Intro

Wow, I really needed to read this book! I often get compliments on how well I manage my time, juggling work, volunteering, exercising, and still carving out “me” time. But deep down, I knew I could improve. 🥲

Meat

The book opens with a story about a super mom who not only has six kids but is also the founder and CEO of a seven-figure company, all while managing to get eight hours of sleep every night. I mean, if she can do it, why can’t we? My responsibilities are nowhere near hers, so I had to wonder: what am I missing? The book quickly highlights that it’s all about seeing time from a different perspective and learning how to manage it better. There’s also a story of a Google engineer working 50 hours a week, teaching at NYU, doing triathlons, maintaining a relationship, coaching other athletes, running errands, and still squeezing in seven hours of TV! He’s happy and challenged. The reoccurring theme seemed to be that we just need to invest time to “build a life where we can really have it all”.

Along those lines, one of the biggest takeaways from Laura’s book was her suggestion to think about time in 168-hour chunks (a whole week) rather than just day by day. She encourages us to log everything we do for a week to find out where our time really goes. It’s mind-blowing how we often think we’re working 80 hours a week when the reality is much different. So, what are your true focus hours?

I gave her method a shot and tried logging everything I did for a week. Something that really surprised me was realizing just how much stale time I had. Laura points out that many of us, even the people in her examples, spend way too much time lounging in front of the TV. Yeah, my log seemed to reinforce her findings.

Once I identified those time wasters (bye, bye k-dramas), I hit another roadblock: “What do I do with this newfound free time?” That’s where Laura’s exercise of listing “My 100 Dreams” comes in. It sparked ideas for me right away. I haven’t even made it to 30 yet, but it’s helped me start filling those blank spots in my day with meaningful projects instead of becoming a couch potato. I now have a weekly schedule of my high-level routine along with a checklist of items that I need to take care each day.

Another highlight from the book was the importance of focusing on our core competencies. It reminded me a lot of The 4-Hour Workweek, but with a twist. These days, with technology, it’s so easy to outsource tasks that aren’t in our wheelhouse. Why spend hours doing something you’re not good at when you can delegate and focus on what you do best?

Oh, and exercise—Laura recommends at least 2.5 hours a week, which breaks down to just 22 minutes a day! She points out that this small amount of time can dramatically boost your quality of life. Totally doable, right?

Conclusion

In a nutshell, what I loved most was this: “There is time for anything that matters.“ You just have to be intentional about it. The book has templates that you can recreate to start organizing your time.

Happy Reading, Gaby

P.S. Check out my blog post on checklists called the checklist manifesto.