Time Management For Creative People

by Mark McGuinness

Delivering time management training and coaching for hundreds of creative people has taught a lot about what it takes to get original work done in the midst of the demands and distractions of the 21st century workplace.

It’s full of practical advice for creatives,

- Finding the method in your creative madness;
- Identifying and prioritising your most important work;
- Getting in the right state of mind for focused work;
- How to minimise interruptions and distractions;
- Managing e-mail effectively;
- How to remember — and fulfil — all your important commitments.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Business, Ebooks, Productivity, Personal Development, Management

32 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Huda Aweys · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب خفيف باللغة الإنجليزية عن تنظيم الوقت ، .. رائع فعلا .. و محدد في نقاط .. منظم ، كمعظم كتب التنمية البشرية و مساعدة الذات المحددة ..المنظمة ، بلا اسهاب او تطويل من غير معنى . في البداية تناول الكتاب ، الجدول المشهور عن الأمور العاجلة و المهمة .. و اللي بينظم مهامنا و مسئولياتنا مابين مهام عاجلة و مهمة .. مهام عاجلة و غير مهمة .. مهام مهمة و غير عاجلة .. و مهام لا مهمة و لا عاجلة .. و وضح كيفية استخدامه بإيجاز غير مخل

حوى نصائح كمان عن كيفية عمل (سياج) .. او سور حوالين وقتنا (الإبداعى) اللى بنكون فيه فى كامل تركيزنا و لياقتنا الذهنية و الجسدية ، و نصائح أخرى عن كيفية الاستفادة من اوقات العمل و عدم اهدارها بـ (تأثير سيزيف) ! :) و لازم تقرأوا بنفسكم عشان تعرفوا قصده بالتأثير دا
! :)
كمان حوى فقرة عبقرية عن (تأجيل العمل الى الغد)! :) و موش هاوضح بردو عشان مازلت باشوقكم تقرأوا الكتاب بأنفسكم
:) .. ،
و اخيرا نصائح عن ازاي تطلع الأفكار من (دماغك) عشان دماغك تكون صافيه و رايقه للعمل و الابداع ، و في نفس الوقت ازاي تحافظ على افكارك اللى فضتها من دماغك دى عشان ماتضيعش ، و ترتبها و تراجعها .. و ترجعلها من وقت للتانى ، كتاب هيحتاجه اكيد كل المشغولين و اللى الدنيا عندهم (مكركبة) و فوضى فعلا من كتر اشغالهم و مسئولياتهم و موش عارفين يديروها .. ، موش هيحللهم المشكلة فى يوم و ليلة طبعا :) .. دايما بأكد ان النوعيه دى من الكتب موش سحر .. هي بس بتقدملك المفتاح و بتساعدك في الوقوف على اول الطريق ببساطه ، و لو عندك ارادة و ذكاء هتعرف تمسك منها اول الخيط و تكمل لوحدك ، اما لو شخص متواكل ، او خيالك و ذكاءك محدودين ، اكيد النوعيه دي من الكتب موش هتكون مفضلة بالنسبة لك
:)
بالمناسبة ، قرأت كتاب لدكتور ابراهيم الفقي عن نفس الموضوع من فترة لكن الكتاب دا فادنى اكتر فى الحقيقة لأنه ركز على معالجة المشكلة اكتر ، بينما كتاب دكتور ابراهيم ، رغم النصائح اللى اوردها الا انه كان مركز على المشكلة نفسها و ازاي نكتشف اذا كنا بنعاني منها او لا ! .. اكتر من تركيزه على حلها

[James Cridland · Rating 3 out of 5]

The problem with these types of books is that they're always full of common sense, and you finish thinking "well, yeah, duh, I knew all that".

But that's the point, really. It's a decent book, and it's far more approachable than the David Allen books (indeed, this writer has managed to distill the GTD theory into less than 32 pages).

As a quick download and read, it's not a bad thing (though is a little small for my Kindle to cope with...)

[Sebah Al-Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

قراءة ممتعة ومقنعة، جدا. رغم أني كنت أقرأ الكتاب في الخارج، إلا أني وجدت نفسي لا شعوريا في الكثير من صفحاته أهز رأسي موافقة وكأني أتحدث مع الكاتب وجها لوجه. طريقة ترتيبه للفصول أكدت وصول النقطة التي يحاول توضيحها في كل فصل، وساعدتني على ترتيب أفكاري معه. الكتاب قصير، لكني استمتعت بالكثير من الفصول و الفقرات لدرجة أني أعدت قراءة الكثير منها أكثر من مرة.

أنصح بالكتاب، جدا، لكل من يشعر أنه مغمور في الكثير من المشاريع أو المهام دون مقدرة كافية لتنظيم الوقت وترتيب المهام.

اقتباساتي كثيرة. ربما أدرجها :)

[Sina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short book with a few practical tips of how to manage your time creatively.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

For as short and concise as it is, Time Management for Creative People contains a wealth of information to help people focus and budget their time wisely. With references to other books and software to help manage time and tasks, this book is an outstanding, quick reference to those of us who are seriously time constrained. That seems to be most of us these days.

The downside to this book is that it's so short that it's really just kind of a quick overview of time management principles. That's not a major downside because that's kind of what the book is intended to be, but the implication is that the resources referenced in the book are necessary to make a real change in how we manage our time. The book is not a complete resource itself.

I almost hate to mention that as a downside because a quick reference to lead us elsewhere is what this book is intended to be, but the fact of the matter is that there isn't a complete, detailed set of principles in the book to accomplish what it's after. Still highly recommended by me, especially considering how little time it takes to read. This is a resource I intend to keep around for a long time.

[Alexandra Eremia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting, even though I did not find out something new, but it's ok to read it as introduction if you have problems organizing your time.

[Thangible · Rating 4 out of 5]

Xuất sắc,
Con tạ ơn trời đất đã có một cuốn ebook về time management ngắn gọn dễ thương dễ hiểu như vậy. Không mới, hay đột phá gì, nhưng nó ngắn. Nên là đọc xong dễ áp dụng. Thiết nghĩ ai cũng nên viết như này, self-help mà dài quá viết đọc vừa ngủ lấy gì áp dụng.

The shortest, most straight-to-the-point, coherent, lucid, perceivable and least preachy book about time-management. Is it a book, more like a long blog entry?

Parts of Mark Mcguinness's time management system.
1. Prioritise your work (using the important/ urgent model of Stephen Covey in 7 habits)
2. Ring-fence your time (save a specific time in a day to work)
3. Separate workloads ( for example: for a creative, it is wise to separate brainstorming stage and synthesizing and editing stage).
4. Block distraction and find a trigger ( somewhat related to associating method in psychology).
5. Sort the amount of reactive work. (emails,etc.)
6. Clear your mind by writing things down.
7. Review your commitments.

[Mostafa Abdullah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being very short, impressive and well-organized, this book discusses various subjects, yet they are well-related. It can help you avoid most of the annoying distractions you face through your day even though many of them are inevitable. It won't take up much of your time. On the other hand, the writer is kinda arguing for getting routine out of your life, yet after following up his tips, I think my life will turn out to be much more routine somehow.
After all, i liked this ebook and it deserves some space on your hard disk.

[Israa Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than amazing ! Short and to the point .. It gives efficient solutions to get rid of certain daily interrupting problems like ' lack of focus .. Endless tasks ' and helps you improve your creative work , avoid all kinds of interruptions , and manage your time in order to work on your goals . I would have rated it '5 stars' if it had touched me as a student but anyway it's a very useful book and i completely enjoyed reading it !

[Heba Ghandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Concise and quiet useful too :)

It contains many helpful advice.. I think i'll re-read it again when i got a job isA :))

[Martina V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kratučký ebook o tom, ako prestať prokrastinovať a urobiť si čas na veci, ktoré chcem robiť. V podstate je to výcuc techník z rôznych kníh ako 7 návykov skutočne efektívnych ľudí, Štvorhodinový pracovný týždeň, Getting Things Done ...
Kniha vhodná pre začiatočníkov v téme časový manažment, na zorientovanie sa, nasmeruje, jednoducho vysvetlí. Svoj systém práce si aj tak musí každý nájsť podľa seba, lebo čo funguje jednému, nemusí druhému.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two things in its favour. First its short. Second it mentions the ever popular Pavlina post
https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/200... and that's about it.

[Sara Fathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and simple book with good ideas for improving productivity. It was focused on how to manage your time, be focused and create an efficient to do list.

[Harshali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, simple and sweet. This book tells you how you can manage time at the same be creative in your very own way.

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been doing Mark’s free online course The Creative Pathfinder and this week’s task was to read this book. http://lateralaction.com/pathfinder/ also free. Thanks, Mark!
I was two pages in - and he was talking about getting distracted - when I noticed the pile of receipts to the left of my screen - and promptly decided to enter them all into my bookkeeping program. Do I need this book? Damn right I do.
I have dabbled in a few creative things in my life, and I know that being organised saves me time. I am not a tidy or organised person by nature and I have to work at it, but once I have spent too much of my creating time trying to find the tool, or the piece of material, or the stencil, or the half scribbled notes I wrote on that great book idea… well, you get the picture. I have wasted my creative time scrabbling through mess. And then, I tend to give up. The moment is gone, the idea has flittered away, or the time I allocated for that task has been used up.
I disconnected cable TV a long time ago; I worked out that I spent too much time watching things that weren’t really important to me. I could flick it on and find something entertaining, but it wasn’t a good use of my time. And it cost money I didn’t have. I can’t pull the plug on my phone - I have school age children - but I know how irritating it is to be interrupted by a sales caller.
Mark encourages readers to identify their most productive times (different for different people) and if they need a routine (music, a particular drink) or a place, to be at their most productive. He gives useful, sensible strategies and he suggests that they will reduce anxiety and make you more creative and more productive. He even adds backing up his computer to his list of weekly review jobs. Ooh… I should do that. Now where did I leave those instructions on how to… gah! *flails*

[Shayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short sweet and to the point. I consider myself well organized and as a mother of 5, running my own farm and active volunteer for my commuity I have to be. That said I often need a refreasher and this little book hit the mark. Most of the main points were ones that I had heard of before and read full length books on. For instance Coveys, habits series. I did like the refreasher course and appreciated the additional resources from the chapters. I would recomend this to anyone that is feeling bogged down and needs a little reminder of how to get their life back together. For those who are new to the organization of your life I would really recomend this as a teaser and hope that you would follow up with the references given.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always a hassle managing your time beating the deadline and it's a more frustrating fact that creativity sometimes runs out just when you need it most.

Creativity, imagination and resourcefulness are the key factors in our job in the design field. The book gives tips on how to maximize your time and dividing it into multiple "mini" tasks that may help you achieve your daily goals.

Although it provides strategic tips to manage time, I still think it won't be 100% fit for any specific person. It's still up to the creative designer to find his/her routine that will be very effective in his scope of work. Helpful, yes but not totally.

[Dori · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book in one of the following circumstances:

As an introduction to to Time/Project Management - The book is a quick read that gives you simple tips on Time Management, many of the things are as originally for longer books or workshops which he specifies so if you want to learn more about the subject you'll know where to get the information.


To compliment what you already know of Time/ Project Management - This quick read will refresh concept that you might have learned on other books or worships.

[Traci · Rating 3 out of 5]

This anxiety provoking little e-book takes very little time to read but provides some fairly easy to implement strategies to begin to manage time effectively. Although written for people in creative fields, those of us who are creative, but in non creative jobs can benefit as well. I felt like Mark McGuinness peeked in my windows and wrote about me. Hopefully I will begin to implement my own versions of what I read here. I liked that it was short and left room for me to decide what might be helpful to me.

[Sol ❁ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was short, simple and very straightforward. I liked the part where it briefly discussed the Important VS Urgent tasks and how you organize and properly approach them. I badly need this. I've read lots of books about Time Management since college but I still haven't perfectly done it yet.

Some say this book is purely common sense but come to think of it, it takes this kind of book for us to realize that it is also common sense to literally manage our time, problem is, it took us so long to figure it out.

[Ahmad Elsagheer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This realistic 32-paged book is very important and helpful for those who have many great things to do, but can not find enough time to balance their creative work and demands of everyday life and for those who have tried to make viable schedules but in vain like me. This book does not give you a fixed schedule or a strict way of life, but clarifies concepts and gives ideas and tips to organize your time and make the best use of it. If you realize the value of time, you will appreciate this book and I'm sure you will enjoy it...

[Maui Rochell · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, how do you manage your time, creative lad?
This book offers 7 tips on how to manage your time in common ways. You probably heard of having a to-do-list or waking up early in the morning to get more things done but McGuiness expanded his points to encourage his readers to manage their time wisely.

Being as creative as you are, you shouldn't live to a point that you ought to have the most freedom of your time to get things done. If it'll take you a week to finish a task that can be finished in two days, why won't you try to resort to the latter?

This short ebook is a must-read.

[Deeelljay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great quick-read, quite a few useful techniques for both time management and motivation and organisation. I personally prefer shorter paragraphs, or dot points with less examples (and repetition), but I know a lot of people would have the opposite opinion. This ebook is a great way to refresh your awareness of what you know you should be doing anyway! There are a lot of good references used to add a bit more diversity to the subject. Id give an extra half a star if I could!

[Arielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was quick and concise. Easy read. Few tips. It's got a great chapter on resources and how he used them. He lists off the resources and gives the reader the links. It's definitely not taking into account the whole picture (kids, family obligations, etc.). This is solely work related and how to find out whats best for you. Also written from a perspective of those who work in an office/office type setting, and from the perspective of a poet, but still really helpful.

[Prochroma]

I learnt the importance of creating a buffer between my creative effort and the chaotic demands and expectations of others. I was also reminded of the role of ritual or routine in getting into working mode. It is a matter of getting the focus of attention of the mind into a comfortable and familiar and productive saddle.

[Daksha11 · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book the author talks about lots of tips on how stay organized at work place, while managing your creative work, which you already know but never bothered to implement it, However its worth reading just to remind yourself that its never too late to implement these ideas to have peace at work.

[Alex Vasai · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short book with good idea for improving productivity. The author gives some interesting links with articles about creativity or time management.
Mark McGuiness appreciates David Allen's ideas, specially the to-do list. I find them helpful but I think it's important to solve you duties with quality results, not only to focus on cleaning the to-do list.

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

McGuinness takes a lot of information from other time management gurus and authors on how to be creative in a hectic world and ties them together. The book was a quick read that had a lot of information concisely delivered.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brought up some good points about keeping part of your life organized in some way to allow you to really get into your creative flow. I know I constantly have things nagging at my mind that seem more important and this book offered up some good suggestions and a great digital planner.

[Victorwangwq wang]

For me,time management means to find the time when I can be most concentrative on my major goals. Early morning from 5:30am - 6:30am is the most effective for me. So I will choose to do the most challenging tasks during this period of time, for instance, paper reading or paper writing.