168 Hours
Ratings17
Average rating3.6
There are 168 hours in a week. This book is about where the time really goes, and how we can all use it better. It's an unquestioned truth of modern life: we are starved for time. With the rise of two-income families, extreme jobs, and 24/7 connectivity, life is so frenzied we can barely find time to breathe. We tell ourselves we'd like to read more, get to the gym regularly, try new hobbies, and accomplish all kinds of goals. But then we give up because there just aren't enough hours to do it all. Or else, if we don't make excuses, we make sacrifices. To get ahead at work we spend less time with our spouses. To carve out more family time, we put off getting in shape. To train for a marathon, we cut back on sleep. There has to be a better way-and Laura Vanderkam has found one. After interviewing dozens of successful, happy people, she realized that they allocate their time differently than most of us. Instead of letting the daily grind crowd out the important stuff, they start by making sure there's time for the important stuff. They focus on what they do best and what only they can do. When plans go wrong and they run out of time, only their lesser priorities suffer. It's not always easy, but the payoff is enormous. Vanderkam shows that it really is possible to sleep eight hours a night, exercise five days a week, take piano lessons, and write a novel without giving up quality time for work, family, and other things that really matter. The key is to start with a blank slate and to fill up your 168 hours only with things that deserve your time. Of course, you probably won't read to your children at 2:00 am, or skip a Wednesday morning meeting to go hiking, but you can cut back on how much you watch TV, do laundry, or spend time on other less fulfilling activities. Vanderkam shares creative ways to rearrange your schedule to make room for the things that matter most. 168 Hours is a fun, inspiring, practical guide that will help men and women of any age, lifestyle, or career get the most out of their time and their lives.
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Interesting focus on how we spend our time - Laura provides a glimpse into the choices we make and (mis)perceptions we have about where our time goes. She compels the reader to figure out where their time is really going, and separately identify what really matters. The challenge then is to do more of what matters and lose as much of the rest as possible.
4.5 stars. I'm a big fan of Vanderkam's blog and I think she offers actionable strategies for making time for what matters while also recognizing the privilege many of us have in being able to think these things through. This book felt a little dated and could use a refresh for 2018 but overall still applicable.
I enjoyed the main approach of the book, which is to be aware of how we spend our 168 hours and identify how we can make better use of the time available for all of us. So far so good, but I found that the author addresses only a handful of life styles, specially couples with kids.
I didn't agree with all the suggestions she gave. There was too much “delegating” to paid services tips and I am more into searching for a frugal or simple lifestyle. As far as I know hiring household services is usually more expensive than doing them ourselves, but the author affirms that this model could work for some people (if they have the money to afford it, of course). I think it's hard to try carve out more time out of our days if we don't reduce the excess activities and stuff we accumulate over time. And I don't remember the author addressing this side of the coin.
The following tips didn't really resonate with my personal style:
- Get someone else to do the things you don't enjoy by delegating or hiring someone else: laundry, cooking, scheduling appointments. I don't agree with this one because I truly prefer to live an independent life, and if I can't find time or satisfaction from taking care of my stuff, I should consider minimizing.
- Carve out chunks of time during our work day schedule to do the things we say we don't have enough time to do. That's the kind of tip that won't work for everyone because not all of us have a flexible schedule or a work environment that encourages “off duty” activities or arriving a bit late.
The main messages of the book that stuck in my brain and that I somewhat agree with were:
- Cut down TV time. And then cut some more. TV is not so relaxing as we might think.
- Block out time to exercise. Then fine more exercise more.
- Make a list of tasks you can do in 30 minutes. And another for 10 minutes. Remember these little things that can be done between tasks or while waiting something. For example: read a book in a waiting line, or do some push-ups or stay in plank position while you wait for the microwave. Reading while waiting or in public transport is totally okay, I do this all the time with my Kindle. Doing push-ups while the microwave: not so much because there are usually other things to take care of in the kitchen, in my case. But I think it's doable.
- Identify our core competencies: that is a good exercise because we often forget our main goals amidst the various activities and responsibilities we are involved. When we know what are our core competencies we can plan out more time to develop these areas.
One thing that I didn't enjoy about this book was the writing style. I thought the chapters were too long and there were too many anecdotes about other peoples lives filled with excessive and unnecessary details to prove a point. Those parts really put me off the book and made me speed read them. I think the text lacked a bit of objectivity, since it's about productivity and carving out precious time.
So, the book has a couple of good ideas and tips but the overall experience of reading it wasn't fulfilling and I was disappointed in the end.
