-
One of the things I love most about this book is the author’s personal history. You see, long before publishing Four Thousand Weeks, Oliver Burkeman wrote a weekly column on productivity. He’s a productivity geek. A guru. He knows every trick in the book — and added a few chapters. Did it make him happier, though? Complete, […]
-
Recently, a relative told me a bizarre story. It all started like a typical day, he told me. He drove to work and did his job as usual. At lunch, one of his co-workers approached him. “You know what,” she said unsuspectingly, “I feel like I need to exercise again. It’s been a while.” Of […]
-
Loneliness is a complex, confusing, and diverse sensation. Chances are, we’ll never be able to express it fully. But we can try. In fact, we should try because most people still have misconceptions about loneliness. We’ve all experienced this painful feeling but often struggle to put it into words. What’s worse, loneliness has become stigmatized […]
-
I was skeptical. Actually, that’s an understatement. I was suspicious, wary, and immensely critical. Sleeping on the floor just always seemed so strange to me. If anything, it was a cliché promoted by minimalist influencers to propagate their lifestyle — never a worthwhile custom, though. But then, something changed. I moved to Munich. And as this is […]
-
Recently, I visited Liseberg — a stunning amusement park in Göteborg, Sweden. It promised an absurd amount of fun. But when I got on the most popular roller coaster — a majestic, green, space-themed colossus of steel — something strange happened: I was stressed out. Not because I’m scared of rollercoasters or heights (it’s quite the opposite, actually). But rather because […]
-
One month ago, I started solo traveling through Northern Europe with nothing but a small hiking backpack. Inside: 49 of the most essential things I own. (More on the exact list of items later.) And so, for the next 30 days, my entire livelihood would literally sit on my shoulders. During this trip, I worked […]
-
Ironically, I’ve never been a huge fan of Matthew McConaughey. The only noteworthy thing I used to know about him was the insane number of “Murphs” he dropped in Interstellar. But then, I picked up his memoir Greenlights on a whim. (It was a long train ride, and I needed some soothing words in my […]
-
I used to fill my life with a lot of empty crap. Another fancy watch. A new smartphone for no reason. Clothes I only wore once. And that was nice for a while… But over time, I realized a disquieting truth: I’d filled my life with empty stuff to feel better about myself, externalize my […]
-
I’ve studied and applied minimalism for a year now. It’s one of my favorite philosophies of all time. But when I first got into minimalism, it wasn’t easy. The whole shebang of simplifying and decluttering life used to feel endlessly exhausting. I felt pressured to get rid of 95% of my possessions, wear the same […]
-
Sometimes you’re lucky enough to read a book when you really need it. For me, Rest by Alex Pang was such a book. See, at the time, I was spinning too many plates. Heavy plates. On the one hand, I did a full-time master’s program where I was head over heels in projects and courses. […]