Scan barcode
herlifewithbooks's review
4.0
I was dead set on reading this in print - because of the charts? or because I thought I'd need to take notes? - but after years of not getting around to reading it, I decided to try it on audio. And it was a perfectly fine listen. I'm sure the charts would be fun to peruse later, but they weren't necessary for understanding. And although this book talks a big game, there really wasn't enough truly new or unique time-management information to warrant taking notes.
Also, if you don't fit Vanderkam's narrow data set - aka, you earn less than 100k a year, which is most professions other than lawyers, doctors, consultants, executives, financial workers, and entrepreneurs, or don't have any kids- then there is really a limit to what you can apply to your own life. You'll probably find a chapter or two relevant, but probably not all.
Listening to Vanderkam talk about her own life and the lives of others was entertaining enough for me, though. And it did get me thinking about my life and time from a different lens, which is always valuable, imho. And it's short!
Also, if you don't fit Vanderkam's narrow data set - aka, you earn less than 100k a year, which is most professions other than lawyers, doctors, consultants, executives, financial workers, and entrepreneurs, or don't have any kids- then there is really a limit to what you can apply to your own life. You'll probably find a chapter or two relevant, but probably not all.
Listening to Vanderkam talk about her own life and the lives of others was entertaining enough for me, though. And it did get me thinking about my life and time from a different lens, which is always valuable, imho. And it's short!
lraeskat's review
3.0
Some pieces were interesting, others were familiar. Overall it was a worthwhile audio.
ginnygriggs_'s review
4.0
This clearly has mixed reviews, but I loved it - and I say that as a woman without kids who doesn’t currently intend to have any. Even the parts that didn’t apply directly to me gave me a new perspective. Not everything in this work will make sense for you, but I’m guessing you’ll find at least a few strategies you can use (that goes for men, too).
heykylie's review
3.0
This book had very interesting principles but overall is better as a skim-read than a deep-dive. I really am taking to heart that our priorities aren't always reflected in how we spend our time, and I'm working on realigning that in my own life. I'm also very aware of my privilege as I read and take these principles into my life, and realize that not everyone has the same ability and capability to enact many of the suggestions from Vanderkam. However, the main guiding principle that I loved is to spend time doing things that actually matter to YOU and to take care of yourself so you can show up in all the ways you need to and want to.
stagasaurus's review
3.0
I got a few great things from this, but I'm not sure I would have chosen it from the library if I'd known that the definition of a successful woman included having children and being rich.
I'd love to read a similar version of a wider spectrum of people who with some who let's say, had vocational jobs like teaching or nursing where the pay will never be £71,000 a year. Or were single without kids, or retired and volunteering 37 hours a week.
Very well read by the author herself.
I'd love to read a similar version of a wider spectrum of people who with some who let's say, had vocational jobs like teaching or nursing where the pay will never be £71,000 a year. Or were single without kids, or retired and volunteering 37 hours a week.
Very well read by the author herself.
rachelwiththelonglegs's review
1.0
This book is for those earning high-figure incomes with positions in which one has the authority to choose their hours and build in their own flexibility options. The key take-away from this book, is to work an executive level from the start and not get stuck in a job where you don’t have the freedom to take personal time in small chunks throughout the typical 9-5. All of the “insights” are obvious solutions for rearranging the hours of your day to meet the demands of modern life and that is just not options for the majority of working moms and dads. She emphasized multiple times that a typical job is 9-5 with a break for lunch and less than 7 hrs a day is the norm. I’ve yet to find a job that isn’t 8-5 with a mandatory hour unpaid lunch that also doesn’t frown upon taking an average an hour and a half per day to run errands. Maybe I’ve settled for horrible working conditions my entire career or maybe the fact that she only reviewed data for six-figure income women made the reality of application of their custom schedules unobtainable for anyone at middle management or below.
If you are feeling overworked and don’t have the freedom to choose to come in to work half an hour early, work through lunch break and take off an hour and a a half early to get your housework done before you pick up kids then this book will only frustrate you.
If you are feeling overworked and don’t have the freedom to choose to come in to work half an hour early, work through lunch break and take off an hour and a a half early to get your housework done before you pick up kids then this book will only frustrate you.
sarahs_readingparty's review against another edition
4.0
This book is worth the read for most women, especially working mothers struggling with the work/life balance thing. Alot of the content is preaching to the choir-type stuff... but it's good to hear from others that you aren't alone! It's also eye opening to think about what time you DO have that maybe you don't realize, as well as to see examples from other ladies about how to open/reimagine your schedule and see the possibilities you have. Privilege isn't discussed here as much as it maybe should be, but that's hard and maybe it illustrates more about the target audience by omitting that. Or maybe I didn't read the book closely enough. I thought this book was interesting and practical.
untitledemily's review
4.0
Tracking time in timesheet is really easy, especially with a smartphone or tablet
The process of carving out quiet time. Can take various shapes and different times of day.
The boss that's approachable yet communicates their needs too, I.e. thinking cap.
Productive meetings so that people are prepared for what is needed during that critical meeting time!
Email…..am I making progress to things that are important to me? Am I solving the problems I want to solve?
List of 100 dreams! I have a version of this but will now developed it into a springboard for my life. Added challenge accomplish one challenge per month.
Bucketlist.org
And the end of the book is a great summarized list to inspire, get you started, or serve as a reminder later on when you feel like you have no ideas.
The process of carving out quiet time. Can take various shapes and different times of day.
The boss that's approachable yet communicates their needs too, I.e. thinking cap.
Productive meetings so that people are prepared for what is needed during that critical meeting time!
Email…..am I making progress to things that are important to me? Am I solving the problems I want to solve?
List of 100 dreams! I have a version of this but will now developed it into a springboard for my life. Added challenge accomplish one challenge per month.
Bucketlist.org
And the end of the book is a great summarized list to inspire, get you started, or serve as a reminder later on when you feel like you have no ideas.
heykellyjensen's review
I do not fault Vanderkam at ALL for focusing on women with families who make $100,000+ a year. That is a super easy bench-marker socially for "successful" and the ideal "she has it all" woman. So her explaining all of that in chapter one made some of the obvious privilege things in this book work for me.
That said: holy hell, I LOVED this book. Talk about a productivity guide and look at time management that makes perfect sense, especially for someone who works non-traditional hours and who chooses energy management, rather than strict hour-by-hour management. Vanderkam had successful women fill out half-hour "mosaics" of how they use their time in a week; looking at the picture for 168 hours a week makes so much more sense than trying to micromanage 24 hours a day. I'm going to try this and see what it looks like.
Her results essentially show a lot of what bothers me in life: "busy" is a narrative we love, "tired" is a narrative we love, and both are total lies. Most people work fewer than 40 hours and most people sleep 7+ hours per night over the course of a week. There's no shame in any of that, but rather, it's enlightening knowing that people love to buy into false narratives of management/tips/tricks/hacks/what have yous.
I'm going to go back and read some of Vanderkam's other books. But she's definitely given me food for thought on how to pair up activities in order to get the most out of them (i.e., if there's a TED talk I want to watch, perhaps I can pair it with a 15 minute elliptical workout and do double duty without needing to "find time" -- it's there already, I just need to make it work for me).
That said: holy hell, I LOVED this book. Talk about a productivity guide and look at time management that makes perfect sense, especially for someone who works non-traditional hours and who chooses energy management, rather than strict hour-by-hour management. Vanderkam had successful women fill out half-hour "mosaics" of how they use their time in a week; looking at the picture for 168 hours a week makes so much more sense than trying to micromanage 24 hours a day. I'm going to try this and see what it looks like.
Her results essentially show a lot of what bothers me in life: "busy" is a narrative we love, "tired" is a narrative we love, and both are total lies. Most people work fewer than 40 hours and most people sleep 7+ hours per night over the course of a week. There's no shame in any of that, but rather, it's enlightening knowing that people love to buy into false narratives of management/tips/tricks/hacks/what have yous.
I'm going to go back and read some of Vanderkam's other books. But she's definitely given me food for thought on how to pair up activities in order to get the most out of them (i.e., if there's a TED talk I want to watch, perhaps I can pair it with a 15 minute elliptical workout and do double duty without needing to "find time" -- it's there already, I just need to make it work for me).