Manage Your Day-To-Day – Book Summary
Manage Your Day-To-Day is a powerful book that offers strategies from top creative minds to revolutionize your work routines, enhance focus, and unlock creativity. Edited by Jocelyn K. Glei, the book is a practical guide for anyone seeking to elevate their productivity and creative output in today’s fast-paced world.
Who May Benefit from This Book
- Creatives looking to boost daily productivity
- Professionals struggling with focus in distracting environments
- Anyone wanting to build a consistent creative routine
- Individuals seeking to improve their relationship with technology
- People facing creative blocks or burnout
Top 3 Key Insights
- Prioritize creative work early in the day when energy is highest.
- Work frequently in short, focused bursts to maintain momentum.
- Protect focus by scheduling distraction-free blocks of time.
4 More Lessons and Takeaways
- Use associative triggers like music or rituals to shift into creative mode easily.
- Embrace positive distractions such as nature walks or light exercise to refresh the mind.
- Tame technology through conscious use and digital boundaries to prevent burnout.
- Overcome perfectionism by focusing on progress and separating creation from editing.
The Book in 1 Sentence
Manage Your Day-to-Day teaches how to build routines, sharpen focus, and sustain creativity amid daily distractions.
The Book Summary in 1 Minute
This book shows how to prioritize creative work early in the day when your mind is fresh. It encourages frequent, focused work sessions and managing distractions by scheduling focus blocks. The book suggests setting triggers to enter creative flow and using positive breaks to refresh your mind. It advises mindful technology use to avoid burnout and advocates letting go of perfectionism. By adopting these habits, readers can improve their productivity and creativity consistently.
The Book Summary in 7 Minutes
Manage Your Day-to-Day guides readers through building effective daily habits that support creativity and productivity. It combines practical advice with insights from top creatives. The core message: creative work must come first, distractions must be tamed, and your mind needs intentional care.
Unlocking the Secrets to Mastering Your Day
“Manage Your Day-To-Day” is a guide that compiles insights from 20 renowned creative minds, each offering strategies to help readers reshape their daily routines for better productivity and creativity. The book suggests that by making small yet impactful adjustments to how we manage time and approach work, we can significantly improve our focus, creativity, and output.
Syncing Work with Your Body’s Natural Clock
The book underscores the importance of aligning work with our circadian rhythms—our body’s natural 24-hour energy cycle. It suggests that we tackle our most challenging tasks in the morning when our energy and focus are at their peak, rather than wasting this prime time on less demanding tasks like checking emails. Establishing a morning routine that prioritizes personal projects over reactive tasks is crucial for maximizing productivity and creativity.
Build a Rock-Solid Routine
The book stresses starting your day with creative work, not reactive tasks like emails. Mornings are when energy and focus peak. Defend this time to tackle your most important projects. Use associative triggers—such as listening to certain music or arranging your workspace—to signal your brain it’s time to create. Working in 90-minute focused bursts followed by short breaks aligns with natural energy rhythms and helps sustain output without burnout.
Harness the Power of Frequency
Consistent daily work keeps ideas fresh and builds momentum. Short, frequent sessions reduce pressure to be perfect every time. This freedom allows experimentation and learning. The more often you engage with your creative work, the easier it becomes to start and maintain flow.
Find Focus in a Distracted World
Schedule focus blocks, treating them like meetings you can’t miss. During these blocks, remove all distractions by turning off notifications, using website blockers, or working in quiet spaces. Inform others about your unavailability. Practice mindfulness to catch wandering thoughts and gently refocus on your work. This discipline gradually strengthens your ability to concentrate deeply.
Embrace Positive Distractions
Instead of falling into harmful distractions, plan breaks that refresh your mind. Short walks, meditation, or light exercise can help reset creativity. Mindless tasks like washing dishes or doodling free your mind to wander and make new connections. These moments often spark creative breakthroughs.
Mindful Technology Use: Mastering Your Tools with Intention
“Manage Your Day-To-Day” emphasizes the importance of using technology consciously rather than letting it control your time, focus, and energy. Mindless scrolling, constant notifications, and unrestricted access to devices can drain productivity and disrupt real-world connections. To counter this, the book advocates for intentional engagement—using technology only with a clear purpose and disconnecting once that purpose is fulfilled. Practical strategies include setting digital boundaries (like tech-free zones or scheduled email checks), taking digital sabbaths, and tuning into your physical and mental state while online. By taming your tools and staying mindful, you can turn technology into a supportive ally instead of a constant distraction.
Sharpen Your Creative Mind Through Practice
Engage in “unnecessary creation” — personal projects without deadlines or external demands. This freedom fosters exploration and risk-taking. Challenge yourself by learning new skills, collaborating across disciplines, or studying admired artists. Reflect on your creative process to improve. This deliberate practice accelerates your growth.
Let Go of Perfectionism
Perfectionism causes procrastination and unfinished work. Define what “good enough” looks like for each phase. Separate idea generation from editing to prevent premature self-criticism. Progress matters more than flawless results. Set firm deadlines to keep moving forward, allowing refinement later.
The Paradox of Productive Idleness
The book highlights the importance of taking breaks and allowing for moments of idleness, which are crucial for creative thinking. These moments of rest and mental drift can often lead to breakthroughs in ideas. Additionally, it warns against perfectionism, advocating instead for taking action even when conditions aren’t perfect, as this can lead to unexpected creative discoveries.
Train Your Mind for Creative Insights
Finally, the book emphasizes the importance of rest, physical activity, and hobbies in fostering creativity. It suggests that sleep and exercise not only rejuvenate the body but also enhance our ability to make creative connections. Engaging in hobbies, especially those unrelated to work, can also serve as a source of inspiration, offering new perspectives and ideas that can be applied to professional projects.
Create incubation time with breaks and activities that let your mind roam. Keep a system to capture spontaneous ideas for later use. This openness helps creative insights emerge naturally.
Embrace the Power of Singletasking for Peak Productivity
Multitasking is a myth when it comes to tasks that require deep focus. The book advocates for singletasking—focusing on one task at a time—as the most effective way to achieve high-quality work. It suggests creating a distraction-free environment, scheduling dedicated focus time, and managing interruptions by setting boundaries with colleagues and technology.
Turn Pro with Consistent Practice
Commit to daily creative work regardless of mood. Build resilience by breaking tasks into smaller steps and celebrating progress. Maintain high standards but separate self-worth from work outcomes. Balance self-reliance with openness to feedback. Consistency and mental toughness define a professional creative.
| Key Concepts | Description |
|---|---|
| Creative Routine | Prioritize creative work early; use triggers. |
| Frequent Work | Daily engagement reduces pressure and builds flow. |
| Focus Blocks | Dedicated distraction-free time for deep work. |
| Positive Distractions | Intentional breaks that refresh creativity. |
| Technology Management | Set boundaries; use tech consciously. |
| Deliberate Practice | Explore skills and reflect to grow creatively. |
| Overcome Perfectionism | Accept imperfection; separate creation/editing. |
body but also enhance our ability to make creative connections. Engaging in hobbies, especially those unrelated to work, can also serve as a source of inspiration, offering new perspectives and ideas that can be applied to professional projects.
About the Authors
As editor-in-chief and director, Jocelyn K. Glei leads the 99U in its mission to
provide the “missing curriculum” on making ideas happen. She oversees the
99u.com website—which has won two Webby Awards for “Best Cultural
Blog”—and leads the curation and execution of the popular 99 Conference,
which has presented talks from visionary creatives including Jack Dorsey,
Beth Comstock, John Maeda, Jonathan Adler, Stefan Sagmeister, Jad
Abumrad, and many more.
Prior to joining Behance and 99U, Jocelyn was the global managing editor at
the online media company Flavorpill, leading development of new editorial
products. She has also consulted with dozens of brands and agencies, from
Herman Miller to PSFK to Huge Inc, on content strategy and web launches.
She loves creating content-driven products that people love.
7 Key Lessons and Takeaways
- Align tasks with your natural energy cycle for peak productivity.
- Prioritize daily discipline over waiting for inspiration.
- Build willpower and focus through small, consistent routines.
- Embrace singletasking to improve efficiency and work quality.
- Engage with technology mindfully to avoid distractions.
- Take breaks and allow for idleness to boost creativity.
- Incorporate rest, exercise, and hobbies to nurture creative thinking.
How to Get the Best of the Book
To maximize the benefits of “Manage Your Day-To-Day,” implement the suggested routines and strategies in small, manageable steps. Focus on one or two changes at a time, and gradually build a routine that aligns with your natural rhythms. Reflect on your progress regularly and adjust as needed to find what works best for you.
Conclusion
“Manage Your Day-To-Day” offers a wealth of practical advice for anyone looking to enhance their productivity and creativity. By integrating the wisdom of top creative minds into your daily routine, you can unlock your full potential and approach your work with renewed energy and focus. This book is a must-read for those seeking to elevate their work and personal life.