The art of time management: Balancing creativity and deadlines

Feeling overwhelmed by deadlines and struggling to stay productive? Discover actionable time management techniques tailored for creatives to boost focus, achieve goals, and unleash your full creative potential.

the art of time management
Portrait for oleksandrashubovychBy oleksandrashubovych  |  Updated June 13, 2025

Time management. Productivity. Hustle culture. You’ve probably heard these words. And chances are, there were at least several attempts in your life to conquer productivity and carve enough time for work, family, and self-care. 

But it’s never that simple, especially when you work in a creative industry, and your schedule should reflect the ebbs and flows of inspiration. Want to discover how you can master the art of time management when your job is nearly impossible to measure and control? Get ready to better understand the creative process, learn how to create a flexible schedule, and set clear goals and priorities at work.

Understanding the creative process and time management

It always seems like creativity is all about spontaneity but never discipline. When we think of our favorite authors or directors, we can’t imagine them sticking to deadlines or building a productivity routine. However, the reality of creatives today is much different: you should stay organized to stay relevant. 

But how exactly can you combine these two worlds?

The unpredictable flow of creativity

Adding a splash of time management to your routine doesn’t mean hindering your creativity. No matter how hard you try, those sudden bursts of brilliant ideas come to you at the least expected moments. 

But once you spend more time working on creative projects, you start noticing patterns in your creativity, such as what time of day is better for brainstorming and when you’re better off dealing with mundane tasks. 

And that’s precisely where time management can help. 

Impact of deadlines on creative work

There’s no unanimous decision on whether deadlines are good or evil for creative work. Sometimes, all you need to complete a project is one extra day, and sometimes, the deadline hanging over your head is the thing that pushes you to do your best work. 

Even if there’s no definite answer, we know one thing: when done right, time management can (and will) become an asset to your creative work. Let’s explore a few techniques in more detail. 

Creating a flexible schedule 

There’s no way around it: no workflow, let alone a creative one, yields productivity when surrounded by limitations. Yet, it doesn’t mean you should forget about deadlines and time management altogether. Try making your schedule more flexible instead. 

Time blocking

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you spent a lot of time juggling different tasks and felt even more frustrated with your to-do list afterwards? This probably happens because you fill your calendar with back-to-back meetings and tasks without giving your brain a chance to switch between them. 

Time blocking is a great alternative to adding tasks to your calendar. This strategy suggests you divide your tasks into bigger time blocks (hence the title, right?) to focus on one thing at a time. 

And here’s why it works for us creatives: time blocking means you don’t need to change the context or environment every 15-20 minutes. Instead, you let yourself dive deeper into one process and let those creative juices flow. Research shows that 43% of workers felt less tired after trying out time blocking at work. 

Example of time blocking

Source: Todoist

@aliabdaal

Time Blocking 🗓️ My top time management tip #productivitytips

♬ original sound – Ali Abdaal – Ali Abdaal

Buffer time for creativity

No matter how hard you try, you can’t force inspiration. At least the good kind. So make sure to add some white space in between those color blocks: 

  • It looks less intimidating once you get to work
  • It helps you take those much-needed breaks during the day 
  • It helps make sure your daily plan doesn’t become useless if you’re 20 minutes behind schedule 

Bonus tip: Some creators also account for their mental state when time blocking. The world is complicated, and we can’t always feel our best. So, try creating scenarios for “bare minimum” days when you can’t be as productive. It will make you less stressed but still encourage you to follow some kind of routine.

Setting clear goals and priorities 

It’s often hard to see the bigger picture when working on creative tasks. For example, if you’re creating a brand identity or writing a novel, you might dread working on them simply because the tasks seem too much. 

The way out here is to clarify and structure through tangible goals and priorities. 

SMART goals

SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) goal is a technique used to reframe a generic goal into a specific one. Adding all the necessary details to your creative task allows you to easily break it down into smaller batches and focus on one process at a time. 

Example of a generic goal: I must add new cases to my graphic design portfolio. 

Example of a SMART goal: Over the next two months, I will create a logo and brand identity for five different eCommerce brands to add them to my portfolio, show my skills, and secure more freelance gigs

A study by Dr. Gail Matthews at Dominican University found that people who wrote down their goals were 42% more likely to achieve them. Imagine what you’ll be capable of once you power these written goals up with clarity and context! 

Prioritization techniques

Once you’ve set realistic milestones for completing your task, the next natural step is to choose where to start. One of these two strategies is here to help you set the priorities right: 

Eisenhower Matrix

“I have two kinds of problems, urgent and important. The urgent is seldom important, and the important is seldom urgent.” That quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower preceded the creation of the Eisenhower Matrix. 

This prioritization technique shifts your attention from unnecessary and time-consuming tasks to something meaningful. Place your goals and tasks in one of the four matrix categories and focus on urgent and important ones. 

Eisenhower decision matrix

Source: Spica

ABC Method

This method is pretty much similar but breaks tasks into three groups instead:

  • Very important and critical
  • Important but not as critical
  • Nice to do, but not necessary

Getting lost in mundane tasks might be part of the creative charm, but it’s still lovely to have priorities to focus on in the long run. 

Techniques for enhancing focus and productivity 

Most people think of productivity and creativity as opposites, and we understand why you might think so. But what if we told you that being productive might be a blessing for your creative flow when used correctly? 

Use the Pomodoro technique

When you know you’re about to spend the next three to five hours working on a project, the thought of getting started is exhausting. The Pomodoro technique is designed to break your marathon into 20-30-minute sprints: 

  • Choose a creative task you want to do 
  • Set a timer for 20-25 minutes 
  • Get started with your project
  • Set a 5-10 minute break 
  • Go back to work for another 20-25 minutes 
  • Set a more extended break after you’ve completed 4 working sprints

You can adjust the duration of working sprints and breaks according to your preferences. After all, 25 minutes might not be enough for a creative task deep-dive. Ensure you take those breaks and don’t scare your brain with huge commitments. 

Pomodoro technique

Source: Breeze

@passionplanner

If you have trouble focusing, try the Pomodoro Technique! 💫 #pomodorotimer #productivitytips #productivityhack

♬ original sound – Passion Planner

P.S. You can look up Pomodoro tracker apps to simplify the setup. 

Minimize distractions

We know nothing more fascinating than a neighbor walking the dog when your project is due in a few hours. But there are a few tips to help you minimize distractions and focus on getting the work done: 

  • Turn off your notifications. On average, we get around 64 notifications ‌a day. While they are not usually that important, you can’t help but look. So, disable them on your phone and computer during work periods.
  • Create an ecosystem. Make sure everything you need is at hand when you’re working. It’s better to make a cup of coffee beforehand than to waste another 15 minutes making it (and washing the dishes since you already made it to the kitchen).
  • Block distracting apps and websites. Different plugins and apps are designed to block websites like YouTube for as long as you need. 

Embrace creative collaboration 

Joining forces with fellow creatives is not just about building a powerhouse and listening to others’ ideas. Creative collaboration is a great source of focus and productivity, as seeing other people involved in the process helps you follow suit and start working. This phenomenon of working alongside someone else is also known as body doubling. 

Try productivity tools

Here are some of the apps that are great for time management:

  • Trello: A project management tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to help you organize tasks.
  • Asana: A task management app that allows you to track projects, assign tasks, and set deadlines.
  • Evernote: A note-taking app that helps you organize ideas, tasks, and to-do lists.

You could also pair those with timesheet software. It logs what you work on and generates handy reports to show where your time really goes.

Productivity tools can be a blast, but here’s a friendly reminder: Chasing productivity should never affect the quality of your work. It’s all about finding balance. For creatives working heavily with visual media, using alternatives tailored to your needs can make a significant impact since there are some options to explore, like Adobe Lightroom alternatives that offer flexibility in managing and editing images.

Manage deadlines without sacrificing creativity 

Every creator’s best friend is signing off the project hours before the deadline. But let’s be honest for a second: Procrastination is a frenemy. 

Rather than helping you complete the task step by step, it makes you stressed out and heavily sleep-deprived. We know a few strategies that might break this vicious cycle. 

Breaking tasks into smaller steps

Sometimes, it’s not the task itself that you’re dreading. It’s the anticipation of the amount of work you need to do. When working on a novel, you can’t just sit down and start typing words on your laptop. 

This vast and time-consuming task will become more bearable once you break it into smaller steps like research, preparing an outline, and writing drafts chapter by chapter. 

You can even set small rewards for completing the first steps so you feel more optimistic and encouraged during the process. 

Setting interim deadlines

Whether working on a client task or a creative project, setting bi-weekly deadlines for specific steps will help you take the time needed to review and analyze each completed task, reducing the likelihood of last-minute, significant changes to the entire project. You can also pitch the value of asynchronous communication with stakeholders since live meetings are challenging to coordinate with a global team; an async workflow strikes a balance, allowing maximum productivity without occupying others’ time needlessly.

The deadlines will be less scary now, and you can review and make changes to each of them, which helps to manage client expectations.

Techniques to stimulate creativity

Although many great ideas come unexpectedly, two techniques can expedite the process: 

  • Mind Mapping: Make a picture or a diagram to show your ideas. Start with the main idea and draw lines connecting it to related ideas. This will help you organize your thoughts and find new connections between them.
  • Brainstorming: Set aside some time to think freely. Write down all your thoughts without worrying about whether they’re good or bad. Later, review and improve these thoughts to come up with good solutions.

The role of rest and breaks

Never underestimate the power of a good rest. All the greats have taught us to let the work “breathe” for a reason: You can come up with fresh and new ideas when you take your mind off the project. 

Keep crushing your creative projects with time management!  

While it’s okay to believe that creativity and time management don’t go well together, the reality is that you can no longer excel at one without the other. Don’t think of it as something setting you back: productivity and focus are about using your creativity to the max without sacrificing much effort. 

Try the time management techniques from the article to see it yourself! 

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