meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Rich Roll Podcast

The Productivity Myth: Oliver Burkeman On Our Broken Relationship With Time, Embracing Our Limitations & Why More Isn’t Always Better

The Rich Roll Podcast

Rich Roll

Society & Culture, Self-improvement, Education, Health & Fitness

4.812.9K Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2025

⏱️ 125 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Oliver Burkeman is a bestselling author, journalist, and the mind behind “Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals” and “Meditations for Mortals.” We explore our broken relationship with time and Oliver's philosophy of imperfectionism, which dismantles the delusion that productivity is a moral imperative. Oliver explains why we're all chasing an infinite backlog, how perfectionism keeps us from doing the work, the path from overwhelm to agency, why acceptance isn't resignation, and the mystical energy of completion. Along the way, Oliver diagnoses my biggest malfunction and exposes an uncomfortable truth about my people-pleasing tendencies. Oliver's work is vital. And this conversation might just change your life. Enjoy!  Show notes + MORE Watch on YouTube Newsletter Sign-Up  Today’s Sponsors: Momentous: High-caliber human performance products for sleep, focus, longevity, and more. For listeners of the show, Momentous is offering up to 35% off your first order👉🏼https://www.livemomentous.com/richroll On: High-performance shoes & apparel crafted for comfort and style👉🏼https://www.on.com/richroll BetterHelp: Get 10% OFF the first month👉🏼https://www.betterhelp.com/richroll Whoop: The all-new WHOOP 5.0 is here! Get your first month FREE👉🏼https://www.join.whoop.com/Roll Seed: Use code RICHROLL20 for 20% OFF your first order👉🏼https://www.seed.com/RichRoll20           Birch: For 27% off ALL mattresses👉🏼https://www.BirchLiving.com/richroll   Squarespace: Use code RichRoll to save 10% off your first order of a website or domain👉🏼http://www.squarespace.com/RichRoll       Check out all of the amazing discounts from our Sponsors👉🏼https://www.richroll.com/sponsors  Find out more about Voicing Change Media at https://www.voicingchange.media and follow us @voicingchange

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

There's this thing that happens in the supplement space, where the second something goes mainstream, the market gets flooded and quality tanks.

0:09.7

Creeteen, sort of going through this right now.

0:12.3

Everyone finally gets that it's not just for Jim Bros.

0:15.4

It's for brain health and recovery and longevity.

0:18.4

But now you've got all these brands pumping out gummy versions that are essentially just candy.

0:24.6

Momentus took a different approach, which is one of the reasons why I love them and why I partner with them.

0:30.0

They spent years, not months, years, refusing to release a chewable until they could do it without compromising.

0:36.6

And the result of this is momentous creatine

0:39.3

chews, which meets what they call the momentous standard. The same standard, I might add, trusted by

0:44.9

Olympians and pro teams. Each chew delivers one gram of pure, prea-pure creatine monohydrate,

0:51.8

single source from Germany, NSF certified for sport, of course,

0:55.7

and without any weird artificial stuff.

0:58.8

Now you can keep them anywhere, which removes all the friction that comes with powders and shakers.

1:04.0

So head over to live momentous.com and use code rich roll for up to 35% off your first order.

1:13.4

I got news for you. The holidays are coming, and with them, all these questions kind of start

1:19.7

swirling in our minds about what we're going to give people that we care about. And honestly,

1:24.0

it's really hard because most gifts just end up forgotten somewhere.

1:27.8

But the gifts that actually do get used are the ones that make someone want to use them.

1:33.3

And On does exactly that with their incredible line of high quality running and hiking gear.

1:37.8

Shoes like the Cloud Ultra for trails, the Cloud Runner 2 for roads, the club hoodie for recovery days, hiking stuff for exploring nature

1:45.8

on the mountains, and even accessories like performance socks, caps, hydration packs, backpacks,

1:51.4

and travel bags that work as amazing stocking stuffers. So here's the thing. The real gift isn't the

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Rich Roll, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Rich Roll and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.