168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think – Laura Vanderkam

There are 168 hours in every week. This book is about where time actually goes, and how we can all use it better. It is an unquestioned fact of modern life: we’re starved for time. With the rise of two-income households, extreme jobs, and 24/7 connectivity, life is so frenzied we can barely find time to breathe. We tell ourselves we would like to read more, get to the gymnasium regularly, try new hobbies, and attain all types of targets. However, then we surrender because there simply aren’t enough hours to do it all. Or else, if we do not make excuses, we make sacrifices. To get ahead at work we spend much less time with our spouses. To carve out extra family time, we delay getting in shape. To train for a marathon, we reduce sleep. There must be a better approach – and Laura Vanderkam has discovered one in 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think (audiobook).

After interviewing dozens of successful, happy individuals, she realized that they allocate their time differently than most of us. Instead of letting the daily grind crowd out the important stuff, they begin by making sure there’s time for the essential stuff. They concentrate 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 isn’t always simple, however, the payoff is gigantic. Vanderkam reveals that it actually is possible to sleep eight hours a night, exercise 5 days every week, take piano classes, and write a novel without giving up quality time for work, family, and other issues that really matter. The secret’s, to begin with, a clean slate and to fill up your 168 hours only with things that deserve your time. In fact, you most likely will not read to your kids at 2:00 am, or skip a Wednesday morning meeting to go mountaineering, however you may reduce how much you watch TV, do laundry, or spend time on different much less fulfilling activities. Vanderkam shares creative methods to rearrange your schedule to make room for the issues that matter most.