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readbykristin's review
1.0
How to make the best use of time is something that fascinates me and eludes me. I hoped to find some helpful advice in this book. Instead, this book only centered around women making at least $100,000 independently (because those are the only hardworking, successful women according to the author...?). The problem is that wealthy women can afford to outsource a lot of their more menial tasks (laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc). Also, the writing style was incredibly dry. I didn't just want a bunch of time sheets and quantitative data. I wanted real-life, rich stories about how women beat the clock everyday. I'm still waiting for that book. My only takeaway from this book was skimming the last half to avoid wasting my time. So I guess I did learn something?
mpevans0517's review
3.0
I have about 5 minutes left of the audiobook, and I want to start by saying I know that her sample size contains only women making over 100k. I knew that going in, and I still kept listening thinking I could garner some tidbits of new knowledge.
Even so, I still didn't really like many of her solutions to these women's time "problems". This wasn't published in the 90's. It was published in 2015. The economy hasn't shifted SO much that these solutions she proposes are feasible for everyone, even in this economic bracket. Believe me, I'm IN this bracket with my husband's salary, and we cannot afford a nanny. We cannot afford, and do not want to spend, the excess fees for grocery delivery EVERY week. That honestly is not worth the time you gain back.
This also is of the assumption that these women have EXTREMELY flexible schedules. Even women in higher paying jobs don't always have the flexibility that these women have. Work from home isn't an option in a lot of work environments (except nowadays, because pandemic). Would I like to work from home one full day a week? Sure. Does my job OFFER that? No.
She mentions getting a small clean cleaning service twice a week to do small tasks such as laundry and cleaning the kitchen. Even at the price of a small clean vs a deep clean, this could add up to hundreds of dollars a month. That just isn't feasible for the majority of households.
AND: again, I know she makes a point to tell you that she's looking at women that make a certain amount of money, but this definition of "success" sucks because while I make a third of what these women make, I find myself busy, driven, and SUCCESSFUL.
Even so, I still didn't really like many of her solutions to these women's time "problems". This wasn't published in the 90's. It was published in 2015. The economy hasn't shifted SO much that these solutions she proposes are feasible for everyone, even in this economic bracket. Believe me, I'm IN this bracket with my husband's salary, and we cannot afford a nanny. We cannot afford, and do not want to spend, the excess fees for grocery delivery EVERY week. That honestly is not worth the time you gain back.
This also is of the assumption that these women have EXTREMELY flexible schedules. Even women in higher paying jobs don't always have the flexibility that these women have. Work from home isn't an option in a lot of work environments (except nowadays, because pandemic). Would I like to work from home one full day a week? Sure. Does my job OFFER that? No.
She mentions getting a small clean cleaning service twice a week to do small tasks such as laundry and cleaning the kitchen. Even at the price of a small clean vs a deep clean, this could add up to hundreds of dollars a month. That just isn't feasible for the majority of households.
AND: again, I know she makes a point to tell you that she's looking at women that make a certain amount of money, but this definition of "success" sucks because while I make a third of what these women make, I find myself busy, driven, and SUCCESSFUL.
mayag's review against another edition
3.0
It’s not exactly a meaty book (I listened to it at 1.5 speed with no trouble) but useful for those people who have trouble focusing on the things they really care about. It provides a good reminder—we all have the same amount of time and have to figure out our own circumstances and interests to make the most of it. Best to focus on your own true desires and priorities and not worry about other people.
librarykate's review
5.0
As a working mother, I like to read books about time management. Understanding and better using the time I have is very important to me. There are couple things I liked about this book, and one thing that I didn't.
First, I liked that Vanderkam recommends thinking of the week as a whole rather than the day as a whole. I like this approach because days understandably have fewer hours, and certain days are filled up with work very quickly.
Second, I liked her approach to scheduling leisure. It is much too easy to find yourself in the facebook scroll, but if you are conscientious, there is a lot you can do.
The one thing that I didn't like was how much time was spent talking about ways to flex your schedule. I work in an industry that doesn't really allow for much flexibility, and that whole chapter felt wasted. Vanderkam kept alluding to different aspects of flex schedule throughout the rest of the book, and I would have preferred more ideas for making a traditional schedule work rather then encouraging a non-traditional schedule.
First, I liked that Vanderkam recommends thinking of the week as a whole rather than the day as a whole. I like this approach because days understandably have fewer hours, and certain days are filled up with work very quickly.
Second, I liked her approach to scheduling leisure. It is much too easy to find yourself in the facebook scroll, but if you are conscientious, there is a lot you can do.
The one thing that I didn't like was how much time was spent talking about ways to flex your schedule. I work in an industry that doesn't really allow for much flexibility, and that whole chapter felt wasted. Vanderkam kept alluding to different aspects of flex schedule throughout the rest of the book, and I would have preferred more ideas for making a traditional schedule work rather then encouraging a non-traditional schedule.
loribailey's review
5.0
I recommend this to mom friends all the time. I really appreciate Vanderkam's empowering perspective. She doesn't slip into the common time-management tips and tricks you hear frequently, but focuses more on reframing your mindset and getting what you want out of the time you have. This is useful for anyone, but I wish I'd been able to read it when our son was young.
tori430's review
5.0
One, I like that this was written specifically for the perspective of women (though much reference the struggle of being a mom). Second, I like that this book to a positive perspective on women’s ‘busy’ schedules. It revealed that, yes, we all have a lot on our plates, but that also we have a lot of time to fill with the things we want to do. It’s all about the choices you make with the time you have more control over. Also interesting was that among people in high profile jobs, the average still work just about 40-50 hours per week. No one is working 80, thankfully!
erthsavr's review
2.0
This book had some great points and gave me new perspective on how much time I have each week. However I was definitely not the target audience for this book. The test group of women for this book was very specific and I couldn't relate to their lives or opportunities.
kc1005us's review
3.0
Too many statistics for me. Not sure what I expected--I'm leaning towards more tips & tricks, vs "x # of people do x". I'm thinking this would be a good book to pick up here & there, not try to read straight through.