Book Review
Title: "What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend: A Short Guide to Making the Most of Your Days Off"
Author: Laura Vanderkam
Publisher: Penguin, 2012; 47 pages; $2.99 e-book

Have you ever ended your workweek with a heartfelt "thank goodness it’s Friday" only to go back to work on Monday feeling more worn out and exhausted than you did three days earlier? It’s no wonder, what with the digital creep of work into our out-of-office time and lives and the fact that many Americans now maintain near superhuman recreational and household calendars.

Book Review
Title: "What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend: A Short Guide to Making the Most of Your Days Off"
Author: Laura Vanderkam
Publisher: Penguin, 2012; 47 pages; $2.99 e-book

Have you ever ended your workweek with a heartfelt "thank goodness it’s Friday" only to go back to work on Monday feeling more worn out and exhausted than you did three days earlier? It’s no wonder, what with the digital creep of work into our out-of-office time and lives and the fact that many Americans now maintain near superhuman recreational and household calendars.

Unfortunately, returning to work feeling depleted and worn out is a surefire way to start off an unproductive week — even if you did get your basement cleaned out or wrap up that lingering report that was due Friday over the weekend.

After her exploration of "What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending (Money)" and "What the Most Successful People Have for Breakfast," author and time management expert Laura Vanderkam is back, sharing her findings on the topic of "What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend: A Short Guide to Making the Most of Your Days Off."

Here is just a sampling of the insights this super-short book has to offer:

1. "Keep a (tech) Sabbath." Referencing Bible verses that explained that the Sabbath is intended not to create another rigid rule, but to ensure that people, their servants, oxen and donkeys had sufficient rest for the week ahead, Vanderkam encourages readers of all faiths to take time every weekend to observe a "stretch of time apart from the computer, phone and work stresses" in order to "create[ ] space for other things in life."

Interviewing a number of A-list execs who swear by this strategy for preserving sanity and productivity, Vanderkam surfaces one surprising side effect of taking a regular tech Sabbath day: "[w]ithout the distractions of the Internet, you may find ideas rushing at you."

2. "Put first things first." Vanderkam borrows an exercise from the late author and motivational speaker Stephen Covey that involves organizing your priorities by first articulating to yourself the various roles you play in life that are important to you, then specifying the top two or three priorities you’d like to accomplish in each role over the 168 hours (week) to come.

Vanderkam suggests doing as some of the highly productive CEOs interviewed in the book do, and sitting down on Sunday to carve out time on your calendar to hit just the top two to three priorities for each role for the following week. "First," she says, "blocking six to nine priorities into a 168-hour week still leaves a lot of blank space. But second, if you accomplished all those things, you would have an absolutely amazing week."

3. "Life cannot happen only in the future. It cannot wait for some day when we are less tired or less busy." Vanderkam points out that marathon runners know they require rest and cross training to make progress and have breakthroughs. In the same vein, she proposes, those of us who work hard, long hours during the week need to spend our precious, weekend moments doing completely non-work-related activities in order to store up the fleeting, precious memories of present phases of life with our families and to build skills and have insights that will make us better at our work.

"If you work long hours," Vanderkam writes, "then weekends are key to feeling like you have a life that is broader than your professional identity — even if, and probably because, you take that identity very seriously."

You might think the idea of a book about how to spend your weekend is silly or unnecessary. If you are routinely frazzled on Monday or you are committed to achieving peak performance in your career and your personal life, suspend your skepticism. If you fall into this description, I strongly recommend taking this super-short tour Vanderkam offers through a different way to experience your weekends in order to elevate your experience of your entire life.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×