What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend

By Laura Vanderkam

Dave Thackeray
Jul 25, 2017 · 2 min read

I have a lousy relationship with weekends. I have the greatest of respect for Jon Torode but I don’t believe it’s in anyone’s best interests that I spend the first two hours of my waking Saturday with him and BBC One as he parades actress after author through the rigmarole of producing a meal with squid in it.

Sundays largely comprising watching films and thinking about making something with squid in it. But generally speaking, I just watch the films. Because I don’t like squid.

Laura has discovered a better way. She’s a time maximiser. She wrote a book pulling back from the weekend and focusing in on the entire week. Predictably, it has a number in it — 168, representing the total hours we have at our disposal every seven days.

To make me extraordinarily jealous of her abilities, Laura has also put out a fiction book that’s incredible. I don’t enjoy lavishing praise on others because there’s only limited time available and I’d much rather it was me being lavished. But there does seem right here to be a genuinely good reason — for Laura’s sake, and for me to feel all fuzzy by bestowing the gift of love elsewhere — to fawn at her fingers. Those same fingers that make magic on keyboards and pull us into our Kindles. You rock, Laura!

Laura’s website is here.

Back on track. I’m well aware that Sunday nights are perfect for pulling together your plan for the week ahead. People who don’t do that are pussies. Since I’ve started doing Sunday night previews, I’ve slept better. I used to be a lousy zzzer leaving the weekend, but now I’m marginally better. These two situations may or may not be bedmates or simple coincidences.

I think if I met Laura in a bar we’d have a wholesome conversation about the meaning of life and how to squeeze from it enough juice to fill a million beakers. I’d like to have that conversation. Laura, if you’re listening, let’s get our people together and make that happen.

What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend: A Short Guide to Making the Most of Your Days Off is a briefly decadent read and an insult to Laura’s prosaic prowess at a penny less than two quid on Kindle. Go buy it NOW, fool.

Book reviews

Mostly business, sometimes fiction, almost always both

Dave Thackeray

Written by

Founder of Word And Mouth | Host of #Thacknology

Book reviews

Mostly business, sometimes fiction, almost always both

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade