Time for Life: The Surprising Ways Americans Use Their Time

by John P. Robinson

Is it possible that Americans have more free time than they did thirty years ago? While few may believe it, research based on careful records of how we actually spend our time shows that we average more than an hour more free time per day than in the 1960s. Time-use experts John P. Robinson and Geoffrey Godbey received national attention when their controversial findings were first published in 1997. Now the book is updated, with a new chapter that includes results of the 1995–1997 data from the Americans' Use of Time Project.

Genres: Nonfiction

424 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 1997

Reviews

[Melissa Yael Winston · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "our plates are full" rhetoric is everywhere in American culture, from adverts for PDAs to calorie-packed desserts, and I've found myself asking on more than one occasion, "If we're all so busy, WHAT is everyone doing?" Before I start sounding self-righteous, let me say that I have processed those same thoughts myself. I frequently feel rushed to complete tasks that, once the day is done, I wonder why I felt stressed and was so rushed to do them in the first place. Worse still, I've procrastinated on things that would not have taken that much time because I anticipated they would, and I was already "too busy." In reading this book, I set out to find out why I have been pushed for time but accomplishing comparatively little.
The cultural phrase "I don't have time" has become the en vogue phrase over the last 30 years or so, more so than the gauche "I can't afford it." Unlike the latter, which just makes us look poor in a culture where poverty is a character flaw, "I don't have time" makes us sound busy and important. This book suggests that in fact the phrase is a polite way of saying, "I don't want to do that; I prefer to spend my time doing something else." That something else, according to the authors, is television.
The book was released in the late 1990s and is consequently a bit dated, but the statistics were interesting. In a nutshell...we are not starving for time. We actually have more free time than we did in 1965. Our work hours are slightly less than what they were 45 years ago and our sleep time is about the same. Despite Martha Stewart's best efforts, we don't spend significantly more time on housework (hey, that's what her projects seem like to me) or hobbies. Instead, we spend about 40 percent of our free time in front of the television.
It's easy to demonize television, but the authors thankfully do not do too much of that. Instead, they explain why watching television has become the culprit behind the phrase "I don't have time." Television is a passive medium. It can be consumed by people who are tired, illiterate, depressed, or bored, and programming generally reaches some sort of conclusion within half an hour to an hour. Further, the gains we have made in free time since 1965 have not been made in great chunks; 45 minutes here or there is hard to fill with a major project or even a hobby that involves a great deal of set up. As a result, religious and organizational activities, reading, socializing and even sex have seen their, er, face time cut in favor of the Almighty Television.
And here's an interesting kink: According to the book, we don't even enjoy it all that much. The authors cite surveys that get participants to rank enjoyment on a scale of 1-10, worst to best. Nothing scores a perfect 10, but sex makes it to the top of the list at 9.3. Under that are socializing, religious/organizational activities, reading, sleeping, eating, and playing with children. Television is a lowly 7.8, which seems pretty high on the 1-10 scale. But things that rank at the bottom of the scale, like getting the car repaired or looking after sick children, are in the 4.9 zone. Hmmm...
Like any book written about statistics, parts of the book are thick to the point of being incomprehensible, but overall it's interesting and worth a look.

[Leonardo]

...making clear that all life circumstances are not hedonically equal, underscores the importance of looking separately at different life circumstances. (see chapter 17)

Capabilities and Happiness Pág.32

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

In general I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It gave me some great insight into one of my passions (time perception) which will be useful in future research and writing I do for classes. However, I think I should have read a fiction book between this and "Slow Professor" to break up the nonfiction writing a bit.

[Lindsay Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uses 'time diaries' as a method to study how Americans use their time. While they can do a good job of totalling up minutes in a day, they dont really offer useful insights about the subjective experience of time. Look to others like Schor and Hochschild for that. Try making your own time diary of a 24 period though -- its fun and hard.