Seven Principles of Creative Time Management

Written by Dr. Jan Yager

Managing your time well means managing your life well. People who handle their time well do it creatively. They make short- and long-term plans, set and keep realistic schedules, take efficient and timely breaks, and view tasks to be done as opportunities rather than dreaded obligations. They practice creative time management by taking control of their time and therefore their life.

We are not all endowed with brilliance, good looks, or lots of money, but we each get the same number of hours every day. A great deal may be achieved in those 24 hours, or not much at all. It is up to you to make optimum use of those hours from chapter 1, “Creative Time Management: An Introduction”

From Chapter 2, “The 7 Principles of Creative Time Management” here are the fundamental principles of creative time management.

These principles are based on my original research and consulting over the last two decades including interviews with top executives as well as an extensive work survey of 234 men and women, nationwide and in more than a dozen foreign countries, about time management and work-related issues. The principles below are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 2, and examples and anecdotes are provided that relate to these 7 principles throughout the book, Creative Time Management for the New Millennium:

1. Be active, not just reactive. It will be easier to be active if you also follow principle #2, namely, setting goals.
2. Set goals.
3. Prioritize actions.
4. Keep your focus.
5. Create realistic deadlines
6. D-O I-T N-O-W! Once you decide on a plan and are focused, just do it now. Here is an easy way to help you remember this principle:
   • D = Divide and conquer what you have to do. Break big tasks into little tasks and give each part of that task a realistic deadline.
   • O = Organize your materials, how you will do it.
   • I = Ignore interruptions that are annoying distractions
   • T = Take the time to learn how to do things yourself.
   • N = Now, not tomorrow. Don’t procrastinate.
   • O = Opportunity is knocking. Take advantage of opportunities.
   • W = Watch out for time gobblers. Keep track of, and in control of, how much time you spend on the Internet, reading and sending e-mails, watching TV, or talking on the phone.

7. Balance Your Life.

Excerpted from Chapters 1 and 2 in Creative Time Management for the New Millennium by Jan Yager, Ph.D. (Hannacroix Creek Books), 1999. This excerpt is copyright © 2000 by Jan Yager, Ph.D., 1999 and is used with permission.