168 Hours

You Have More Time Than You Think

By: Laura Vanderkam

Narrated by: Elizabeth London

Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

There are 168 hours in a week. This book is about where the time really goes, and how we can all use it better. It's an unquestioned truth of modern life: we are starved for time. With the rise of two-income families, extreme jobs, and 24/7 connectivity, life is so frenzied we can barely find time to breathe. We tell ourselves we'd like to read more, get to the gym regularly, try new hobbies, and accomplish all kinds of goals. But then we give up because there just aren't enough hours to do it all. Or else, if we don't make excuses, we make sacrifices. To get ahead at work we spend less time with our spouses. To carve out more family time, we put off getting in shape. To train for a marathon, we cut back on sleep. There has to be a better way - and Laura Vanderkam has found one.

After interviewing dozens of successful, happy people, she realized that they allocate their time differently than most of us. Instead of letting the daily grind crowd out the important stuff, they start by making sure there's time for the important stuff. They focus 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's not always easy, but the payoff is enormous. Vanderkam shows that it really is possible to sleep eight hours a night, exercise five days a week, take piano lessons, and write a novel without giving up quality time for work, family, and other things that really matter. The key is to start with a blank slate and to fill up your 168 hours only with things that deserve your time. Of course, you probably won't read to your children at 2:00 am, or skip a Wednesday morning meeting to go hiking, but you can cut back on how much you watch TV, do laundry, or spend time on other less fulfilling activities. Vanderkam shares creative ways to rearrange your schedule to make room for the things that matter most.

©2010 Laura Vanderkam (P)2010 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"We so often live our lives day by day. Laura wants us to think about doing it hour by hour. Living this mantra by example, she gets more done in a day than most of us do in a week." (Seth Godin, author of Linchpin)

"Laura Vanderkam shows us how to use our only real wealth-our 168 hours a week- to make our lives richer, not busier. That's a wonderful gift, because it's what genuine success is all about." (Geoff Colvin, author of Talent Is Overrated)

Great Reminder

This was a great reminder that we can all truly decide more intentionally how to spend our time. I appreciated the thoughtfulness of the book. Overall, the performance of the narration was good, but there were times I felt the narrator was a little to rushed between phrases, sentences, and thoughts. But overall this is a minor complaint, and I was able to follow the narration without problem.

Very useful

I fought that would help me. didn't think that was this much. I'm non my way to have the life I want.

Author gives a range of examples

the examples provided throughout the book help you relate and encourage you that you can also take advantage of the 168 hours we all start off with weekly. This book can be applied to all aspects of your life and pursue what we all want in life, success and happiness.

suprised with how much I enjoyed it

I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it. her narration gives much life to the book

loved it! practical advice that you can apply!

Loved it practical advice that you can start applying the 1st day you start listening!

A few good chapters

The first chapter and last few chapters were good. But there was a lot of redundancy and the same thing said over and over. The middle was long and boring with too many examples.

The narrator was ok. I prefer when authors read their own books.

Mind blowing

This book was recommended by Organize 365. It is absolutely life changing and has rekindled some of my dreams and goals for my life. I highly recommend it to everyone.

nothing revelational.

I thought the narration was good. however, there was nothing new and at times redundant referring back and forth to things already said. If you are already suffering this might be for you. it was not for me.

Lack luster

As a child free professional, this book had a heavy bent towards child rearing professionals, which after a while became redundant. The time mapping was a good exercise and there were tidbits of advice that I will put to use. Overall, it felt very upper middle class, urban and parent centric. Not as widely applicable as I had hoped.

Useful and inspiring

I enjoyed this book and I'm excited to try out a lot of the ideas suggested by the author. I think this book could help anyone who feels they don't have enough hours in their day to make progress on the things that are important to them.