On Being with Krista Tippett [Unedited] Oliver Burkeman with Krista Tippett
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Jan 13, 2022 
Oliver Burkeman explores why time can’t be managed like a resource, and what it means to live within life’s limits. The conversation wanders through mortality, Quaker roots, parenting, boredom, social media’s grip on attention, and the pressure to do everything. A refreshing look at choosing what matters when there’s never enough time.
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Time Is Not A Storeable Resource
- We habitually treat time as a resource to be stored, spent, or optimized.
- Oliver Burkeman argues this spatial metaphor misleads us because we only ever have the present moment.
We Are 'Being Time' Not Using It
- Thinking of ourselves as 'being time' collapses the false distinction between me and time.
- That perspective undermines attempts to be an air-traffic-controller of life and reveals absurdity in trying to master time.
Clearing The Decks Backfires
- As Burkeman improved at processing tasks he postponed the things that really mattered.
- He describes 'clearing the decks' as a trap that pushes important projects further into the horizon.