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Leadership & “I Know How She Does It”

I know how she does it
03 Jul

As I write about having it all, “I Know How She Does It” by Laura Vanderkam (2015) is a great source of inspiration. She is a big player in time management and personal productivity (she runs her own business and has four young kids!). This is a personal development book that shows the real lives of women who make more than $100K per year in their work and also feel fulfilled in the totality of their lives.

Overview: This fresh take on an intimate view of women’s calendars explores how successful women make the most of their time. It addresses how to schedule the big rocks to make room for success to occur. She separates sections into work, home and self.

Key Message: “We don’t build the lives we want by saving time, we build the lives we want and then time saves itself.” and “There is great power in small wins. Small wins are sustainable and sustainable growth over the years is what makes success possible.”

Areas of Strengths:  Savoring space is content that I think a lot of women need help with, and that Laura tackles beautifully. If only more women knew how to embrace (and not feel guilty) for moments of peace and rejuvenation. She also visualizes the female interviewees calendars in grids throughout the book that attracts the eye when you are skimming and makes you linger. You can’t help but to think about your own grid (calendar) and ways to improve it.

Supplemental Information: Homepage: Laura Vanderkam | Writer, Author & Speaker | Time Management  homepage  and TedTalk: How to gain control of your free time | Laura Vanderkam | TED – YouTube

Where it Falls Short: It’s a book that’s focused on a weekly view. I argue that to affect real personal change requires an even more micro analysis at the daily level. Many people don’t start off by planning their weeks. When you get a day down (personal, social, environmental dimensions and decisions, only then can you leap to the macro and ultimately multi-year level vision. I also think the metaphor of the mosaic used throughout the book doesn’t fit. It seemed like the author was reaching for something to use and settled on a sub-par comparison.

Overall Assessment & Why: I rate it an 8 out of 10 in terms of a personal development book. Providing readers a comparison of and insight into the mindset of successful women allows those a practical path forward that can be easily applied and achieved by others.