Whenever i send round a project to people i know, they inevitably come back to me and say “where do you find the time?”, either because they think i’m some super robot machine, or slightly less likely, they think that i could be very bored. Those who know me can tell you which one straight away.

To be honest, it really pisses me off when people say that.

When i write about something, it’s essentially a brain-dump of what’s already in my head so i’m just getting it out. A project is an organised way of learning and trying new things that builds up more information. I don’t really have to think about these things, i just let them pour out. If its hard for you and you have to think about it, you don’t really have a lot to say and don’t think much.

Writing this blog is easy. I write all the time - a paragraph here, a paragraph there. On the train, in the car, on my laptop in the park, wherever. I tend to write things late at night after everything else has been done, and guess what, i can also forward-schedule posts to run at one a day if i batch up 10 posts on 1 very productive night and want to give the appearance of a regular writing schedule.

Don’t trust anyone who is always “BUSY BUSY BUSY!”. Anyone who is anyone knows that plans never work to schedule and success is about planning open time to cope with the unexpected. Truly effective people free up as much time as possible (up to 70% diary time) to deal with problems that they had no warning of. Morons try to make themselves look as busy as they can so they seem important, and what you should take back from that is that they can’t manage their time or schedule properly. A professional will always have plenty of time free because they have designed it that way.

And anyone who sets their Facebook status as “so incredibly busy” or suchlike clearly isn’t.

But to answer the confused, here’s a general rundown of how it happens. First, i begin in reverse and think about how i want it to play out in my obituary.

The average life expectancy for a man in the UK is 76. I’m currently 29, so i can reasonably guess that i have 47 good years to do everything i want and need to do before my death in 2055. Breaking that down, it means 564 months, or 2452 weeks, or just 17,167 days. As far as i’m concerned, i’m on a countdown.

If you have a 9 to 5 job, you average around 40 hours a week (160hrs/month, or 200 or so days a year) where your brain is actually engaged. I set my own hours on my own timetable and work 7 days, meaning i clock up to 100 hours a week (400hrs/month). That’s 2.5x more than most rat-runners.

http://www.google.com/search?q=death+clock 

You have to start right, or it won’t work properly. Success and achieving goals is the most addictive thing in the world, and its the best kind of addiction to have.

• I have a mission, creed, plan and a purpose.
• I set detailed goals and deadlines.
• I go and find out new ways to do things every day.
• I set out to do as much as i possibly can.
• I have a diary/schedule.
• I classify and prioritise.
• I manage queues of things inside a “pipeline” of work.
• I work towards realising what i’ve already pre-visualised in my mind.
• I use tools to map out what i’m doing.
• I continually simplify and look for the bottom line.
• I batch things together.
• I surround myself with talented and inspiring people.
• I put everything through a productivity system.
• My mind is always working and learning, 24-7.
• I focus on executing and delivering almost exclusively.

A centralised office on the Internet
My philosophy is that i must be able to work wherever i am in the world, not just at a desk where all the paper is. Everything i do is accessible online so no matter what computer i’m on, i can do anything i need to.

• Everything that is important to me is put together in my tabbed Netvibes start page so i don’t have to access multiple websites. I can log in anywhere to my online desktop and have everything i need immediately.
• IMAP email: my email is stored on a central mail server rather than in an Outlook PST file, and can be accessed through any webmail or desktop client. Gmail is best.
• VoIP: other than my mobile, i use Gradwell’s Asterisk-based VoIP service with X-Lite and/or Skype. My voicemail is available online as MP3s and i can divert any landline number to my mobile.
• Calendar: I put meetings in my Outlook which are then synchronised with my online Google Calendar using SyncMyCal (and vice versa).
• Bookmarks: Instead of putting my favourites in a web browser, i store them on my del.icio.us account which can then be imported into Firefox directly or through an RSS feed.
• Notes: every note i create is transferred onto Google Notebook.
• Facebook: I treat FB as my social address book for keeping up with friends and family.
• News: I use Netvibes to collect and retrieve the latest news information and saved search results from all the websites i like using RSS feeds, which means i can browse 20 or so sites a minute.
• CRM: customer relationship management is the driving engine of any business, and i use the free Sugar CRM to track leads, accounts, opportunities and problems.
• IM: I try to avoid MSN, but use it under limited circumstances if i need something done quickly or feel like talking to Kel. The most flexible tool is Meebo.com.
• Last.fm records and monitors my music listening and my MP3s are backed up on multiple Internet storage sites and web players like Anywhere.fm/Deezer.

My next version will have all my online banking, favourite shopping sites and reference sites (e.g. Yell, Thomson etc). All of these applications have XML feeds (RSS/ATOM/SOAP etc) that can glue them to each other.

Other things of note that are really useful are TomTom GPS, Google’s “My Maps”, online TV guides, weather widgets, sticky notes (post-its), unit & measure converters, time zone monitors, and 2 of my most important software pieces - my mass mailer and online Bible reference.

In fact there are so many web applications to help you get organised, it’s ridiculous. Some of them even help you plan your funeral online.

http://www.go2web20.net/
http://www.allthingsweb2.com/

Productivity systems & Seinfieldian chain theory
There is a secret to productivity, and most people never get it. As a result they spend their lives chaotically running around chasing their tail, fighing fires and wishing they were in front of the TV. The secret is that there are lots of published productivity/time management systems that successfully people have designed and many follow. Its differnet for everyone and the one you will work well with will be different from the next guy, but the trick is to go and find out what they are, and then implement them. This is how busy people get lots done.

Essentially, the core ideas are: focus, filter, prioritise, execute, review. Identify what is important, put it in a queue and get it done. All involve junking minutiae and being ruthless about what you spend time on. ALWAYS SIMPLIFY.

Richard Branson swears by the simple todo list - he makes a list of no more than the 5 most important things that need to be done and focuses on finishing them. 3 of the best known systems are Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits, David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) a new entrant, Jerry Seinfield’s incredibly simple calendar chain, which involves putting a cross in each day of the calendar when you’ve got something done, creating an ongoing chain you must not break.

If you’re really fucking nuts, you could try polyphasic sleep.

One habit i found incredibly interesting was from watching Doug Richards - if you look closely, you’ll notice all of those guys on Dragons Den listen, then they pull back and simplify what they have been told. Simple, but incredibly powerful.

All you do is find someone who really gets things done, and ask them how they do it, instead of resenting them secretly and slagging them off. What an epiphany.

My own super-pipeline system
As i start in reverse, it’s even more important that you have to start properly. That doesn’t mean you have to be perfect, just that you’re on firm ground. I begin by always having at least 5 projects on the go, and another 5 batched up on a rolling conveyor belt, which means i need to record ideas when i’m walking around. All of these projects go into a pipeline that needs to be closely managed in a very disciplined way. When you managed more than one, you have more need to set milestones, targets and critical success points.

The rule is that one project will take 100% of your time, 2 will take 50% each and so on, so if you are have 10, they will only get 10% of your time and will never get finished. If you’re aware of that, you can delegate and find ways to cut corners and minimise expenses. That comes from experience, and is achieved through driven and discipline.

Personally i try to visualise everything i’m working on as much as i can - i give each a moving start point, and a target (net result, end point of conclusion). Along the way are important markers to pass, or milestones. Getting them done is all about knowing where you are, or how much progress you’ve made. As such, you need a meter that you can watch - my version is a number of bars in a graph with a line through them (a bit like levels on an audio mixer). These are well known and detailed project management techniques (Prince 2 is the King of all projman systems).

Contents of my “Go Bag”
For those not in the know (hehe), productivity junkies always carry a bag with them that has everything they need should they be caught short. Women have been doing it for years, but the contents are slightly different. The theory is that whevever you are, you can just “go” if you need to, e.g. spontaneously to the airport.

In my black leather”Go Bag” there is always:

My laptop (obviously), notebook, calculator, passport, folder/organiser, pens, shoe polish, nail clippers, deodorant, headphones, mobile phone adaptors, ampoules of Armani aftershave, audio/TV adaptors, oothbrush, microphone, chocolate, tre-hydration sachets, amitriptyline medication, paracetemol, condoms, Setlers Tums, USB thumb drives, Bluetooth and Wifi adaptors, blacnk DVDs/CDs, pre-burned promo discs and more. Occasionally, there’s boxer shorts, massage oil and socks.

The NOT TODO list
What might be more imortant is what i avoid doing, after many years of painful experience.

What i DON’T do:

• I don’t procrastinate or wait for “one day”.
• I don’t wait for the “right time”.
• I don’t wait around for other people.
• I don’t wait around for the world.
• I don’t allow other people to control my life.
• I don’t mind failing.
• I don’t decide it won’t work or happen before i’ve even started it.
• I don’t need everything to be absolutely perfect immediately.
• I don’t write things off without investigating.
• I don’t sit around wondering - i ask.
• I don’t allow miserable, ambitionless and/or apathetic people near me.
• I don’t take unsolicited calls or enquiries.
• I don’t take hour-long meetings with no clear agenda or result.
• I don’t find reasons to say “no”.
• I don’t waste time on high-maintenance, low-value activities.
• I don’t have a problem saying “no”.

These are the tips i gave to John:

a) Continually be simplifying everything.
b) Don’t take on too much at once.
c) Set goals and structure.
d) Rest and refresh regularly.
e) Ignore minutiae.
f) Prioritise. Only relevant and effective tasks that deliver real progress.
g) Don’t use 200 words when 2 will do.
h) Small, manageable, achievable chunks.
i) Seinfieldian chain.
j) Don’t rely or wait on anyone else.
k) Something is better than nothing at all.
l) It’s not how it is, it’s how it looks.
m) Always have a demo, a picture or something physical to communicate your point/concept. Unless you can see it somehow, it’s not real.
n) Say no when you need to.
o) Don’t be afraid to disagree, refuse or go against.
p) People are persuaded by emotion and feeling, not logic or words.
q) Simplify.
r) Simplify.
s) Simplify.