AS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF of this business magazine, I consume a steady stream of productivity advice. Books, articles, TikToks, you name it. And while certain tips have helped me make improvements to my workflow — after 30-plus years, it’s pretty streamlined — much of what I read and watch has little impact. Imagine my “ah ha” moment, then, when I picked up The Plan, by Kendra Adachi. In the foreword, she points out that 93% of time-management books are written by men.
She writes, “The problem isn’t you. It’s not your lack of dedication, consistency or motivation. It’s not because you haven’t started the right habit or taken the right online course. It’s because the current productivity paradigm doesn’t work for women. It’s that simple. The advice you’re getting is for men by men, and women are just expected to make it work. Think about it,” she says, pointing out that most time-management experts are men who do not have a boss (or are a boss in many of your cases), a home to run, or wildly varying levels of estrogen (no matter where you are in life). “I don’t know if you’re aware, but all three are notoriously unwieldy. And if you’re not wielding them on a regular basis, then it’s much easier to create your ideal life.”
It took about a week after its October release for The Plan to achieve New York Times bestseller status. I’m about halfway through, so expect to see more takeaways in future issues. I encourage the 76% of our readership who are women (as determined by the breakdown from The Big Survey) to read along with me. And it wouldn’t hurt male PETS+ subscribers to, as well, if they’d like to adapt their management style.
