February is National Time Management Month and a University of Northern Iowa professor says there’s no time to waste. Victoria Robinson teaches classes to students and workshops for business leaders in how to make the most of the day’s 24-hours. Robinson, a professor of educational leadership at UNI, says "People don’t understand the 80-20 principle in life. It really has to do with 20-percent of your effort really results in 80-percent of your success."

Robinson says: "When somebody is late for an appointment, the message that is sent so strongly is ‘My time is more important than your time.’ I would really like to work to encourage people to re-think that concept. I want to send a strong message that other people are more important in many ways than I am and I’m here to serve them." She says people need to latch on to the belief that they’re in control of how their time is used and to stop making time the villain.

Robinson says "I dread certain tasks, certain responsibilities, so I procrastinate." She recommends a book "Eat That Frog!" by Brian Tracy which encourages people to get the task done first that they don’t want to do, then the other tasks will seem less difficult. She says excuses like "I just didn’t have enough time" or "Time just got away from me," are, plain and simple, the result of poor choices and not managing time wisely.

 In May, Robinson will teach "Managing Multiple Priorities: Organization & Time Management" to help participants discover where they spend their time and how much time is necessary in each area.

Audio: Matt Kelley report :40 MP3