168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think 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.

The Myth Of The Time Crunch

• American cultural narrative that busy is normal
  • We often over/underestimate time due to social pressure
• Weekly Breakdown (Average US Adult)
  • Work: 35-43 hours per week
  • Sleep: ~8 hours per night (often underestimated)
  • Household chores: 1-4 hours/day
  • Playing with kids: <1 hour/day (even if unemployed)
  • TV: ~3 hours/day (consistently underestimated)
• The Real Problem
  • Not overwork – it’s unconscious time use
  • Time gets burned on low-value, short-term pleasures
  • “I don’t have time” really means “That’s not a priority”
• Reality Check: Time Is There
  • Sleep: 56 hours/week
  • Work: 50 hours/week
  • Childcare: 18 hours/week
  • Exercise: 5 hours/week
  • Include eating, hygiene, chores, transport
  • Still leaves multiple free hours per day for priorities & passions
• We have time — What are you choosing to spend it on?

Core Competencies

• Core Competencies – meaningful abilities you do best
  • Where your natural skill + interest + effectiveness intersect
  • People who thrive spend as much time as possible here
• Maximize time on core competencies – minimize all else
• Discovery Process
  • Try lots of things (as recommended in Range)
  • Skill + enjoyment = strong signal

The Right Job

• Job & Quality of Life
  • Each hour can be a source of joy or drain
  • The wrong job kills energy and motivation outside of work
  • Find work that matches: expertise & intrinsic motivation
• Financial Impact
  • Happy → higher productivity → more improvement → more money
  • Unhappy → poor motivation + compensatory spending

Controlling Your Calendar

• Anything not advancing your life goals is wasted time
• Be clear about what you want from every job (tie it to career goals)
• Picture where you want to be & act like it NOW
• Break goals down into actionable tasks
• Busyness = false sense of progress
• Motion ≠ progress

The New Home Economics

• Shifting Standards
  • Decrease in housing standards
  • Increase in parenting standards
• Time Reality
  • Personal time still exists, even with kids
  • Many kids are in school ~35 hours/week (almost full-time)
• Family Connection
  • Actively find opportunities to connect
  • Do mutual / shared activities
  • Make breakfast a family ritual
  • Discuss how their day went
• Work-Family Alignment
  • Organize your work life around your children
  • Prioritize presence and availability
  • Partnership Investment
  • Intentionally invest in your relationship
  • Creates a multiplier effect across all areas of life

A Full Life

• Many don’t know how to use free time
  • Gets filled with frictionless activities (chores, TV)
  • Even parents with young kids average ~30 hours free per week (~4/day)
• Intentional Planning
  • Actively plan your free time
  • Invest enough so leisure becomes meaningful, not just “filler”
  • Block time for it in advance
• Use Micro-Time – even 30 minutes matters
  • Read, write, practice an instrument, call a friend, research / learn
• Unstructured Time
  • Adults need unstructured time to relax and rejuvenate
  • Often a source of the best ideas