Managing your time: tips from the dark side

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Managing your time tips from the dark side

• Ken Scott-Brown
• k.scott-brown_at_abertay.ac.uk

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Postgrads who teach?

• Or teachers who are post-grads?
• You decide
• Either way remember that a Postgraduate degree is
  first and foremost training so now is the time
  to learn how to do it

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Half Full?

• Half full
• Half Empty?
• Half Full, No wait, half empty, no wait. Half
  full what was the question
• Hey I ordered a cheeseburger

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How much can you fit in the jar?
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Full?
Room for frozen peas?
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How much can you fit in the jar?
Room for frozen peas?
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How much can you fit in the jar?
How about topping it up with sand?
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How much can you fit in the jar?
How about topping it up with sand?
Room for any more?
Full?
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How much can you fit in the jar?
How about topping it up with beer?
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How much can you fit in the jar?
How about topping it up with beer?
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The Mayonnaise Jar and Two Bottles of Beer 

• jar life.
• golf balls are important things-- family,
  children, health, friends and favourite hobbies
• if all else was lost and only they remained, your
  life would still be full.
• 'The pebbles are the other things that matter
  like your career, your car/stereo, flat/house.
• 'The sand is everything else---the small stuff.  
• If you put the sand into the jar first, is no
  room for the pebbles or the golf balls.  The same
  goes for life.  If you spend all your time and
   energy on the small stuff you will never have
  room for the things that are important to you. 
• 'Pay attention to the things that are critical to
  your happiness.  
• Play with your children/nieces nephews.  Take
  time to get medical checkups.  Take your partner
  out to dinner.  Play another 18.  There will
  always be time to clean the house.  Take care of
  the big items first---the things that really
  matter.   
• Set your priorities.  The rest is just sand.' 
• the beer? 
• no matter how full your life may seem, there's
  always room for a couple of Beers.'

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How difficult can it be?

• How confident are you about your abilities
• What do you really value.
• Water cooler conversations / corridor gossip
• Neighbours
• Friends
• Coffees
• The pub
• Lost, 24, insert vice of choice here

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"time management" is misleading

• concept should actually imply that it is
• "the management of our own activities,
• to make sure that they are accomplished within
  the available or allocated time,
• time is an unmanageable continuous resource and
  it only goes one way!

Original Schedule 1 month mangement decisions, 1
year to do project Revised schedule 1 year
indecision followed by intense pressure to do the
impossible before deadline
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Analogies

• Dieting
• Binge writing
• I can only write if I have a clear
• 4 hours, clear day, clear week, if the housework
  is done, if the kids are in bed, etc etc.
• Budgeting
• Saving up envelopes? Not opening statements?

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Alarm Bells

• People adjust the clock in your car (15 minutes
  ahead) without telling you.
• When going out with mates they say to you lets
  meet at 7.15 they all agree to meet at 7.30
  knowing you will still be late.
• Your life has been negatively affected by
  forgetting crucial appointments more than 6
  times in the last year.

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Themes Procrastination
Avoid the stomach churning agony of finishing
your thesis Read another book Repeat as required
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Procrastination

• is the deferment or avoidance of an action or
  task to a later time and is often linked to
  perfectionism.
• For the person procrastinating this may result in
  stress, a sense of guilt, the loss of
  productivity,
• the creation of crisis, and the chagrin of others
  for not fulfilling ones responsibilities or
  commitments.
• While it is normal for individuals to
  procrastinate to some degree,
• it becomes a problem when it impedes normal
  functioning.
• Chronic procrastination may be a sign of an
  underlying psychological or physiological
  disorder.

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Themes Delayed gratification

• Teaching is an instantly rewarding activity
• Publishing is about as a remotely rewarding
  activity as is humanly imaginable.
• But writing need not be, writing can be rewarding
  if you set it up right
• Now is the time to set up the habits to make you
  an expert writer.

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Analysis paralysis

• Rather than put "clean the kitchen", "clean the
  bedroom", and "clean the bathroom", it is more
  efficient to put "housekeeping"
• save time spent writing and reduce the system's
  administrative load (each task entered into the
  system generates a cost in time and effort to
  manage it, aside from the execution of the task).
  
• The risk of consolidating tasks, however, is that
  "housekeeping" in this example may prove
  overwhelming or nebulously defined,
• which will either increase the risk of
  procrastination,
• or a mismanaged project
• 1000 mile journey begins with 1 step. Keep it
  simple

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Pareto analysis 80/20 rule

• This is the idea that 80 of task(s) can be
  completed in 20 of the disposable time.
• The remaining 20 of task(s) will take up 80 of
  the time.

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Techniques that have been tried

• The flight to Australia.
• Only from Silicon Valley
• Douglas Coupland - Microserfs
• Cancel everything work crisis

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Drinks not to really try to help you stay awake

• Instant coffee
• Diluted with coke
• With a tea bag dunked in it
• Im not kidding

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Things not to say out loud

• I havent got time to come and see you..
  (girlfriend)
• this year

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Tactics that have been tried

• The gambit.
• Ok Ill do that new thing you want me to do, but
  what do you want me to give up.
• Use this tactic very carefully.
• The saying Dont do delegate
• Again use this wisely you are not a line
  manager yet

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Jedi-Tactics

• I have to go now
• I have to finish this e-mail
• I have participants booked in on Friday

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A Diary

• You may not all possess one yet
• You will, soon enough
• Year to view - ideally that you can view whilst
  on the phone

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Potential pitfalls

• Multiple diaries
• All depends on whether you are a 1 keyring person
  or a 2 keyring person.

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A daily to do list,

• The night before, what is key for the day goes on
  the list
• Do the most important things early in the day
• Secondary items on another part of the paper
• Long term things end up on another recurrent page.

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Biggest danger ABD

• The all but done student
• Collected all the data, written up some of it,
• get a new job or move town
• Never quite ready to submit.
• Failing a viva is very rare, failing to submit is
  more common (most still submit, happily)

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Read, write and cite

• You are a PG with the most amount of time you
  will ever have to read the literature and become
  expert.
• You have the opportunity to learn to write well
  and write quickly.
• You can acknowledge the peer group and gain
  recognition in the time you have left.

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Top Tips Balance at work

• Make a plan
• Pick the right things
• Make time for research
• Learn how to say no
• Or at least to say OK but everything else will
  take longer..
• Or what should I do first?
• Delegate (or at least look at your shoes in a
  meeting)
• Set realistic standards
• Write regularly (and then SUBMIT it).
• Dont check e-mails first thing in the morning
• Use the 3 Ds of paper work (Do it, Diarise it,
  Ditch it).
• Deal with Distractions

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Top Tips Balance at home

• Establish boundaries between work and non-work
  (if you think you need to).
• Get a routine
• Ask your significant others
• Be present (not absent minded)
• Book breaks and holidays (early i.e. plan)
• Delegate, outsource, get help, buy wipes
• Exercise diet and health
• Me time
• Review your priorities
• (dont spend longer planning holidays than your
  career).
• Have fun!

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References

• Vitae.ac.uk
• The balanced researcher handbook
• Douglas Coupland Microserfs
• Interesting and engaging follow up novel to
  Generation X on the joys and pitfalls of working
  for Microsoft. Cites the flight to australia
  allnighter phenomenon.
• Cacioppo, J. T. (2007). Psychology is a hub
  science. Observer, 20(8), 5 42. PDF
• http//psychology.uchicago.edu/people/faculty/caci
  oppo/jtcreprints/c07a.pdf