The Reviews Roll In

Phew! Yesterday was quite a day for 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think.

I woke up to discover that personal finance expert Manisha Thakor had an “intellectual girl crush” on me in her great post “Time is Money: How Are You Spending Your 168 Hours?” Manisha also posted this Q&A at the Huffington Post and several other places. She called 168 Hours “absolutely brilliant,” and in her FTC disclosure statement, noted that she got a free advance review copy of the book, but then went on Amazon and ordered several more because “the book is that good.” Thanks Manisha!

I have been a longtime fan of the Executive Moms organization. So I was beyond thrilled to be the subject of Thursday’s Momorandum: Time of Your Life. Marisa Thalberg wrote this about 168 Hours:

We particularly love one of her underlying motivations for looking at time differently, which is to debunk the maddeningly prevalent idea that women cannot do things like have a “Career” and a “Family” all at once.

My thoughts exactly. I’ll post more of the Momorandum in the press and reviews section of this website.

Next up? Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0 and a personal branding expert. He ran a Q&A with me (and linked to the 168 Hours video!) I really appreciate Dan telling his 80,000 Twitter followers about the book.

Over at About.com, Katherine Reynolds Lewis ran two reviews: a shorter one on the Working Moms page, and a longer general book review for the broader About.com readership. Katherine reports that 168 Hours “will resonate with fans of both Dave Allen and the Dalai Lama,” and that it is a “gracefully written, information-packed book.”  My favorite quote?

During the week that I was reading the book, I exercised every single day, focused on my children’s most obscure questions, connected with my husband and even took two hours to pursue speculative, long-term career goals. If I keep going at this pace, I won’t be able to avoid running a marathon!

Wow — now I think I need to re-read the book!

Things just kept going from there. Around lunch time, Fast Company posted Cali Williams Yost’s review plus Q&A, “168 Hours to a Fulfilling Career AND Life.” Cali has a lot of clout in the workplace flexibility world, so I’m quite excited to learn that she agrees with the premise of the book. As she notes, there aren’t many books out there for those of us with big career ambitions who also want to be fully involved in our personal and family lives. She writes:

To date, there really hasn’t been much written specifically for this group because the collective cultural bias has declared, “It can’t be done…and if it is, it can’t be done well.” But what if that’s not necessarily true, at least for some people? In 168 Hours (which goes on sale today), Laura Vanderkam, a highly regarded journalist and mother of two young sons, shows that it is possible to take your career to the next level while having a full personal life. “It isn’t easy, but it is doable as long as you actively choose how to spend your time the way you want.”

Cali intersperses her own thoughts through this interview, so it’s fascinating reading. Please check it out.

Michelle Goodman ran a Q&A in her Nine to Thrive column at NW Jobs. In the post, she confesses that her to-do list is 7-pages long. I hope 168 Hours is helping with that!

Sid Savara, who actually makes an appearance in 168 Hours (he outsourced a lot of his meal prep and laundry), ran a very thoughtful review called You Have More Time Than You Think on his blog. He notes:

This is not just a time management book like the name implies. This really is a book about people living their dream lives and dream jobs and accomplishing their goals, and fundamental to all of that is first taking control of your time.

I think that’s correct — 168 Hours is not just about time management, it’s about life management. I’m happy to give people 10 tips to save time, but really, there’s no point in saving 5 minutes here and there if, for instance, you’re in a job you hate. I’m glad Sid recognizes that, and is spreading the word.

Finally, Christine Whelan’s review at The Huffington Post, “You’re Not Too Busy: You Have More Time Than You Think,” came in late in the day. Christine writes:

While 168 Hours certainly gets up in your business for wasting time, it’s not some dull or preachy book about time-management: It’s a compellingly written, logical argument against the emotional complaint “I’m too busy,” presented alongside practical advice and engaging collection of time-use tricks.

I’ll post more reviews and news as they come in! If you’re new to the site (and there were a lot of you new yesterday, according to Google Analytics), please take a look around, leave some comments, and check out 168 Hours for yourself.

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2 thoughts on “The Reviews Roll In

  1. @laura — why so few replies to your posts? Is it reall that so few are reading, or are responses held up as they await moderation? Perhaps with the new (and well-deserved!) publicity, the moderation policy should be reviewed. I know the sites I frequent which allow more immediate feedback are livelier and get more looks — and hits.

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