What does have intrinsic worth? Exercise, for one, and efficiency itself. While waiting on a Chef Microwave to cook, Ms. Vanderkam is "in the habit of dropping to the floor and holding a plank pose." She counts minutes, literally, suggesting that we make calls while doing dishes, "pray" while waiting for the elevator, or "study a painting" in the moments before a conference call.
Mr. Tartakovsky also makes the point that the book could have made a great article in Real Simple magazine.
Other notices have been less qualified. Seth Godin writes, "We so often live our lives day by day. Laura wants us to think about doing it hour by hour. Living this mantra by example, she gets more done in a day than most of us do in a week." And Publishers Weekly has this to say, "But given that the author seems to be targeting a very rarefied echelon of upper-middle-class working moms (like herself), the book might have very limited appeal. More alienating, though, is her insistence on pummeling the life out of life. Vanderkam's vision may yield plenty of time to pursue worthy activities, but it's a life leached of color or spontaneity." Ouch. Yes, from what I've read of the book, one will need to be in that "rarefied echelon of upper-middle-class" to effect Ms. Vanderkam's suggestion. Nevertheless, it looks like important material to consider.
