In 1930, John Maynard Keynes predicted that within a century, we would work only 15 hours a week. Just over two decades later, a fresh-faced vice-president called Richard Nixon volunteered that, by 1990, Americans would retire at the age of 38. And yet somehow, despite all the gadgets and gizmos that were supposed to set us free from drudgery dishwashers, disposable nappies, Skype many people in the developed world now feel they are working harder than ever.
Brigid Schulte (pictured) calls this "the overwhelm". The Washington Post reporter's engaging book which is by turns a pop science explainer, self-help guide and subtle feminist polemic aims to discover why some of us feel there simply aren't enough hours in the day. She sympathises: juggling family and career, and feeling guilty about neglecting both, she is "scattered, fragmented, exhausted". Not only is she doing too much she feels she should always be doing more.
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