Visualising your time, and schedules for creatives
Brad Aeon explains how we should manage our time better
Hey everyone,
How have you been? Hope all good!
This week, we are super lucky to be joined by Brad Aeon. I ran an Out of Hours event with Brad Aeon on time management for people with side projects and he did not disappoint! Brad really is a go-to resource not just on time psychology but also the philosophy of time: the true question of out of hours: what are we all doing here, anyway? We asked him our 3 favourite questions.
But first, who is Brad Aeon?
Brad Aeon is Assistant Professor School of Management Sciences University of Québec in Montréal. He does research on the sociology, psychology, and philosophy of time management.
His work has been featured in The Guardian, Harvard Business Review, Psychology Today and he works with organisations across the world. His studies focus on how people can achieve what matters to them while reducing stress and living more meaningful lives.
What is one thing you've learnt through research that you wish more people knew?
‘There's some very interesting research on the linguistics of time--how we talk about time. Around the world, and in virtually all languages, we tend to talk about time using spatial words. We say that a meeting is "long" or that a get-together was too "short." We meet "outside" of business hours and push deadlines "back." Even when we talk about time in an abstract sense, we often do so using spatial metaphors. Why do I find this fascinating? Because if the most intuitive way for us to think about time is to conceptualise it in spatial terms, then the most intuitive (and easiest) way for us to manage time is to see it. Visualising time can help us make better decisions about how to spend our time. And that's important because we're very "time-blind." There's a lot of research on how we can easily account for concrete, tangible, countable things like money, but when it comes to time, we're pretty bad at it.’
What does this mean, practically speaking? What can we do today to make our lives better?
“We absolutely need to find a way to see--visualise--time if we want to make better decisions about how to spend it. And there are lots of ways to do this, but in my opinion having a solid, current, and honest schedule is the best place to start.”
“Having an honest and realistic schedule means making sure that your schedule is an accurate reflection of your actual life, not of your ideal life. If you know that you're going to have a hard time getting out of bed before 9am, there's no need to schedule yourself for 8am workouts 5 times a week. Just be honest with yourself and build your schedule accordingly. Doing this will help you have a better sense of how much time you actually have, which will in turn help you make better decisions about how to spend it. Realism is everything.”
What is something you do personally to help yourself be creative and put things out in the world?
‘There's a quote by Gustave Flaubert that I really like: “Be steady and well-ordered in your life so that you can be fierce and original in your work” What this means to me is that creativity doesn't happen in a vacuum--it's the product of a well-ordered life. So if you want to be creative, you need to first create the conditions for creativity by living a well-ordered life.”
“People often wrongly assume that creative types do not need time management or that they do not live routine lives. But research shows that the most creative people are often those who have the most disciplined and well-ordered lives. In fact, there's an entire book describing the disciplined routines of the most creative people in history: Daily Rituals, by Mason Currey.”
“So if you want to be more creative, make sure you have a solid foundation in place by living a well-ordered life. Once you have that foundation, you'll have the mental space, stability, and discipline to be original and creative in your work.”
What can you takeaway from Brad?
We see time visually, so we should manage it visually too. This could mean having a solid (and honest) schedule - being honest with how your energy levels are and working around them realistically. Having a routine actually helps you be creative, it doesn’t hinder it. So go ahead and schedule your creative time - and give yourself the space and stability to be original.
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you enjoyed this edition with a little substack heart.
You can check out Brad’s work here - and leave a comment if you’re managing your time like this.