At the library near my house, I spotted a slim little book sitting in the non-fiction section called “How to Save Time.”
I was expecting it to be a straightforward book — some arguments, maybe a few practical tips. But the moment I opened to the first page, I was stunned.
The first page:
……Okay?
I flipped through it quickly. The whole book was exactly like the first page: one picture and one simple sentence.
“May keeps losing her things.”
“So May put a bowl on the table. The bowl holds her glasses. The bowl holds her keys. The bowl holds her phone.”
“Now May knows where things are.”
……So May had been wasting all her time looking for her stuff this whole time?
There was also this part:
“May wants to do it all.”
“She takes classes.”
“She bowls on a team.”
“She helps at a playschool.”
“But May cannot do it all.”
“So May cuts down.”
“She saves time.”
……Life could really be that simple, couldn’t it lol
The thing that made me nearly lose it in the library was this:
(What does this have to do with saving time?!) I screamed internally, desperately trying not to laugh in the library, shoulders shaking the whole time.
You shouldn’t chase productivity too hard in life. Proper rest is still necessary. That’s what the author was trying to say, right?
If you’re curious, feel free to grab a copy here — $9.95 each, and there’s a preview on the website. Oh, and by the way, the audio sample is actually long enough that you can hear the entire book.
NB: This article was first published in Chinese on 03/12/26. It was later translated with assistance from AI tools, edited by me, and published in English on 05/01/26.