Oliver Burkeman

Writer on time, productivity and limitation; wrote Four Thousand Weeks and Meditations for Mortals, and the newsletter The Imperfectionist.

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What they believe

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

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

oliverburkeman.comby 18 Aug 2021This on korrents
Life change never comes from one transforming plan; it comes from small adjustments to the life you already have.

This, in my experience, is the only way personal change ever really happens: by first seeing that it's always a matter of rebuilding the ship mid-ocean, making adjustments to a life you can't ever take back to port or trade for another.

oliverburkeman.comby 16 Aug 2021This on korrents

The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.

All 13 beliefs, on korrents

Feed

As its own page →

Everything, newest first — across every channel.

Sources

18 August 2021

Oliver BurkemanKorrents by 18 Aug 2021

From one piece The truth about distraction 3 beliefs · oliverburkeman.com

korrents.com
Work that matters requires tolerating discomfort and boredom rather than escaping into distraction.

Their words

Consider the possibility that mild discomfort – butterflies in the stomach, a sense of difficulty, a moment of boredom – might simply be the price of doing things you care about.

The truth about distractionoliverburkeman.com
korrents.com
Blocking apps and personal rules do not cure distraction, because they close the escape route without touching what is being escaped.

Their words

This 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
korrents.com
Distraction is not something done to you: you turn to it willingly, to escape the discomfort of the thing you actually care about.

Their words

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

The truth about distractionoliverburkeman.com

16 August 2021

Oliver BurkemanKorrents by 16 Aug 2021

From one piece The news is not your life 2 beliefs · oliverburkeman.com

From one piece List one task, do it, cross it out 2 beliefs · oliverburkeman.com

From one piece There's no such thing as a fresh start 2 beliefs · oliverburkeman.com

korrents.com
The answer to living inside the news is not to stop reading it but to move your emotional investment back into the part of the world you can actually affect.

Their words

But it is an argument for reducing your emotional investment in the world of the news, and reinvesting in your own.

The news is not your lifeoliverburkeman.com
korrents.com
People cannot thrive while their primary psychological identification is with the news cycle rather than with their own lives.

Their words

The trouble is that human beings can't really function, let alone thrive, when their primary psychological identification is with things like "the news cycle" or "history" or "the course of world events."

The news is not your lifeoliverburkeman.com
korrents.com
The only thing a productivity system can do for you is help you choose slightly better what to do right now.

Their words

In 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

+ 3 more

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

Their words

What'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
korrents.com
A life with a perfect record is not merely unlikely but already impossible, because the years you have spent cannot be undone.

Their words

the 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
korrents.com
Life change never comes from one transforming plan; it comes from small adjustments to the life you already have.

Their words

This, in my experience, is the only way personal change ever really happens: by first seeing that it's always a matter of rebuilding the ship mid-ocean, making adjustments to a life you can't ever take back to port or trade for another.

There's no such thing as a fresh startoliverburkeman.com

15 August 2021

Oliver BurkemanKorrents by 15 Aug 2021

From one piece How to stop trying to escape reality 2 beliefs · oliverburkeman.com

korrents.com
Nobody can get on top of everything, because you are part of the everything you are trying to get on top of.

Their words

The 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
korrents.com
There is no phase of life in which the problems are finally solved, and waiting to reach one is the mistake.

Their words

That’s why you should give up on trying to reach a phase of life that’s problem-free.

How to stop trying to escape realityoliverburkeman.com

29 July 2021

Oliver BurkemanKorrents by 29 Jul 2021

From one piece The three-or-four-hours rule for getting creative work done 2 beliefs · oliverburkeman.com

korrents.com
The valuable skill is stopping and recovering while the work is still unfinished, not the capacity to push yourself harder.

Their words

The 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.

oliverburkeman.com
korrents.com
Nobody can consistently do more than about three or four hours a day of work that demands serious mental focus.

Their words

you 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

oliverburkeman.com

12 July 2012

Oliver BurkemanRecommends 12 Jul 2012

Lovedrcmnd.app
Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World

Their words

This is a brilliant political polemic and a critique of the problematic effects of positive thinking.

fivebooks.com
Lovedrcmnd.app
Awe: The Delights and Dangers of Our Eleventh Emotion

Their words

This is an amazing book that sketches out some alternatives to the very shallow and impractical positive-thinking approach to happiness.

fivebooks.com
Recommendsrcmnd.app
Born Losers: A History of Failure in America

Their words

This is an historical account of changing attitudes towards failure. Sandage takes American culture as his focus, although I think his insights apply far beyond that.

fivebooks.com

+ 2 more

Recommendsrcmnd.app
Letters from a Stoic

Their words

I personally take from Seneca and the other Stoics a very interesting attitude towards negative emotions and situations.

fivebooks.com
Lovedrcmnd.app
The Wisdom of Insecurity

Their words

This is a very thin book but a mind-blowing one. In many ways it was part of my motivation to write my book.

fivebooks.com

The whole feed →

Beliefs

Korrents What they believe 13 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
- Distraction is not something done to you: you turn to it willingly, to escape the discomfort of the thing you actually care about.
  
  you don’t get dragged away against your will. You surrender willingly.
  
  The truth about distraction by 18 Aug 2021
  
  Full record — everyone who holds this →
- Blocking apps and personal rules do not cure distraction, because they close the escape route without touching what is being escaped.
  
  This is why most anti-distraction hacks – web-blocking apps, noise-canceling headphones, personal rules – never seem to work very well.
  
  The truth about distraction by 18 Aug 2021
  
  Full record — everyone who holds this →
- Work that matters requires tolerating discomfort and boredom rather than escaping into distraction.
  
  Consider the possibility that mild discomfort – butterflies in the stomach, a sense of difficulty, a moment of boredom – might simply be the price of doing things you care about.
  
  The truth about distraction by 18 Aug 2021
  
  Full record — everyone who holds this →
Show 10 more

Life change never comes from one transforming plan; it comes from small adjustments to the life you already have.

This, in my experience, is the only way personal change ever really happens: by first seeing that it's always a matter of rebuilding the ship mid-ocean, making adjustments to a life you can't ever take back to port or trade for another.

There's no such thing as a fresh start by 16 Aug 2021

Full record — everyone who holds this →

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

the 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 start by 16 Aug 2021

Full record — everyone who holds this →

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

What'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 out by 16 Aug 2021

Full record — everyone who holds this →

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

In 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 out by 16 Aug 2021

Full record — everyone who holds this →

People cannot thrive while their primary psychological identification is with the news cycle rather than with their own lives.

The trouble is that human beings can't really function, let alone thrive, when their primary psychological identification is with things like "the news cycle" or "history" or "the course of world events."

The news is not your life by 16 Aug 2021

Full record — everyone who holds this →

The answer to living inside the news is not to stop reading it but to move your emotional investment back into the part of the world you can actually affect.

But it is an argument for reducing your emotional investment in the world of the news, and reinvesting in your own.

The news is not your life by 16 Aug 2021

Full record — everyone who holds this →

There is no phase of life in which the problems are finally solved, and waiting to reach one is the mistake.

That’s why you should give up on trying to reach a phase of life that’s problem-free.

How to stop trying to escape reality by 15 Aug 2021

Full record — everyone who holds this →

Nobody can get on top of everything, because you are part of the everything you are trying to get on top of.

The 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 reality by 15 Aug 2021

Full record — everyone who holds this →

Nobody can consistently do more than about three or four hours a day of work that demands serious mental focus.

you 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 done by 29 Jul 2021

Full record — everyone who holds this →

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

The 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 done by 29 Jul 2021

Full record — everyone who holds this →
Beliefs others hold too
- Work that matters requires tolerating discomfort and boredom rather than escaping into distraction. 2 hold this
  
  Consider the possibility that mild discomfort – butterflies in the stomach, a sense of difficulty, a moment of boredom – might simply be the price of doing things you care about.
  
  The truth about distraction by 18 Aug 2021
  
  Full record — everyone who holds this →
- Life change never comes from one transforming plan; it comes from small adjustments to the life you already have. 2 hold this
  
  This, in my experience, is the only way personal change ever really happens: by first seeing that it's always a matter of rebuilding the ship mid-ocean, making adjustments to a life you can't ever take back to port or trade for another.
  
  There's no such thing as a fresh start by 16 Aug 2021
  
  Full record — everyone who holds this →
All 13 beliefs →

What is a korrent?

A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.

Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.

Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.

Recommends rcmnd

rcmnd What they recommend 5 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
- Loved The Wisdom of Insecurity 12 Jul 2012
  
  This is a very thin book but a mind-blowing one. In many ways it was part of my motivation to write my book.
  
  fivebooks.com 12 Jul 2012
  
  What others say about The Wisdom of Insecurity →
- Recommends Letters from a Stoic 12 Jul 2012
  
  I personally take from Seneca and the other Stoics a very interesting attitude towards negative emotions and situations.
  
  fivebooks.com 12 Jul 2012
  
  What others say about Letters from a Stoic →
- Recommends Born Losers: A History of Failure in America 12 Jul 2012
  
  This is an historical account of changing attitudes towards failure. Sandage takes American culture as his focus, although I think his insights apply far beyond that.
  
  fivebooks.com 12 Jul 2012
  
  What others say about Born Losers: A History of Failure in America →
Show 2 more

Loved Awe: The Delights and Dangers of Our Eleventh Emotion 12 Jul 2012

This is an amazing book that sketches out some alternatives to the very shallow and impractical positive-thinking approach to happiness.

fivebooks.com 12 Jul 2012

What others say about Awe: The Delights and Dangers of Our Eleventh Emotion →

Loved Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World 12 Jul 2012

This is a brilliant political polemic and a critique of the problematic effects of positive thinking.

fivebooks.com 12 Jul 2012

What others say about Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World →
All 5 recommendations →

Where they publish

Site oliverburkeman.com His site: the books and where to find The Imperfectionist.

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Some people here publish in a language other than English. Where they do, this site shows a machine translation beneath the post, in this typeface — the site's own, not theirs.

The post itself is never changed, moved or hidden: what is set in the serif above is exactly what the person published, and it is what to quote them on. A translation can be wrong in ways that matter, especially about tone.

Only the post's own words are translated. A quoted post, a linked article and a belief on korrents.com are left in their original language.