From Steve's high school reunion.
Although it doesn’t feel this way, there are actually more hours per week than you might think! Subtract a 40-50 hour work week, 8 hours of sleep per night, and you’ve still got more hours left for fun and personal time than you’ve spent at the office! This week we talk with Laura Vanderkam, author of 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think and learn some strategies for identifying those useless time sucks in life that steal us away from the Things we’d really like to do. Then Erin + Kristin debate the use of the word vacation.
Links mentioned: My 168 Hours | TaskRabbit.com
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8 Responses to Podcast: 168 Hours Per Week = More Time for You?
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I know I have little bits of time here & there. I facebook a few times a day & watch tv to unwind, but I cannot stay on top of it all & have just accepted that things will be like this for a very long time. My priority is sanity.
Do you ladies know where the manic mommies calendar is available in canada?
Yikes! Was I the only one to find this completely crazy? There are so many things besides working and sleep that need to be done and don’t feel optional. I don’t think it is as simple as 168 hours minus sleep time – work time. There are school drop offs and pick ups, homework, meal prep, laundry, doctors visits, bill paying, bathtime etc.
I appreciate that the author of this book discussed her child care arrangement and so maybe her nanny is taking care of some of these extra things. But if you have school aged kids and you work and have after school care associated with school you need someone to be doing all of these tasks. I think it is reasonable to outsource some things if you have the money to hire cleaners etc., but I think most of us are doing most of the things I outlined above and there isn’t that much free time.
How many other books exist about time management that have been published over the last 25 years. Scores, maybe? This one is not anything special especially because it involves math: 40 hours work x 5 plus 8 hours sleep x 7 plus 3 hours of meals x 7 plus 1 hour of shower/hair/make x 7 plus children x 7 (really this one is 24 hours). Wait a minute, as someone so succinctly said on the podcast, there are people being paid “to love and nurture your children.” What? Can anyone really pay someone else to love and nurture children?
Really, how can we of the normal world take this seriously.
I was most interested in the stories in her book about really successful people who seem to find time to do it all. Seriously. Maybe they do all have a lot of help, but I wasn’t kidding when I said to her I really don’t feel like I have any time to spare in my life. I make choices. But one thing I did take away was the idea of identifying those hidden time sucks, like errands. I am going to make more of an effort to minimize extra trips here and there and see what that gives me….
I haven’t listened to the podcast yet, but the first thing that ran through my mind as I was reading the blog post was…ummm, no way! There are loads of MANDATORY things each day that take up many hours — getting ready in the morning and getting out of the house, driving to and dropping off at day care, driving to the train station, riding the train to and from work, driving back from the train station after work to pick up from day care, driving home, cooking dinner, feeding and walking the dogs, spending time with my child reading/playing/etc., bath/bed time, grocery shopping…the list goes on and at the end of the day I am exhausted.
I feel like I have almost no free time and when I do spend a rare few hours doing something just for me, I sometimes feel guilty about the things I could/should be doing that I’m not. I didn’t even mention the mountains of laundry waiting to be done, grey hair to by dyed, house cleaning, etc. And I have a housekeeper 2x a month to help with that! I’m usually a very upbeat person, but somehow this struck a cord with me. The math is just not adding up…
I’m pretty sure I “waste” a lot of time then use the excuse, “I ran out of time”. I liked her suggestion of keeping a time journal so that I can see exactly how I spend my time. I could complain that I don’t have enough time to do laundry, but am I spending 2 hours online looking for black sandals?
of course I need my down time but like she said, it is about my priorities and if I’m not happy with the way I spend my time, then it is up to me to see where I can make changes.
One thing I got out of the interview was the idea of saying “that’s not a priority for me right now” instead “I don’t have time for that…” Even if, as in yesterday, the laundry got the “not a priority tag” and watching “The Gates” on Hulu from the comfort of my bed did.
I just wanted to mention a diet coke and mentor website that you cannot miss.
I am a science teacher and I love to show this video in my class. Always a hit.
http://www.eepybird.com
Good luck, and use diet because it is less sticky!