What does this have to do with time management?
In order to accomplish the goals of a particular project, you need to plan how all the elements will come together within your given deadline.
You only have so much time to manage, so plan how you should spend your time so you are managing it well, or at the very least know when you aren’t managing it well.
What is the #1 rule of planning? Make time to plan! Planning is an important component for your work.
What do you have to get done?
ALWAYS Make time to plan (see above)
2 types of work - things you do on your own and things you do with other people.
Things on your own: individual class work, your research, your job, your health and well being.
Things with other people: group work, collaborative research and PROJECTS
Planning for work on your own: What do you have to do, when do you have to do it, who do you have to do it with, and are there dependencies?
To-do lists - how to create ones that are effective?
No-do lists - how to say no to things
Don’t forget: Self care / leisure is important (mental health resources)
Planning w/ other people - often project work. All of the above, but have to contend with things like dependencies and other people’s schedules.
To-do lists and no do lists can be used for your project work too.
Workplans
Project One-pager
Project charter for grad students
See Also: Planning projects w/ other people is a lot like managing a project. Maybe you should also take a look at our Intro to PM mini-doc.
Build wiggle room into your plan. Give yourself time to experiment and mess things up or in the case of repetitive work, give yourself time to practice.
Do you need to plan for getting help from others on your project? These are people that are not on your project team.
Don’t forget self care!
Don’t forget to plan to check in and assess.
How is your work going?
What are you frustrated with?
Make time for periodic and end of project assessments - this is good for solo and group work.
Okay now get to it!!!
What does prioritization have to do with time management?
Prioritization is the art of choosing which of your millions of tasks you will do first.
Prioritizing assumes that you already know all the things that you have to do. Maybe you have a list of tasks and deadlines. Next prioritizing begins when you evaluate your tasks. There are lots of way to slice and dice priorities.
Ways to Prioritize…
By size of the task, ex: do the really big tasks first or the small ones
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/mastering-the-art-of-prioritization.html
Top ten time management skills for college students from a Stanford entrepreneur: https://appfluence.com/productivity/top-10-time-management-skills-for-college-students/
The Stanford entrepreneur article introduces the Priority Matrix, and there are other variations.
Action priorities matrix: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_95.htm
Eisenhower’s Urgent / Important Principle: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_91.htm
Another version of the same grid above: http://www.gridproductive.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Quadrant.jpg
Another version: http://www.yourcoach.be/en/blog/index.php/how-to-set-priorities-stephen-covey-time-management-grid/
You can use the same grid as a start but use many different factors as the X/Y axis depending on your context. What would be good for grad students? “Impact on career” vs. time?
“The thing with prioritization is that knowing when to do what relies very much on you and the way you work.“ (http://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/mastering-the-art-of-prioritization.html). So think about how you work and which kind of method will work for you.
Wellness:
Do not forget to prioritize recovery and leisure time! It will make you a happier person.
