Today it's my pleasure to sit down with the excellent Oliver Burkeman (<a href="https://x.com/oliverburkeman?lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@oliverburkeman</a>), author of the new book "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Mortals-Embrace-Limitations ... Show More
57m 53s
Jun 2022
Time Management For Humans
Instead of focusing on what you're going to do today, how about deciding "what am I NOT going to do?" That's one of many pieces of productivity advice that Oliver Burkeman brings to the basement table today. He's studied productivity over his long career and has now written a new ... Show More
1h 1m