168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think

“168 Hours is filled with tips and tricks on how you can be more efficient every day. By being more productive at work and home, you’ll create more free time to focus on the truly fulfilling activities in your life, rather than the simply mundane.” 
—Laura Stack, author of Find More Time: Get Things Done at Home, Organize Your Life, and Feel Great About It

“Within a few pages, Laura Vanderkam’s book convinced me I had time to read it. Then it convinced me I had time to reread War and Peace. In the original Russian. Thank you, Laura, for freeing up my schedule.
—Martha Beck, bestselling author of Steering by Starlight

“168 Hours should be an eye-opener for every one of us who leads a busy, hectic life. Reading it made me appreciate how much “true” amount of time I really have and how to use it wisely and optimally to boost productivity, efficiency, and joy.” 
—Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness

“We predict that 168 Hours will fly off the shelves and into the hands of anyone who has ever uttered the words: ‘I’m SO busy!’ or ‘If only I had more time!’ Vanderkam’s approach is incredibly powerful and resonant given the average American watches 4 hours of television. A day!” 
—Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, Co-Creators of Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) and Co-Authors of Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It

“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.” 
—Sid Savara, “You Have More Time Than You Think”   

“The idea that we’re under a ‘time crunch’ is a myth. The real crisis all of us are under is more along the lines of misuse of time. We spend our time doing things that aren’t very high on our real personal priority list. It’s not just the time we waste doing unimportant stuff. It’s also the time we spend being productive towards ends that really don’t mean very much in our life.”
—Trent Hamm, The Simple Dollar

“It’s not a time management book (though it can certainly help you manage your hours). It’s more of a ‘wake up and open your eyes, you twit,’ kind of book. Or, for those who prefer the gentler version, it’s the sort of book that says, ‘Isn’t this interesting? Look at how much time you really have. Now what are you going to do about it?’ ”
—James Chartrand, Men with Pens

“Vanderkam asks the reader to look at their core competencies and goals to also see if they’re spending their lives wisely, doing what they do and enjoy best. In other words, quality, not just quantity: Not a bad question.”
—Richard Pachter, McClatchy Newspapers

“168 Hours does, indeed, contain a lot of food for thought. There are ideas in here that can truly make an immediate difference in your life, and various statistics that will put your mind to rest. And once you read it, you’ll no longer have to struggle to find an excuse for avoiding things: as author Laura Vanderkam says, if you don’t like to do something, own the truth.” 
—Terri Schlichenmeyer, Mississippi Business Journal

“Laura Vanderkam’s 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think (Penguin) has two genuine insights to offer. The first is right there in the subtitle: Many of us—especially those of us who claim to be insanely busy—probably aren’t quite as overworked as we claim, and that it is in fact possible to fit in most of what you actually want to do during the typical week. The second follows more or less directly from the first: Become more self-conscious about how you use your time, and you will both accomplish more and be happier about it.”
—Jason B. Jones, Chronicle of Higher Education

“24/7. We see and hear that number often enough, but does anyone ever do the math? 24/7 adds up to 168 hours—one week—and, according to Laura Vanderkam, author of 168 Hours, it is the ideal unit by which to examine our lives. Most of us complain about not having enough time to do what it takes to feel successful at home or at work. 168 Hours posits that if we look at the data objectively—how we really spend each hour in an average week—we all have “enough.” After keeping a log for one week, readers can conduct their own Time Makeover: identify dreams and the “actionable steps” they require, optimize “core competencies” and, my favorite, outsource or minimize all the stuff left over. With allowances for downtime and “bits of joy” thrown in, time can finally be on our side, 24/7.” 
—Bookpage, TOP PICK FOR LIFESTYLES

“Having it all is hard work; it’s a process of evaluating the present and setting future goals. New York City-based author Vanderkam (Grindhopping ) uses time surveys and relates countless stories of friends and clients who have achieved breakthroughs in creating time to enjoy life. Some of her suggestions include focusing, making the most of downtime, and committing enough time, energy, and resources to make activities meaningful. The best chapters offer parents ideas for building quality time with their children. Checklists and charts break up this rather hefty book and offer a new context for thinking about time. Worthwhile.” 
—Library Journal

“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”
—Marisa Thalberg, Executive Moms Momorandum: “Time of Your Life,”

“I am a voracious, but picky reader and in order for me to spend time reading something, it better be worth it. This book was worth every minute. It is well-organized, and smartly written with practical tips and tools to make the most of the time you have.” 
—Elizabeth Simon Feldman, Kicking the Moon

“It’s perfect for those who think they face a constant time crunch. Until recently, I was one. Reading the book helped me realize I do have time to write that novel, start that blog, take that dance class, exercise every day — and still have dinner ready for my husband and spend quality time with my kids.” 
—Jennifer Kabbany, North County Times