Share
Life and Lessons by Sean Spooner
E194: Oliver Burkeman: Working Harder Isn't Helping You! You'll Never Reach All Of Your Goals!
Oliver Burkeman is a journalist and author of books including The Sunday Times Bestselling 'Four Thousand Weeks' and his latest release, 'Meditations For Mortals'.
No matter how hard you try, you're never going to get everything done. There simply isn't enough time in our finite lives for us to tackle everything we'd like to. Our to-do lists are always going to win the battle. So what can we do about that?
In this conversation, Oliver makes the case that surrendering to reality and being kinder to yourself is the true source of productivity, and offers practical ideas on how you can get more done and feel better in the process.
Listen to Meditations For Mortals on Audible for free: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audible-Free-Trial-Digital-Membership/dp/B00OPA2XFG?tag=seanspooner-21
Buy Meditations For Mortals on Amazon: https://amzn.to/48fJAvc
Oliver Burkeman: https://www.oliverburkeman.com/
Sean Spooner: https://www.seanspooner.co.uk/
More episodes
View all episodes
210. E210: The Podcast is (Finally) Back, Here's What I'm Prioritising in 2026
28:19||Season 1, Ep. 210The podcast is back. Every Monday morning, every week of 2026. Let's do this.
209. E209: I Turn 30 Today, These 16 Lessons Shaped My 20s
01:30:56||Season 1, Ep. 209Today, I turn 30. After 7 years of sharing the life lessons I wish I knew sooner on the internet, I feel fairly qualified to reflect on how to live a better life in your twenties. In this episode of Life and Lessons, I reflect on the past decade of life, and share the 16 lessons I needed to know in my 20s. They can change your life.208. E208: Am I Struggling?
18:06||Season 1, Ep. 208On this unexpected episode of Life and Lessons, I have you an update on what's been going on in life recently, and try to answer a question I've had a lot recent: am I doing okay?207. E207: Progress Just Kind of... Happens
18:27||Season 1, Ep. 207On this week's episode of Life and Lessons, I tell you about a session I'm planning for students that might change the way they look at productivity forever, and I explain how progress just kind of... happens.206. E206: 100 Days to Q4, Bias Towards Action, Building a Lucky Life
24:10||Season 1, Ep. 206On this week's episode of Life and Lessons, I encourage you to have a bias towards action, I speak about how to make the most of the next 100 days, and I explain how to build luck into your life.205. E205: The Life You Want is 45 Minutes Away, People Want You To Win, You Need To Draw a Line in the Sand
22:39||Season 1, Ep. 205On this week's episode of Life and Lessons, I ask the question have things really been that bad for me this year, I explore the idea that you need to be the person to draw a line in the sand, and I discuss why you're life is never more than 45 mins away from changing.204. E204: Talking in Paris, Visiting Parliament, and The Power of Doing Things Often Enough
20:18||Season 1, Ep. 204On this week's episode of Life and Lessons, I tell you about my big talk in Paris, about visiting parliament for PMQs, and I explain why doing anything often enough makes you good.203. E203: A Phone Call That Ruined My Month, and You Don't Need to Seek Answers
17:39||Season 1, Ep. 203On this week's episode of Life and Lessons, I explain where I've been for the past few weeks and why I disappeared, and I discuss an important mindset on not always needing to close feedback loops. Download a list of the 20 books that transformed my 20s: https://seanspooner.co.uk/books/202. E202: A Mindset to Make Hard Things Easier, and Finding The Root Cause of Your Problems
15:52||Season 1, Ep. 202Download a list of the 20 books that transformed my 20s: https://seanspooner.co.uk/books/On this week's episode of Life and Lessons, I share a mindset that is helping me make difficult things more enjoyable, and I encourage you to question if you've found the root cause of your problems.