Meditations for Mortals

Oliver Burkeman, 2024

Stop waiting for life to feel fully controlled. Learn to act within limits, choose meaningful tradeoffs, and find freedom through imperfect action.

6 parts, about 15 minutes to read.

Why read it

Argues that human limits are not obstacles to clear away first but the very conditions in which meaningful work becomes possible
Offers small daily moves: finish in smaller pieces, keep a done list, treat the backlog as a river to choose from
Arranged as four weeks of short reflections that question productivity culture without dismissing ambition

Mark MansonAuthor and podcaster
Oliver Burkeman has a way of giving you the most unexpected productivity advice exactly when you need it
Cal NewportAuthor of Deep Work and Slow Productivity
A practical path towards personal transformation. A must-read
Krista TippettBroadcaster and author of Becoming Wise
A very special book.

Oliver BurkemanBritish author and former Guardian columnist
- Born in 1975, British author and journalist
- Educated at Huntington School, York, and Christ's College, Cambridge, where he edited the student newspaper Varsity
- Graduated in 1994 with a degree in social and political sciences
- Wrote the Guardian weekly psychology column This Column Will Change Your Life from 2006 to 2020
- Reported from London, Washington and New York
- Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize in 2006 and won the Foreign Press Association Young journalist of the year award
- His writing has also appeared in the Observer, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal; lived in Brooklyn for over a decade, now in the North York Moors in England
- Now produces the Imperfectionist newsletter