In praise of imperfection

Oliver Burkeman talks about his new book, why he isn't opposed to ambition, and why we must celebrate not doing everything

- Somak Ghoshal

Journalist and writer Oliver Burkeman is a few minutes late for our video call—and it seems entirely fitting. If there's one thing that his books and articles give us, it is the permission to make blunders, big or small, because no life can ever be lived free of errors and lapses.

As he argues in his new book, Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts, "finite humans" (that is all mortals) are hardwired to make mistakes, which "means never achieving the sort of control of security on which many of us feel our sanity depends."

When he finally appears on my screen, Burkeman is apologetic for the mix-up over time zones (he lives in the UK but has dual citizenship in the US). He is soft-spoken, mulls over his sentences, and is quick with self-deprecating quips. In a nutshell, the 40-something Burkeman is the antithesis of your assembly-line motivational guru or productivity maven.

He is nothing like those YouTubers preaching their secret mantra to fitting a two-hour morning routine—comprising meditation, yoga, workout, skin care, journaling and coffee run—into a grueling workday, while ensuring eight hours of sleep and conquering meal prep, one week at a time.

In contrast, Burkeman is an advocate of imperfectionism. His blog, The Imperfectionist, which is sent as a bi-monthly newsletter to thousands of subscribers, is devoted to celebrating "a good life" that is free of the obsessive "doctrine of control" that humans are primed for. The effect of this philosophy, if you will, is twofold.

On the one hand, Burkeman has his band of loyal admirers, readers of all ages, who find comfort in the friendly voice he addresses them with. Reading his newsletters often feels like having a deep chat with a genial but knowledgeable older cousin over a pint at the pub at the end of a rough day.