The Subtle Art of Time Management

Efficiency, self-worth, and time are redefined through surrendering to the present moment, as discussed in the podcast with guest Oliver Burkeman.

### Oliver Burkeman: A Counterintuitive Approach to Time Management and Productivity
* 🕰 Burkeman suggests that instead of constantly fighting against time, we could achieve more by **surrendering to it**.
* 📉 This approach involves willingly ignoring some tasks and focusing energy on a few important things, a concept Burkeman calls "**strategic underachievement**".
* 🎯 Many people struggle with setting boundaries and saying no due to the **fear of judgment or disappointment**.
* 🧘 Burkeman recommends adopting a Zen-like mindset, where actions are seen as **expressions of achievements** rather than means to **future goals**.
* 🛠 While Burkeman is critical of the obsession with productivity and optimization, he believes it's okay to use productivity tools as long as they are treated as **tools** and not as **fundamental aspects of one's identity**.
* 🙏 Drawing from his experience with Buddhism, Burkeman suggests that finding a way to **give meaning to the present moment** is more important than waiting for some **future state of perfect organization**.
* 🤹 Burkeman highlights the misconception that there will be a future moment when everything will fall into place, and emphasizes the importance of **finding meaning in the present**.
* 💬 Burkeman's parting words of wisdom come from American Zen teacher Charlotte Joko Beck: "It's unbearable. What makes this so is the **mistaken belief that it can be cured**."

Are you worried about wasting your life? Do you feel like you are constantly doing things that don't feel valuable? Is your to-do list getting longer, getting older, the world is changing rapidly, and it already feels like 2024 is approaching, making you anxious? Yes, of course. We all have to do. And just like all of us, you must have tried to find ways to manage your time better - making to-do lists, blocking out calendar time, creating an Eisenhower Matrix, or using a cool new app to schedule appointments. Ordering toilet paper automatically to eliminate all the stress and anxiety from life. Yet, there is still a nagging voice in the back of your head whispering that it's not enough. It's never enough. But of course, you have to do more, spend more time with your partner, family, nurture friendships,

We need to save more whales, children, and endangered pangolins. Check out what social, cultural, and political trends are happening on TikTok through profile pictures. It's a lot. It's a lot. But what if there's a way to break out of the loop? What if, instead of constantly fighting against time, we could achieve more by surrendering to it? Curious about what I'm talking about? Well, we'll cover that in today's episode. We will explore how our perception of time affects our self-esteem, how choosing to rest or do nothing in certain situations can be beneficial. Yes, I hear the high achievers screaming in terror when I say that. But here, join me.

To help with all of this, my friend Oliver Burkeman will join us. He is the author of the popular bestseller 4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Humans. Oliver is a famous journalist and writer known for blending philosophy and psychology perfectly and bringing fresh and counterintuitive interpretations to classical personal development topics. So, prepare yourself for a bit of a wobbly mind. We will embark on a journey to enlighten, inform, and most importantly, inspire you to see your life and choices, and your time in life, in a completely new way. But before we get started, I have one small and simple request. If you are listening to this content, please take a moment to leave a rating or review. As a new podcast, we are striving to grow by recording more episodes, securing more guests, and doing many great things.

And starting now until the end of the year, we are running a promotion where if you send us a review screenshot, we will send you the '2024 Life Gratitude' PDF for free. This PDF provides a step-by-step guide on how to spend your time, ways to spend it better, things to invest more time in, and of course, what you should cut out and avoid. Start anew in the new year. Therefore, go to markmanson.net/audit (AUDIT) for more information and send us the screenshot. Trust me. It will be worth the time. Hey, kids, you know your dad loves jokes, right? So, you're here because you love dad jokes. Let's get started. - [Announcer] We sold 20 million copies, but still no luck. This is The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A Fuck Podcast with host Mark Manson. - Going back, when you look at your book again, it's almost like you're trading with yourself on productivity or time management.

I felt something. When you choose to measure something, when you choose goals like resolutions or New Year's resolutions, when you choose to measure something, you objectify it. And when you objectify something, you essentially remove yourself from the present. You're basically saying, Okay, I'm going to increase the likelihood of achieving this. But the cost of doing that is that I will enjoy and appreciate it less. If I were to summarize the content revealed in your book for most people, I think that's it. We've been going through this deal without realizing it for a lifetime, and meaning and accomplishment have been like something we don't put on a balance sheet when we calculate or do something. - In my opinion, at the bottom of this book, there seems to be a distinction I'm trying to draw between being alienated from time and seeing oneself as part of time.

Perhaps we need to go straight into Heidegger. (Mark laughs) - This is the fans' favorite track on The Subtle Art Podcast. - Like everything else, we often talk about having a relationship with time. It could be a struggle with time, or succeeding in conquering the day, whatever it may be, right? But it's always like this. You are there, time is there, and it's either progressing well or poorly. In a different context of history before industrialization, the overall concept of you being with time and needing to make the most of it seems to crumble if it appears that you are just in the flow of life. If you feel like you have a bit more time than you actually do, you must strive to make the most of it. So, at the core of all this, fundamentally, it's a struggle or fight, and we must strive to dominate or be dominated by time.

It seems that a good life is a life we ​​weave. Among them, the most valuable seems to be the right thing. However, if the moment when that value is enjoyed is always in the future, and one day you die and cannot exist in your own life, what would it look like in practical terms? How does the working hours differ between one approach and another approach? It seems to be fundamentally related to facing one's own limits, doesn't it? The degree of time constraint. The fact that the time given in a day is limited, the fact that the lifespan is limited, and instead of constantly struggling against it, trying to gain an escape velocity somehow, you are working according to your own situation. One of the meanings of this is that working sequentially becomes more comfortable, willingly ignoring almost everything for a long time while performing a few tasks. It is

In a world of infinite possibilities, understanding that your situation is limited as a human, and being kind enough to strive to be as efficient as possible or to embrace everything is to willingly ignore some things. It is like denying the truth of being a finite human in the world. So, at first, it may sound like a kind of defeat, right? It's like a kind of surrender, where I will get less and do fewer things I've dreamed of. In reality, it's about focusing energy on a few things. It's about becoming more fully immersed in the state of being a finite human without constantly becoming distracted or anxious, knowing that there are all the other things you could do. I like the term strategic underachievement that the book calls it. Many people seem to instinctively become stiff and uncomfortable.

What is the strategy? Is it consciously choosing to fail willingly to create energy and space for the most important things? - Yes, what I'm saying is not what I wrote, it's a joke. Originally, this idea is if you don't want to be the person who has to replace toner and printer at work or replace the copier in the office, then just replace it really severely once, and you won't receive a request to do that again. So, such strategic performance is lacking. I expanded the idea from the book to think that if so, there are always more things not to do and not to excel at than what you are doing. Just mathematically, it's not a criticism of you. So, being aware of it and having the courage to face it actually makes a lot of sense. Okay, in areas of life or maybe like these friendships. It's not as important to me as other things,

Anyway, because you will be the one to choose, I want to make a conscious decision not to focus my energy on growing or developing those things. Right? This is the point that I associate with your writing. Right? Anyway, you are always choosing what to do in limited situations. The problem is whether you will face it or continue to deceive yourself. Not right now, but someday you will eventually become omnipotent and able to do everything. I think one really important and immediately practical aspect might be the willingness to work sequentially, depending on the season. Right? So, the periods of my life or a year can all be different kinds of times. Right? But for the next few months, I will postpone all these things. It's not because they are not important or because they are inappropriate and unnecessary.

It's not because I assured myself. But if I really want to change direction, it's because I have to go back a bit. Here, we're mixing metaphors terribly, but, as you know, move the needle to something on the front burner. - Move the needle on the burner, right? - Strange cooking is going on there. A lot of trust is needed, right? If we don't handle all of this now, we may live our lives with the implicit thought that we cherish a particular friend or are really interested in a particular sport. So, it's strange. Not doing it now is like worrying that you'll just like it and never try it even decades later. So, you have to believe that it will actually take time. - Yes, it seems like you mentioned your writing project.

Just the act of writing a book takes a minimum of 6 months, and in many cases, over a year, so I really had to learn how to do this task through a book. My last book actually reached out very explicitly to everyone in my life. I said, Hey, I'm going to disappear with this book now, into a hole, into a bunker. I won't be around much. I told my wife that, I told my team that, I told my friends that. I'm just going to be holed up in my writing room and work away. And in 6 to 8 months, I'll come out. And I'll be happy and fun to be around again. But until that moment. So, a lot of it seems to be setting expectations for people. One thing I've noticed a lot from people or through conversations with readers is.

It seems that people who are struggling with this issue are the ones who make people happy. Those who do not allow room for failure or low performance seem to be the ones who make people happy. The driving force behind this seems to be the fear of judgment or disappointment. - Yeah. - What I have discovered is that people tend to feel more comfortable with the idea of failing themselves. However, many people find it difficult to handle when their family, colleagues, or friends fail. - Yeah. - If you have experienced such a situation, I wonder what you would say to those people. - Yeah, I totally fell into it. I feel like I have had the same experience while talking to the readers, but it feels even closer to home. I feel that way in my personality too. One thing I find really useful is that when I write, there is this kind of movement that I often do when making an argument.

In other words, The path to liberation in a specific area is realizing that the situation is worse than you thought, right? So, if you think of this as a kind of Zen idea, it might seem like that in many ways, but if completing the entire to-do list is going to be incredibly difficult, then it becomes a very stressful thing. If you understand that it is logically, systematically, or fundamentally impossible to complete the whole list, the related pain is much less. Because you have seen that you actually tried to do something that is beyond the scope of human ability. If this applies when it comes to making people happy, realizing that it doesn't actually make people happy would have been really useful for me. Right? To become someone who makes people happy, right? It doesn't work as a condition in itself. I

I feel like I've spent much of my early adult life turning a lot of opportunities of all kinds given to me into a kind of burdensome obligation just because I signed up for them. And I've spent a lifetime feeling like I have to fulfill all the obligations to the people I agreed to work with, or feeling like I'm involved enough in a relationship that I have to work for them. People don't accept or like that, right? I mean, it leads to all kinds of foolish actions that are actually not helpful. Recently, I was asked in a newsletter if I could take on another task by the editor while I was working on one assignment, and I wrote that I didn't know if I had the capacity. So, I ended up having a superficial conversation with her about how I eventually thought I couldn't do it.

Of course, by that time, pulling annoyed me more. And I remember what she told me. Many times, it's easier for everyone when you realize that if you can't do something, you can just refuse it. And it was a kind of ordinary saying, but looking back, it was truly an eye-opening statement. Because people are happy to please. You don't have to make uncomfortable decisions that can disappoint someone, you don't have to take the risk of disappointing someone for all the reasons of childhood. It's an impulse where you can do everything right, meet all demands, and not have to take the risk of disappointing someone for the people you want to please. It turns you into someone who cannot do good things for the people you want to please, or someone who is not a good relationship partner for the people you want to please.

It actually doesn't help anyone, and I realized that the understanding that something is not good in itself is always much more powerful than just classifying it when it comes to personally influencing change. You're telling yourself that you need to change. - It's a really good point, I've never heard it expressed so explicitly. It's funny. My wife has this, and I always thought it was a bit annoying, but I actually think it's very healthy. She has this, and rather than going and not enjoying it, I think it's better for me not to go anywhere. That. In most marriages, there are always situations where a partner says, Well, my friend, mother, or whoever, should go and do this. She says, If you don't want to go, don't go. I would rather you not go anywhere.

If you want to tell your family that you are busy even though you are alone, appear and tell them to talk on the phone all evening. It is miserable and wants to go home. And it is very shocking to many people. It can even be annoying. I have been married to that person forever, and it still annoys me sometimes. However, she is very stubborn, and I think she can get much better results in the end. Because many of us, including me, have committed a million sins in this matter. You get caught up in work and feel bad. You say, Well, it's my younger brother's friend's roommate's birthday, and I've turned down the last two invitations, and I don't want to become a fool who turns down three invitations. So you go there and realize that what people don't understand is that you are actually undermining the atmosphere of the party.

You are actually potentially a slightly negative person. - On the right. - And as you pointed out in a professional situation, when you take on too much work, you may develop a potentially negative attitude towards the work you are doing, but you don't really want to do it anyway. - Right. Exactly. Following through with that work because you feel you have to is a kind of guilt that doesn't help anyone involved. And generally, people don't feel extreme discomfort as a result of rejection. Clearly, it depends on the situation and circumstances. However, there is a kind of selfishness in feeling obligated to accept social invitations. Otherwise, the social event would deteriorate greatly in my absence, for example. Right? There is a concept that the world revolves around me in a way that is clearly not true. And then

Let's immediately tie ourselves up by not being bound by specific days or bringing up what was originally there. The result doesn't seem as miserable as I imagine. For example, if a person creates a big drama and stirs up trouble about it, this reveals something about their relationship. It's very simple, but we are too caught up in some kind of mind game and status game. Oh, if I do this, Suzy won't like me. And she comes to my work, so I feel this way, and I have to go to that person's house. Because I don't want to look bad, and so on. Sometimes we unnecessarily complicate things and, as you said, we seem to put ourselves at the center of the universe. - Yes, that seems right. I mean, the difficulty of these kinds of compromises and priority questions arises when there is competitive value within oneself, right?

My point is, it's not that I don't want to go to social events at all, but rather, I don't want to upset people, so I don't pretend to do so, but when I want to go legally, for example, you know, be the kind of person who supports organizations like this. Be the kind of person who spends quality time with kids. And be the kind of person who spends this much time at a meditation retreat. For example, a place where you end up having to give something, and as I mentioned earlier, I think understanding that something always has to be given is actually very liberating. You should blame yourself for not finding a way to meet all those needs. - You have a slightly spicy taste. I'm not sure if I agree with your opinion, but I definitely want to discuss it. Don't try to change the world.

Do not build up such grand expectations. While rereading this, I felt like Steve Jobs was rolling in his grave. My counterargument to this is interesting because it's something I struggled with myself. Above all, it's a classic Steve Jobs quote: The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. So, please explain that first. What is the motivation behind not trying to change the world? What does it bring to us? Then we can talk about it a bit. - It is not a bad thing to have a definition of a well-spent life, a meaningful life that only people like Steve Jobs, who did truly remarkable things like creating the iPhone, can qualify for. It impacts millions of people in an astonishing and impressive way.

Really, don't you feel a sense of ambivalence here? I really want to talk about the meaningful definition of life, A. It's much less conspicuous but in some ways more temporary, right? What I mean is, we all know that taking care of elderly relatives, being in nature in certain situations, hiking in the wilderness, etc., have meaning. As you know, these are meaningful ways of spending time that we intuitively feel. It's really difficult to claim that these things will definitely be important hundreds of years from now. What I mean is that you can always make that argument about how your child will become someone who can solve various global crises. But no. It's important in itself. I have been greatly influenced by the book Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World by the philosopher Iddo Landau in thinking about all of this.

He pointed out, Culturally adopting such a definition of 'the best' is fundamentally too strange. Life, statistically or in terms of the distribution of talent and luck, will be closed enough for the majority of people to like. We blame ourselves because we are not Shakespeare. What I mean is, it's a strange way of living life. - Interesting. In a previous podcast I did with Scott Barry Kaufman, we talked about having a toxic relationship with goals. Essentially, sacrificing self-worth for the sake of a goal is often what people sacrifice. It's about raising one's own value to make a partner happy or to make a relationship smooth. - Right. - And ultimately, it becomes self-destructive, only worsening everything. Much of what you are talking about is harmful relationships over time.

It sounds like something that can be developed, as you pointed out in your book, is starting to place value on efficiency and optimization. Efficiency and optimization. No matter how much you optimize, there is always another level of optimization that can be achieved. But I also find it interesting because it often happens to me. I think this happens to most people. It's like there will be a big goal in my life, and I will work hard to achieve it. Then, when I achieve the goal, I am somewhat disappointed. I thought, 'Wow, this would be much better.' I worked really hard for several months, and now that I'm here, what now? - Right, yeah, I think this toxic relationship framework is quite interesting. Because sometimes you become a partner who is somewhat oppressive and controlling in this toxic relationship.

And sometimes waste life. Invest time in all activities and efforts. Time does not keep the deal, right? Rewards are not proportional to effort. As I said, the answer to this is probably not to think of time as something to be in a relationship with you rather than to establish a healthy relationship with time. It may sound unsettling, but I really think the strange concept about time is yourself. It is powerful. It helps you get out of the mindset of trying to control the process of life. - So, rather than trying to establish relationships and control time, I am with you on the concept of residing in time. I lived in Latin America (mainly Brazil) for four years, but I also lived in Colombia and Argentina. Latin people are with our Anglo-Saxon people.

My understanding of time is very different. When I'm in Brazil and go back to Brazil once or twice a year, the amazing thing about Brazil is the people. They are enjoying themselves. They don't worry about work tomorrow or next week. If there's dinner, they attend dinner; if there's a party, they attend the party; if there's a concert, they attend the concert. But at the same time, nothing happens in Brazil. (Mark and Oliver laughing) In Brazil, there's a highway that has been half-built and abandoned for 20 years. (Mark laughs) And the funny thing is, as you know, I grew up in the United States, and I was particularly interested in Buddhism. I still wanted to approach Buddhism, so I had a very romantic idea about attending. I remember reading The Power Of Now in my early twenties.

Like many people who have read The Power of Now, I felt overwhelmed by a sense of presence for about a month, and everything in my life seemed impossible. It was like, oh, I just have to attend. And during that time living in Latin America, my perspective on the present moment has changed a bit. I think that was the moment when I shifted the way I viewed time as a kind of trade-off. Perhaps the healthiest way is to have flexibility when you need to attend, when you need to attend, when you need to attend. You need to set goals and organize your time. Setting goals and organizing time can be a challenging and unnatural skill for most people, I believe. Rather than simply talking about the need for balance or the ability to move flexibly between them, I wonder if it is more important to understand that efficiency, productivity, and optimization tools are just tools.

And as you know, Eckhart Tolle also seems to be talking about something in this context. Right? It's not about thinking is bad, but it's about developing a relationship with the idea of picking it up when needed and putting it down when not needed. This can be different from completely identifying with it or, in the case of our tools, rather than using the tools, being controlled by them. So, every time I do media activities about books, the question I always receive is, You've talked about how absurd productivity is, but do you still have productivity tips or techniques that you use? Do I use them? And always. In fact, I want to point out that I am completely obsessed with carving out time in every moment. In fact, I am a bit obsessed with it, and that is exactly why I wrote the book. Right? What I am doing right now is just choosing what seems useful to myself at the moment.

Using it when it is useful and stopping using it when it is not useful, there is no problem in productivity technology. It's an idea that once you find a great meta principle or technology to use, you will spend your entire life on top of it. For example, those things may lead you in all sorts of strange directions, but I think there is no problem in using tools as tools. And I think this aligns with what you are saying. Because I think it is at least possible. As you know, in good times, I focus on this moment and in life, using this kind of planning method and claiming unbreakable perfection in adapting better to situations. When needed, work faster, set goals not identical to the goals, and define results. In many oaths,

I came across an idea that left a deep impression on me in a really interesting little book called The Art of Taking Action. In fact, Eastern spirituality, as depicted in such a book, can be seen to have a significant influence on action, rather than just passivity or sitting cross-legged on a mountain and meditating. And in a way, if you were really there in that moment, there's almost a frame that says that you're not in a hedonistic comfort, but rather something that disrupts all your thoughts. You're not hindering yourself. Many actions will take place. Right? You want to do a lot of things. And perhaps this is too vague and not fully formed in your mind. But I think there's a potential way to see a shift here. A process. So what we need to do is stop pursuing goals and relax. But

The first thought that actions lead to future achievements has changed to the idea that actions are expressions of achievements, right? In other words, the way you celebrate being alive, the way you express joy, is simply by working. If you are doing something you love, and in a way, if you love what you do, then there is potential for you, right? The idea that you can achieve a tremendous amount by being truly active, not because there is meaning at the end of hard work, but because there is meaning in what you do. Certainly, at least theoretically, that's how I feel about my work, right? For example, if all the anxiety about work is removed, if there is no need to do the work for financial or selfish reasons, I would still want to do the work because I enjoy it. - Presence and Procrastination

Or between anxiety about the outcome, there seemed to be really profound thoughts. I think procrastination is fundamentally a low-level anxiety about the result. I'm in the middle of writing this article or composing this email. I worry if things won't go well or if they won't turn out as good as I think. Overcoming the habit of procrastination is accepting a being that does not think about the results. Open the goddamn Word document, exist, click the button, click the button again, like, write the title. Alright, it's done. Now write the first sentence. As you know, when you look closely at the Zen tradition or many Eastern traditions one by one, they are very similar. It's the act of fetching wood and carrying water. When you read about monks in the temple, it's like they're working hard all day long. (Mark and Oliver laughing)

And part of that practice is focusing only on the next wooden block. Don't look at the tree. Don't look at all the logs. For example, focus on one wooden block, split it, and now focus on the next block. Again, I think it's very valuable and ironically productive to be able to access that state of mind as a tool. I tend to freely handle various spiritual traditions that I do not have the right to do so, but I would like to emphasize here that many of these ideas emerge in a really interesting form in Taoism. Sometimes, seen from an amateur perspective, it seems like Buddhism's happier cousin. Right? Perhaps the essence of life is not that everything is completely hopeless, and maybe the essence of life can really be wonderful. However, in the thought of actions without effort

There is a tradition. It is the idea that actions occur when you move away from the path that obstructs actions. Mastering an activity perfectly is very similar to not engaging in the activity in a sense. Because you are not deviating from the picture and acting, thus fully engaging in that moment. Once again, as I have encountered in the West, there is always a slight superiority in Buddhism. The ultimate idea here is to be completely free from oneself and to sit quietly. There are more emphasis points that appear in meditation centers and Taoism from my experience. If you can truly move away from the picture, like the activity flows through you, you know? - So, there is a commonality. We are identifying themes that regularly appear here. People identify too much with goals, too much with politics, news.

People identify too much with how much they can do. There is no problem with goals, no problem with politics, no problem with productivity. It's when you start basing your identity on these things and begin to see them not as tools to be used but as fundamental aspects of yourself. Ultimately, everything fits perfectly. The core teaching of Buddhism is not identifying with everything. You are not. You do not exist. So don't pretend to be this, that, or the other. You and I met at a Buddhist event of a Zen meditation group held in New York. What is your background in Buddhism? How did you get involved in this and how has it influenced your life's work? - I think around 19 or 18, in some sense, I tried meditation.

However, it was not in a serious manner, nor was it continuous. But it was definitely when I realized the need to deal with the level of anxiety in some way. What really affected me, in my opinion, was especially recent. I'm not sure, but I felt that these issues were prevalent in my reading and writing process, especially in the column I wrote for The Guardian. It seems to focus on Buddhism and more broadly on Eastern philosophy. I believe it appeals to people who think they are left-brained, analytical minds, and that they can solve all problems in life through thinking. They are not. It's not what they promise, but in a way, it's an entry point, right? What I mean is, I don't know much about other religions, but for example, in the case of Christianity, if you can believe in the feeling and accept it from there.

I believe that there are certain things that are truly helpful. On the other hand, many types of Buddhism that have entered the West do not believe in anything, but only look at the situation and follow such arguments, especially regarding Zen, which I really like. It is very similar. It is a way of using the left brain to perform this task, and actually decreases by half until reaching the end of what the left brain can do. This is one way of thinking about Zen practice, right? In a sense, it is a kind of educational story like a puzzle. If you apply your thinking mind as much as possible, it will break your brain in a useful, enlightening, and liberating way. For someone like me, whose brain is like Hwang Saehyung, overly analytical and left-brained, there is something very attractive. In that way, pursuing an approach to life,

Going all the way to the point of shaking and crumbling has a really attractive point, right? This is how I think of reaching a sense of presence beyond the mind. It's like working really hard to solve the problems of the world and reality through my thoughts and failures. While different religions and approaches feel attractive, I am convinced that those who are innately emotional and emotional types are more attractive. As you know, there are too many great quotes from the Zen tradition centered around this idea. The problem here is thinking that you will solve the problem. The suffering of not finding a way out in your situation lies in the belief that there was a way out. Ultimately, I think that these kinds of amazing intellectual playful things that show the limits of intellect to excessively intellectual types are really helpful.

I grew up in a very religious Christian environment, so it's really interesting. I always felt frustrated growing up realizing that Christianity is not related to analytical thinking at all. You actually have to set aside analytical thinking for a moment. When encountering many Christian myths, pause your skepticism for a moment. Yes, Buddhism accepts it, especially Zen, which seems to be very compatible with breaking down analytical tendencies with paradoxes and self-references. And there is something very satisfying about it. For example, even when presented with a problem that clearly has no logical solution, you are intellectually very satisfied in a strange way. Strangely, you feel happiness about it. On the other hand, I always felt frustrated in Christianity. I would think, Wait, no, please explain the reason.

Did whales actually exist? I think, Did the whale really swallow him? And everyone said, Stop asking questions. (laughter) - That's right. I think much of this is related to old arguments. But a lot of it ultimately has to do with whether one encounters a kind of scholastic philosophy or not. The likelihood of encountering folk religions, monastery religions, and broadly speaking, if you are present in 21st century America, I think the chances of encountering folk Christianity and monastery Buddhism are much higher. - Yes, that's right. What do you think is the major misconception people have about productivity and time management? - Wow, that's a really great and big question. One misconception that I really think is strong is the idea that the time to get everything organized is coming. As you know, it could take a few weeks, it could take a few years.

When you finally find the ability to train yourself that you have never shown before at any point in your life, the moment of truth will occur, and from then on, everything will go smoothly. And I think it has completely ruined me for a long time, right? The thought that I have not yet reached there, but will reach there. And it's not about you not changing or not reaching a milestone, or not changing a certain aspect of your life. It's because you are changing. However, you don't get it by imagining that the meaning is in the future. I think you can get it by finding a way to give meaning to the present. - Mr. Burkman, it was truly enjoyable. So, Oliver, what is the last word of wisdom?

What should we tell people? What should we leave them with? - I have a favorite quote that I actually used at the beginning of a book. However, I think the quote from the American Zen teacher Charlotte Joko Beck summarizes all the problems of life, and she says this: It's unbearable. In my opinion, she seems to be referring to life. What makes this disease unbearable is the mistaken belief that it can be cured. - Incredible. Well then, enjoy. Don't cry to sleep, everyone. Understood. I'll be back next week. Thank you. This is Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck podcast. See you later. ♪ Beat me black and blue, every wound will shape me ♪ ♪ Every scar will build my throne ♪

How to Not Waste Your Life (ft. Oliver Burkeman)

#1 NY Times Bestselling Author. World Champion Non-Fuck-Giver.

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Mark Manson

Rethinking Time Management: A New Perspective

The pressure to constantly manage time and accomplish more can be overwhelming for many people.

The concept of surrendering to time and embracing the present moment is presented as a beneficial alternative.

The podcast explores the idea of being part of time rather than in constant conflict with it, challenging the traditional approach to time management.

Embracing Limited Time and Sequential Work

Acknowledging the limited time and lifespan as a human allows for more efficient and focused work.

Strategic underachievement, or consciously choosing not to excel at everything, creates space for the most important things.

Working sequentially and setting expectations for focused periods of work can lead to a more balanced and fulfilling life.

The Impact of Fear of Disappointing Others

The fear of judgment and disappointment drives people to avoid failure and low performance, striving to please others.

Realizing that it's impossible to constantly meet everyone's demands can be liberating and reduce related stress.

Setting boundaries and learning to say no can ultimately lead to better results and improve relationships.

The Challenge of Balancing Social Obligations and Personal Priorities

Taking on too much work can lead to a negative attitude and a sense of guilt, impacting one's well-being.

Feeling obligated to accept social invitations can stem from a selfish desire to avoid discomfort and not wanting to upset others.

The struggle to prioritize personal values and obligations can create a sense of pressure and self-blame for not being able to do everything.

Rethinking the Relationship with Goals and Time

Sacrificing self-worth for a goal can lead to a toxic relationship, ultimately being self-destructive.

The concept of efficiency and optimization in life can lead to disappointment and a need to rethink the approach to goals.

Living in the present moment and finding a balance in setting goals and organizing time is crucial for a healthy relationship with time.

Embracing Productivity and Action in the Present Moment

Eckhart Tolle emphasizes the idea of developing a healthy relationship with thoughts and tools, using them when useful and letting go when not needed.

He also highlights the significance of action as an expression of achievement, emphasizing the joy of being truly active.

Tolle's perspective on overcoming procrastination aligns with Eastern traditions, focusing on the acceptance of the present moment and the significance of taking action without being driven by anxiety about the results.

The Influence of Buddhism on Analytical Minds

Buddhism and Eastern philosophy have a significant impact on analytical minds, offering a way to deal with anxiety and overthinking.

The focus on Zen practice and the idea of using the left brain extensively resonates with those with analytical and overactive minds.

The columnist believes that Buddhism provides a valuable entry point for people who rely on thinking to solve life's problems.

Finding Presence Beyond Analytical Thinking

The Zen tradition emphasizes reaching a sense of presence beyond the mind, challenging excessive analytical tendencies.

Christianity, in contrast, can be frustrating for those with a strong inclination towards analytical thinking.

The key to productivity and personal growth lies in finding meaning in the present, rather than constantly seeking a future where everything falls into place.