Time Management for Mortals, The Stoic Ideal, A Story Worth Living
Existential Espresso Vol. 26
What I’ve been reading:
"Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals" by Oliver Burkeman
I admit, I am sort of a book elitist. I almost never read new books. And when I say "new," I mean books published in the last 10 years. I value my own time too much to spend it so easily on a book that still hasn’t had a chance to stand the test of time.
Ironically, or maybe not, I have decided to start reading an extremely "young" book (published last year) that talks about the very thing that makes me so selective with what I read: time, or the lack of it.
I’ve been hearing about it a lot recently, and a couple of members of the Sisyphus Society highly recommended it, so I had to forget my rule for a moment and give this one a chance. So far, I’m glad I did.
"Four Thousand Weeks" questions modern and almost universally accepted ideas on time management and productivity. It questions them in order to offer a more healthy way of dealing with the fact that there simply isn’t enough time to get everything done.
Although Burkeman draws on a wide range of resources, including neuroscience and psychology, I was particularly happy to see him reference how different philosophers throughout history have talked about our relationship with time.
Thank you to everyone who recommended this one.
What I’ve listened to:
"Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations: The Stoic Ideal" lecture by Dr. Michael Sugrue
I first listened to this lecture around 7 years ago, after I also read "Meditations" for the first time.
Like most people after they first read it, I was amazed by it and wanted to learn more about Marcus Aurelius and Stoicism in general. And this lecture remains to this day one of the best, if not the best lecture on Marcus Aurelius’ Meditation that I’ve listened to. That’s the reason why I come back to it from time to time. Although I won’t hear anything new in it, it’s a pleasure to listen.
I know that most of my readers are interested in Stoicism and have read or are reading "Meditations." Whether you are one of them and want to hear more about this topic from an outstanding lecturer or you are someone who might want to hear more about Marcus Aurelius and his timeless wisdom before reading "Meditations," I highly recommend listening to this lecture.
You can listen/watch here.
What I’ve been thinking about:
Stories that matter
I don’t know what your preferred way of consuming stories is. Whether it’s through movies, series, books, or comics, it doesn’t really matter. I’m sure that there is at least one thing common to all the stories that get your attention. All the stories that you start caring about.
None of those stories portrays a life without obstacles or hardships. You wouldn’t care about following such a story.
Well, I’m also sure that your life is not a story where everything goes smoothly all the time. I’m sure there have been, and maybe there are at the moment, some trials and tribulations in that story.
What that tells me is that you are in a story worth following, worth engaging in. A story worth living.
Thank you for reading.
Stay strong, love life, and never feel sorry for yourself.
If you are interested in a free ebook that I wrote for you, “The Lost Art of Reading,” you can download it here.
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"Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations: The Stoic Ideal" lecture by Dr. Michael Sugrue, this seems as a go to hearing!