In 2024, Truman teaches the Time Management Compulsory Course. It is the first fundamental skill.
1. Why this course was created
January 2022 The project was first initiated, put aside and restarted several times, and finally delivered in 2024.Core pain points:
- Popular time management courses at home and abroad are "either empty or fragmented, either superficial or narrow, full of catchy phrases and metaphysical nonsense."
- Most people have never seriously trained in time management:
- unconsciously being pushed around by various matters
- have learned tools but cannot persist in using them after a few days
- are frequently interrupted / feel anxious / have a sense of powerlessness over time
Root cause: not seriously"tracking, analyzing, and practicing the scientific use of one's own time".
2. Why time management is a fundamental skill
"As managers and entrepreneurs, we have a great many problems to solve: business models, growth, project management, sales, advertising, marketing, copywriting, negotiating with clients.... But in the final analysis, your daily work time management is the underlying foundation. "
3. Four-part structure of the course
Part 1: Understanding Time Management — Drawing Clear Boundaries
Avoid ambiguity, first clarify what this course is actually about.
Part 2: Building Concepts
Truman's own process of iterating his time management practice step by step over these years — offering a modest introduction to let everyone feel the upgrade of "time management".
Part 3: Professional Improvement — Three Leaps
The three leaps in time management proficiency, and how to drastically improve one's own time management level.
Part 4: Reunderstanding Time Management
Why Yitang repeatedly emphasizes this topic, and the value of time management for life value.
4. Candy: Brave Assumption List Version 1.0
Drawing on the essence of over 170,000 words of collected co-created assignments,more than 30 time management assumption techniques.
A. Categorized by task (5 major assumptions)
| Technique | Specific description |
|---|---|
| Break complex tasks into small ones | Writing = inspiration + outline + filling in the outline / Making a proposal = incubation + scenario stimulation + L3 writing + polishing |
| Daily task list | List the day's tasks in the morning and sort them by importance |
| Optimize daily work processes | Identify bottlenecks and redundant steps, simplify and automate |
| Colorful task visualization | Use colors to distinguish tasks and adjust mindset |
| Team collaboration | Workload + gap scheduling / memos / weekly reports or weekly meetings |
B. By time (including scenarios) — 11 major assumptions
| Technique | Key points |
|---|---|
| Segment/block work time | Large blocks 3–4 hours / Medium blocks 1–2 hours / Small blocks < 1 hour |
| Short break times | Take a 5–10 minute break every 60–90 minutes (light activity / eye exercises / meditation) |
| Set focused work periods | Plan several hours of L4 deep work each day.After 9 PM / late at night when family is asleep / early morning before family wakes up are 3 typical time slots |
| Inspiration moments + scenarios | Commuting to work on the subway + noise-canceling headphones + recording with flomo / sitting alone in quiet / taking a shower / jogging / practicing yoga / Baduanjin / walking in the park / sunbathing / commuting by bus / while listening to a Yitang class / before bed & after waking up |
| Record the impact of different scenarios | Make a two-dimensional table of scenarios and time slots, assign tasks into it, and review every night: open-plan office / enclosed office / study / café / library / hotel room / on the commute |
| Morning type vs. night type comparison experiment | Test adding 30 minutes of high-quality deep work each day, placing it in the morning / afternoon / evening respectively |
| Story-based time blocks | Give each time block a story background, such as "the hero moment of tackling tough problems" |
| Compress time to improve quality | Listen to audio at 2–3x speed to force concentration and avoid distraction |
| "No screen" for the first half hour after waking up | Do not check electronic devices; wash up / do morning exercise / meditate / read / eat breakfast to reduce information overload |
C. By matching (for higher efficiency) — 10+ major assumptions
| Technique | Key points |
|---|---|
| Bimodal work method | Clarify undisturbed focused time with the team.Handle internal matters on Mondays and Wednesdays; work outside the office on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays |
| BGM playlists to boost energy | High focus = steady, gentle rhythm; boring repetitive tasks = lively, motivating music.Use SUNO to write motivational songs. Play energizing music before starting work / white noise, Mozart, or folk music while working |
| Utilize "dark time" | Thinking while walking / reviewing during exercise / noise-canceling headphones on business trips / browsing groups while waiting for a car or people / handling things casually during meetings |
| Regular time management reviews | Before breakfast / on the commute home / complete on the spot / review important matters the next day |
| Warm-up exercises before work | Work after half an hour of aerobic exercise / 20 minutes of exercise after getting up in the morning + coffee |
| Countdown DDL to maintain focus | Use psychological suggestion to improve efficiency |
| Lower expectations and just start | Get into the work flow first,a rough start(such as copying beautiful prose to get into the state) |
| Golden quote motivation method | Write self-motivational quotes / read official history / read about great people |
| Eat favorite food | Drink Heytea Cheese Mango / eat relatively expensive fruit to bring a sense of happiness |
5. Truman's time management iteration journey (which implicitly aligns with the main thread of the course)
- From "unconscious" to "statistical awareness" — start by recording your own time usage
- From "fragmented processing" to "time blocks" — time budgeting with large blocks + medium blocks + small blocks
- From "task-driven" to "scenario-driven" — match tasks with the best scenarios/time slots
- From "completing alone" to "team coordination" — clarify undisturbed focused time with the team
6. Warm-up thinking questions (self-assessment)
- Looking back over the past few years, how have you arranged your time and schedule? What time management tools have you used? Which ones worked well, which ones didn't, and why?
- Looking back at a week of work, what are your most important and most difficult task types? What are your best times and scenarios? Have you consciously matched "important tasks" with "important time"?Are you handling your most important work during your peak work hours?
See also
- yitang-manage-time(Skill) — Yitang Time Management Skill (complete methodology framework)
- Yitang / First Lesson on In-depth Review — First Review Lesson (time management review section)
- yitang-flash-inspiration-cognition(Skill) — Flash of Inspiration (dark time utilization)
- Wang Kai's Decision-Making System in the AI Era — Wang Kai Decision-Making System (deep work)
- newtype Mindset · Super Individual Methodology — newtype Life OS (time management is the underlying layer of Life OS)
Relationship with existing Skills
This wiki is the supporting knowledge document for the yitang-manage-time Skill; the Skill provides the operational framework, and this wiki serves as the Candy toolkit + a record of Truman's personal iteration process.