How I Work

Time Management expert Laura Vanderkam on how to use your time wisely

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Episode notes

My guest today is Laura Vanderkam. Laura is a global expert on time management, and helps people spend more time on what matters, and less on what doesn’t. She is the author of a bunch of bestselling books, ranging from Off the Clock, 168 Hours, What the Most Successful People do Before Breakfast, and her latest book, Juliet’s School of Possibilities.

Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fortune, and Fast Company. And her TED talk, “How to gain control of your free time,” has been viewed more than 5 million times.

I’ve followed Laura’s work for several years and I’ve always felt that she takes a really novel view of the whole time management concept. I think you’ll find this a really practical interview as Laura goes through a bunch of different strategies that she uses to make the most of not only her work time, but also her leisure time.

We cover:
  • Why Laura has tracked her time in 30 minute increments for four years
  • Why many people overestimate how many hours they work per week
  • Why Laura runs every day
  • How Laura creates new habits that stick
  • Where Laura’s ideas come from
  • Laura’s Friday afternoon planning ritual
  • Laura’s tricks to creating a great weekend
  • The importance of scheduling “anchor” events
  • Why planning things in advance increases happiness
  • How Laura managed to read over 100 books in 2017
  • And a whole lot more.

Find out more about Laura on her website, and listen to her podcasts Best of Both Worlds and Before Breakfast.

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