As I’m typing this, I’m behind in my tasks for 3 days. I’ve not slept in 24 hours, and sounds are slightly dulled. I also may or may not be dying from an overdose of caffeine.

When I first started managing my own time (after leaving a 9-5 job), I was doing regular daylight hours without problem. But I noticed that as time passed by, I was working later and later. I decided to switch to a night-time schedule. I would wake up at around 3 in the evening, have what might be referred to as lunch, get some miscellaneous tasks done, and then start work at around 10 in the night, until about 6 the next morning, at which point I’d have myself a good breakfast, relax for a little bit, and then head to bed.

It was the perfect life. I was at the peak of my efficiency, even more so considering how few disturbances happen at 3 in the morning. I could avoid working during the hottest times of the day (it can get pretty bad here, and the abundance of concrete around my house isn’t helping), and work when it’s nice and cool and quiet. My perfect environment. Anyone I needed to talk to was an email away, and I could interact with my family during the evenings anyway.

Problem is, I could never maintain it for longer than a week. The weekend would come and there’d be some plan made for the morning, and I’d force myself to stay awake for longer than I usually do. I’d then end up looking like something the cat dragged in. The cycle would be utterly destroyed, and I’d lose a day or two worth of productivity.

It also doesn’t help that my workload is very fluid; there are times when I’m free enough to relax and curl up with a good book, and there are times when I don’t have time to breathe. Don’t get me wrong, I love the job. I love the adrenaline rush of the deadlines and the last-minute scrambles. It’s why I got into this line in the first place. But the fluidity of it makes it challenging to plan a routine, especially where sleep is concerned.

If you were reading this hoping to find some pointers on how to manage your own time, I’m going to have to disappoint you. It’d be hypocritical of me to give tips on scheduling when I’m still finding solid ground. I CAN, however, tell you a few things I’ve learned along the way:

• Give yourself breathing space. If your brain tells you ‘but you can do more on that day, I think you can schedule a few more tasks in’, do NOT listen to it.
• Accept that life is like a giant out-of-control machine that’s throwing wrenches all over the place, and that chances are one of those wrenches is going to destroy your perfect, shiny, schedule.
• What works for everyone else may not work for you. And what works for you may not be what everyone else approves of.
• If you schedule, schedule EVERYTHING. Work, fun, social activities, family, even periods of stillness. Otherwise you can be certain that some things are going to fall to the side.
• The act of delaying one scheduled task to make way for another is not something that should be done lightly. If you get into the habit of it, it’s as good as not having a schedule at all.
• If your work is not finished within the time you’ve allocated, it is not a failure. It is simply a lesson learnt. Make a note of it, schedule in some extra time down the road (maybe the next day) to finish it, and if you’re doing it again in the future, remember to schedule more time for it in the first place.

And for those of you who are new to the crazy world of scheduling, I have some sagely advice for you: you are going to make mistakes. You are going to overschedule. You are going to crash and burn. Repeatedly. And painfully. It’s part of the learning process, and you’ll emerge on the other side a better person for it. Trust me.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve some catching up to do.

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Look at your average day. When you add up your daily work routine, the miscellaneous errands to run, and everything else that you have to maintain in your life, 24 hours doesn’t seem NEARLY enough. But we’re painfully aware of people like Richard Branson or Steve Pavlina who manage to get so much done in their lives, without sacrificing their health, their family, or the simple pleasures of their lives.

And even if you think that these people can do it because they can make money work for them, I’m sure you’re familiar with at least one person who manages to get so much done in a day and yet go back and make dinner for the kids, etc. It’s not like they have a 25th hour in the day. These people are just very good at getting things done and controlling their routines.

But fear not! Time management is not a genetic trait, but rather a skill that can be learned, and honed to mastery. So today I’m going to show you the 5 rules of productivity that will help you become a productivity ninja, blasting through your to-do list with ruthless efficiency.

Rule #1: A Productivity Ninja must be Focused

No matter where you are, chances are that as soon as you sit down to work on something, you will be interrupted. If you’re at the office, it might be your colleague or a phone call from a client. If you’re at home, the doorbell might ring, or you could get a call from a friend instead.

Guess what? It happens to everyone. Yes, everyone. The trick is not in preventing it from happening, but in how you deal with it. Make it very clear to the outside world that you will tolerate no disruptions. Put a sticker on your door saying that you’re busy (you could even write a particular time that you’ll be free). If you are working at home and have kids, train your kids to obey certain rules. If they see that sticker on the door, they’re not allowed to disturb you unless it’s extremely important (this might take a few tries, but they’ll get the hang of it). Also, put your phones (both mobile and landlines) to silent / answering mode if applicable. 99% of calls that you get are probably non-urgent anyway. If you feel uneasy at missing that 1% of calls that might be urgent, change your ringtone to something very subtle, like a minor beep, and set your voice message to say “if you need to get in touch with me urgently, call repeatedly”. That way, if you hear multiple beeps, you know the call is urgent. That’s the system I use when driving, so I know that I have to pull over and take this call.

Another major step you can do is to pull the plug. No, I’m not asking you to kill anyone, I’m referring to your metaphorical internet cable. This is especially applicable if you’re doing something non-internet related, like writing a blog post (I’m actually doing this right now. It’s a little unnerving without all the email and chat beeps, but it means I’m more focused). How imperative is your Twitter feed anyway? You can certainly survive without the internet for an hour, and if it’s a minor task that you just need to focus on, that may be more than you need.

Finally, a special one for those of you working from home like myself. If you’re not expecting visitors or some sort of mail, ignore the doorbell. It’s probably just a serial killer anyway. Or even worse, a telemarketer.

Rule #2: A Productivity Ninja must be Prepared

Anyone who has cooked or baked before can attest to this: there’s nothing worse than running to the store for ingredients to make something for later that day, only to realise mid-recipe that you forgot one more ingredient. While your scenarios may not be as urgent, the fact remains that making a checklist can put you on an efficiency overdrive. In fact, I’ve talked about my adoration of checklists before. Lists help you establish a birds-eye view of the things that you have to accomplish before you actually get into the trenches. It can help you plan the most effective plan of action, and, if you’re particularly tight for time, can help you assess which tasks to postpone (or even cancel altogether). Tasks can also help you assess what materials you’ll require for your day. This is particularly useful if you’re doing a car-trip to various stops, and you need to bring certain items (like that broken watch that needs repairing, those DVDs that need to be returned, or some documents for the bank).

If you’re like me and carry your world in your smartphone, then there are some fantastic apps out there to manage your lists. Remember The Milk (RTM) is a well-known and well-lauded online system, with apps for the iPhone, iPad, Android OS, and even Blackberries. Personally, I like something a little more robust, so I go for ToodleDo. For other systems and apps, here’s a handy little list: 25 To Do Lists to Stay Productive.

Another essential skill for being prepared is time assessment. I will freely admit that I am an absolute disaster here (it’s actually one of my resolutions this year). Being able to estimate the amount of time taken for a task is a tricky cocktail of intuition, skill, and experience, topped with a considerable helping of sheer dumb luck. To help people like you and me get better at it, though, there are some fantastic systems and tools. First of all, eyeball a timeline for each task. You’re probably going to be way off the first few times, but you have to start somewhere.  The Pomodoro system is a good way of starting this. It divides your work time into chunks with breaks in between (by default, it’s a 30-minute work session followed by a 5 minute break). If it’s a big task, try and break it into minor tasks and assign it to multiple pomodoros (each section of work time is referred to as a pomodoro). If you have a bunch of minor tasks, group them into one pomodoro. Check the Pomodoro website for a bunch of apps and programs that allow you to track your time. Of course, you don’t have to use the Pomodoro system, but I find it’s a good system to start with, before you build on it to create a system that suits you.

Secondly, keep a log of your performance. Did you finish all your tasks under the estimated time? Or were they always overdue? Were there any particular factors that caused this? Log everything, and review your logs regularly. It will help you build an understanding of the way you work, from an external perspective. Also remember to reward yourself if you finish your tasks under the allotted time. It can be something as lavish as a shopping trip, or something as minor as 10 minutes with your favourite book. Scale it up or down according to the gravity of the task that you finished.

Stay tuned for the next post for the remaining three rules to become the ultimate productivity ninja. Until then, I wish you complete success in taking control of your day, ninja-style.

Have something to say? I’d love to hear about it. There are different kinds of ninjas from all over the world so I’m sure you’ll have your own techniques and rules. Share them with us and let us how amazing you are.

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While shaving milliseconds off of your daily routine may not sound like much, there are changes that you can make at home to save minutes and even hours. Read on for some ideas.

1. The night before, prepare some juice or milk in a sealable container, and put it in the fridge. In the morning, instead of running out with a biscuit in your mouth, grab the drink. You’ll get your morning perk, it’s healthy, and it’s cooling.

2. Get a tray by the door for all your keys. If you live with someone, consider a separate tray or maybe a hook for only your key bunches, so you can grab everything in one motion.

3. The standby – You can combine this with the key tray. Get a shelf, rack, or even a corner of the kitchen counter that has plug point access. When you come back home, immediately put your phone, music player, PDA, and any other gadget that you might have, on that counter. You don’t necessarily have to charge it (in fact, overcharging is not good for most gadgets), but it’s important that you make a habit of automatically putting your chargeables on that counter, and only then considering whether to charge them. Also make sure that the standby is in a convenient location on your way out so you’ll remember to grab everything in the morning.

4. Is your bathroom in one corner of the house, your towels in another corner, and your laundry basket in a third? You get where I’m going with this, right?

5. Invest in single-portion containers and no-brainer recipe books. On the weekend, cook up a batch each of two recipes (if you share a living space, this is a great ‘together’ activity, or you could even take turns surprising the others!) and store it in those containers. You now have instant fuss-free dinners that you can just heat up and enjoy. (Extra tip: some recipes can be varied with some herbs, garnishing, or seasoning. Experimenting will make you enjoy your food more.)

6. Take number 5 further by investing in a good rice cooker. I’m not sure how common it is in other parts of the world, but in Southeast Asia it’s a staple for most houses. Although most obviously known for cooking rice, the rice cooker can actually be used for a whole variety of dishes, and the best part is that it requires almost no management from you.

7. Stick a piece of paper to your fridge or pantry door, and jot down items as you notice your need for them. If you can, reduce your shopping to once per week, at off-peak hours, so you can get in and out with minimum delay. Also, before you make that trip, look at your list, and sort them by your aisles in the mall. (Bonus prep: The next trip you make to the mall, take a pen and paper and list down the categories in each aisle. You’ll be zipping through the aisles with a smirk on your face.)

8. Lists. They save time, tension, and temper. A list of things you usually pack on trips, a list of documents you need to makes copies of, or even a list of things your kid needs for his field trip. I usually take one weekend morning and make a list of chores and other tasks I need to do. In fact, I find this to be quite motivating.

9. A dry-erase board, or a whiteboard as it’s sometimes known, may be an odd thing to find around the house, but the advantage of having a space to combine grocery lists, to-do lists, birthdays, memos, and anything else, far outweighs the wall space it may take up. Just be sure to stick it in a place you’ll see.

10. Arrange your office clothing in advance. This tip may seem more geared towards women, but you’ll be surprised by the number of men who really wonder if that shirt and that tie go together. Setting aside even ten minutes on the weekend can really work wonders for those frantic mornings.

But can he walk the walk?

Those of you who know me will be surprised that I’m writing a post about time-management, since my own time management skills are less than impressive. However, I find that the best way to commit myself to these changes is to also spread word about them.

I have managed to practice some of these tips at home. All my keys are in a key holder that I cannot miss on my way down the stairs. Since my phone doubles as my alarm, my gadgets are always beside my bed. I’m naturally a list nazi, so I’ve got that covered. And while I don’t have any particular office clothing (ah, the sweet life of a designer), I do find that packing my gym bag the day before saves me a lot of rushing the next morning.

What time management methods do you practice around the house? Share your ideas in the comments section.

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