Design for Mankind’s Erin Loechner keeps clean and contained spiral notebooks at the ready in her own home-office setup: a laptop, desk, and white Eames Aluminum Group Executive Chair combo.

It’s no surprise that notepads filling the desk of designer and illustrator Alexie Hiles contain the thinkings of an artistic mind.

Neat stacks of notebooks — including Field Notes, a Lifework favorite — await reminders and to-do lists from Rick VanderLeek, a Saugatuck, Michigan-based art director and graphic designer.

Loose-leaf paper notes and tracing paper play a part in typographer Nick Keppol’s Brooklyn home office  — a must-see space which includes, among others, a black Embody chair at the desk and an Eames Wire Base Low Table supporting the printer.

Confirmed doodler: designer and illustrator Katie Kirk, author of the children’s book “Eli, No!,” brain power behind Eight Hour Day, and owner of a pair of Eames Molded Plastic Chairs.

A collection of colorful sketchpads and notes helps keep the workflow flowing for Erin Jang, an art director and graphic designer who runs The Indigo Bunting out of her studio in New York City.

Industrial designer Joey Roth, a Los Angeles resident who frequently works in his backyard, knows that a single notebook can help him streamline his time outside. “When I can, I leave my laptop inside and take only a pen, notebook, and cup of tea or coffee with me,” he says. “The less I take, the more I tend to accomplish.”

Photos: Linked to their sources. Top photo: Carrie Strine and Tim Lahan

Work+
Working in an environment slightly out of your comfort zone can offer a certain focus, so Work+ helps to find cafes for those who require a humble place to go with their laptops/tablets. Enter info you need such as Wi-Fi, support for large groups, dog-friendly, pleasant ambiance, and radius, and Work+ will find options near you. User reviews from such spots are available based on how much work was achieved. Free

My Writing Spot
How many small pockets of time in the day come and go that could be spent working on that big writing project? My Writing Spot is a lightweight word processor that encourages the use of every moment of the day for writing. There is an autosave system that connects to the web app as well as word count, portrait/landscape mode, and built-in dictionary/thesaurus. Also available on Android. $3

Locale
Sometimes the best way to get to work is to protect yourself from yourself. Locale is a location-based app that changes your Android devices settings based on location. Wi-Fi, wallpaper, alert, and sound are just a few things that can be set to certain profiles when you’re at work, en route, at a cafe, or at home. Each can be configured automatically or customized individually to create custom work conditions to avoid being disturbed. $4

Txt Message Away
One of the biggest distractions is social interaction. Txt Message Away cleverly blocks incoming texts and sends a custom text back to the sender to let them know you’re busy so it doesn’t look like they are being ignored. Settings are available to efficiently minimize the amount of SMSs being sent out for those who don’t have text plans. $2

SuperTimer
The Pomodoro Technique is a productivity method that utilizes the power of time management. By working for 25 minutes continuously and following up with a five-minute break (each half hour being one “Pomodoro”), you can cut straight to the chase and get some work done. When utilized hand in hand with the Pomodoro Technique, the SuperTimers countdown timer function is a sleek tool to have. The app also features lap time and a stopwatch. Free

MagikMail
MagikMail takes away the mystery of an answering service and brings a visual interface to your smartphone voicemail inbox. Everything can be managed from deleting messages, recording a new greeting, playing a message in any order, and, best of all, transcribed messages so you can read voicemails in text form. $2

Photo: Via Uncrate featuring iPhone case by Material6

By Jason Rodway. Used in partnership with Apartment Therapy Tech.

1. NNTR (No Need To Respond) – Add “NNTR” to the end of purely informational emails so that people know there is No Need To Respond. This will help cut down on all those “cool” and “thanks” emails you get every day.

2. EOM (End of Message) – If your message is short enough, put the whole thing in the subject followed by EOM (end of message) so people know they can just delete it without spending the time opening it or saving it for later.

3. 3SR (3 Sentence Rule) – Try really, really hard to keep emails under three sentences. If you need to write something longer than that, maybe email isn’t the best way to communicate those ideas.

Get more tips on Apartment Therapy Tech.

Photo: Delson or Sherman via hermanmiller.com

If you are like most of the people I know then you’d probably like to have more time for yourself in your busy life.  I call this “Me Time” – you know, that time that replenishes you – that time that you carve out just for yourself to slow down or do something exciting and fun.

How much time do you spend on yourself each day?  Where do you fall on your to-do list – at the top, in the middle or dead-last?  Most people put themselves last and think that they can’t afford to make time for themselves.  They think their work or family will suffer if they take time out of their busy schedules for themselves.

Actually it is just the opposite.  The more rejuvenating time you carve out for yourself the more energy you’ll have to give to your work, family and anything else you choose.  When you fill yourself up first you have exponentially more to give. Here are some Me Time tips to slip into your work-day.

1. Date. Make a date with yourself at least once a day.  Go for a walk around the block, go for tea/coffee, sit on your front or back stoop for 5 minutes and watch the world go by.  Get creative.

2. Connect. Call one friend/family member that you like to talk to during your drive home from work each day (or during your lunch break if you work from home – have a lunch date over the phone).  This can be a great, structured way to stay connected.  Or, email a friend/family member just for fun each day.

3. Breathe. Set a reminder in your calendar once a day to breathe.  Then take 30 seconds to close your eyes, maybe even put your hand on your heart and focus only on the sound of and feeling of your breath.

4. Listen. Put music you love on in the background while you work.  Or, take a break, play a song you like and sing along.

5. Dance. Get up and do a little dance. Get movin’ anytime you want a break or feel really tired.

6. Read. Take 5 minutes and read a chapter from a fun book or a few pages of your favorite magazine.

7. Me-Time List. List any/everything you could possible do during Me Time. List all of the things that you’ve heard yourself say “some day I’d like to (fill in the blank).” Put anything on your list that you’ve seen others do and wish you could do. Then, pick one thing from your list to do each day.

Try it for just one week.  Take some time for yourself every day this week - just 5 minutes will do. See what changes.  I bet you’ll be infinitely more productive.  Just a little Me Time each day will help you live the work-life you’ve been looking for.

llustrations by Jordan Awan

There are 5 steps to the Pomodoro technique:

1. Choose a task to be accomplished
2. Set the Pomodoro to 25 minutes (the Pomodoro is the timer)
3. Work on the task until the Pomodoro rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper
4. Take a short break (5 minutes is OK)
5. Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break

Our friend is using an app called Focus Booster, now in beta mode and a free download. We like that the productivity app is minimal, and it’s also available for both Windows and OS X users (an online version is also available). There’s also an iPhone app for those who need to focus on the go for $1.00.

We’re giving it a try all today to see if the Pomodoro Technique helps us wrangle in the stress of trying to manage the myriad of stress inducing tasks we juggle each day, since the idea of short bursts of complete focus makes a whole lot of sense than meandering throughout the day. We might also make every longer break, after the 4th Pomodoro, be designated as a moment to do an exercise, utilizing the technique to improve both body and mind at once!

Learn more about the Pomodoro Technique at the official site, where you can also download the free eBook explaining the full time management system.

Other time management solutions from the Unplggd archives:

Cutting Down Online Stresses With Time Management
Mac Applications to Increase Productivity
5 Tips for Productivity: Improving the Daily Desk Flow
Minimalist iPhone Productivity App

By Gregory Han

For a few months, I didn’t check my email in the mornings. One of the reasons why was that I had to immediately start replying to emails and get tasks done. This took time and would derail my morning routine. Instead, I sat on the sofa, drank my tea and took time to wake up. I’ve been using Inbox Zero for most of this year and I’ve recently actually managed to check my emails in the mornings without hampering my schedule. I don’t do it every morning, but from time to time, I manage to check my email in a few minutes.

Any task that I need to accomplish, I’ll usually write it down somewhere. I’ve got a stack of papers from my daily Moleskine calendar that I use for this. Making lists is a really good way to do so. You can also send yourself emails. Since I use Inbox Zero with Gmail, these tasks will get done very quickly. Google Calendar is also a great tool. If your schedule is pretty loaded, then using Google Calendar will makes things clearer for you.

I also use a daily planner to jot down stuff as well as a paper-based calendar, in which I like to cross out the days. Why do I use paper alternatives instead of just using electronic versions? It’s because that every time that I open up Gmail, I end up doing more work. So when I don’t have time for this, I can easily reference a paper calendar or a daily planner to see what’s up. It’s also easier to carry and modify on the fly.

When you are busy, you need naps in order to get through the day. I like to take daily naps, which vary from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on how much time I have. This usually happens during my lunch break. It’s a perfect way to recharge your batteries. After a nap, I like drinking a cup of coffee to fully wake me up.

If you are very busy, the trick is to find some time to relax, no matter what. For example, I tend to sleep in late on the weekends and I usually don’t do much on Saturdays. It’s the day that I recuperate from the week, taking a long afternoon nap and taking it easy. It gets me ready for the week to come.

By Range.”

It started where it always does, with me wishing for more time. Since 24 hours a day is all any of us get, I’d need to be more efficient. Enter RescueTime, software that records, in a very Big Brotherish way, where you spend your time on your computer. As you use Word or Excel, shop at zappos.com, or play Farmville on Facebook, RescueTime is running in the background, mercilessly recording ever minute of it.

Initially I thought it was cool. The very first day, RescueTime awarded me a blue ribbon and told me I was in the top two percent of users—oh, the rush! But it turned out I hadn’t properly launched the program the day before, and those stellar results were only for the previous five minutes.

I have several computers I use throughout the day for different projects. Every time I returned to the computer on which I’d installed the software, RescueTime demanded to know where I’d been. The default responses include “Leisure” and “Other work” and the program allows you to customize. (I created a category called “Doggy management,” since I have a high maintenance dog.)

Often it was tough to be accurate. On a normal day, I might be away from my main computer for four hours, during which I’ve worked on a client’s project, thrown meat in the crock pot, and played tennis. There’s no way to log those activities individually, unless you remember to return to your computer between each one.

Furthermore, I sometimes found myself responding to the constant “where have you been, young lady?” like a recalcitrant teenager, clicking on the “None of your business (don’t log this time)” button, even when the time had been spent productively. While this tactic was personally gratifying, it did not help my productivity score.

To its credit, RescueTime did curtail my Facebook habit. I work alone and Facebook is to me what the water cooler is to office workers. RescueTime noticed when I lingered there too long (something you can set in the preferences) and notified me. I learned how to go to Facebook, skim my friends’ status updates, comment on a few, and leave. No more disappearing down the rabbit hole!

That worked great until a friend emailed me a link to Superwolf Ogles, a Facebook page written by a cat who is in an open relationship and has political leanings (Meo-ism).

Impossible to resist, right? I took a quick peek. Soon I was looking at a picture of a young woman named Steffani sitting on the Great Wall of China, and then at wedding photos of another complete stranger.

RescueTime waggled its Big Brother finger at me, but, already on my way to the video clip of Jim and Pam’s wedding dance (on “The Office”), I just sneered. The only one who can rescue my time is still me.

1. Watch Professor Randy Pausch’s lecture on time management video
(or read the lecture notes).  The late instructor was a big fan of not wasting time. In this lecture, one of the last public talks he gave before succumbing to pancreatic cancer, he outlines the importance of planning and to-do lists and what to tackle first; how to prioritize what’s important to you; and how to take better care of yourself so you can get more done.

2. Figure out what you’re really doing on your computer.
RescueTime tracks the time you spend on individual applications. The downloadable software not only monitors your computer activity, it can also remind you to spend more or less time doing one type of activity and it can block distracting websites. The Mac & PC-compatible app is free. Paid options give you more features and data storage.

3. Get to work. Or read about others getting to work.
No amount of advice can take the place of real work. But if you need a mental break, or you’re looking for ideas on how to streamline your workflow or tame your propensity for procrastination check out these blogs:
43 Folders: Lecturer, writer and designer Merlin Mann shares thoughts and tips on how to make time for creative work.
Lifehacker: While not all of the tips on Lifehacker have to do with office work, each one can help you save time.
Zen Habits: If you’re feeling overwhelmed, the advice imparted on Zen Habits can bring the calm back into your crazy work and home life.
Do you have a favorite time management tip, trick or blog?