We’re both hot topics of conversation in Miami, apparently! (I will admit that I spent 45 minutes of my last 168 hours watching the season premiere of Jersey Shore — the episode when they go to Miami. Yikes).
Anyway, the Miami Herald Business Book Club selected 168 Hours for review a few weeks ago. The paper ran Richard Pachter’s kind and thoughtful review yesterday, along with oodles of reader reviews, both in the paper and online. You can read them here.
Some of my favorites? Well, there’s this one from Barry Faske:
I expected no more than a re-wording of other time management books’ insights. What I got was a refreshing personalized account of taking control of your time.
Anne Bloom offers this take:
This book has changed my life! Actually, it calmed me down. It’s okay that I don’t empty my e-mail inbox, and use the search function to find things — so does she! It’s much easier to fit something into a week than into 24 hours.
I seem to have won over recalcitrant reader Amy de la Cruz-Munoz:
I was very prepared to dislike this author when I began this book. In fact, I was ready to smack her after the first chapter about all she had accomplished at the end of just one day. Surprisingly, I not only found it an enjoyable, quick read, but I felt that it gave me quite a bit to think about.
Alex R. Camacho puts me in some very esteemed company:
This book is one that I will add to my “shelf'” of quick reference books that I have on my office desk… right next to Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Og Mandino’s The Choice. This book is a must read for anyone who truly is seeking a fresh prospective on how to tackle century old question: “How do I balance my work life with my personal life?”
Nancy Taylor endorses my housekeeping standards:
Although I am not ready to send out my laundry for others to see my dirty underwear (I believe in literally not sharing your dirty laundry), I do believe there is wisdom in living in planned chaos. Prioritizing a spotless house will only cause me additional guilt, piled on after being a working mother (and secretly enjoying my job, like the author does). I’ve named my dust bunnies.
And Kim Waller gained new insight into her mother’s life:
Until now, I have always wondered how my mother was able to raise 5 kids, in an immaculate house and yard, keep my dad together and help him in his businesses, run 5 miles a day, play tennis, have dinner on the table, have time to watch TV and be in bed by 10:00. Whew, Vanderkam actually tells us how this can be done.
Though some of the reviews were more mixed (or negative), on the whole, I really felt like a lot of the readers “got” the book. It’s not about cramming more in, or about feeling bad about watching TV. It’s about recognizing that we are in charge of our lives, and by choosing how we spend the currency of our time, we can turn the lives we have into the lives we want.