Comments on: Um, about that World Economic Forum tweet and infographic

By: lauravanderkam

lauravanderkam — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 18:09:48 +0000

In reply to Cloud.

@Cloud – I think it’s the same reason that people who’ve blamed weight woes on a slow metabolism don’t like to learn that their metabolism is perfectly normal. Accepting agency over a situation is tough. In the work realm, we justify sacrifices to ourselves by believing they were necessary.

By: Cloud

Cloud — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 15:55:01 +0000

For what it is worth, my husband (an avid Economist reader) showed me that Schumpeter column by saying it mentioned you in a positive light! They do tend to have a snarky edge about just about everything, and he didn’t think they were particularly snarky about your points.
******
Somewhat related: I’d really love to understand why the suggestion that we can get better at how we use our time makes some people downright angry and defensive. I get it sometimes, too, in my far less trafficked corner of the internet. My current theory is that if they admit they maybe didn’t have to work such ridiculous hours all along, they have to reckon with how much of their life they’ve wasted. It would be fascinating if someone found a way to actually research that question.

By: Carrie Willard

Carrie Willard — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 15:38:57 +0000

Free publicity. 🙂 What famous celebrity once said that she would rather have people talking badly about her than not talking at all?

By: ARC

ARC — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 15:10:38 +0000

I think there’s a popular trend of “morning routine” recently, after you wrote your book. In fact some of them like Claire Diaz Ortiz, quote you directly. (I have to admit I was kind of annoyed when reading her books because in two of them she summarizes your points about weekend planning without adding anything substantive, but the rest of her books were decent so…)

Anyway, I’ve seen several people talk about elaborate morning routines lately so I read that tweet as a dig on the idea, rather than one pointed at YOU specifically. Because you wouldn’t waste time on bed making or email 🙂 I think the email thing comes from Gretchen Rubin. And the bedmaking thing has been mentioned a bunch of times by lots of people over the years, and I personally find it super unhelpful. 😉

+1 to Haters Gonna Hate 🙂 but Yay? for the Economist!

BTW, on days when I can get it together, my “morning routine” is 2.5 hours before the kids get up, though I never would have made that happen with kids who were constantly waking up in the middle of the night. I also go to bed at 8:45 on those days. So it’s not totally out of the realm of possibility…

By: Ana

Ana — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 14:33:23 +0000

I’d be sort of proud—you know you’ve made it when people are snarking on you, right? It certainly took time & energy for someone to create that (even though its nonsensical and anyone who thinks that you meant to do all 14 things lacks basic reading comprehension & common sense!)

By: Jeanne Tovar

Jeanne Tovar — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 14:10:29 +0000

Remember, nobody ever kicks a dead dog!

(Dale Carnegie, quoted from memory)

By: lauravanderkam

lauravanderkam — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 13:44:47 +0000

In reply to Griffin.

@Griffin – what a coincidence! (not really – snow storm news hook). My piece at Fast Company on the working parents’ snow day survival guide went up this morning:

http://www.fastcompany.com/3055509/second-shift/the-working-parents-snow-day-survival-guide

I have no childcare today anyway, so it’s all about the nap. Yesterday’s nap didn’t go as intended, so I’m nervous for today…

By: Griffin

Griffin — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 13:22:33 +0000

Is there another emotion besides sad or proud? How about perplexed? The infographic comes across as sloppy to me. Why take someone’s work and distort it just to get laughs? I realize that happens constantly, but my reaction is “that tweeter whom I’ve never heard of will not capture my interest.” In other news, you should start a conversation about #snowdaychildcare. I found myself without 3 hours of childcare today, and I’m embracing a slow morning so that once childcare starts at 11, I’ll crank hard until 6 with lunch at my desk. There is something nice about savoring three slow hours with a little reading, kid time, and exercise that turns the entire situation into something positive. Fortunately, had nothing on my calendar at work this morning that is being wrecked by the snow day.

By: Carol

Carol — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 11:20:59 +0000

Hi Laura. I have read your books and your blog and thoroughly enjoy both – it must be really annoying when someone takes your valid and researched work to use it as a starting point to go off on some rant-like tangent like the guy in the economist did (distorting your msg while he’s at it). The infographic….blahh…clearly the work of someone with quite an obvious and not so sharp sense of humour…not worth commenting on.
Regardless, try to think of it as there being no such thing as bad publicity. If it drives people to your site they’ll see upon reading even a few lines of any post that its worth sticking around to read more… And if they sneer in agreement with the infographic/economist you probably dont want them as readers anyway.
Keep the posts coming!

By: Jeff H,

Jeff H, — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 07:09:07 +0000

He’s an idiot. Anyone with half a brain knows that you don’t have to do all of these. He also probably doesn’t have four kids and a wife with a full time job. From where is his expertise derived?!