Learning From Literature

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

Cover of 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam

168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam is a self-help book published in 2010.

Americans have a cultural narrative of too little time, but that’s statistically false. With the inherent time in American schedules, there is enough time to go back to school, write a novel, or do plenty of other things you would think impossible.

By efficiently planning your 168 hours (amount of time in one week), you can have enough space for full-time work, intense involvement with your family, rejuvenating leisure time, adequate sleep, and everything else that matters. Vanderkam provides actionable strategies for optimizing time, even writing this while working a full-time job, caring for newborns, leading volunteer efforts, and handling other responsibilities in the middle of New York City. 

Purchase the book by clicking this link!

Enjoy!

Table of Contents

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The Myth Of The Time Crunch
  • American cultural narrative that we can’t “have it all”
  • Average American (from scientific studies) (even moms with toddlers)
    • Work: 35-43 hours per week
    • Sleep: 8 hours
    • Household Activities: 1-4 hours
    • Playing With Kids: 11-25 minutes (unemployed – 30-50 minutes)
    • TV: 3 hours
  • We claim we suffer from lack of time
    • Over/underestimate due to social pressure
    • Underestimate sleep & leisure consistently
  • Problem → not overworked but don’t consciously plan our time
    • Waste time on slight pleasure that don’t develop careers, families, personal lives
    • “I don’t have time” → “That’s not a priority for me”
  • We have the time
    • Sleep 56 hours (8 per night)
    • Work 50 hours
    • Childcare 18 hours
    • Exercise 5 hours
    • Time for eating, showering, cooking, cleaning, transport, etc
    • Still multiple hours a day for other passions
Your Core Competencies
  • Core Competencies → Meaningful abilities we do best
  • People who get the most out of life spend as much as possible on core competencies
    • Minimize, outsource, ignore everything else
  • To find your core competencies, try lots of things (recommended in Range)
  • Make a list of “100 Dreams” and start to do them
    • You’ll discover some you don’t actually like
The Right Job
  • Job has a large impact on quality of life
    • Each hour can be a joy or drain
  • Without the right job, you won’t have energy / desire to maximize free time
  • Find work that matches expertise & intrinsic motivations
  • Better for financial purposes too
    • Happy → more productive & more motivated to improve → more money
    • Unhappy → won’t do it well + spend extra money trying to make yourself happy
Controlling Your Calendar
  • Anything not advancing you to life goals is wasted time
  • Make it clear what you want to get out of every job (based on career goals)
    • Break down into actionable tasks
  • Busyness is usually just a false sense of productivity
  • Get rid of non-core competencies → Ignore, Minimize, Outsource
  • Boost efficiency by getting better at what you do
Anatomy of a Breakthrough
  • Breakthroughs are just unnoticed work – Atomic Habits & The Slight Edge describe the process of a breakthrough in life
  • Picture where you want to be & act like it NOW
  • Figure out what you need to get to that next level
  • Open More Opportunities
    • Step outside your comfort zone – plant more seeds, open more doors
The New Home Economics
  • Over time, time allocation has shifted
    • Decrease in housing standards – Increase in parenting standards
  • Personal time is available even with kids
    • Many at school 35 hours a week – almost full-time
  • Find opportunities to connect
    • Do mutual activities
    • Make breakfast a family meal
    • Discuss how their day went
  • Organize your work life reflecting your children
  • Invest time in your partnership
    • Has multiplier effect on the rest of your life
Don’t Do Your Own Laundry
  • Many chores can be outsourced, from cooking to laundry
  • Chores have an opportunity cost
    • You aren’t spending time on core competencies 
  • Might be better financially
    • More time freed → more time developing career
  • Working couples spend 9.24 hours on groceries, prepping, and cooking but only 3 hours playing with kids
A Full Life
  • Many don’t know what to do with free time
    • Gets filled with frictionless activities – chores & TV
    • Americans (even with little kids) have 30 hours free a week (4 per day)
  • TV doesn’t make us as happy or rejuvenated
    • Reading, sports, kids, walks, sleeping, art / music, and more were ranked higher
  • Actively plan free time
    • Figure out what you’d like to be doing
    • Block times
    • Use any free time (even 30 min) – read, write, instrument, call friend, research
  • Adults need unstructured time to relax and rejuvenate
  • Commit enough, time, energy, and resources to make your activities meaningful
The Hard Work of Having It All
  • There is time for anything that matters
  • Time Makeover
    • Log your time
    • Create list of dreams activities
    • Identify core competencies
    • Start with a blank slate
    • Fill your 168 hours with blocks of time
    • Ignore, minimize, or outsource everything else
    • Fill bits of time with bits of joy
    • Tune up as necessary

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