Saving Time

by Jenny Odell

Douglas Rushkoff, in Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires, has this suggestion: “Instead of debating whether to buy electric, gas or hybrid, just keep the car you have. Better yet, start carpooling, walking to work, working from home, or working less. Like Jimmy Carter tried to tell us during his much-ridiculed fireside chats, turn down the thermostat and wear a sweater. It’s better for your sinuses, and better for everyone.” Toward the end of her book, considering the possibility of doing less, Aronoff ties her arguments to the proposed benefits of a shortened workweek. In some ways, these recommendations evoke the end of chapter 2 of this book: the idea of giving certain things up, as well as Butt-Head’s request: “Could you, like, get less stuff?”