Booklist Reviews
Headlee (We Need To Talk, 2017) states that "we have lost our capacity for light-heartedness and play," and she delves into ways to promote humanity and connectedness in a world that seems too busy to notice. She tackles the efficiency culture in the first half of the book, describing familiar scenarios like being overscheduled. The second part of the book helps readers focus on getting their lives back by embracing leisure and idleness, which she describes as "nonproductive activity." Advocating more than just presence, she is challenging readers to make a shift to start living instead of doing. Some tips include making a schedule to fit in important things you want to do daily, limiting time spent using electronics, not working overtime, making time for people, having hobbies . . . and, of course, doing nothing. Headlee gives tips on how to develop "end goals" to make this shift in thinking while not viewing the guide as another efficiency and productivity tool. The book's conversational tone draws readers in, and it will appeal to those looking beyond self-help to something more meaningful. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
An argument against the notion that "our carefully designed strategies and gadgets will make us better." As a popular radio host, journalist, and speaker, Headlee (We Need To Talk: How To Have Conversations That Matter, 2017) has plenty of experience in trying—and often failing—to achieve the so-called work-life balance. "While I'd always been driven, I'd also been exhausted, stressed, and overwhelmed," writes the author of her years of struggle to advance her career, pay the bills, and manage the responsibilities of being a single mother. She had hoped that "when I achieved financial stability, my stress would end." However, the opposite was true: Once she was offered bigger money for speeches and other jobs, it was tougher to turn them down. "If your goal is less stress and more happiness," she writes, "years of scientific research have proven that better than trading your time for money, it's best to trade your money for time." Easier said than done, and though Headlee remains highly productive, with a schedule that will leave many readers breathless, she does an effective job of showing how the Industrial Revolution changed the time-money equation, how multitasking makes us less focused and efficient, why connecting online rather than engaging in human interaction can be dehumanizing, and how you can feel better about your life by acting kindly. Among her many suggestions: Engage in conversation with four strangers per day; keep track of how you are spending your time, because you're probably not as busy as you think you are; and acknowledge that downtime can make you more creative and productive as well as happier. Readers are advised not to take the author's title literally, because there is so much that can be done to reassert the importance of leisure in life, including reading a book about it. Headlee offers little groundbreaking information, but her advice is well taken and will prove useful for harried readers. Copyright Kirkus 2019 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Journalist Headlee (