Laura vanderkam how to gain control of your free time
Laura vanderkam how to gain control of your free time
Laura Vanderkam: How to Gain Control of Your Free Time at TED Talk (Transcript)
Here is the full transcript of author and time management expert Laura Vanderkam’s presentation on: How to Gain Control of Your Free Time at TED conference.
TRANSCRIPT:
When people find out I write about time management, they assume two things. One, is that I’m always on time, and I’m not.
I have four small children, and I would like to blame them for my occasional tardiness, but sometimes it’s just not their fault. I was once late to my own speech on time management. We all had to just take a moment together and savor that irony.
The second thing they assume is that I have lots of tips and tricks for saving bits of time here and there. And sometimes I’ll hear from magazines that are doing a story along these lines, generally on how to help their readers find an extra hour in the day. And the idea is that we’ll shave bits of time off everyday activities, add it up, and we’ll have time for the good stuff.
And I question the entire premise of this piece, but I’m always interested in hearing what they’ve come up with before they call me. So some of my favorites: doing errands where you only have to make right-hand turns —
Being extremely judicious in microwave usage: it says three to three-and-a-half minutes on the package, we’re totally getting in on the bottom side of that.
And my personal favorite, which makes sense on some level, is to DVR your favorite shows so you can fast-forward through the commercials. That way, you save about 8 minutes every half hour, so in the course of two hours of watching TV, you find 32 minutes to exercise, which is true.
You know another way to find 32 minutes to exercise? Don’t watch two hours of TV a day, right?
Anyway, the idea is we’ll save bits of time here and there, add it up, we will finally get to everything we want to do. But after studying how successful people spend their time and looking at their schedules hour by hour, I think this idea has it completely backward.
We don’t build the lives we want by saving time. We build the lives we want, and then time saves itself.
Here’s what I mean. I recently did a time diary project looking at 1,001 days in the lives of extremely busy women. They had demanding jobs, sometimes their own businesses, kids to care for, maybe parents to care for, community commitments — busy, busy people.
I had them keep track of their time for a week so I could add up how much they worked and slept, and I interviewed them about their strategies, for my book. One of the women whose time log I studied, she goes out on a Wednesday night for something. She comes home to find that her water heater has broken, and there is now water all over her basement. If you’ve ever had anything like this happen to you, you know it is a hugely damaging, frightening, sopping mess.
So she’s dealing with the immediate aftermath that night, next day she’s got plumbers coming in, day after that, professional cleaning crew dealing with the ruined carpet. All this is being recorded on her time log. Winds up taking seven hours of her week. Seven hours! That’s like finding an extra hour in the day.
But I’m sure if you had asked her at the start of the week, “Could you find 7 hours to train for a triathlon?” “Could you find 7 hours to mentor 7 worthy people?” I’m sure she would’ve said what most of us would’ve said, which is, “No. Can’t you see how busy I am?” Yet when she had to find 7 hours because there is water all over her basement, she found 7 hours. And what this shows us is that time is highly elastic. We cannot make more time, but time will stretch to accommodate what we choose to put into it.
And so the key to time management is treating our priorities as the equivalent of that broken water heater. And to get at this, I like to use language from one of the busiest people I ever interviewed. By busy, I mean she was running a small business with 12 people on the payroll, she had six children in her spare time. I was getting in touch with her to set up an interview on how she “had it all” — that phrase.
I remember it was a Thursday morning, and she was not available to speak with me. Of course, right? But the reason she was unavailable to speak with me is that she was out for a hike, because it was a beautiful spring morning, and she wanted to go for a hike. So of course this makes me even more intrigued, and when I finally do catch up with her, she explains it like this. She says, “Listen Laura, everything I do, every minute I spend, is my choice.” And rather than say, “I don’t have time to do x, y or z,” she’d say, “I don’t do x, y or z because it’s not a priority.” “I don’t have time,” often means “It’s not a priority.”
Using this language reminds us that time is a choice. And granted, there may be horrible consequences for making different choices, I will give you that. But we are smart people, and certainly over the long run, we have the power to fill our lives with the things that deserve to be there.
So how do we do that? How do we treat our priorities as the equivalent of that broken water heater? Well, first we need to figure out what they are. I want to give you two strategies for thinking about this.
The first, on the professional side: I’m sure many people coming up to the end of the year are giving or getting annual performance reviews. You look back over your successes over the year, your opportunities for growth. And this serves its purpose, but I find it’s more effective to do this looking forward.
So I want you to pretend it’s the end of next year. You’re giving yourself a performance review, and it has been an absolutely amazing year for you professionally. What three to five things did you do that made it so amazing? So you can write next year’s performance review now. And you can do this for your personal life, too. I’m sure many of you, like me, come December, get cards that contain these folded up sheets of colored paper, on which is written what is known as the family holiday letter. Bit of a wretched genre of literature, really, going on about how amazing everyone in the household is, or even more scintillating, how busy everyone in the household is.
But these letters serve a purpose, which is that they tell your friends and family what you did in your personal life that mattered to you over the year. So this year’s kind of done, but I want you to pretend it’s the end of next year, and it has been an absolutely amazing year for you and the people you care about.
What three to five things did you do that made it so amazing? So you can write next year’s family holiday letter now. Don’t send it. Please, don’t send it. But you can write it.
Let’s Begin…
Create and share a new lesson based on this one.
About TED Talk Lessons
TED Talk Lessons are created by TED-Ed using phenomenal TED Talks. Do you have an idea for a lesson? Create it now using any video from YouTube »
Meet The Creators
Watch these recommended TED-Ed Lessons and TED Talks:
How to manage your time more effectively (according to machines)
Human beings and computers alike share the challenge of how to get as much done as possible in a limited time. Over the last fifty or so years, computer scientists have learned a lot of good strategies for managing time effectively — and they have a lot of experience with what can go wrong. Brian Christian shares how we can use some of these insights to help make the most of our own lives.
How to practice effectively… for just about anything
Mastering any physical skill takes practice. Practice is the repetition of an action with the goal of improvement, and it helps us perform with more ease, speed, and confidence. But what does practice actually do to make us better at things? Annie Bosler and Don Greene explain how practice affects the inner workings of our brains.
Don’t have 10,000 hours to learn something new? That’s fine- all you need is 20
Writer Josh Kaufman shares his own tried-and-tested technique to learn a new skill by putting in just 45 minutes a day for a month.
What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness
What keeps us happy and healthy as we go through life? As the director of 75-year-old study on adult development, Robert Waldinger has unprecedented access to data on true happiness and satisfaction. In this talk, he shares three important lessons learned from the study as well as some practical, old-as-the-hills wisdom on how to build a fulfilling, long life.
My year of saying yes to everything
Shonda Rhimes, the titan behind Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder, is responsible for some 70 hours of television per season, and she loves to work. She has a name for this feeling: The hum. The hum is a drug, the hum is music, the hum is God’s whisper in her ear. But what happens when it stops? Is she anything besides the hum? In this moving talk, join Rhimes on a journey through her «year of yes» and find out how she got her hum back.
How to Gain Control of Your Free Time
How to Gain Control of Your Free Time
“So much to do, so little time.” There’s a reason why this is a clichè. When you’re a passionate, driven student with great expectations for your life, it can often seem there just isn’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything you want to do.
Laura Vanderkam is an author and time managment expert. In her popular TED-Talk, she tells us: “We don’t build the lives we want by saving time. We build the lives we want, and then time saves itself.”
Here’s how we do this. We start be recognizing there’s a difference between not having time to do something (i.e. dusting your blinds) and it not being a priority. Vanderkam suggests turning our inner dialogue away from “I’m so busy; I don’t have time” to: “I can’t do this now, it’s not a priority.” This shifts the message from stressed and overwhelmed to helping us consider what’s really important to us, whether that’s a big project, a hike on a gorgeous spring day, or having a staring contest with a cat. (Newsflash: the cat will win, and even if he doesn’t, he won’t care.)
Vanderkam gives us a strategy to accomplish this:
First, teleport yourself a year into the future. Think on your academic/professional trajectory. Then give yourself a “performance review,” much like you’d get at the end of the year at a job. It’s been an amazing year! Write down three to five things you did spectacularly. Got it? Good. Now study what you wrote down. More likely than not, the things that made your life amazing on paper are the things you prioritize. Huzzah! Now you know what priorities to focus on over the next year. You can do this for both your academic/professional and personal goals. For personal goals, Vanderkam suggests writing a “holiday letter” for the following year. You know the ones: where Aunt Tildie brags about her little darling Sheila getting the gold ribbon for the long jump. In this letter, detail three to five amazing things you did that year. This will give you six to ten priorities overall. Now brainstorm how you can break them down into doable steps.
After all, as Vanderkam says, “We have time for what matters. And when we focus on what matters, we can live the lives we want in the time we’ve got.”
Online high school students have the opportunity to dream big and explore their paths in unique and creative ways.
Today, ask yourself: What does your dream life look like a year from now?
How to gain control of your free time
LESSON OVERVIEW
Have you ever wondered how successful people manage their time? This TED talk will give you a glimpse into their approach to managing time. You will also have plenty of opportunities to talk about time management with your students.
This worksheet is based on TED talk “How to gain control of your free time” by Laura Vanderkam, an author of several time management and productivity books. During the lesson, students will learn the most challenging vocabulary from the video through a word-building exercise, as well as learn idioms related to time. There are also three speaking activities – one focused on using idioms, one for considering the impact of the so-called time thieves and a general discussion points for the video.
This lesson is labeled as a Business English one as it focuses on work time but you can easily adapt it to use it with young adults as it is not packed with business language so much.
My best approach for this lesson was to go through the warm-up and vocabulary sections and then watch the TED talk with students and follow with the discussion tasks.
WORKSHEETS
Subscribe to unlock these and many other Printable & Digital with the Premium plan
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam
11:55 15.68 MB 7.3M
Laura Vanderkam How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time
11:59 15.77 MB 18.2K
Manipulate Your Sense Of Time With 3 Steps Laura Vanderkam On Impact Theory
39:25 51.88 MB 207.2K
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam
AJOBTHING How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam
01:44 2.28 MB 124
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam
11:36 15.27 MB 149
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam
How To Make Your Mornings More Productive With Laura Vanderkam
03:10 4.17 MB 26.1K
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam 60 Sec Clips Of Wisdom
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam
11:55 15.68 MB 31
Laura Vanderkam How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time
11:59 15.77 MB 465
Laura Vanderkam On How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time
12:01 15.81 MB 81
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time By Laura Vanderkam
11:59 15.77 MB 61
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam By TED
11:55 15.68 MB 38
How To Manage Your Time More Effectively According To Machines Brian Christian
05:10 6.80 MB 5.5M
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam Viet Sub
11:55 15.68 MB 25
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam Dana Elaine Owens Rich Rainbows
Laura Vanderkam How To Take Control Of Your Free Time TED
08:00 10.53 MB 82
EP 81 How She Gains Control Of Her Time With Laura Vanderkam
47:43 62.80 MB 19
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Going Further With This Week S TED Talk Podcast
12:02 15.84 MB 1.4K
Achieve Time Management With Laura Vanderkam
36:17 47.75 MB 0.9K
Laura Vanderkam Gain Control Of Your Free Time 168 Hours
11:59 15.77 MB 101
Reclaim Your Time Take Back Control Of Your Life In 30 Minutes With Laura Vanderkam
47:39 62.71 MB 884
What S Interesting About Being An Adult
A Core Habit For Better Time Management Laura Vanderkam
02:02 2.68 MB 1.3K
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam Freetime Laura Lauravanderkam Shorts
Laura Vanderkam Time Freedom Habits From The World S Most Successful People
31:08 40.97 MB 79.4K
Achieve More At Work And Home Laura Vanderkam
38:27 50.60 MB 2.8K
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time TEDZania ازاي تسيطر علي وقت فراغك
03:16 4.30 MB 168
What To Do In Your Free Time Don T Scroll On Your Phone Shorts Productivity
21 471.68 KB 24.4K
Laura Vanderkam Why Can T I Improve My Time Management
HOW MUCH TIME Is It Worth Spending On TRACKING YOUR TIME Laura Vanderkam
05:15 6.91 MB 819
Laura Vanderkam What Is The Greatest Misconception About Time Management
41 920.90 KB 139
Curiosidades Charla Ted Como Ganar El Control De Tu Tiempo Libre Laura Vanderkam
11:55 15.68 MB 9.2K
Juliet S School Of Possibilities Book Trailer With Captions
01:30 1.97 MB 547
Work From Home Strategies With Laura Vanderkam
42:54 56.46 MB 127
Laura Vanderkam How Can Time Management Strategies Impact My Life
01:07 1.47 MB 866
How To Turn Off Work Thoughts During Your Free Time Guy Winch
12:30 16.45 MB 257.8K
How To Gain CONTROL Of Your TIME Kushal Lodha
18 404.30 KB 12.2K
Laura Vanderkam Are Work And Life Time Management Skills Interchangeable
How To Take CONTROL Of Your TIME And Get MORE DONE Laura Vanderkam
TED Talks Vietsub Ca Ch Qua N Ly Thơ I Gian How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time
12:04 15.88 MB 56K
Episode 39 Laura Vanderkam On How To Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done
31:39 41.65 MB 1.5K
내 것으로 만드는 TED 문장 How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time 에서
03:39 4.80 MB 435
Womencareerandlife Paintlifetogether Podcast Time Management Laura Vanderkam Author TED
How I Spend My Free Time
05:54 7.76 MB 816
Does Working LONGER HOURS Yield BETTER RETURNS Laura Vanderkam
Для вашего поискового запроса How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam мы нашли 50 песен, соответствующие вашему запросу. Теперь мы рекомендуем загрузить первый результат How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam который загружен TED размером 15.68 MB, длительностью 11 мин и 55 сек и битрейтом 192 Kbps.
Слушают сейчас
How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time Laura Vanderkam
Прикол Твои Глаза Лобода В Исполнении Алкаша
Alec King For Love Official Video
Группа Земляне Новые Песни
Дай Мне Собраться С Мыслей Я Не Могу
Улуу Таланттар Ыраймаалы Менен Бегимайдын Махабаты
Qiz Farzand Haqida Maruza
Если Бы Ты Была Принцессой
Lucien Gray Joy Pilled Lisa The Painful
50 Фактов Все Изобретения Рик И Морти
Ona Lyubila Rozi
We Built This House
Скуби Ду Па Па Ее Бум Бум Бум
Mendelssohn March Hiphop
Группа Lafe Покрести Меня Мама
Vladimir Cosma You Call It Love Pt 1
Вы Че С Ума Сошли Shorts
Долина Нарзанов Кабардино Балкария Путешествие По России Авиамания
Love Story Клип Из Чёрного Мерина
Анатолий Трушкин Жизнь И Смерть
Суздаль И Владимир
Ремиксы Зарубежные Хиты 90Х 00Х
Премьера Песни Виктор Королев Ты Очень Красива 2014 New
Caucasian Music Кавказская Музыка Попурри
Хусейн Израпов Хьай Даг Чохь Со Ю Ца Олуш
Лэйна Айдар Галимов Уклы Йорэк Премьера Клипа 2022
Жизнь Чудесна Если Миром Правит Любовь
Чуча Чача Я Банан Для Детей Танцуй В Месте С Прошкой
Изоляция Взахлёб Целая История
Humoyun Mirzatillayev Onamni Asra Official Music Video