CWIB Book Review: “Tranquility by Tuesday”
When I read a friend’s social media posts about a milestone their child is having, my first reaction is, “How is this possible? I remember when they were born!” Time goes by so quickly; it feels impossibly fast. And yet, we all have the same amount of time per day, per week.
Laura Vanderkam’s latest book, “Tranquility by Tuesday,” uses a nine-rule blueprint to help us plan our days and make space for the things that matter—to combat the fact that “our lives will end someday, and here we are, letting time circle down the drain, doing things that don’t matter at all.”
What I appreciate about Vanderkam’s books is that they are research-based. They aren’t theoretical, and she doesn’t share time “hacks.” Her research is extensive, and she backs each of her nine rules with data. A study group has practiced the nine rules, and she shares the results at the end of each chapter, including ease of implementation, whether or not the rule helped as intended, and the percentage of participants who plan to continue using the rule.
I’ll recap the first three rules, referred to by Vanderkam as the foundational rules.
1. Give Yourself a Bedtime
Generally, our mornings are structured; by a certain time, we need to get to work, and, if we are parents of school-aged kids, we need to get them to school. We also need, ideally, seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Establishing a bedtime for ourselves and sticking with it can help us to be more rested and ready to take on our day.
I was happy to see this one as a foundational rule, because I have been practicing it for years. I know when to start unwinding at night, and my mornings are peaceful instead of hurried.
2. Plan on Fridays
Take 20 minutes each Friday to plan for the following week. According to Vanderkam, this rule will help us thoughtfully make time for the things we need to do and ensure we also plan for the things we want to do. Planning on Friday also helps eliminate, or at least lessen, the “Sunday scaries.”
Vanderkam suggests breaking out this planning into three categories: career, relationships, and self. Use the fanciest planner or a simple legal pad; it only matters that you plan.
3. Move by 3 p.m.
Do some physical activity for at least 10 minutes before 3 p.m. daily. “Even ten minutes can change a day, and changing days is how we ultimately change our lives,” Vanderkam writes.
A 10-minute walk between meetings, parking a bit further away from our workplace, walking the dog after dinner, or a quick hop on the stationary bike … there are so many ways to incorporate movement into our routine. Vanderkam adds “by 3 p.m.,” because it’s more likely to happen if we build it into the first half of our day.
For each rule, Vanderkam outlines practical ways to incorporate it, identifies the challenges it may bring, and shares the results of the participant group. Some rules are more straightforward to incorporate than others, and it’s up to us to incorporate the changes that make sense for our individual life.
Whether you are a mom with young children, trying to manage a household and a career, or an empty nester with more time on your hands than you know what to do with, these rules can help. Our time is finite; we do not get a do-over, but it’s not too late to create the life you want to live and stop the feeling that your life is spinning out of control.
We are in control of our time; we can choose to plan, prioritize, and let go of things that don’t matter—or to keep spinning. “Tranquility by Tuesday” gives us the rules to make the life we want.
Time will pass one way or another. How will you choose to spend it?
Cathi Kennedy is passionate about building relationships. At the University of Notre Dame, she advises graduate students for the Mendoza College of Business. Her background is in marketing and communications, and she recently received her MBA. Impassioned writer, voracious reader, aspiring knitter. Married to a musician and mom to two amazing sons. Cathi is a convert to Catholicism and seeks to learn something new about her faith every day. Connect with Cathi: LinkedIn • Instagram • Facebook • Blog