The Laura Vanderkam Interview

_LauraVanderkam_highres.jpgA few weeks ago I saw today's interviewee speak on motherhood, work and time management. Since this is a topic that's relevant to my interests, I wanted to hear more about her work. She is the author of I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Build Lives That Work.  She is also the author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, and All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Wealth. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, The New York Times, Reader's Digest, Fortune, and Prevention.  She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and four children. And somehow she also blogs daily.

When in your life did you start seriously studying and writing on the topics of time, energy and money?
I got a contract to write the book that became 168 Hours in early 2009, and I'd probably been dabbling in the topic for a year prior to that. Some of this was related to becoming a parent in May, 2007. Parenthood made me accountable for my time in a way I hadn't been before. But it also caused me to examine a lot of the narratives out there (e.g. "If I work full time, I'll never see my kids") and realize that most of them were false. For instance, we view the Ozzie and Harriet era as a golden time, but women spend more time interacting with their children now than they did then. I'm drawn to any subject where the party line is demontrably false.

How do you avoid getting swept away by the information you glean? I feel like half the battle is deciding what information is actually worth trying to incorporate into one's life.
I have a general rule that if something doesn't seem fun, and doesn't obviously work in the service of a larger life goal, then it's probably not worth doing. I could organize my sock drawer according to Marie Kondo's methods but...eh.

What time of the day/week tends to be your most creative?
I work best with bifurcated days. If I had no responsibilities beyond work, I'd get up and work until early afternoon, quit for a while, then start up again around dinner time and work until I was too tired to keep going. With four small kids, though, I don't work in early evening too often. So that means I need to make the most of my mornings.

Where do you get most of your best work done?
I have a great home office and I find I work quite well there, which is good, since that's where I do most of my work! Train rides are also highly productive. I spend a lot of time in Amtrak's quiet car.

I feel like leisure time can be like calories: sometimes it's indulgent and well-spent; sometimes it's guilty and crappy. What do you wish you spent less free time doing (aside from the things you have to do)?
I often work after the kids go to bed, but I have a bad habit of surfing the web when I'm too tired to keep working. I should shut it down and read instead.

Your books could be classified as self-help to some people: what self-help books or concepts have actually helped your life?
Years ago, I read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and found it quite useful. I'm also naturally somewhat socially awkward, so I've found works like Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People helpful. It turns out that people think you're a great conversationalist if you just ask questions about their lives! 

What techniques have you tried that absolutely didn't work for you?
I don't use any productivity apps. Partly it's that I'm not really an app person, but also, apps require using your phone. And I find that my productivity goes up the less I look at my phone.

What, if anything, have your kids seemed to pick up from you on organization and well-spent time? What seems to be totally lost on them at this point?
My 8-year-old entertains himself in church by writing out how many seconds are in various numbers of minutes: 37, 43, 59, etc. So I guess he's interested in time from that perspective! In general, though, my kids are their own little people. I suspect there will be few overlaps between my life and theirs.

What, if anything, do you listen to when you run (if it's music, what songs have been inspiring you lately?)
If I'm by myself, I'm listening to just the sound of my thoughts and the trees. I tend to do my long runs with other people, and then we chat to pass the miles.

I've heard that four kids is somehow easier than three. Is that at all possible?
I don't know if it's easier, but there are definite upsides to having four kids. No one gives me any "just wait until..." grief anymore. Also, with four, you absolutely know you can't be at everything, so that gives you permission to let it go and focus on doing the best you can.

How does it feel to be the 411th person interviewed for Zulkey.com?
It feels absolutely awesome. Thanks for having me.