At first glance, a book like How to Have the Time of Your Life: Essays on Time Hygiene by Zachary Cooper might seem like yet another self-help title about time management — about being more efficient. That kind of advice is everywhere in our productivity- and grind-obsessed culture, with a slew of influencers and pop psychologists trying to “help” you so you can do more, be more. Luckily, and surprisingly, Cooper’s book is not this.
I had the privilege of speaking with the Providence-born, Bristol-raised author, asking him about his book and plenty of other things besides. It was one of the most engaging interviews I’ve ever conducted.
I first wanted to know what the book was actually about, if not how to be more productive. Cooper told me, “I wanted to write about what I saw as a problem with people’s ‘relationship’ with time.” In the opening pages (promising not to waste the reader’s time), he offers one simple, effective, and guilt-free piece of advice: Don’t be afraid to say no. Saying yes takes up your time, and you should feel no guilt about declining invitations.
He also notes how often wealthy people spend time learning new, usually “hands-on” skills — celebrities taking up cobbling, for instance. Cooper and I had a laugh discussing wealth, time, and the historically “hands-on” skill of writing. We joked that in some ways writing does make you feel wealthy, and in many others, not so much.
How to Have the Time of Your Life is full of these kinds of interesting digressions. Cooper frequently illustrates his points with relatable scenarios — running late for work and getting stuck at a red light, for example. He moves from instruction to anecdote with an ease that recalls the best of the ‘self-help’ genre, something that reminded me a lot of How to Win Friends and Influence People.
The first hint of Zachary’s perspective appears on the book cover itself: a woman sitting in a beach chair under an umbrella, sipping a martini, the sand beneath her spilling from an hourglass. It’s a clever image he conceived himself. With the cover, he deliberately wanted to push against the grain of modern self-help books and their macho, “caution-tape-font designs meant to get people excited and motivated.” “I wanted to do the opposite and make something more relaxing,” he said.
But the book isn’t all fun and games. Cooper says as much inside, writing that despite the sand on the cover, “This isn’t merely a wonderful beach read — in fact, don’t let this book’s apparent brevity mislead you. I’ll be demanding more than just your readership; I’ll be offering you exercises and assignments to try out.”
Those assignments can feel a bit like homework, yet Cooper keeps the energy high enough that the book moves quickly and remains easy to get through while still being informative and entertaining.
Speaking of homework, Cooper reminded me of an actually interesting professor. He excelled at explaining ideas slowly and carefully, answering my questions in varied ways that helped the points land more clearly — exactly what he does on the page. “I have a knack for breaking things down so people can clearly understand things. And I think that was my biggest challenge and fear in this book as related to my perfectionism with writing: was I going too fast and loose, or was I repeating myself with some of my points?”
If one of Cooper’s central ideas is that we should slow down a little and appreciate the time we have, I’m on board. I then asked what he thought about time management and its relationship to productivity and grind culture in today’s America.
His response: “It is fucking heinous. It is pernicious. ‘Hustle, hustle, hustle.’ It only leads to burnout. People try to get you to buy into the notion of it and to get rich quick. It doesn’t work. It just goes to show the Calvinist roots we have as a country. Who gives a rat’s patootie about US GDP if people can’t make rent and have to live with their parents? Meanwhile, the people of France are taking month-long vacations. We need a middle ground.”
That set the tone for the rest of our conversation; he quickly proved an intriguing and entertaining person to talk with. From how gripped I was listening to him, I knew I wanted to read more of his work.
Really, I wanted to hear him go on about almost any subject, not just time management. I had dozens more questions and would gladly have listened to his thoughts on all of them. He seems primed for a long-form podcast or interview with someone like Charlie Rose.
Some of what we discussed touched on the stress that comes from news and politics. Cooper observed, “So much of it is information contamination. Mind games are easily played in the media. Sometimes unknowingly. Sometimes deliberately. There is worldview warfare. And we receive so many differing views on the same thing. From big media, and then all these independent news outlets all creating their own mini reality tunnels.”
His practical advice for keeping one’s head above water when stress mounts is to ask two questions: “Am I certain this information is true?” and then, “Supposing this is true, how does that impact my life right now?”
Much of what Zachary discusses overlaps with therapeutic practices, grounding techniques, and mindfulness, but he frames these ideas in such engaging ways that you feel compelled to keep listening or reading.
Zachary’s speaking voice is distinctly deep and cool — a compliment he hears often enough that he has begun exploring voice work. My hope is that he eventually releases an audiobook, though he is doubtful about narrating his own writing. As a perfectionist, he worries he would notice every small error and keep tinkering with the result ad infinitum.
He has more published and in-progress work beyond this book, much of it under the catchy pseudonym Fletcher Peppers. “Fletcher Peppers is an alternate persona in which I can be more provocative and extravagant,” he told me. “So warn your readers. This is where the juice is flowing.”
That edge shows up even under his own name. While researching Cooper, I came across a letter on the East Bay RI site whose opening line read: “I am writing to tell you that Zachary Cooper’s letter, published by the Bristol Phoenix, was by far the most racist rant I have seen published in any legitimate media outlet within Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts.” (https://www.eastbayri.com/stories/letter-lets-tear-up-and-redraw-our-white-town-crest,83126?)
I read Cooper’s published letter and found a piece of political satire that reminded me of Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal. Regardless of one’s politics, what emerged was funny and provocative. And at least provocative is interesting.
As Fletcher Peppers puts it on his Substack, The Pepperandum: “Bitter, cantankerous, irascible, curt, pedantic, flighty; these are just some of the words that people online have used to describe me on a good day.”
Cooper/Peppers says there is more for readers to look forward to. He is planning a new book that — surprisingly — will be a romance novel. He also posts frequently and wittily on X as @FletcherPeppers, and on Substack both as himself (“Cream of the Coop”) and as Fletcher Peppers (The Pepperandum). Cooper’s book, How to Have the Time of Your Life: Essays on Time Hygiene, is available on Amazon.