rushley's 2018 book club: 168 hours
Our first book for our book club this year was 168 Hours, by Laura Vanderkam.
In a nutshell, this book is about time. Everyone has the same 168 hours each week, so why are some people able to fit so much more productivity, meaning, and breakthroughs into their weeks and lives? That's exactly what Vanderkam explores. She also includes exercises at the end of every chapter for implementing the things she talks about.
I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was well-written and full of good ideas and insights. I liked how she talked about a specific person each chapter, and illustrated how different principles applied.
She talks about how a huge reason we aren't accomplishing as much as we'd like is because we waste so much of our time on mindless things. We often think we're working 40, 50, or 60 hour weeks, when really we're putting in 30 hours of actual work, and 10+ hours of breaks. We often think we don't have any spare time, but that's because we spend so much of our spare time watching TV or scrolling through social media. But if we'd actually really schedule our time, we could get more work done in less time, and we could fit in some of the things we'd really like to do instead of just watching TV (or whatever other mindless thing we waste time on).
I think we all subconsciously know that this is true, but the way she writes it out just makes it so clear. For instance, she'll say that you can work 50 hours/week, sleep 8 hours/night (=56 hours), and spend 2 hours/day (=14) on personal care like eating and showering, and that still leaves you 48 whole hours to do anything else. So in 48 hours, how can you not find 3 hours to exercise (30 mins/day, 6 days/week)? or 2 hours to work on a hobby that is important to you (15-20 minutes/day)? And that's if you work 50 hours/week! If you work only 40, or if you're like me and work like 5, your hours have just opened up even more!
But the trick is taking time to schedule, knowing what things are important to you, and then sticking to what you say you'll do. Which, of course, is all easier said than done :)
I'm not very good at book reviews, so I'll just leave you with this -- I thought it was a great book and I totally recommend it. I have a long way to go before I'm successfully implementing the principles given in the book, but I like that the book has given me some ideas to start with.
* * *
Have you read this book? What did you think?
Or did I convince you to read this book? Let me know!
And if you have any ideas about how to write better book reviews, I'm all ears, because I've got 11 more to write this year! haha :)
In a nutshell, this book is about time. Everyone has the same 168 hours each week, so why are some people able to fit so much more productivity, meaning, and breakthroughs into their weeks and lives? That's exactly what Vanderkam explores. She also includes exercises at the end of every chapter for implementing the things she talks about.
I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was well-written and full of good ideas and insights. I liked how she talked about a specific person each chapter, and illustrated how different principles applied.
She talks about how a huge reason we aren't accomplishing as much as we'd like is because we waste so much of our time on mindless things. We often think we're working 40, 50, or 60 hour weeks, when really we're putting in 30 hours of actual work, and 10+ hours of breaks. We often think we don't have any spare time, but that's because we spend so much of our spare time watching TV or scrolling through social media. But if we'd actually really schedule our time, we could get more work done in less time, and we could fit in some of the things we'd really like to do instead of just watching TV (or whatever other mindless thing we waste time on).
I think we all subconsciously know that this is true, but the way she writes it out just makes it so clear. For instance, she'll say that you can work 50 hours/week, sleep 8 hours/night (=56 hours), and spend 2 hours/day (=14) on personal care like eating and showering, and that still leaves you 48 whole hours to do anything else. So in 48 hours, how can you not find 3 hours to exercise (30 mins/day, 6 days/week)? or 2 hours to work on a hobby that is important to you (15-20 minutes/day)? And that's if you work 50 hours/week! If you work only 40, or if you're like me and work like 5, your hours have just opened up even more!
But the trick is taking time to schedule, knowing what things are important to you, and then sticking to what you say you'll do. Which, of course, is all easier said than done :)
I'm not very good at book reviews, so I'll just leave you with this -- I thought it was a great book and I totally recommend it. I have a long way to go before I'm successfully implementing the principles given in the book, but I like that the book has given me some ideas to start with.
* * *
Have you read this book? What did you think?
Or did I convince you to read this book? Let me know!
And if you have any ideas about how to write better book reviews, I'm all ears, because I've got 11 more to write this year! haha :)
Yes on the mindless TV and social media. But you still don't have 48 hours (even if you're a single person): driving/walking to and from work, laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, changing diapers, cooking, playing with your child and have a little time to actually do mindless stuff
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