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A review by bluedharma
I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time by Laura Vanderkam
2.0
I was underwhelmed by this book. While it was fascinating to see how women in high paying jobs juggled their commitments, most of the information wasn't new and most women working with kids will be used to trying to make it work...somehow.
The tone of the book regarding family life and personal growth just seemed a bit soulless. You're getting great family time if you're just managing to sit down to eat with children at the same time, and it's a great thing to be getting up at 5am to cram a cardio session in at the gym before continuing on with a full schedule of work and running around kids. Oh, and it's also great to then carry on working when the kids go to bed and not enjoy such a terrible thing as watching TV (which could be documentaries, period drama, classic film/theatre for example) or just doing something quiet and enjoyable. Where are the lie ins, long breakfasts, time with families and friends just hanging out, quality time with children, individual hobbies? Slowing down at all didn't seem to be a respectable option.
In my mind, there were a few cases when women didn't have it all and Laura Vanderkam's acceptance and promotion of work driven lives and everything else fitting in around it didn't do it for me.
The tone of the book regarding family life and personal growth just seemed a bit soulless. You're getting great family time if you're just managing to sit down to eat with children at the same time, and it's a great thing to be getting up at 5am to cram a cardio session in at the gym before continuing on with a full schedule of work and running around kids. Oh, and it's also great to then carry on working when the kids go to bed and not enjoy such a terrible thing as watching TV (which could be documentaries, period drama, classic film/theatre for example) or just doing something quiet and enjoyable. Where are the lie ins, long breakfasts, time with families and friends just hanging out, quality time with children, individual hobbies? Slowing down at all didn't seem to be a respectable option.
In my mind, there were a few cases when women didn't have it all and Laura Vanderkam's acceptance and promotion of work driven lives and everything else fitting in around it didn't do it for me.