Is a publishing professional with more than twenty years of

Chapter 26
Create a 
Values-Based  
time 
Management 
plan

---

---

253
I 
wish I had spent more time at the office.”
History  has  never  recorded  these  as  anyone’s  last  words. 
I’m fairly sure it never will.
“I wish I’d spent more time with my family” is a much more 
likely deathbed sentiment.
List the three things in life that mean the most to you. Taken 
together, they might be your reason for living.
Here’s how Americans completed that list in a recent national 
survey. The number listed next to each item indicates the percent-
age of people surveyed who listed it among their top three priori-
ties. (So obviously the numbers add up to more than 100 percent.)
priority 
pErcENtagE
Family life 
68%
Spiritual life 
56%
Health 
44%
Financial situation 
25%
Job 
23%
Romantic life 
18%
Leisure time 
14%
Home 
11%
Got your list? Good. Now next to each of the three note the 
amount of time you spend on it each week.
Shocked?
If you aren’t spending large chunks of time on the three ele-
ments you’ve listed as the most important priorities in your life, 
there are three possible explanations:
“

---

T I M E   M A N AG E M E N T
254
  1.  Important things don’t necessarily require a lot of time.
  2.  You’re mistaken about your priorities.
  3.  You aren’t putting your time where your priorities are.
Let’s examine each explanation.