Busier than ever!
Subtitle: why American families can't slow down
By: Charles N. Darrah, James M. Freeman, and J. A. English-Lueck.
Contributors: Freeman, James M., 1936-; English-Lueck, J. A. 1953-
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 2007
Place of publication: Stanford, Calif
Language: eng
Number of pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9780804754910; 9780804754927
Subjects: Family -- United States; Family -- Time management -- United States; Parenting -- United States
Description: Busyness defines the lives of most Americans. For some, the focus of busyness is family. For others, it is career or social activities. Sometimes busyness results from a big event, like the catastrophic illness of a family member, but much of it builds from many seemingly inconsequential demands that collectively become overwhelming. We search for the best airline prices on the Internet, are "partners" with teachers in our children's education, and employ a battery of devices that promise to save labor if only we can learn how to use them.

Busier Than Ever! follows the daily activities of fourteen American families. It explores why they are busy and what the consequences are for their lives. Busyness is not just a matter of personal time management, but of the activities we participate in and how each of us creates "the good life." While numerous books deal with efficiency and the difficulties of balancing work and family, Busier Than Ever! offers a fresh approach. Busyness is not a "problem" to be solved--it is who we are as Americans and it's redefining American families.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Busyness; title: A journey through busyness; title: How are we busy?; title: Why are we busy?; title: Coping; title: The hidden work of thinking ahead; title: Making manageable worlds; title: When things go wrong; title: Building buffers; title: Using things; title: Connecting people; title: Remaking family; title: Continuing concerns; title: Why it's so hard to say no; title: Acknowledgments; title: List of families; title: Notes; title: Works cited; title: Index.