Free Time

February 1, 2022
Building on the Free Time Framework, which guides readers to align, design, and assign for greater productivity and organizational success, author and podcast host Blake encourages business owners and leaders to avoid allowing concrete, data-driven targets to prevent taking advantage of an unanticipated chance to innovate. Blake's recognition of needing, receiving, and accepting permission to act in ways that may be difficult but necessary will be freeing, allowing entrepreneurial readers to move forward in their pursuits. Value-added components of the book include templates for reflection and change and the related website, which features a toolkit recommending software that allows freeing actions to be taken without starting from scratch. Free Time delivers a concrete structure for taking the most basic advice (e.g., "learn from your mistakes") and diving deeply to identify clear reflection points, allowing readers to gain deep understanding and learn from its lessons. A practical, commonsense guide for business leaders and beyond, Free Time will find an audience in business school and public libraries.

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January 15, 2022
A comprehensive efficiency guide for solo entrepreneurs and small-business owners. Business owner/podcaster Blake, author of the career-development book Pivot (2016), makes a convincing case for working smarter, not harder, in a book centered around a compelling question: "How can we earn twice as much in half the time, with ease and joy, while serving the highest good?" When she set out to build her own business after working at Google, Blake faced the typical challenges of self-employment, but instead of succumbing to income deficiencies and overwork, she restructured her business based on her emerging belief that "business stress is a systems problem." That belief is effectively the platform for this book, because Blake intelligently demonstrates how her own system--the "Free Time Framework"--can facilitate business success and also free up time. Its three stages ("Align, Design, Assign") provide a natural structure for the book itself, whose three parts describe the stages in detail. Clearly, Blake understands the power of three, as each section is further subdivided into three overarching chapter concepts; for example, "Align" asserts that a business project must line up with one's "Values," be compatible with how one focuses one's "Energy," and draw on one's "Strengths." At times, the book seems a bit too tightly organized, but Blake makes it work by weaving together short, engaging chapters that are chock full of relevant examples and useful sidebars. Particularly helpful are the initial overviews of each subsection and the concluding chapter recaps. The book's content is substantive, and each part delves deeply into its subject matter. Blake's suggestions always reinforce agility and efficiency. In Part 1 ("Align"), the author introduces one of her core principles: "Each time you repeat a task, take one step toward automating it," which she discusses further in Part 2. Other worthwhile ideas in Part 1 include setting "purposeful intentions," employing strategies for overcoming business bottlenecks, and learning how to "embrace imperfection." Part 2 ("Design") addresses how to establish and measure "ideal outcomes" and the potential impact of a project and how to design an efficient process. "Serendipity as Business Strategy" is an especially intriguing chapter, and a later sidebar, "Stop Sailing the Sea of Shiny Shoulds," shares the story of Blake's and another entrepreneur's social media hiatuses and the positive effects they had on their businesses. Other concepts in this part, such as Blake's "deep work" windows, will surely resonate with overburdened business owners. The primary focus of Part 3 ("Assign") is delegation--arguably one of an entrepreneur's biggest challenges. Here, Blake elegantly describes how to extricate oneself from being the "Chief Everything Officer" and how to build a "Delightfully Tiny Team." She also covers several other useful techniques and tactics for maximizing time efficiency, such as building a task management system. All three parts of the book are well written, applicable, and actionable. Stylistically, Blake is a master of alliteration and rhyming; she's also adept at employing numbered and bulleted lists. Overall, she delivers an entertaining, instructive reading experience. An invigorating and informative time-management manual.

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