168 Hours - Book Summary

Unlock the Secrets to Mastering Your Week

Picture this: you're racing against the clock, juggling the cacophony of daily tasks, all while the desire to savor life's pleasures—like enjoying family, diving into hobbies, or simply relaxing—slips further away. It's as if each minute evaporates before you can take a deep breath. Sound familiar?

Most of us are locked in this battle against time, thinking if only we had more of it, we could live fully. But what if the key isn't adding hours but reshaping the ones we have? What if we could unveil a week brimming with potential—168 hours waiting to be harnessed?

Let's dive into a transformative approach that promises a week where dreams inch closer and balance isn't just a lofty ideal but a tangible reality. We'll explore strategies to:

- Rediscover passions that echo back to the sandbox days of youth;

- Navigate the culinary landscape without being tethered to the kitchen; and

- Uncover historical household tasks that make our modern to-dos seem like a breeze.

Prepare to embark on a journey through your week, where each hour is a gem to be polished, revealing the brilliant life you're meant to lead.

Seize Control and Transform Your Busy Schedule into a Purposeful Life

Meet Theresa Daytner — a powerhouse of productivity who embodies the art of time mastery. As a successful entrepreneur running Daytner Construction Group, a proud mother of six, and an avid enthusiast of leisure pursuits, from soccer coaching to horseback riding, Daytner leads a life that appears to defy the very limits of time. Even the former President, Barack Obama, was perplexed by her ability to fit it all into her daily routine.

How does Daytner achieve the seemingly impossible, balancing substantial income generation, family commitments, and personal satisfactions, all while maintaining a seven-hour nightly rendezvous with her pillow? The answer lies not in magical manipulation of the clock, but rather in a deliberate and empowered approach to every tick and tock.

Here's the kernel of wisdom from Daytner's method: You’re not too busy — you're just not in control of your time.

Our modern lives often feel like a relentless assault of obligations, perpetuated by our round-the-clock connectivity and the pervasive belief that we're running an endless race against the clock. The insidious narrative of being "too busy" pervades our thoughts, leaving us exhausted and removed from the things that spark true joy in our lives. Between the office, the buzzing of our smartphones, and the emotional toll of feeling disconnected from loved ones, we end the week emotionally bankrupt, unable to imagine fitting in a passion project or simply unwinding.

Nevertheless, research begs to differ with our perception of time scarcity. Results from the American Time Use Survey reveal an intriguing contradiction to this widespread sense of busyness: most people enjoy a full night's slumber, and the average employed parent clocks fewer than 45 working hours a week. Evidently, a surplus of 69 waking hours remains unaccounted for — hours ripe for life's picking. So why the chronic feeling of time deprivation?

The uplifting news is that the reins of time are graspable, ready to steer your week toward a fruitful culmination of your endeavors. The first stride toward reclaiming your schedule involves a mirror — reflecting how your 168 weekly hours truly transpire. Crafting a time log is the tool of revelation: a simple matrix of days and hourly intervals to diligently document your activities over a span of weeks. This log is not just a record; it's the map to navigate your temporal landscape, pinpointing where your hours silently slip away and highlighting the terrains ripe for a transformation of priorities.

As Daytner exemplifies, donning the mantle of time's guardian is not only achievable but essential for a life that encapsulates work, laughter, and dreams — all within the very same 168 hours we each are allotted.

Finding Fulfillment by Playing to Your Strengths

Meet Jackie Camborde, the embodiment of passion turned profession — a fitness maven who crafted her life around the exhilarating world of group exercise at Santa Fe Fitness Studio. But her life's script wasn't always set in the gym; it pivoted dramatically from a post-smoking weight loss journey to a certified teaching role that uncovered her true calling. Eventually, departing from her fundraising career, she pivoted to a path that would bring her fulfillment and success.

There lies a universal lesson in Jackie's story: just as businesses thrive by harnessing their unique strengths, so do individuals. To craft a deeply satisfying life, it's crucial to invest in your natural talents and the activities that set your spirit afire.

Here's the pivotal insight: To live a fulfilling life, focus on your core competencies.

Consider the people who stand out in their fields. They channel their time and energy toward nurturing their innate abilities, honing their expertise until it shines. To determine if a skill is a core competency, it must check three boxes — it should resonate personally, stretch across numerous life aspects, and be something you excel at beyond your peers. It's not about high IQs or genius-level talent; it's about finding meaning and joy in what you do. A person's ability to nurture, for example, could be their unique strength.

Now, it's your turn. Embark on a self-discovery mission by composing your very own list of 100 dreams — a compilation of achievements and aspirations encompassing personal growth, wanderlust, and life's significant milestones. Ensure your conquered dreams make their way onto this list as well; their presence carries the seeds of insight.

Analyze your list. Target the low-hanging fruit and tackle them head-on. With each accomplishment, gauge your level of enjoyment and fulfillment. This process helps you decipher the code — revealing the activities where your talents align with your passions, your core competencies.

Armed with the knowledge of two or three primary competencies, you have a compass to guide your temporal investments. Whether restructuring your work life or optimizing your home routine, these competencies become the criteria for decision-making, firmly anchoring you in a fulfilling life.

As we journey further, we’ll witness the practical application of this concept within the work arena and the domestic sphere — a testament that your core competencies are the key to not just merely existing, but thriving in every hour of your 168-hour week.

Finding Work That Ignites Your Passion Recharges Your Whole World

Sylvia Earle's story is one of unwavering enthusiasm and sheer determination. At the age where many consider retiring, Earle, a veteran marine biologist, still found her heartbeat syncing with the rhythm of the ocean's waves. Immersed in a world sixty feet under the sea, her underwater observations weren't just her job; they were her undying passion — a source of boundless energy that age nor challenges could taper.

While the fantasy of a minimal-work lifestyle, as portrayed in best-selling titles such as "The 4-Hour Work Week," can tantalize any overworked soul, the reality speaks otherwise. The General Social Survey of 2002 presented an intriguing discovery: when freed from financial constraints, most people would still choose to work. These are individuals like Earle, for whom life's work is more than a transaction of time for money; it's an embodiment of joy and fulfillment.

Here lies the crux of the matter: Choosing a job that uses your core competencies energizes your entire life.

Deep within, each of us has an inkling of the work that stirs our soul. This optimal role would harness our creative energy and resonate with our deepest convictions, keeping us motivated even in the face of monumental challenges. Often, the sparks of our profoundest fascinations can be traced back to the sandbox ages of our innocence. Earle's memoir, "Sea Change," recalls her early enchantment with the ocean, stemming from a childhood encounter with a teasing wave. It's a poignant reminder to those struggling to pinpoint their calling — delve into your list of 100 dreams and seek out the echoes of your youthful vigour; therein may lie the compass to your vocation.

The psychological concept of flow is your beacon in this quest. It is that blissful zone where time stands still and the world fades into the background, leaving you wholly engrossed in the challenge at hand. Achieving flow at work fosters a sublime contentment and, in turn, amplifies productivity.

If flow eludes you during work hours, then it's time for introspection. Recall moments when you've lost yourself to an activity — where and how does this occur outside your job? Identifying these instances could light your way to work that perfectly aligns with your core talents and interests. Such an occupation wouldn't just be a means to a paycheck; it would be a lifeline to a workday that you don't just endure, but profoundly love.

Embrace Time Affluence by Commanding Your Work Schedule

Imagine yourself sitting in yet another dragged-out meeting, glancing at the clock, as the creeping realization dawns that you're not contributing nor benefiting from the discussion. Do you stay seated, or do you politely excuse yourself and reclaim those precious minutes? This is the everyday dilemma that biologist Carol Fassbinder-Orth faced — and overcame. She chose to value her time over the needless formalities that can gobble up our schedules. When meetings offer no value, she opts out, freeing herself to focus on work that propels her career forward.

Carol Fassbinder-Orth shows us it’s not about having more time; it’s about control. Her time-saving strategies not only allowed her to attain a doctorate in avian immunology with hours to spare but simultaneously enabled her to excel as both a professor and a parent.

The key lesson here is clear: To become time-rich, you must control your work calendar.

Begin by pinpointing where you want your career's narrative to arc. With this vision in your sights, take stock of your priorities — they are the milestones dotting the path to your future. Consider the approximate 2,000-hour yearly canvas at your disposal. It's not boundless, but it’s ample for painting a portrait of your professional aspirations.

Craft your master plan. Gaze ahead five years and set your lofty yearly ambition, then slice it into digestible monthly goals. With the diligence of a cartographer, map out your weekly objectives every Sunday. Quantify the time investment each warrants and inscribe them into your weekly planner as sacred appointments with your future.

Fassbinder-Orth’s wisdom beckons one more strategic shift: delegating or discarding tasks outside your circle of excellence. Grappling with undertakings that fall beyond your prowess is a silent thief of time. If a task can't be jettisoned entirely, then restrict its presence in your calendar — contain the incursion. Examine the corporate time sink — meetings. Propose a tactical shift from group time expenditures to targeted one-on-one interactions where relevant. By doing so, you liberate your colleagues and yourself to dedicate energy to impactful endeavors.

And so, you find the crux of time wealth: the understanding that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. If the baton can be passed to another who is more adept, let it go. Your calendar isn't merely a series of slots to be filled; it's a garden in which to cultivate your career's most flourishing offerings.

Strategic Storytelling: Your Blueprint for a Career Breakthrough

Imagine a writer who transforms her family's fiscal constraints into an opportunity to author a book on frugal living, capturing the attention of publishers nationwide. This is not a fairy tale but the real-life account of Leah Ingram, who penned "Suddenly Frugal," detailing the blueprint for saving $25,000 annually. To the disengaged observer, Ingram's venture from blogger to published author may seem an overnight marvel — but the foundation was two years of persistent content creation, centered on budget-conscious living.

This is where we unearth the crux of achieving a career watershed moment: it's a fusion of narrative craft and strategic planning.

Ingram recognized that catching the eye of publishers meant showcasing more than just her writing — it meant proving her marketability. She embarked on a meticulous mission to build her blog's readership during the first year. Her dedication paid off, with the blog drawing an impressive crowd of 5,000 daily visitors by the second year. When Ingram sat at the negotiation table with publishers, she held more than words; she held proof of a captivated audience eager for her insights.

For those mapping out their own breakthroughs, consider the metrics that resonate in your field. Contemplate what will make the decision-makers take notice — this could range from traction in your artistic portfolio to impressive attendance numbers at your events, or even the success of a fundraising initiative. If the path is foggy, seek wisdom straight from a seasoned gatekeeper; inquire about the milestones that would propel you into the next orbit of your career.

Besides the strategic elements, enchanting your audience with a story provides the emotional hook that reels them in. Dedicate time to pondering what narrative nuggets a journalist might spotlight in a feature article about you. What anecdotes could render you memorable? Perhaps it's a tale of entrepreneurial spirit sparked in childhood through savvy lemonade stands. Such stories serve as magnets, drawing in interest and engagement.

Luck often dances in the shadows of great achievements, but seizing each flicker of opportunity tilts the scales in your favor. Cultivate the practice of stepping into the arena, readiness aside. Exposure is the key that unlocks doors, and sometimes, behind those doors, lies your breakthrough moment.

Engage Your Kids by Leveraging What You Do Best

Let's take a surreal walk down memory lane — to a time when "iron electric blankets" and "vacuum ceiling" were genuine to-dos on housewives' lists. A bygone era where mothers dedicated over 30 hours weekly to just tidying up. Now, thankfully, that number has been slashed in half, and parenting has evolved beyond the pristine corners of dust-free homes.

As many modern mothers juggle careers, the precious hours with their little ones have become a golden currency. What might come as a surprise is the quantity of this currency — stay-at-home moms of preschoolers clock in a mere 22.5 hours a week on childcare, which translates to just over three hours per day. With time at such a premium, the aim is to mine those moments for their richest value.

Here’s the heart of the matter: You can improve your relationships with your children by focusing on your core competencies.

Parenting in the current age can feel like running a marathon of extra miles. The societal pressure pushes parents towards an exhaustive list of supplementary activities, from nurturing the next sports star in toddler cleats to handcrafting classroom valentines. Yet, such endeavors may not necessarily weave the tapestry of closeness with your child.

Pivoting back to what lies at your parental nucleus — nurturing — can recalibrate your family time into something far more meaningful. If culinary wizardry isn't your forte, for instance, skip the homemade baking ordeal. Instead, invest your reclaimed time in animated story-telling sessions where you and your child can lose yourselves in tales of adventure. It's about quality engagement rather than domestic prowess.

Discover mutual joys by inviting your child to dream up their own list of 100 hobbies and wishes. Perhaps there's an overlap in your affinities, like making waves at the local pool or harmonizing in a shared melody session. The crux is finding those activities that genuinely interest both of you, especially with older children who yearn for sincerity and shared enthusiasm.

And it’s essential to signal this shared time as a precious slice of your life — which means not just being present, but being undistracted — and yes, this includes switching off the omnipresent smartphone.

So, craft an itinerary that veers away from passive pastimes like TV marathons. Savoring activities that kindle heartfelt connections will not just temper the daily hustle but will leave an indelible mark of fulfillment in your and your child’s life story.

Streamline Your Life by Delegating Non-Essential Chores

Meet Sid Savara, a software developer with a musical soul and a killer knack for strumming the guitar. But when it came to the daily waltz of grocery shopping and meal prepping, his two left feet led to a cascade of hours lost to aisle wandering and the thawing woes of frozen poultry.

Refusing to surrender his evenings to the kitchen, Sid orchestrated a clever move. He reached out to the universe (or Craig’s List, to be precise) and put out the call for a personal chef. The culinary savior who answered his ad was a mother, fresh from the corporate world, ready to transform $60 and grocery receipts into a weekly banquet. The exchange was lucrative for both: she pocketed some extra cash, while Sid harmonized his time and finances, ultimately striking the chord of time-saving bliss.

The lesson here is both simple and profound: Outsource housework that doesn’t align with your core competencies.

Time is a Rubik's cube that few manage to solve. For most, household chores are not a piece of the puzzle that showcases their strengths. Consider this: tasks mundane to you might be someone else's forte, completed in half the time. If those chores are tarnishing hours you could spend with family or explore passions, they could be star candidates for outsourcing.

To reclaim time cradled in the hands of domesticity, reexamine your time log. Pinpoint those relentless household tasks — perhaps it’s meal prep or the wind-up of day-to-day cleaning. For many, these duties can consume up to nine hours a week, in stark contrast to the sparse three hours of play with children. How about tipping the scales? Meal delivery services and online grocery shopping are not merely conveniences but lifeline strategies that can reopen hours shuttered by mundane tasks. Even if the budget is tight, online stores can offer time-efficient solutions, like saved lists of staple items or off-peak hour shopping.

Now, the cleaning conundrum. Toys scattered like breadcrumbs are familiar sights in homes with young explorers. Rather than chase a magazine-perfect home, choose to shift your clean sweep ambitions. Embrace an environment that's lived-in over a showroom sheen — this newfound freedom can channel your energy towards nurturing those core competencies with vigour.

So, take a cue from Sid Savara. The key to a harmonious life may just lie in re-tuning your approach to household chores. When you prioritize your passions and family over unwarranted tidiness, life’s melody resonates with a richer sound.

Maximize Joy by Intentionally Planning Your Free Time

Pause for a second — how do you perceive your weekly allocation of leisure time? Is it a mythical stretch of hours that eludes your grasp? Maybe it's a fleeting couple of hours, sandwiched between the humdrum tasks of daily existence. The perpetual cycle of work, parental duties, and an endless string of errands can make leisure time feel like a mirage in the desert — we long for it, yet it seems so sparse.

Intriguingly, research reveals a different story: on average, Americans have about 30 hours of leisure time each week. That's equated to four untapped hours daily. But there's a hitch — without intentional planning, that leisure time dissipates into the ether, often consumed by the passive act of television watching, which guzzles down 20 hours a week, on average.

Here's the crucial insight: Plan your leisure time to increase its value.

Circumvent the loss of these precious hours by grounding leisure in your weekly plan. Map out pockets of time for exercise, indulging in hobbies, and recharging your social batteries. Elevate these as your priority slots — the leftover time can be the cushion for TV or browsing online.

To sculpt your leisure blueprint, you could choose a hobby or two that genuinely rejuveniate you. Take Laura Vanderkam, an author who finds her harmony in choral singing. Rehearsal sessions are not optional add-ons for her; they're cornerstones of her weekly schedule that bring rhythm and vitality to life.

Remember, leisure needs its rightful place on your calendar, mapped out with precision. Pin down the time slots that blend seamlessly with your lifestyle and commitments to avoid being lured back into sedentary leisure traps like TV binges. For example, if exercise revitalizes you, slot it into a consistent time each day, just as Vanderkam integrates her runs into her work-from-home routine as her unique lunch break.

If space on your calendar is tight, leisure doesn't have to stand alone. Marry it with social engagements — think tandem cycling with a friend, volunteering side by side, or even jointly navigating the grocery store aisles. These shared experiences can infuse even the routine with enthusiasm and camaraderie.

By injecting purpose and planning into your leisure time, what once was idle and squandered can flourish into a series of moments that sprinkle delight and color across your week, enriching your life with heartfelt joy.

Take Charge of Time and Embrace a Meaningful Existence

In this whirlwind of existence, where the hands of the clock seem to spin ever faster, we often find ourselves caught in the relentless pull of obligations and duties. The drumbeat of work, in sync with the rhythm of family needs and the monotonous chores, fills our days to the brim, leaving little space for the activities that spark genuine contentment. Yet, amidst this fast-paced tempo, there is a silver lining — the power to redefine our relationship with time.

The secret rests in our hands — we must vigilantly examine the landscape of our daily life and ask, "Does this serve my priorities?" By distinguishing between what's essential and what's expendable, we can construct a vibrant canvas of time. Liberating ourselves from the superfluous frees us to delve into pursuits that vibrate with significance and fulfillment.

When we steer our choices by this compass of meaning, life transforms. Every week offers 168 hours — a treasure trove of opportunity. It's up to us to claim dominion over this time, to shape it, mold it, and invest it in pathways that reflect our deepest aspirations.