Hey everyone! I’m Bryan Camareno, and I’ve been asked to bring my experience, Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG know-how, and practical, easy-to-apply-to-your-situation advice to Metagame.com. This week, I’ll be going over something I know will be of great benefit to you (the reader) because it has been essential for me as a player: time management.

Of all the skills a Yu-Gi-Oh! duelist needs, time management is among the most important. You probably don’t have all the time in the world to play Yu-Gi-Oh! on a full-time basis. Who does? I know you want to have more time for a job, fun with your family, finishing your school work, or running a business, right?

My job with today’s article is to teach you some of the techniques I personally use on a daily basis to keep my time under my control. If they help me out, they can certainly help you manage your time as well.

How the Top 10% Do It

The difference between the top 10% of the player community and those striving to reach that level is that the top players know how to prioritize their responsibilities and balance their time. Serious players don’t make any excuses about how they spend their time. If they don’t have the opportunity to practice, they don’t blame it on anything. We all have 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking:

• “I have a job and I need to make money.”
• “I have a family to take care of. I can’t do this, this, and that.”
• “I don’t have time to play Yu-Gi-Oh! because of homework and school.”
• “I only have time for so many things and I can’t make time for Yu-Gi-Oh!”

I know that you are probably very talented as a player. A little time management can do a world of good, freeing up your creative potential and letting you bring decks to the scene that are truly unique.

One of the reasons why most players don’t get any better at the game is that they spend too much time on things they need to do rather than things they want to do . . . like practice. I’m not saying you should neglect certain responsibilities. I’m asking you to take a look at the big picture. Do you want to become a champion-caliber player?

Ask yourself how much you want it.

Are you willing to change a few small behaviors and spend less time on certain activities in order to devote yourself to getting better at this game? I get up every single morning at 6 AM, before work, to write for several websites (including this one). I make the time to do this. No excuses, no complaints. If I don’t get an article out there, it’s my fault and my responsibility—especially if I don’t get my Metagame.com articles done on time . . .

Time management has a lot to do with responsibility. You have to be responsible enough to take control of how your time is spent, and you are ultimately responsible for who or what you spend your time on.

I usually keep this in mind: time is the enemy.

Time is the enemy because we have a finite amount of it. Being a time-conscious Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG player, you know that you are responsible for every single minute of your time.

Putting It All Together in Yu-Gi-Oh! Terms

Okay, now that you have a clear understanding of what time management is and what degree of control you have over your time, I’m going to relate it a bit more to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG.

Of course we all want to know how the Shonen Jump champs do it. How the heck do they find the time to do all that practicing, testing, research, and thinking to be prepared enough to Top 8 at a Shonen Jump Championship?

The answer lies in the systems they have in place. By organizing elements of your Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG practice into a system, you don’t waste time doing unnecessary things in your preparation for a tournament.

Why systems? And which ones do you use?

That depends on you. If you’ve ever picked up a time management book or been to a time management class or seminar, they all pitch different systems to help you analyze your time, determine how it is spent, and find ways to gain more control over your daily life. A system is essentially a refined process that produces predictable or desirable results for you the person (or in this case, you the Yu-Gi-Oh! duelist).

Here’s a rough list of the types of systems you’ll probably need:

• Deck Testing System
• Deck Research and Evaluation System
• Individual Card Research and Evaluation System
• Practicing System
• Tournament Preparation System
• Top 8 Analysis System

Sounds like a lot of work right? How do you even start?

You take baby steps.

A system isn’t always a humongous process on the level that most business enterprises use. It could be something as simple as a three-step process to determine how a deck, card, or piece of information checks out for your benefit.

For example, I have a process I use to keep up-to-date with the status of the North American metagame and how it will shift. Here are the steps:

1.      I read recent articles, look at recent Top 8 lists, and read forums.

2.      I talk to my network of players, speak with Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG friends, post in forums, and theorize decklists.

3.      I play in local tournaments, test the decks with my network of players and friends, play in regional tournaments, etc.

See? 1-2-3. While that’s a simplified example, it can work for you too. Those three steps can give you great insight into the big picture of any metagame you set out to analyze.

The greatest benefit of systems is that they streamline your thinking, and provide the information you want in a consistent fashion. Some systems are slower than others, but that is all up to you. I always use systems to prepare myself for tournaments.

Harnessing the Power of Your Time Requires Discipline

The next important factor of time management is discipline. You must develop the discipline to follow through with what you budget time for.

Use this list to figure out how you spend your time:

• Hours spent working:________
• Hours spent driving:_________
• Hours spent getting ready:_______
• Hours spent eating:______
• Hours spent sleeping:________
• Hours spent with family:________
• Hours spent on a hobby:________
• Hours spent exercising:________
• Hours spent becoming educated (school):_________
• Hours spent relaxing:________

There are 168 hours in a week (7 x 24). Can you find a way to dedicate at least two or four more hours to Yu-Gi-Oh! practice?

There are methods behind the madness of the Top 8 decklists that change the nature of the game. They are the products of diligent research, practice, and commitment. Those decklists don’t happen by accident.

More Time Management Techniques for Yu-Gi-Oh! Players

Here are some techniques that I’ve used (and still use today) in order to spend my time as effectively as possible, even if it is just laying back and relaxing. (There’s always time for that, I think!)

• Make appointments with yourself to get things done. I’ll set aside a certain block of time for a particular task/activity. I have been known to be very determined about getting that task done in that amount of time. I don’t plan my day minute by minute, though, so I’m not expecting you guys to do that either. The rule of thumb is, “If you have to get something done by a certain date or time, set aside some time to do it.” Simple, right?

• Hold yourself accountable. Probably the most important principle of time management is to hold yourself accountable for your own time. This is hard for some players because they like to make excuses. Whatever might happen to you, you have the power to respond to it any way you wish. Again, that’s not to say that you should neglect homework, your job, or your relationships. Just remember that if you have something to do, get it done. If you have to test for the next event, do it.

• Use a calendar. Yes, a calendar. This goes hand-in-hand with making appointments. Using your calendar encourages you to start planning ahead. If you know that an event is two weeks away on a specific date, mark it on your calendar. And by that, I mean physically write it down on your calendar (or type it) and put that calendar in a place where you will see it often. I have a multitude of calendars to keep me aware of what I have coming up. If I have something approaching that I planned in advance, I know that my calendars will remind me. If you can, get calendars with reminders (most computers have them as part of their basic software package).

• Plan playtesting ahead of time. This is crucial. There’s nothing more time-consuming than playtesting with your buddies and not really knowing what kind of results you’d like to achieve. It’s the equivalent of getting together with your friends and just playing with various decks to find one that wins the most. That’s not testing; that’s a get-together. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, but it’s not testing.

• Know the metagame: a wonderful time-enhancing technique, even though it may not seem like one. Another phrase to describe this would be to “do your homework.” It’s important to know exactly what you’ll be up against so you can thoroughly prepare for it. Once you’ve done your homework, then you can start validating the assumptions you’ve gathered from your research. Otherwise, all you’ll be doing is simply playing the game. Again, there’s nothing wrong with that; but it’s not testing. You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to test when you’ve done your homework.

Closing Thoughts

If you want to be a champion, you have to start behaving like one, and time management is an important skill for the aspiring champion. It makes you more productive and it makes your life a lot easier to manage on a day-to-day basis. A champion is in control and is always planning ahead and preparing.

I’ll leave you with a favorite quote of mine that describes the difference between a professional and an amateur:

“Many people think amateurs do not play for money, but they play for the love of the game. In reality, the reason amateurs are amateurs is because they do not love the game enough.”

—Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

Thanks for reading guys. See you next week!