168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, by Laura Vanderkam
Good self-help books explain in a clear and inspiring way things we knew but had forgotten. Mediocre self-help books give us yet another instruction manual on how to be happy.
I read this book because someone wrote in a newsletter that it would change my view of time forever. I finished it still waiting for the revelation, which is actually in the title. Are you ready? Here it is.
A week consists of 168 hours. 7 days times 24 hours.
It's true that a number like that makes us say "oh my, that's a lot! But in real life I don't feel like it's that much!" And the author responds: if you think you're running out of time, you're organizing it wrong.
That's it. I did the little exercise in the book, which was to write down my schedule in detail for a full week. I realized that I was spending my time exactly the way I thought I was and that reorganizing my time wasn't going to help me with my anxiety. And that in fact the book was probably making it worse, because I was constantly annoyed by :
- The multiple references to Christianity. According to the author, for example, studying the Bible, praying and going to church on Sunday are all normal and healthy activities. Like in the 60s. Personally, there is no better way to make me lose interest.
- The constant reference to exercise. Everyone she interviewed said they spent something like 7 hours a week, at least, working out. And exercise, for them, is not a walk. In fact, we understand that what should count as "real" exercise is training for a triathlon, running on a treadmill, doing 1.5 hours of yoga in a studio, things like that. It feels like a Hollywood movie.
- The underlying message is that a good life is a productive life in every sense of the word.
There is nothing new in this. Anyone who is even remotely influenced by American culture "knows" these things. I don't need a so-called journalist/time management expert to tell me.
Yes, yes, there are some interesting things hidden in there somewhere. But my advice: there are better ways to spend your 168 hours.
