Winner of the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award
Entrepreneur's 12 Productivity and Time-Management Books to Read
"I'm won over to a day with people, not screens....I tried Shlain's idea. I highly recommend it." —The New York Times
"Tiffany Shlain is a modern-day prophet, brilliant and incredibly funny in equal measure...24/6 is timeless and timely wisdom." —Angela Duckworth, #1 New York Times bestselling author
This "wise, wonderful work" (Publishers Weekly starred review) demonstrates how turning off screens one day a week can work wonders on your brain, body, and soul.
Do you wish you had more time to do what you love, think deeply, and focus on the people and things that matter most? By giving up screens one day a week for over a decade, Internet pioneer and renowned filmmaker Tiffany Shlain and her family have gained more time, productivity, connection, and presence.
Shlain takes us on a thought-provoking and entertaining journey through time and technology, introducing a strategy for flourishing in our 24/7 world. Drawn from the ancient ritual of Shabbat, living 24/6 can work for anyone from any background. With humor and wisdom, Shlain shares her story, offering the accessible lessons she has learned and providing a blueprint for how to do it yourself.
"Bolstered with fascinating and germane facts about neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, and the history of the concept of a day of rest" (Publishers Weekly), 24/6 makes the case for incorporating this weekly reset into our 24/7 lives, issuing a call to rebalance ourselves and our society.
Industry Reviews
“In this wise, wonderful work, filmmaker Shlain eloquently argues the merits of taking a break from technology, particularly smartphones, one day a week …Bolstered with fascinating and germane facts about neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, and the history of the concept of a day of rest, this excellent cross between instruction and memoir deserves a wide audience.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"[A] bright debut... A useful and much-needed guide to turning the clock back to a less frazzled pre-internet and -smartphone day."
—Kirkus Reviews
“In her new book, 24/6, Tiffany Shlain, the founder of the Webby Awards, lays out a plan for surviving our 'always on' culture… Even for a digital curmudgeon like me, being 'unproductive' felt like a small revolution—and that’s after only one day of it. I can’t wait to discover what a decade of tech Shabbats feels like.”
—Harvard Business Review
“Put down your phone and pick up this book. I did. In one day read it in its entirety, convinced by the end that 24/6 is timeless and timely wisdom. Tiffany Shlain is a modern-day prophet, brilliant and incredibly funny in equal measure.”
—Angela Duckworth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Grit
“Shlain's well-written and well-reasoned book offers families excellent ideas for taming the digital monsters who have moved into their homes. I recommend it to all parents who have struggled to set limits on screen time.”
—Mary Pipher, co-author of Reviving Ophelia
“Here is the answer to the greatest collective and personal challenge of our time: reclaiming the essential dignity of being human in a digital age.”
—Douglas Rushkoff, author of Team Human and Present Shock
“Shlain delivers a moving family story, documenting the need for Shabbat in the first place.”
—Sherry Turkle, MIT Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology, author of Reclaiming Conversation and Alone Together
"An essential guide... There is nothing else like it; here is a place to turn if you feel there’s something missing in our modern world."
—Jaron Lanier, best-selling author of Dawn of the New Everything and You Are Not a Gadget
“I don’t know how Tiffany Shlain does it. First the prize-winning movies, now an amazing book outlining a human way to manage our digital lifestyle. Like Tiffany, we all need to go 24/6. It’s a great way to seize back control from our digital overlords.”
—Andrew Keen, Best-selling author of How To Fix The Future
“She convinced me…. that a day of disconnection is a path towards reconnection to the rest of our lives."
—Vint Cerf, the co-creator of the internet
"This book is a wonderfully refreshing and practical roadmap, as she promises, to both slowing down time and having more of it.”
—Krista Tippett, Host of On Being and bestselling author of Becoming Wise.
“Tiffany Shlain is a 21st Century Marshall McLuhan, reminding us that having the best of both worlds is not getting consumed by one.”
—Jean Rogers, M.S.Ed. Director, Children’s Screen Time Action Network
“To fulfill the promise of automation we may well need to re-learn some of the arts of living lost in the industrial revolution. Tiffany Shlain’s book is a much-needed guide for how to start on this path.”
—Marina Gorbis, Author & Executive Director Institute for The Future
“Tiffany Shlain is a digital philosopher for our time, confronting the conundrums presented by a constantly demanding, ever-present information environment. I, as a pediatrician, live it and recommend it as a best parenting and best living practice to the families I serve.”
—Michael Rich, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
“24/6 is a joy to read, from its compelling argument for a day of rest to its bonus challah bread recipe. Like the braided challah, Tiffany Shlain weaves together her intriguing personal story, practical advice, and research wisdom to show why taking a weekly tech break is so rejuvenating—and can fuel a healthy, meaningful life.”
—Rosabeth Moss Kanter, bestselling author of Confidence
“Tiffany Shlain provides much needed sanity in our data frenzied world. Do yourself a favor. Read this book and take back your life.”
—Stephen Balkam, Founder & CEO, Family Online Safety Institute
