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In four sections, The Other 8 Hours author Robert Pagliarini lays out a plan for you to do something with those eight hours a day that are not consumed by work and sleep. Learn how to:
1. Get a clue
2. Get more time
3. Get more money
4. Get a life
Life begins at 5pm, according to Pagliarini. That’s when you can strategize and escape from what he calls the “Living Dead” and the “Dead Broke.”
Getting more time can mean the different between a full day and a fulfilling one. Pagliarini’s writing flows in a conversational tone and he wastes no words in laying out out specific points for you to grab on to. And, you’ve got to trust advice from an author who, in the Acknowledgments, thanks the artists and performers who wrote the music that provided energy and inspiration while he wrote the book.
As soon as you being reading The Other 8 Hours, you’ll realize what a huge chunk of time is wasted by unwinding from and gearing up for work again. And you'll quickly see Pagliarini is right when he identifies all the ways we could use even just a few extra hours, doing something besides being tired and waiting to go back to work. Avoid becoming a "time slut" by saying “no” instead of giving your time away. “If you sacrifice your other 8 hours to benefit someone else, they will keep coming back for more and more until you have nothing left to give.”
You’ll also learn a technique to get nine hours out of eight, and learn how multitasking decreases productivity. Learn instead to chuck time, doing tasks that don’t compete for the same resource. So do a physical and a mental activity at the same time, and get them done in half the time.
Pagliarini is a certified financial planner and a financial expert on 20/20, Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, ABC Morning News, NPR's Marketplace and in print. Given his profession, it’s not surprising he devotes an entire section on how to use The Other 8 Hours to make more money. Ideas you can start tomorrow include: writing a money-making blog, launching a company, or using those idle hours to turn a hobby to income. He’s no-nonsense when he cautions that too many people start on a new path and quickly fail.
“Desire may get you off your butt, but it’s not enough to keep you on your feet.”
The Other 8 Hours has lots of charts and includes great tips for list makers. You’ll quickly find your days, and your life, can be so much more when you know how to use The Other 8 Hours.
