10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management

by Hyrum W. Smith

Written for anyone who suffers from "time famine", this essential handbook provides simple, effective methods for successfully taking control of one's hours--and one's life. Smith shows how, by managing time better, anyone can lead a happier, more confident and fulfilled life.

Genres: Self Help, Business, Productivity, Nonfiction, Leadership, Personal Development, Management

219 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Hyrum W. Smith is a distinguished author, speaker, and businessman. Hyrum was one of the original creators of the popular Franklin Day Planner. In 1983 he co-founded the Franklin Quest Company to produce the planner and train individuals and organizations in the time management principles on which the planner was based. In 1997 it became the Franklin Covey Company. Hyrum stepped down as Chairman & CEO in 1999. He continued as Vice-Chairman of the Board until 2004.

For four decades, he has been empowering people to effectively govern their personal and professional lives. Hyrum’s books and presentations have been acclaimed by American and international audiences. He combines wit and enthusiasm with a gift for communicating compelling principles that incite lasting personal change.

Hyrum is the author of several nationally-acclaimed books, including The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management, What Matters Most, The Modern Gladiator, You Are What You Believe and he co-authored Excellence Through Time Management.

Hyrum grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, and then spent two years in London, England. He returned from London and was drafted into the army.

He was married in 1966 to Gail Cooper while on leave. They have six children (five living) and 24 grandchildren (22 living).

After graduating Honor Graduate from Officers Candidate School, he commanded a Pershing Missile unit in Germany. Hyrum graduated from Brigham Young University in 1971 in Business Management.

Hyrum has received numerous honors and community service awards, including the following:

• International Entrepreneur of the Year by Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management in 1993
• Three honorary doctorate degrees
• SRI Gallup Hall of Fame and Man of the Year Award in 1992
• Silver Beaver Award from the Boy Scouts of America
• Inducted into the Utah Business Hall of Fame

Hyrum enjoys golfing, shooting pistols and rifles, listening to classical music, horse riding and spending time with his family at his ranch in southern Utah.

He has recently founded a new business called 3 Gaps

His new book, "The Three Gaps: Are You Making A Difference?", will be released January 11, 2016.

Reviews

[Emma Sea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically this is the manual on how to drive the Franklin Covey time management planner and integrate it with your organized life. I'm glad I read it, but I'd like to thank Evernote for making a lot of these tips obsolete.

Also Hyrum Smith seems to have a unique world view.

"Hyrum, this is Vic Braden. Remember me?"

Oh, man, I thought, when did I talk to him? I reached over to my index, scanned it, found his name, the page, turned to that page. This took just a few seconds. He had about eight words out of his mouth, and I said, "Hold it, Vic. I remember that conversation very well. It was six weeks ago at 4.30 in the afternoon, we spent three minutes on the phone."

. . . he was blown away.

Hyrum, dude, people do not react like stunned mullets when you tell them these things because they are impressed. They do it because it is weird to specify the time and duration of your last conversation. Also because you just interrupted him when he was talking.

I do actually really like the Franklin planner, because it has two pages to a day, which I need, but man, are their products ugly. Now there's a company who seriously needs to look at the market and get fresh designers.

2.5 stars, rounded up.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before Covey, there was Smith, and as far as I have seen from Covey's books, Smith did it better. I appreciate Smith's humanity and personalization to the process of finding my priorities and goals and feel that Covey lost that in his effort to bring the idea to the masses.

Smith's book was an easy read, emotionally leading me through thoughts I would have otherwise avoided in my search for the final goals and priorities in my life. While I initially read this in the mid-90s, I have reread it at least every few years since and always find guidance and wisdom within.

I no longer use the Franklin Planner, going instead with a homemade version that fits my lifestyle better, but the lessons I have learned from Smith about priorities will stay with me no matter what system I happen to use. This book is an all-time favorite of mine and one I repeatedly reference as well as suggest or send to friends.

[Sara Bruhns · Rating 3 out of 5]

This rating was difficult because I thought the beginning few chapters were 5-star material. But the remaining 2/3 of the book was a struggle for me. But the bottom line is that this book had a lot of value, and presented a uniquely effective solution to the problem of productivity. I would recommend to anyone who wanted to increase their effectiveness.

In the first few chapters, Smith talks about an exercise everyone should do that will not only improve our productivity, but will also ensure that we feel a sense of inner peace and harmony. And while this may sound a little hippie to anyone who's reading a self-help book about time management, I found it to be completely true. Smith has us list and organize our own set of governing values, almost like writing a personal constitution. These values are the most important characteristics to us, and paint a picture of the ideal you. They might include things like "I am a patient, understanding father", "I foster intellectual growth", "I am financially secure", "I am efficient and detailed". Once you've identified and organized your values by what's most important, then you can evaluate what's on your to-do list every day, eliminate everything that doesn't support your governing values, and organize the list according to what's most important. This will ensure that everything you do every day is line with your governing values, and, even if you didn't get to everything, you got the most important stuff done. I found that this does actually lead to more satisfaction in my life, which in turn fuels my drive to continue improving my work ethic. For this part of the book, I would give 5 stars.

Unfortunately, this part only constitutes about 1/3 of the book. The rest is characterized by a lot of valueless repetition, a goober-y personality, and what I suspect are highly embellished, if not totally false, anecdotes. I have learned that I do prefer a more scientific tone in my self-help books, so my aversion to his reliance on stories from his own life rather than research studies could be totally personal. But I found myself cringing often as he told stories that included him quoting the exact date/time/duration of phone calls he makes to people (supposedly to their great admiration), a military leader crying over a new command post, and using a cheesy poem to raise enough money for a troop of boy scouts to go to Hawaii. I'm just honestly not sure how much of all this is true, and even if it is, I personally don't find it inspiring.

Overall, because of the great effectiveness of the beginning of the book, I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their productivity and inner peace. But I would warn them about the rest of the book.

[Karin · Rating 2 out of 5]

If this book had been just the first half, I would have liked it *much* better. Hyrum Smith has some great ideas...unfortunately none of them have anything to do with communication. I loved the idea of writing out your values and planning your dailies based on those values. Also the idea that no two people will have the same values. I would like to do those exercises with my husband and then compare. It would give insight.

Then, he talked about how to get people to act in accordance with "better" values. He talked about how to get *other* people to act "better". As if every other person would have the "wrong" values" and yours would automatically be right. As if every other person wasn't acting according to their own values and you were (by this point of the book). His communication "style" was manipulative and coercive. Not anything I would ever use with my children let alone other professionals. He talked about how ti was okay to be confrontive, as long as you were saying the right phrases. One of the most prevalent was, "I don't like it when you ...(name behavior). If you want to keep our relationship intact, you will change it." ouch.

ouch.

[Vovka · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic by the CEO/founder of the Franklin Covey company. In a nutshell, it suggests we must align our work work with our values, and provides practical advice for doing so. It's a touch repetitive and could easily be condensed to a fifth of its length, and the author seems to be out-of-touch conservative, but I was still overall charmed by his earnest advice and stories.

I started reading this book back in 1996 or thereabouts. I didn't finish it until today. I think this advice is really important for procrastinators like me.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still on introduction, which says "read this even if you don't read anything else!" but so far it's really boring, lots of blah blah blah about the guy's career and how he started his business. Don't care. Usually I'm a fan of case studies, but come on, pages and pages of your own boring history in the introduction? Hm, maybe this is why I usually skip introductions.

...

This turned out to be a really good book. Premise: your values should determine your long-range goals, which should determine your short-range goals, which should determine your daily tasks. So figure that stuff out, plan the shit out of everything, and then do it, and you'll be at peace with your life.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives excellent advice on how to plan your schedule and to-do list based on your core values and goals. I have put many of these things into practice, but have also felt mentally and spiritually exhausted from trying to be as disciplined as the author.

[James Affleck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has helped me out a lot. I have become far more organized thanks to this textual treat. I've learned to plan my day and also realize that the way I choose to spend my time each and every day reflect on my values and what's most important to me so I should spend my time doing things that are most important in the long run. I recommend this book to anyone who's very unorganized.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is clearly the basis of every goal-setting seminar I've ever had. Also, I'm about 80% sure the author is a member of the LDS church. I would have given it more stars if it wasn't also a 3 hour advertisement for a Franklin-Covey planner.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an assignment for a book club at work. There were some lessons I could take away and apply to my 21st century life, but I felt several passages haven’t aged well in the last 30 years, verging on misogynistic, in this working mom’s opinion.

[Adriel Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently listened to The Ten Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management by Hyrum W. Smith. He’d be one of the founders of the Franklin Company.

This is one of those books that teach me more about the people behind the products I already know and love. But, more than that, this really helped me see how I could more effectively use certain aspects of my own calendar.

Beyond that, and most importantly, though, it shown some light on some areas of my life and business that were a little…unsure. Shady’s not the right word, but just not 100% confidence inducing. And it really clarified for me how I wanted to move forward.

This is going to be one of those books that I listen to at a minimum of once every other year as a refresher. It’s definitely what I needed this year.

If you want better Life Management skills, I encourage you to check out The Ten Natural Laws.

[MelissaB · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management countless times in the last 18 years, I can honestly say that it's the most influential secular book I have. It is certainly well loved and marked in many places. Thank you for making a difference in my life, Hyrum Smith. All the best to you.

[Trudy Brasure · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the personal stories that elucidate the text. This book challenges you to find your core values and guides you toward learning how to spend your daily activities actually living those values. It's not rocket science, but finding and sticking to your core purposes in this fast-paced, information-packed world is tremendously challenging.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! He's kinda into Jesus and a lot of the suggestions are for people with corporate america, day jobs but the techniques are easily applied to any situation. We all need more time! It totally works - already feel so organized.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author plugs Franklin Quest products (which are by now dated), but there is just enough content applicable for those who are not familiar (or possess the products) to be beneficial to the reader looking for time management and prioritization strategies.

[Staci Corcoran · Rating 5 out of 5]

(abridged Audible version)
Huh. awful lot of psychology in this. definitely interesting stuff, especially the bits on defining your values and then how to prioritize living by them! Good to know!

[Irina Prokofieva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good principles, but the narrative is sometimes too difficult to relate.

[Gordon Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok

Okokkkkkkjnnmnnmmmmmmmnnnnnnnnjjjjnjjj bjjjj bbvbbbbhj njj hh hh jhh hh hhh hhh hh hh hhhhhh hhhhh hhhhhhh hhhh hhh hh hh hhh

[John Hilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many years ago I had a Franklin Planner and used the Hyrum Smith planning approach. It was great to reread this book and remember some of the skills that I once implemented better than I do now. I bought a planner after reading this book and have done more planning, and honestly, I think I've been more effective. Definitely recommend this book!

Here's a favorite quote:

"A prioritized daily task list is an extremely powerful tool , but it is an incredibly simple idea . One of the earliest and best known stories in business folklore deals with prioritized planning . It concerns Charles Schwab , then president of Bethlehem Steel . One day Schwab was talking with a management consultant, Ivy Lee , when he came up with this challenge: “Show me a way to get more things done with my time and I'll pay you any fee within reason.” Ivy Lee then handed Schwab a piece of blank paper . “ Write down the most important tasks you have to do tomorrow and number them in order of importance , ” he said . “ When you arrive in the morning , begin at once on number one and stay on it till it's completed . Once you've completed the first task , recheck your priorities and begin number two . Stick with your task all day if necessary — as long as it's the most important one . If you don't finish all your tasks , don't worry . You probably couldn't have done so with any other method , and without some system you'd probably not even decide which one was most important . Now , make this a habit every working day . When it works for you , give the idea to your management . Try it as long as you like . Then send me your check for what you think it's worth . ” Some weeks later , after the idea had been tried and found worthy , Mr . Schwab sent Ivy Lee a check for twenty - five thousand dollars — an enormous sum in the 1930s — along with a note saying that the idea was the most profitable one he had ever learned . Schwab also formulated a plan for all Bethlehem Steel management , using Lee's idea , that was carried out under his direction . This planning idea was credited with turning Bethlehem Steel into the biggest independent steel producer in the world at the time . When asked by his friends how he could justify such a handsome sum for such a simple idea , Schwab asked , “ Aren't all ideas basically simple ? ” Upon further reflection , Schwab stated that the twenty - five thousand dollars was probably the most valuable investment that Bethlehem Steel had made that year."

[Brandy Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book. My key action items I took away was writing my personal constitution. I know my values, but committing them to paper and ensuring that my actions goals and then my habits align . This is not a new concept but an excellent exercise in intentionality. On the cons, some of the references were a bit dated and hard to follow for me to follow. Many of the other key concepts however were very relevant for today, like the Power of Habit, and having an abundant mentality. In all, it’s a pretty fast read and I recommend checking it out.

[Cindy Buckshon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised that this book was not solely about time management techniques, but got down to the principles that need to drive how you live your life. The first half of the book dealt more with time management while the second part covered "self-management." This book was based on biblical principles, which again surprised me, but was very helpful in seeing the importance of the "why" you do what you do. I recommend it highly.

[Hollywood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a good book. Title is a little misleading as I thought it was a productivity book.

“I stressed that our daily tasks need to be in line with (reflective of) our governing values if we are to experience inner peace. We learned that not only must our behaviour be in line with (meeting) our needs, but that the beliefs we have placed on our belief window must be inline with reality(truth, or things as they really are).”

[Lexi Yorgason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that is a must read! Definitely felt like drinking water from a firehose though. This is one of those books you want to keep, mark up, and reread over and over. The only reason it’s not 5 stars on my opinion is that I felt there were a few blanket statements that were mentioned that may not be true for everyone.

[Shanteria · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best time management books written. I reference it often because it reveals way more than your normal" make a to do list, create goal and follow your dreams" narrative. This book explores what time management is and how to "do" it better.

You will not regret reading this book!

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some chapters in this book are really well written and provide some valuable insight. The constant reference to religion and poorly understood historical analogies really detracted from the over the overall message of time management.

[Gabe Chaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. I feel like a better person after reading it. I'll definitely use the skills learned for the betterment of my life.

[Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to read this book for a class and found the energy of the author and story references engaging. Not to bad for required reading.

[지원 이 · Rating 3 out of 5]

습관부분만 집중해서 읽게됨 절대가치와 내가 삶에서 집중해야하는 우선순위를 알게된책

[Summer Fernandez Larson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really love the idea of being consciously aware of your personal beliefs and aligning your life with those beliefs in a practical way.

[KATHRYN HARDY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read to lay the foundations for value driven goal setting and time management.