I am a bit of a Laura Vanderkam super fan. I will tell anyone who listens about how life-changing her book, I Know How She Does It, when I read it for the first time. She speaks the language of working mothers and other professionals who want to make the most out of their 24 hours a day by giving specific, actionable advice in easily digestible chunks.
Tranquility By Tuesday is her latest release which outlines nine specific, actionable ways to reduce stress while maintaining productivity. I keep a sticky note with the nine ideas on my desk and I have been referring to them frequently over the last few months.

Clever way to think about life and how to make it better in small and accessible ways! I'm rereading it already to try out all of the tips. Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed Tranquility Before Tuesday.

Implementing strategies from the book has helped me to (sometimes) achieve much more satisfying workweeks. Vanderkam discusses a number of innovative strategies in depth; as ever, her content seems especially geared towards working parents. If that’s you, you’ll especially appreciate this book.

I have two favorite takeaways.

One - her clever maxim, “Effortful Before Effortless.”
This is a way to achieve a greater sense of satisfaction with your life. We’ve all gotten addicted to our devices, especially apps which have been cleverly designed to absolutely devour your time - everyone has found themselves mindlessly scrolling IG or whatever when they didn’t even mean to be. Often you don’t even really remember what you were looking at.

Realistically, you’re probably still going to waste some time on these apps, so Vanderkam’s suggestion is: don’t let yourself peek at them until you’ve performed some sort of “Effortful” action instead. For example, playing a few chords on your guitar, practicing a new language, reading poetry, playing with your dog, etc.
Over the course of even just a few days, two or three minutes here and there doing the activities that truly make you feel alive can really add up.

Two, I also really enjoyed her suggestion to make an Excel sheet of my ideal week. This helped me understand ways I can more effectively batch tasks, and ideas for how tasks need to flow in order to preserve enough time for everything. For example, I need to work out before I check my office email in the morning. Otherwise, inevitably, I get sucked in, and I’m way less likely to workout. It’s incredibly tempted to check my work email on my phone first thing - but this almost always ends up sabotaging my goals rather than helping me accomplish them.
More than just productivity tips, Vanderkam also includes some clever ways to realistically fit more joy and adventure into a busy family schedule. A very enjoyable and useful read - highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say this is Laura’s best book yet! I have been following her time management tips for a long time and have been an avid fan of her books and podcasts…but I really feel that her 9 tips here make the most sense I have ever read! They are practical and I have taken copious notes to reflect back on later as I move through the steps in detail! I would HIGHLY recommend this book for everyone!!!

I’m a regular reader of time management and productivity books, and I love Laura Vanderkam’s work in general. This book, though? It’s my favorite by far. It’s super practical but not with the same old tips you’ve heard a million times. It really pushed my thinking on some key ways I’m spending my time. I’ve shared some of the ideas from the book with friends and they have loved them too. An excellent contribution to the world, this book is, and one I’ll be gifting this holiday season to many friends.