Time for Things

Time for Things PDF Author: Stephen D. Rosenberg
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674979516
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 355

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Book Description
Modern life is full of stuff yet bereft of time. An economic sociologist offers an ingenious explanation for why, over the past seventy-five years, Americans have come to prefer consumption to leisure. Productivity has increased steadily since the mid-twentieth century, yet Americans today work roughly as much as they did then: forty hours per week. We have witnessed, during this same period, relentless growth in consumption. This pattern represents a striking departure from the preceding century, when working hours fell precipitously. It also contradicts standard economic theory, which tells us that increasing consumption yields diminishing marginal utility, and empirical research, which shows that work is a significant source of discontent. So why do we continue to trade our time for more stuff? Time for Things offers a novel explanation for this puzzle. Stephen Rosenberg argues that, during the twentieth century, workers began to construe consumer goods as stores of potential free time to rationalize the exchange of their labor for a wage. For example, when a worker exchanges his labor for an automobile, he acquires a duration of free activity that can be held in reserve, counterbalancing the unfree activity represented by work. This understanding of commodities as repositories of hypothetical utility was made possible, Rosenberg suggests, by the advent of durable consumer goods—cars, washing machines, refrigerators—as well as warranties, brands, chain stores, and product-testing magazines, which assured workers that the goods they purchased would not be subject to rapid obsolescence. This theory clarifies perplexing aspects of behavior under industrial capitalism—the urgency to spend earnings on things, the preference to own rather than rent consumer goods—as well as a variety of historical developments, including the coincident rise of mass consumption and the legitimation of wage labor.

Time for Things

Time for Things PDF Author: Stephen D. Rosenberg
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674979516
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 355

Get Book Here

Book Description
Modern life is full of stuff yet bereft of time. An economic sociologist offers an ingenious explanation for why, over the past seventy-five years, Americans have come to prefer consumption to leisure. Productivity has increased steadily since the mid-twentieth century, yet Americans today work roughly as much as they did then: forty hours per week. We have witnessed, during this same period, relentless growth in consumption. This pattern represents a striking departure from the preceding century, when working hours fell precipitously. It also contradicts standard economic theory, which tells us that increasing consumption yields diminishing marginal utility, and empirical research, which shows that work is a significant source of discontent. So why do we continue to trade our time for more stuff? Time for Things offers a novel explanation for this puzzle. Stephen Rosenberg argues that, during the twentieth century, workers began to construe consumer goods as stores of potential free time to rationalize the exchange of their labor for a wage. For example, when a worker exchanges his labor for an automobile, he acquires a duration of free activity that can be held in reserve, counterbalancing the unfree activity represented by work. This understanding of commodities as repositories of hypothetical utility was made possible, Rosenberg suggests, by the advent of durable consumer goods—cars, washing machines, refrigerators—as well as warranties, brands, chain stores, and product-testing magazines, which assured workers that the goods they purchased would not be subject to rapid obsolescence. This theory clarifies perplexing aspects of behavior under industrial capitalism—the urgency to spend earnings on things, the preference to own rather than rent consumer goods—as well as a variety of historical developments, including the coincident rise of mass consumption and the legitimation of wage labor.

99 Things to Do

99 Things to Do PDF Author: M. H. Clark
Publisher: Compendium Publishing & Communications
ISBN: 9781935414865
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Our everyday routines can be so all-encompassing that we often forget to make room for anything else. With 99 simple, creative ideas of things to do when you have the time, this whimsically illustrated book is designed to help you remember what matters to you.

Four Thousand Weeks

Four Thousand Weeks PDF Author: Oliver Burkeman
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 0374715246
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 140

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Book Description
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Provocative and appealing . . . well worth your extremely limited time." —Barbara Spindel, The Wall Street Journal The average human lifespan is absurdly, insultingly brief. Assuming you live to be eighty, you have just over four thousand weeks. Nobody needs telling there isn’t enough time. We’re obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, our overfilled inboxes, work-life balance, and the ceaseless battle against distraction; and we’re deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient, and “life hacks” to optimize our days. But such techniques often end up making things worse. The sense of anxious hurry grows more intense, and still the most meaningful parts of life seem to lie just beyond the horizon. Still, we rarely make the connection between our daily struggles with time and the ultimate time management problem: the challenge of how best to use our four thousand weeks. Drawing on the insights of both ancient and contemporary philosophers, psychologists, and spiritual teachers, Oliver Burkeman delivers an entertaining, humorous, practical, and ultimately profound guide to time and time management. Rejecting the futile modern fixation on “getting everything done,” Four Thousand Weeks introduces readers to tools for constructing a meaningful life by embracing finitude, showing how many of the unhelpful ways we’ve come to think about time aren’t inescapable, unchanging truths, but choices we’ve made as individuals and as a society—and that we could do things differently.

Objects of Time

Objects of Time PDF Author: K. Birth
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9781137017871
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This is a book about time, but it is also about much more than time—it is about how the objects we use to think about time shape our thoughts. Because time ties together so many aspects of our lives, this book is able to explore the nexus of objects, cognition, culture, and even biology, and to do so in relationship to globalization.

City of Time and Magic

City of Time and Magic PDF Author: Paula Brackston
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1250260701
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
Xanthe meets Brackston's most famous heroine, Elizabeth Hawksmith from The Witch's Daughter, in this crossover story with all the "historical detail, village charm, and twisty plotting" of the Found Things series (Publishers Weekly). City of Time and Magic sees Xanthe face her greatest challenges yet. She must choose from three treasures that sing to her; a beautiful writing slope, a mourning brooch of heartbreaking detail, and a gorgeous gem-set hat pin. All call her, but the wrong one could take her on a mission other than that which she must address first, and the stakes could not be higher. While her earlier mission to Regency England had been a success, the journey home resulted in Liam being taken from her, spirited away to another time and place. Xanthe must follow the treasure that will take her to him if he is not to be lost forever. Xanthe is certain that Mistress Flyte has Liam and determined to find them both. But when she discovers Lydia Flyte has been tracking the actions of the Visionary Society, a group of ruthless and unscrupulous Spinners who have been selling their talents to a club of wealthy clients, Xanthe realizes her work as a Spinner must come before her personal wishes. The Visionary Society is highly dangerous and directly opposed to the creed of the Spinners. Their actions could have disastrous consequences as they alter the authentic order of things and change the future. Xanthe knows she must take on the Society. It will require the skills of all her friends, old and new, to attempt such a thing, and not all of them will survive the confrontation that follows.

Find More Time

Find More Time PDF Author: Laura Stack
Publisher: Harmony
ISBN: 0307418987
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
You have a sink full of dishes to wash, three loads of laundry to do, seventeen bills to pay, thirty-six e-mails to answer, a big stack of novels on the nightstand you’d love to read, and zero minutes of free time. You can’t add more hours to the day, but Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro®, will help you make the most of the time you have and get things done. The Productivity Pro® helps you determine what you have under control and where you need to improve. Are you good at managing your bills but can’t find time to exercise? Do you get your kids to all their activities but end up constantly behind on laundry? Laura Stack shows you how to improve every area of your life. Whether you need help on just a few things or feel like your life is totally out of control, Find More Time will help you organize your space, time, and information to reduce your stress and create and sustain a productive home environment, so you’ll have more time to enjoy your life.

Encyclopedia of Things that Never Were

Encyclopedia of Things that Never Were PDF Author: Michael F. Page
Publisher: Studio
ISBN: 9780140100082
Category : Cosmology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
From Avalon to Zeus -- the ultimate book for fantasy lovers and myth maniacs of all ages is now in paperback, beautifully illustrated, at a siren-song priceHardcover sales of more than 70,000 copies have made the Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were a classic illustrated reference to myths and legends from all corners of the world. Here -- culled from mythology, literature, and folk tales -- is the mystical realm that has populated humanity's imagination for centuries. Over 400 entries, engagingly written and organized by type of entity, make this a complete source of information and a visual feast.Among the entries are: from "The Cosmos, ' Quetzalcoatl and Scorpio; from "The Ground and Underground", centaurs, elves, and unicorns; from "Wonderland", Atlantis and El Dorado; from "Magic, Science, and Invention", flying carpets and the Trojan horse; from "Water, Sky, and Air", Pegasus and Moby-Dick; and from "The Night", a host of shuddersome creatures from vampires to the golem. This is a wild and wondrous gift for any visionary.

More Time for You

More Time for You PDF Author: Rosemary Tator
Publisher: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn
ISBN: 0814416470
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
If you're overwhelmed and overworked, you don't need sympathy--you need a powerful system for getting more done in less time. More Time for You shows you how to take advantage of today's most versatile and effective productivity enhancers --mobile devices, online tools, and calendar software--to become more organized and lead a less stressful life. The authors reveal their proven, practical approach for prioritizing, achieving goals, reducing stress, and increasing your capacity to do what matters most. The book shows you how to: Make better, faster decisions based on your priorities * Tame your inbox with easy and efficient e-mail triage techniques * Set up a calendar management and reminder system * Handle distractions and interruptions * Lose that nagging sense you are forgetting something * Maximize the benefits (and minimize the time sink) of social media Illustrated with screen shots from Microsoft Outlook®, the authors' simple tips and step-by-step process make workplace organization a reality. Their upbeat tone and get-to-it approach make starting and sticking with the program easier than you'd ever imagine!

Time Well Spent

Time Well Spent PDF Author: Lyndon Jones
Publisher: Kogan Page Publishers
ISBN: 0749458305
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
It is possible to have an overwhelmingly busy life and job and still be productive. Organisation and modification of major work habits can turn people into high-performing professionals with control over their work and life. Time Well Spent teaches you how to be efficient and accomplish more with less effort. It includes chapters on getting to know yourself better, avoiding procrastination, using and analyzing your time, organising your workload and workplace, handling interruptions, making best use of information and technology and delegating and conducting meetings effectively. The authors' insights, practical everyday lessons and fascinating case studies will help you to approach life and work in an entirely different way, enabling you to take control and get more done.

The Things I Can Do

The Things I Can Do PDF Author: Jeff Mack
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
ISBN: 1466844558
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
Want to see what Jeff drew? It's a book about him and all the things he can do! He can make his own lunch! He can get his own drink. He can take his own bath—pretty cool, don't you think? Get ready for a riotous time as Jeff explains, in words and self-drawn pictures, all the things he can do—in a book he made all by himself! A Neal Porter Book