Time Management

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Time Management
--Modified from Siess JA, 2004.http//www.wla.lib
.wi.us/conferences/2004/postconf/timeManage.ppt-
-Another reference Making the right moves
published by Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
2004.
Patrick C. H. Hsieh, M.D., Ph.D.

• Institute of Clinical Medicine
• National Cheng Kung University

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Time Management

• The first step
• Setting your goal !

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Setting your goal

• Long-term goal years
• Intermediate-term goal months
• Short-term goal weeks or days

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Setting your goal

• Long-term goal 3-5 years
• Who do you want to be and how?
• e.g. an academic, applied or industrial
  job? PhD and postdoc?
• 2. What do you need to accomplish to make
  yourself competitive?
• e.g. for an academic job, how many papers?

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Setting your goal

• Intermediate-term goal 6-12 months
• Revising a paper
• Putting together a poster
• Collecting preliminary data for a grant
• Organizing a meeting
• 5. Passing your qualifying exam

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Setting your goal

• Short-term goal 1 week to 1 month
• The small, concrete, finite tasks that swallow
  your time
• e.g. preparing figures for the paper you are
  writing, completing an experiment
• If hard to organize, make a daily or weekly to-do
  list and check tasks off after done

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Setting your goal

• Must be concrete.
• Must be measurable.
• Must be in writing.
• Must be achievable.

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Listing your tasks

• Steps required to achieve the goals.
• Prioritize.
• Set deadlines.
• List resources needed.
• Keep your eye on your goals.

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Prioritization

• Just because you can do something doesnt mean
  you should.

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Question things !

• Whats the objective?
• How will I know if I am successful?
• How will I be rewarded?
• Is this task something I want to do?
• Do I have the time to do it?
• What have I got to lose?
• Is there a better way to do it?
• Should it even be done at all?
• Will the world come to an end if?

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Time management grid
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Time management grid
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Time management grid
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Time management grid
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Time management grid
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Time management grid
This is the key !
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Ten myths about time

• Time can be managed.
• The harder you work, the more you accomplish.
• If you want something done right, do it yourself.
• You arent supposed to enjoy work.
• Take pride in working hard.
• Try to do the most in the least amount of time.
• Use technology to do it better and faster.
• Do one thing at a time.
• Handle paper only once.
• Get more done and you will be happier.

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Manage your time day-to-day

• Steps required to achieve the goals.
• Prioritize.
• Set deadlines.
• List resources needed.
• Keep your eye on your goals.

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Time wasters

• Attempting too much.
• Not saying No.
• Incomplete information.
• Management by crisis, fire fighting.
• Interruptions.

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Making the best use of time

• You dont have to please everyone.
• Let go dont be a perfectionist.
• Resist to do small, insignificant tasks too well.
• Outsource what you can.

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Interruptions.

• If no one asked questions we wouldnt have jobs.
• Anticipate the most common questions.
• Close your door or arrange your office to
  discourage drop-ins.
• If all else fails, hide!

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So, how to improve your time management skills?

• Establish clear goals early, starting with simple
  tasks, correcting as appropriate, expanding the
  tasks, then repeating the process.
• Seek advice. Train yourself to describe projects,
  issues, and problems accurately and efficiently.
• Stick to the agenda of meeting. Train yourself
  for efficient scientific presentations.
• Keep meeting minutes and file your to-do lists.

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How to be successful?

• You need to be smart, or make yourself smarter.
• You have to work hard, very very hard.
• You had better be lucky.

Remember, Opportunities favor the prepared mind
!