Laura Vanderkam: How to gain control of your free time
لورا ونډرکام: څرنګه خپل خالي وختونه وکاروو؟
Laura Vanderkam shatters the myth that there just isn’t enough time in the week for working professionals to live happy, balanced and productive lives. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
I write about time management,
for my occasional tardiness,
on time management.
together and savor that irony.
is that I have lots of tips and tricks
that are doing a story along these lines,
find an extra hour in the day.
bits of time off everyday activities,
of this piece, but I'm always interested
up with before they call me.
have to make right-hand turns --
in microwave usage:
minutes on the package,
نهايي کار ترې اخيستلای شئ
the bottom side of that.
which makes sense on some level,
یوه بريده سم دی
fast-forward through the commercials.
او له اعلان تېرېږئ
eight minutes every half hour,
اته دقيقې په هر ساعت کې سپموئ
of watching TV,
32 minutes to exercise?
سمه ده؟
of time here and there, add it up,
ځایه وخت وژغورو او
to everything we want to do.
people spend their time
بريالي خلک څرنګه خپل وخت کاروي
schedules hour by hour,
has it completely backward.
we want by saving time.
of extremely busy women.
sometimes their own businesses,
maybe parents to care for,
of their time for a week
د تنظیم کار وکړ
they worked and slept,
about their strategies, for my book.
for something.
that her water heater has broken,
all over her basement.
like this happen to you,
frightening, sopping mess.
aftermath that night,
crew dealing with the ruined carpet.
on her time log.
an extra hour in the day.
at the start of the week,
to train for a triathlon?"
to mentor seven worthy people?"
خلکو ته ورکولای شې؟
what most of us would've said,
ویلي وای چې
how busy I am?"
all over her basement,
is that time is highly elastic.
what we choose to put into it.
of that broken water heater.
of the busiest people I ever interviewed.
a small business
to set up an interview
to speak with me.
unavailable to speak with me
even more intrigued,
she explains it like this.
because it's not a priority."
"It's not a priority."
that's really more accurate language.
to dust my blinds,
to dust my blinds,
a matter of lacking time;
that time is a choice.
for making different choices,
of that broken water heater?
to figure out what they are.
for thinking about this.
coming up to the end of the year
annual performance reviews.
your successes over the year,
to do this looking forward.
it's the end of next year.
a performance review,
amazing year for you professionally.
that made it so amazing?
year's performance review now.
for your personal life, too.
like me, come December,
sheets of colored paper,
as the family holiday letter.
of literature, really,
everyone in the household is,
your friends and family
that mattered to you over the year.
د کال په اوږدو کې درته مهم دي
it's the end of next year,
د راتلونکي کال پای دی
that made it so amazing?
دا کال يې په زړه پورې کړ
year's family holiday letter now.
ليکلای شئ
review and the family holiday letter,
کورنۍ د رخصتيو د ليک تر منځ ياست
we can work on in the next year.
چې راتلونکی کال کار پرې وکړو
these down into doable steps.
را ووېشو
to write a family history.
some other family histories,
لوستلای شئ
you want to ask your relatives,
چې غواړئ له خپلوانو يې وکړئ
figure out a training plan,
د روزنې پلان يې ومومئ
out of the back of the closet.
of that broken water heater,
د هغه بایلر په څېر چلند کوو
before we are in them.
اونۍ اونۍ فکر پرې کوو
is Friday afternoons.
جمعه له غرمې وروسته
an economist might call
اقتصادپوهان
on Friday afternoons saying,
نه کوو چې
and professional priorities
about what those should be.
of time Friday afternoon,
لږ وخت وباسئ
list: career, relationships, self.
ډلبنديو کې لومړيتوبونه وټاکئ
in all three categories.
of the next week,
complicated for some people than others.
په پرتله پېچلی وي
are just harder than others.
to find time to take that poetry class
لپاره وخت وموندل شي
children on your own.
د ساتنې پلان لرئ
anyone's struggle.
I am about to tell you are empowering.
پیاوړې کوونکې دي
job, so 40 hours a week,
اونۍ کې راځي
so 56 hours a week --
کې کېږي
for other things.
for other things.
people's estimated work weeks
له ډایريګانو سره
75-plus-hour work weeks
اونۍ کې کار کوي
ساعتونو کې
for what matters to you.
وخت پیدا کولای شو
more time with your kids,
کړئ
for a test you're taking,
وکړئ
and volunteer for two,
ساعته رضاکارانه کار وکړئ
way more than full-time hours.
هم ډېر کار کوئ
دا ډېره ښه ده
time to do amazing things.
په زړه پورې چارې وکړو
bits of time, what do we do?
around the house
something wonderful on the bus
that required two bus rides
مې کاوه
on weekends to get stuff to read.
لوست ته مې کتاب اخيست
almost, almost, enjoyable.
for meditating or praying.
کارېدای شي
because of your crazy work schedule,
could be a good substitute.
the whole of one's time
چېرته ځي
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Laura Vanderkam - AuthorLaura Vanderkam shatters the myth that there just isn’t enough time in the week for working professionals to live happy, balanced and productive lives.
Why you should listen
Between careers and kids, many women feel that they are too busy to cram in anything else. To test the truth of this feeling, author Laura Vanderkam began logging her time for each of the 168 hours of the week. Among her surprising findings: we retroactively overestimate the amount of time spent stressing about work while underestimating our available downtime.
In her latest book, I Know How She Does It, Vanderkam analyzes the ways in which professional women successfully balance free time and work -- and explores how everyday readers can benefit from their experiences.
Laura Vanderkam | Speaker | TED.com