Great read :) nicely written. It’s a fun but powerful read.I would definitely recommend :) five stars

"Expectations are infinite. Time is finite. You are always choosing. Choose well."

When I opened it up, I had no idea it was as short as it is and it is technically labeled as a ‘parable’- which I had to look up the meaning of. LOTS of life lessons learned with this one, I’ll tell ya!

I rarely pick up books less than 200 pages- and that is a stretch. I really prefer a big, thick story to sink my teeth into. It was surprising then that I found myself enjoying this short story that truly made me think about my life and how I spend my time. There are things I want to achieve both personally and professionally- do I resort to ‘I’m too busy’ when I think about why I’m not where I want to be? Probably! As the quote above says- we are ALWAYS choosing, and we must choose well. I will definitely be more mindful of how I CHOOSE to spend my time, and focus on the activities that will bring me closer to my goals.

This was a fantastic read and I couldn't put it down. A quick and entertaining story packed with wise and practical business and career (and work/life balance) advice. We can all relate to the main character with the warp speed and phone-addiction of modern life and the need for balancing priorities and driving our own lives rather than letting work and other people's needs constantly drive us.

I've read Vanderkam's nonfiction books and enjoyed her practical, pragmatic approach. Juliet's School of Possibilities is more of an inspirational fable, similar to Who Moved My Cheese? I didn't find this book as useful.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This is an interesting idea – a fable that takes Laura Vanderkam’s ideas about time (see my reviews of 168 Hours and What The Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast) and puts them into a story about a young woman trying to juggle her life and career. I would like to see another version of this with a protagonist who has a less high-flying job and privileged lifestyle. More in the video: http://www.betterthandreams.com/2019/04/march-2019/

JULIET'S SCHOOL OF POSSIBILITIES by Laura Vanderkam is subtitled "A Little Story About the Power of Priorities" and is reminiscent of business fables like Who Moved My Cheese? Or Fish! Vanderkam also has a popular TED Talk about work/life balance and she has produced several podcasts on related topics. Her new text introduces Riley Jenkins, a twenty-something who has always excelled through hard work and yet receives a poor performance review as well as concerned feedback from friends and family. Riley heads to a weekend women's retreat where she meets Juliet, a working Mom who finds time to mentor Riley and others, offering advice like: "We always have time for what matters to us." And "You cannot do everything. The choice to meet one expectation is always a choice to not meet another." Using the power of story, JULIET'S SCHOOL OF POSSIBILITIES is an inspiring and relatively quick read which concludes with several introspective exercises to help readers contemplate how they would like to spend their time. 4.5 stars

Link in live post:
https://www.ted.com/speakers/laura_vanderkam

Riley Jenkins is upto her ears in emails and is on the verge of burnout when is forced to attend Juliet's School of Possibilities as a last means of redemption. Ms Vanderkam uses a modern parable to illustrate how easy it is to get caught up in the busyness trap and miss the bigger picture. Yet we will have opportunity to recalibrate, create margin for the meaningful things and people in our lives.

My biggest takeway was the truism "I don't have time means its not a priority" which I will plaster on sticky notes every where. This was a timely read and I would highly recommend it.

Short story but full of meaning. In this world, we need to learn how to priorities things. There are so many interesting things going on that our individual lives won’t be enough to experience them all. These things just keeps on growing and growing. It is hard to make something a priority sometimes but in the long run it would be fulfilling since you’ve accomplish things without unnecessary stress of thinking of other things.

This good is good, although the copy of the book provided was not easy to read. I quite liked the idea of using a fictional character to model the tips provided. I love Laura Vanderkam and thought that this was a good extension to her existing books. However, the characters felt a little flat. As a fiction book, it was okay. As a self-book, it was great.

This treatise to modern-day troubles presents a Dickensian tale sensitizing one to the aspect of possibility thinking.
This is a perfect text for those seeking mindset mastery. It is perfect in length, but to absorb its content I recommend not speed reading this one.

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

When you are familiar with Laura Vanderkam's other books, you will recognize her time management lessons in the parable of Riley. Riley is a young consultant at a large firm who fails both in her work and her personal life because she doesn't choose her priorities. Even though the story is short; it took me less than an hour to read, it certainly made me think about my own choices, how I am spending my time and how I can prioritize in a better way. The journaling questions in the back of the book are helpful to envision yourself as the Riley in you to see where you can improve.
Even though Riley and I differ in many ways I certainly can relate to her; Laura Vanderkam reminds me that I have to set my priorities to live a more happy and fulfilling life.
When you are not familiar with Laura's other books, read this one to get a grasp of what she's teaching and then pick one of her other books for more practical advice on how to better choose your time.

This was a wonderful book. It is written as a parable to help the reader identify with the idea that "Anything is possible." Of course it also marries that idea with the fact that what we choose, we become. What choices are we making? Do those directly impact the goals we have for ourselves. Riley, the main character, is a busy bee, so busy in fact that she isn't able to keep her commitments. So busy that maybe she is too busy to actually reach her goals. Her choices are defined for her given that she is entrenched in pleasing others. But is she really pleasing herself?
This is a great book for those who are workaholics, those who are passionate about what they do, and those who juggle my hats. Vanderkam does a great job creating a relatable story to drive home her point. We are all busy, but we still have choices, choose well.

Absolutely adored this title and will not only be purchasing a copy for my library, but for me personally. It was perfect timing for things I'm facing in life and I enjoyed seeing it through the eyes of another. Lovely read!

The book is a parable of a young woman working in the corporate world and facing various challenges when it comes to prioritise and understand the important values in life.The protagonist attends a corporate retreat which will definitely help her to find her way.

It is an easy ready and very pleasant:it gives tips with the help of the fiction,however I was not completely captured by the story.

I enjoyed the final chapter with tips from the author and believe that the chapter could have had few more pages.


Thanks to NetGalley for this book in exchange of an honest review.

I have been looking forward to Juliet’s School of Possibilities since I first heard Laura Vanderkam mention it on the Best of Both Worlds Podcast last year. I love Vanderkam's books about time management and this is her first novella. She incorporates her knowledge and expertise into a short fable about a woman named Riley who is spread too thin. ⁣⁣⁣
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In a society where “busy” reigns supreme, Vanderkam’s books are a wonderful reminder about how we get to choose how we spend our time and energy and this book is such a fun spin-off. We meet Juliet who shares wisdom and helps Riley rethink this balance. “Expectations are infinite. Time is finite. You are always choosing. Choose well.”

A big thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Understanding the power of prioritising is a world where a quick response is the order of the day can seem both challenging and counter-intuitive. Many of the books dealing with the issue are detailed and for some could be overwhelming. This fable keeps it simple. If you have already spent a great deal of time in examining the issues, it may seem just a little too simple. It reminded me of some of the things I value very highly:
If you want to spend time strategising or innovating, you have to take the time to this kind of work,” you have to find space for brilliance.”
People will judge you by your actions, not what you say you will do. If you don’t make time for the people who are important to you, they are not a priority.
Other people don’t get to determine how you spend your time, you do.
When you have a vision of who you want to achieve or the legacy you are looking to leave, every activity needs to be assessed as to whether it will keep you moving on this journey.

I think it could be a lovely book to share with colleagues who do not yet understand the concept or for those who find a deeper read (more than an hour or two) challenging.

With many thanks to the author, the publishers, Penguin Random House LLC, and NetGalley for my free copy to review.

This was a short, sweet fable about a young woman who was so busy being busy that she lost sight of her priorities. If you’re familiar with Laura Vanderkam’s non-fiction work on time management, you’ll recognize many familiar themes here. Each time I read one of her books I come away with new, useful takeaways to help me make better use of my time.

The author does a good job of helping the reader imagine what being under constant corporate pressure is like. But when the main character has her realisations about what kind of changes she needs to make it's so close to the end of the book that I wished she had had deeper insights that could help me! Perhaps I'm the wrong audience for this parable - type A's might need this much convincing that overwork is ruining their lives. For me, it was too obvious too soon.

This was a good parable that has me thinking more about the idea of “choose well”. I joke that 2018 was supposed to be the year of “No”, but what ended up happening was I started to get more choosy about where I spent my time. The book helps frame and solidify that concept for me. I am hoping that I can keep it up!