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freckleduck's review against another edition
4.0
I really like Vanderkam’s writing. I usually leave her books feeling inspired and competent. I left this one appreciating how I spend my time and inspired to do more.
thepeacefulmuser's review against another edition
4.0
Eye opening, motivating, needs multiple read-troughs
erlhopkins's review against another edition
4.0
4/5 ★ ★ ★ ★
this was my first audiobook that i hadn’t read with my eyes previously (see: harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban) and it held my attention REALLY well.
granted, i’m always interested in hacking my time to institute more rest, joy, productivity, naps, etc.
the techniques vanderkam discusses are simple enough, but it’s all about putting them into practice. i found all her concepts and ideas incredibly helpful and doable and it made me optimistic about how much i can really do with my week.
not quite 5 stars because i have the feeling if someone wasn’t reading it to me it would’ve taken me a bit more time to move through it (ironic isnt it). so shout out to all those hardworking men and women who narrate audiobooks and make it possible to read with my ears!!
this was my first audiobook that i hadn’t read with my eyes previously (see: harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban) and it held my attention REALLY well.
granted, i’m always interested in hacking my time to institute more rest, joy, productivity, naps, etc.
the techniques vanderkam discusses are simple enough, but it’s all about putting them into practice. i found all her concepts and ideas incredibly helpful and doable and it made me optimistic about how much i can really do with my week.
not quite 5 stars because i have the feeling if someone wasn’t reading it to me it would’ve taken me a bit more time to move through it (ironic isnt it). so shout out to all those hardworking men and women who narrate audiobooks and make it possible to read with my ears!!
tiffineye's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
This book has good ideas and good purpose, but some of the points are hard to relate to. I like the ideas and it did make me think, but some of it just doesn't seem realistic in today's times or with the everyday person.
amyreading2024's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
There are a lot of statistics worked in with real-life examples. Fairly interesting but lengthy and dated. Written in 2010.
Laura Vanderkam will tell you what she thinks: If you spend more than 20 minutes getting ready, you are doing it wrong. Don't use lack of time or being tired as badges of honor or excuses. Look at how your time is spent and adjust according to your priorities. Make your choices based on your values not based on your energy levels. Remember that time is a limited resource because we are mortal and the hours and days but--emphatically here--weeks in which we live make up how our time is allocated. And that accounting for that time helps us see if we are doing things that are of value and priority to us. She also attests that scheduling time for things we are passionate about will increase our energy.
Link to the spreadsheet to use if one is really into tracking their weeks in 15-minute blocks and then applying Laura's Energizer-Bunny plan.
PDF: https://lauravanderkam.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/168-hours-v2.pdf
Excel: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Flauravanderkam.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F11%2F15-Min-Timesheet-168-Hours-v3.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK
Some of my criticism:
What Laura describes seems like a superficial and insensitive way of existing from moment to moment that requires always being "on" but also being on "auto-pilot". There's a difference between intention and being crazed about one's schedule.
Yes, outsourcing the stuff of which days are made of does allow time for other activities, but also, they are the stuff of which days are made of and make us feel human and grounded in our bodies and environments. Manual labor of itself doesn't make one a "good person", and I embrace tools and innovations and services that make certain things faster and less onerous, but rejecting all of it for other pursuits could very well make one a lofty weirdo. Fortunately, most of us do not have the financial ability to do this to ourselves. ;) *My budget will likely be arranged when possible in the future to include the services of housekeeper and chef. Not daily but regularly.
My interpretation of Luke 10 KJV where two sisters are confronted with the same situation and respond differently: one in regards to temporal affairs (Martha) and one in regard to eternal affairs (Mary). Christ seemingly passes no judgement on either woman's choice until Martha remarks to Christ that the way she is spending the time is better than Mary's and that he should tell Mary to help her. THEN Christ responds and says with compassion and compliments, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Which I take to mean, when we do things that nurture our SOULS, that ETERNAL part of ourselves, that time is well-spent. AND when we do things that preserve our mortal BODIES and current lives, that time is well-spent AND temporary. Or something. Pursuit of philosophy and morals and spirituality requires still sustaining bodily needs. THE important thing about time and finances is that they are PERSONAL CHOICES. What one person decides is of value is different than another's with choices of friends, families, jobs, and comprehensive pastimes and WE are in no position to make judgements about how someone else is spending their time and money and doing so has a negative effect on our time now and possibly our time later in the next existence.
She has an attitude of doing something just to have done it in both physical and mental activities, i.e., listening to every record of great artists, vs my preferred approach of sitting with something and deliberately, slowly, spending time with it. Pondering something. Being moved. Not everything but some things. She describes using all of those in-between moments to a point of automation and fatigue. While in some ways I enjoy viewing myself as a system, I am not in fact a robot. I need transitions. I need wind-downs and amp-ups. I can't move from thing to thing to thing to thing to thing to thing endlessly. NOR DO I WANT TO.
There are a lot of statistics worked in with real-life examples. Fairly interesting but lengthy and dated. Written in 2010.
Laura Vanderkam will tell you what she thinks: If you spend more than 20 minutes getting ready, you are doing it wrong. Don't use lack of time or being tired as badges of honor or excuses. Look at how your time is spent and adjust according to your priorities. Make your choices based on your values not based on your energy levels. Remember that time is a limited resource because we are mortal and the hours and days but--emphatically here--weeks in which we live make up how our time is allocated. And that accounting for that time helps us see if we are doing things that are of value and priority to us. She also attests that scheduling time for things we are passionate about will increase our energy.
Link to the spreadsheet to use if one is really into tracking their weeks in 15-minute blocks and then applying Laura's Energizer-Bunny plan.
PDF: https://lauravanderkam.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/168-hours-v2.pdf
Excel: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Flauravanderkam.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F11%2F15-Min-Timesheet-168-Hours-v3.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK
Some of my criticism:
What Laura describes seems like a superficial and insensitive way of existing from moment to moment that requires always being "on" but also being on "auto-pilot". There's a difference between intention and being crazed about one's schedule.
Yes, outsourcing the stuff of which days are made of does allow time for other activities, but also, they are the stuff of which days are made of and make us feel human and grounded in our bodies and environments. Manual labor of itself doesn't make one a "good person", and I embrace tools and innovations and services that make certain things faster and less onerous, but rejecting all of it for other pursuits could very well make one a lofty weirdo. Fortunately, most of us do not have the financial ability to do this to ourselves. ;) *My budget will likely be arranged when possible in the future to include the services of housekeeper and chef. Not daily but regularly.
My interpretation of Luke 10 KJV where two sisters are confronted with the same situation and respond differently: one in regards to temporal affairs (Martha) and one in regard to eternal affairs (Mary). Christ seemingly passes no judgement on either woman's choice until Martha remarks to Christ that the way she is spending the time is better than Mary's and that he should tell Mary to help her. THEN Christ responds and says with compassion and compliments, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Which I take to mean, when we do things that nurture our SOULS, that ETERNAL part of ourselves, that time is well-spent. AND when we do things that preserve our mortal BODIES and current lives, that time is well-spent AND temporary. Or something. Pursuit of philosophy and morals and spirituality requires still sustaining bodily needs. THE important thing about time and finances is that they are PERSONAL CHOICES. What one person decides is of value is different than another's with choices of friends, families, jobs, and comprehensive pastimes and WE are in no position to make judgements about how someone else is spending their time and money and doing so has a negative effect on our time now and possibly our time later in the next existence.
She has an attitude of doing something just to have done it in both physical and mental activities, i.e., listening to every record of great artists, vs my preferred approach of sitting with something and deliberately, slowly, spending time with it. Pondering something. Being moved. Not everything but some things. She describes using all of those in-between moments to a point of automation and fatigue. While in some ways I enjoy viewing myself as a system, I am not in fact a robot. I need transitions. I need wind-downs and amp-ups. I can't move from thing to thing to thing to thing to thing to thing endlessly. NOR DO I WANT TO.
hepalmer's review against another edition
5.0
Very thought provoking and optimistic - will be time tracking next week!
briarraindancer's review against another edition
4.0
I know why everyone has a problem with this book. She's just so damn smug, and very determined that her way is the best way. And it is, for her.
If you can overlook that, then there is good advice here. Sadly, practical advice for how to use your time is largely missing from this genre. This book starts to get at some of the necessary pieces. Just don't expect to feel good about it.
If you can overlook that, then there is good advice here. Sadly, practical advice for how to use your time is largely missing from this genre. This book starts to get at some of the necessary pieces. Just don't expect to feel good about it.
ncrozier's review against another edition
3.0
I like this book for its practical advice, but often felt the lifestyle differences between me and the the author were way too apparent. There was a lot of advice regarding kids, which I kind of don't have.
maryehavens's review against another edition
1.0
I'm always surprised about the amount of time I spend when I'm reading a book that I'm not a fan of - it always feels so much longer than it actually is!
Vanderkam wrote this in 2009 and she is roughly the same age as me. She was going through similar life experiences as I was during this time (pregnancy, babies but no work for me). I think if I had read this in 2009, I would have really liked it. As a 41 year old, I found this book annoying.
Many things did not apply to me - I love my job, I feel fairly competent in my life choices and time management, and that's as far as I got (around page 120). I nodded my head in quite a few parts but I started getting really angry reading this. I know she's not personally attacking me but I felt like I was getting a lecture on how much time I should spend with my children. I guess if I felt like I needed a time management lesson, I would read this (as it were, my niece recommended this to me and I thought some of the ideas were interesting).
The best thing I got out of this book was permission to outsource. After talking with my husband, our outsourcing is more about chores for the kids, not a paid service. :)
Vanderkam wrote this in 2009 and she is roughly the same age as me. She was going through similar life experiences as I was during this time (pregnancy, babies but no work for me). I think if I had read this in 2009, I would have really liked it. As a 41 year old, I found this book annoying.
Many things did not apply to me - I love my job, I feel fairly competent in my life choices and time management, and that's as far as I got (around page 120). I nodded my head in quite a few parts but I started getting really angry reading this. I know she's not personally attacking me but I felt like I was getting a lecture on how much time I should spend with my children. I guess if I felt like I needed a time management lesson, I would read this (as it were, my niece recommended this to me and I thought some of the ideas were interesting).
The best thing I got out of this book was permission to outsource. After talking with my husband, our outsourcing is more about chores for the kids, not a paid service. :)