Mastering Time Management: How to Control Your Free Time by Prioritizing What Matters
Time is elastic and naturally expands when you prioritize what truly matters.
30-second summary
Traditional time management focuses on saving small bits of time through efficiency tricks, but speaker Laura Vanderkam argues this approach is backward. Time is highly elastic; we do not build the life we want by saving time, but rather time saves itself when we prioritize what truly matters. Every week contains 168 hours, leaving substantial room for personal growth, relationships, and health even with full-time work and sleep. By writing future performance reviews, categorizing priorities into career, relationships, and self, and scheduling non-negotiable tasks during Friday planning sessions, you can gain control over your free time.
Core concepts
Time Is Elastic and Driven by Choice
We do not build the lives we want by saving small fragments of time through daily hacks. Instead, time stretches to accommodate whatever we choose to put into it, meaning we always have time for the things we elevate to genuine priorities.
The flooded basement emergency
A busy working woman returned home on a Wednesday evening to find her water heater had broken, flooding her basement with water. The immediate cleanup, plumber visits, and carpet restoration took seven hours out of her week. If she had been asked earlier whether she could free up seven hours for triathlon training or mentoring, she would have said it was impossible. When the flooded basement made repair urgent, the required hours appeared immediately.
Reframing 'I Don't Have Time' to 'It's Not a Priority'
Claiming you lack time masks a personal decision about what you choose to value. Changing your language to state that an activity is simply not a priority forces honest accountability and reminds you that how you spend time is always a choice.
The Proactive Weekly Planning Method
A proactive process to identify your top long-term priorities and schedule them into your week before low-value demands consume your time.
Draft Next Year's Professional and Personal Review
Envision sitting down at the end of next year having had an amazing year. Write down 3 to 5 key achievements for your career and 3 to 5 key accomplishments for your personal life and relationships.
Break Priorities into Concrete Steps
Translate your high-level goals into specific, manageable actions. For example, if your goal is to run a race, identify the steps to choose a training plan, locate your gear, and sign up.
Block Time on Friday Afternoons for the 168-Hour Week
Use Friday afternoon—a low-energy period—to review the upcoming week. Create a priority list across three categories (career, relationships, self) and schedule those items directly into your calendar before other commitments take over.
5-minute action
Map Your Three-Category Weekly Priorities
- Take out a piece of paper and write three headers: Career, Relationships, and Self.
- Write down 1 to 2 small, actionable goals under each category for the coming week.
- Open your calendar and schedule dedicated time slots for these priority items before your week begins.
ExampleUnder 'Self', write 'Read for 20 minutes on Tuesday and Thursday morning', then create two recurring calendar events at 7:30 AM.
Timer
