Just announced on our Tranquilosophy Summer Seasonal Podcast, it’s time to share our summer online book club pick far and wide . . .
I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make
the Most of Their Time by Laura Vanderkam
Some of you may recognize her as a regular time management guru from three former Tranquility du Jour podcasts and a frequent contributor to outlets such as Fast Company and USA Today. She’s a married mom to four kids and clearly leads an active life, so her advice comes from experience and studies.
After tidying this winter {with help from winter’s book club pick} and spring cleaning our habits last season, my hope is that this this book will help us find more meaning among the many to-dos.
May summertime sprinkle moments of respite from the heaviness of doing. Remember, we’re human beings and the way we spend our time is ultimately how we live our lives. I hope you’ll read along. Bisous. x
Savvy Sources:
Previous online book club picks
Previous Tranquility du Jour podcasts with Laura: What Most Successful People Do at Work, 168 Hours, and What Most Successful People Do On the WeekendsAuthor interview on Refinery 29
Laura’s website
Fortune article: How to be seen at work without working around the clock
More online articles
Order the book
Find moi reading with you on Goodreads, too
Reminder: To participate in our online book club, share thoughts, challenges, and insights about our chosen read in the comments section below.
, I have the eye for making thgins beautiful not just clean. He sees the dirty details and I tend to notice the overall effect in the room. From the couples around me who are friends I notice that does tend to be the way a woman thinks vs a man. Of course we are all different, but this meant that I didn’t actually take offence at the call to women to get on it. I am going to go upstairs right now and make my room beautiful.
I really enjoyed this book! I found it to be so practical, insightful, and empowering. The author debunked some common assumptions. She was so smart to gather her own data. I was happy to hear that these high-earning women got adequate sleep and generally did not work insane hours over the course of the week. It makes work-life balance sound more doable for someone like me.
I especially loved how the book tried to focus on the positive, rather than bemoaning the worst moments of someone’s week and deciding it just wasn’t worth it. For example, on her vacation, the traffic was horrible and her kid got sick, but rather than deciding the day was a failure, Laura chose to look at it moment by moment and see the good in it too. I think this has been a big challenge in my own life over the last decade, and I can see how taking on a more balanced perspective could really change my whole outlook. I’d love to leave behind some of the unnecessary stress and general freaking out that can occur when unexpected problems pop up.
I’m not a parent, but I still found the book interesting and helpful. I will say that even as Laura tried to show how these mothers could juggle it all, I got stressed out just reading some of the descriptions of staggering child care and working split shifts. Wow! It still sounded a little overwhelming to me, but kudos to them for making it work.
But overall, it’s a good reminder that even If we do work long hours, there is still opportunity for a fulfilling life. This book made me see the possibilities, rather than limitations. Great pick, Kimberly!