As I start this post, it's my 'lunch break'; usually I'd be on a walk (~3000 steps) but it's raining like crazy. I ate a salad with leftover steak and watched about 15 minutes in Selma, which needs to go back to the library (this is the third time I've reserved it this summer, so I really need to finish it!).
Although I've been reluctant to do so, I decided to track my time this week, after reading Laura Vanderkam's I Know How She Does It. I doubt it [the tracking exercise] will teach me much, as my summer schedule is very different than my fall schedule (or spring, for that matter, due to different teaching loads) but I figure the awareness of how I spend my time is probably good in itself (i.e. how many times will I check my email if I'm accountable for it?). This morning was productive; I did my daily writing, I revised an essay I need to send off, I read a chunk of a theoretical book that's been on my list for a while. The part of my morning I didn't like was taking 50 minutes to do two drop offs in opposite sides of town, and I've been thinking about ways to use that commute time in more enjoyable ways. But the fact is I don't like audio books. (I do often listen to NPR while driving, but more in the afternoon than the morning.)
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The above was written in a 5-minute chunk during lunch and then I put it down to move on to other things. It's now 5:50; I've cut potatoes for dinner and put up broccoli to steam. Both kids are having their 30 minutes of 'screen time.' Overall, it's been a good, productive (and 'balanced') day, other than too much time spent in the car.
I read Laura Vanderkam's new book this weekend. And as should come as no surprise given my reaction to her blog, I found myself very conflicted. The prose itself was enjoyable enough that I plowed through the book; that's HUGE when it comes to self-helpy type things which are usually horridly written. The best moments, in my opinion, were the personal observations about her own family. The time management strategies she offers I'd already gleaned from reading 168-hrs and other books (really, there's nothing new here), and the focus on 'successful' women, if acknowledged by the writer herself, strikes me as a chicken-and-egg tautological sort of situation. These women can be successful because they are already successful; if I had $100K salary and a partner, well, my life would look a lot different than it is. So if one one level she offers a useful corrective to the narrative that we "can't have it all," showing that indeed we can...well, I'm not actually part of the 'we' here. And I suspect if she focused on 'professionally successful' women in a lower income bracket, even those (like me) who consider themselves solidly middle class, the outcome would be very different. If I earned even $5K more per year I could very easily outsource the worst part of my day (the pickups) but right now it's too prohibitively expensive to consider.That is, I'd really recommend her 168 Hours much more so than this book, for those looking at time management issues in general.*
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We've now entered the third 5-chunk of time in which I've written this post, which is one of Vanderkam's strategies...making use of the 'time confetti' and smaller moments. While it's not enough to have meaningful leisure time (to me, anyway) or even watch one segment of a television program, it is enough to read a poem, write a few words...or throw in a load of laundry. Right now both kids are playing musical instruments (LG starts the violin when school starts, and Tiny Boy is strumming on a plastic guitar) but it seems it's time to start the nightly wind down for the boy who doesn't nap. But he slept more than 12 hrs last night, and about 9 of it in his own bed, so I'm really not complaining. I'm sleeping so well (I really shouldn't write that down!!!) that I'm dreaming in record amounts. Turns out those sleep specialists were on to something.
*Although, I will say I found myself skipping over the time logs completely just because I don't like the visual look of excel sheets; I was more interested in her analysis of the data than the data itself and wondered why they just weren't included as an appendix (I assume that's the publisher's decision, not Vanderkam's, but maybe not).
Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI was never going to read Vanderkam's book, so it's nice to read a review. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI also have a very strange relationship with Laura V's writing. I am sure she is a very nice person and she is obviously very successful. But most of her writing, especially on the blog, while nice and fluid, really just irritates me (a lot!) and I don't have a good grasp of why (obviously, it's my problem, I am not going to go there and troll her). I think there is this overly manicured aspect of the writing, presenting as if she has all the answers. I understand it probably comes from writing a lifestyle blog professionally under a real name; she is a brand.
But honestly, at this point in my life I don't think anyone can tell me anything about time management that I already don't know and already applying or am not applying because a) I can't afford it anyway, or b) I could afford to but I think it's stupid/boring/ridiculous/totally unnecessary, or c) I could afford to but the level of micromanaging and planning and scheduling and Excel sheets and lists makes me want to puke (I effing hate lists), or d) I would love to but I am too lazy/fat/disorganized/depressed/don't consider it a priority to do.
I am at an age when I really don't like people to talk down at me like this is my first rodeo; instead, what I need is people who who will drink coffee or wine/beer with me (or the electronic version, such as writing a blog) and share honestly what they think and feel, warts and all.
You and me both xyk. Though I do think I have figured out why her blog irritates me (many of the reasons you mention, especially c, but also a couple of other reasons we've discussed before regarding lack of research and one-size-fits-all).
ReplyDeleteAnd I definitely think there's still a lot I can learn about time-management (and work-flow, more specifically), but Laura Vanderkam isn't going to show it to me. I'm better off getting through the stacks of well-researched popular academic books in my office. (What Works for Women is my current non-fiction read. After that there's a Doug Lemov book.)
I also think I'm probably too advanced for Wandering Scientist's seminars on project management, but if she pulls a book together after she's done with that it will probably be a worthwhile read for me.
n&mm what are the others in your office? i'd be interesed.
ReplyDeleteI would offer the perspective that if you were already making $5K or $10K more per year it may not even occur to you to outsource drop off/pick up, or you may still feel it was an extravagance you couldn't afford, or felt guilty about not being there for the kids during that time. I don't know anyone at my kids' daycare that does that, in fact, my kids are probably the only ones where dad is the primary drop off/pick up person (and ooh I got comments about that the first year), so I was actually actively looking to work less so I COULD do more drop off/pick up, even though its time consuming and stressful, because I thought it was something a "good mother did" (I got over that, thankfully)!
ReplyDeleteI always feel that if I got an extra $x handed to me, how much easier my life would be, and maybe that would be true, if I suddenly get a bonus or raise, and put that money specifically to outsourcing hated tasks. But if you were always making that much, and at some point you internalized that drop off/pick up (or whatever: making dinner, taking your kid to activities, etc..) was something a mother did, you may not consider using that money that way (even assuming you hadn't already spent it on more expensive housing/food/travel/etc... which is what tends to happen). Its only when I really start thinking about my time and how to make the best of it (like when I read the book) that these kind of outside-the-box ideas come up.
I have a review of the book coming up today, too. I read it quickly and took the good parts and skimmed the stuff that annoyed/bored me.
Ana, you might be right about the $$ issues. My point is that the participants of her study make SO MUCH more than me that their strategies can't legitimately be mine (or most women's!). Although she does have a few single mom logs...the fact that they have either or both $100K or an ex is a different world entirely from the one I inhabit. If her audience is really that top %4 of the population, that's one thing...but it's really tricky I think to use info that comes from such a select group and pass it off as generalizable. That's why 168 Hours is so much more compelling to me conceptually...though even then money and time are unquestionably related.
ReplyDeleteLike xyk and n&m, I'm probably not going to read her book but will now check out Vanderkam's blog--thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI have tried the "time confetti" idea, not calling it that, and by the end of the day I am a frenzied wreck. If you don't take those moments as downtime, at least some of the time, you'll pay for it in other ways.
Books I have read and recommend: Advice for New Faculty Members by Boice (even though you're not a new faculty member!), Willpower by Baumeister, Workflow for Stata, the chapter on meetings in Getting Things Done, Crucial Conversations, Bogleheads guide to investing
ReplyDeleteBooks I have read and do not recommend: The Power of Habit, Nice girls don't get the corner office
Books on my TBR: What works for women, Practice Perfect, Microeconomics using Stata
@undine-- That is also what research suggests, breaks in your day lead to more productivity. You can even get internet apps that force you to take breaks at recommended intervals for maximizing productivity.
ReplyDeleteRe: money and hiring people to pick-up/drop-off, we had no money but we did have that (when my mom didn't get a choice of when to teach because she was adjunct/lecturing), but it also meant we had to make sacrifices, like not being able to afford a house (much less an atari!). Much better not to have to make those trade-offs.
n&m, I've read most of those (many found via your blog!) but not Crucial Conversations; I'll have to add it to my list. And, yeah, if I *had* to I'd outsource pickup/dropoff, but it would definitely mean large sacrifices elsewhere. I already pay for full time daycare for Tiny Boy, aftercare for LG on days I teach, occasional babysitters for major work-related night events, etc.
ReplyDeleteUndine, I also don't use EVERY instance of that 'time confetti' for productive ends for precisely that reason. But I do largely use the pomodoro technique for work and therefore have frequent 5-10 min breaks....I keep experimenting with different ways to use them, some for exercise (i.e. neck stretches), some for stupid domestic tasks like cat litter, some for internet....
gwinne and N&M, thanks for replying! I'm a big Pomodoro fan, especially if I'm having a hard time settling down to work. What has also helped recently is working standing up at a makeshift standing desk, since I get too bored and restless sitting all day. Stand and sway back and forth and read--that seems to work.
ReplyDeleteA bunch of these comments helped me finally figure out why I dislike Laura Vankerkam's writing. I had her blog on my rss feed and had to take it off after one too many overly sugary posts but couldn't quite put my finger on what else bugged me. The lack of science combined with xyk options a and b, it turns out.
ReplyDeleteThis is also ridiculous, or shows my privilege as a liberal generally surrounded by liberal academics, but her quote from Donald Rumsfeld distracted me for pages because I would never consider anything said by the man to be credible (even if the quote about known unknowns did fit well in the section).
Sarah, welcome!
ReplyDeleteMore on the 'sugariness' later...
I stumbled across that book title and it marked it "to be read," but after reading your review, I think I will skip it.
ReplyDeleteIt is a feature of my job that I have to track my time at work in 6-minute increments (for billing purposes). I frankly loathe tracking my time in such minute detail -- one of the LEAST favorite aspects of my job -- so I don't wish to do so in the time I'm not working, even if it would make me more productive.
:-)
6 min increments?!!!
ReplyDeleteVanderkam's method is actually every 30 min. It's not bad, just not useful for me at this particular moment...