TIME MACHINE

Krohn’s self-help book outlines time- and wealth-management strategies.

The author, using a time machine analogy, advises readers on growing their wealth and making better use of their time; Krohn asserts that “time is the most precious commodity, meaning that TIME MASTERY should be the goal, not money mastery.” Thus, one must “find a mathematically superior way to value time and determine how to spend it.” By harnessing the power of hindsight and time “arbitrage,” Krohn asserts that readers can “live a thousand lives.” He introduces his three phases of money progression: Save (20% of your income), invest, and spend (on both yourself and in giving to others). The author posits that, by taking control of one’s “yeses” and “nos,” one can better leverage one’s time and create more happiness, health, and wealth. Krohn conjures a phoropter (readers will be familiar with these devices from visits to the optometrist) that views decisions through five lenses: logic, money, joy, energy, and intuition. Throughout the book, Krohn provides scenarios, algorithms, and worksheets for implementing his strategies. However, some of his arguments ignore the many ways successful people may have benefitted from privilege, nepotism, or other inequitable means of wealth-building that trump simple time-management hacks. Assertions that “material wealth is simply a by-product of the right yeses and nos” fail to recognize that not every person gets a say in their circumstances (per the author, “there is no room for victims at the highest levels”). Krohn’s perspective is dyadic: People are either rich or poor, “frugal savers,” or “reckless spenders,” overly busy or balanced. That said, there are useful analytic tools here that may help people plagued with “analysis paralysis” or those stuck on the hamster wheel of regrettable decisions.

A passionate but somewhat shortsighted book about maximizing one’s time and money.