The Fact That You Have to Miss Out on So Much

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Our finitude, the fact that we have to miss out on so much, is what gives weight to our choices. It's perhaps the thing that makes life juicy in the first place. We act as if it's a huge problem that we only get a short amount of time and that it's a kind of insult that it gets taken away from us by death. But when we say that our lives are short, short compared to what?

Sam Harris presents an unconventional perspective on time management from Oliver Burkeman. Rather than focusing on rote efficiency or productivity, Burkeman calls on us to embrace our finitude and surrender to the rhythms of life, so that we may “end our struggle with time”—and live with “more accomplishment, more success, and more time spent on what matters most.”

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