I made the same mistake as most of my peers in graduate school: I was an overachiever.<\/p>\n
While I did not realize this at the time, being an overachiever led to poor time management and reduced productivity.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n I set very ambitious goals, and when I did not meet my deadlines, I drove myself harder. I worked longer hours, sometimes to the point of complete exhaustion.<\/p>\n By my third year I had experienced several episodes of burnout.<\/p>\n I constantly felt guilty about not living up to my supervisor\u2019s expectations, and I started to lose motivation.<\/p>\n I considered quitting graduate school because I did not see a way of out the dark tunnel I was in.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n I decided to stay in my program and I got my Ph.D, but the long hours at work impacted both my mental and physical health.<\/p>\n In retrospect, I realize that,\u00a0if I had\u00a0simplified my life (instead of trying to do too much at once),\u00a0it could have been a more fun, relaxed, and probably shorter journey.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Due to scheduling conflicts in my last year, I only had 20 days between my final committee meeting and my thesis defense.<\/p>\n This intense time-line forced me to change how I structured my days, because my old work habits did not work anymore.<\/p>\n I had to put my thesis writing on fast-track, so I did just the opposite of what I had done before: I slowed down, and I stopped trying to do everything perfectly.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The surprising result was that I felt more focused and I made tangible progress every day.<\/p>\n Most importantly, I finished my thesis on time.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n The following time management strategies will help you to achieve your goals without having to give up sleep, meals or your social life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yep, you read that correctly.<\/p>\n Perfectionism will kill your creativity and productivity.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, as adults we are too scared to take action because we dread making mistakes.<\/strong><\/p>\n Do you remember being a kid and just having fun\u00a0in the mud without worrying about getting\u00a0dirty?<\/p>\n In a famous team-building game called the marshmallow challenge (where the aim is to build the tallest structure with a marshmallow on top), kindergartners consistently outperform business students in building taller and more interesting structures.<\/p>\n The reason is that kids are not afraid of making mistakes \u00a0\u2013 they are focused on having fun and they take action.<\/strong><\/p>\n During the time-crunch of my last semester, I had to throw out perfectionism and just write.<\/p>\n As expected, I had to edit my first draft several times, but I met my graduation deadline and I authored three first-author publications.<\/p>\n After months of struggling, I overcame writer\u2019s block by giving\u00a0myself permission to put words on the paper, even if my sentences did not come out perfectly the first time.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n I used to think it was great to have long stretches of time to write, and I set aside entire afternoons to work on progress reports or powerpoint presentations.<\/p>\n I did not have this luxury anymore in my last semester.<\/p>\n I had to improve my time management strategies, because in addition to writing my thesis, I was also running experiments.<\/strong><\/p>\n To graduate on time\u00a0I knew that I had to make progress every day.<\/p>\n Sometimes I only had 20\u00a0minutes between experimental timepoints, and during that period. I shut off my email and cell phone and started writing.<\/strong><\/p>\n It is amazing how much you can accomplish in a short time when you are focused and uninterrupted.<\/strong><\/p>\n In just 20 minutes,\u00a0I was able to write an entire page of my thesis or review a whole journal article \u2013 tasks that would have taken me an hour or longer before.<\/p>\n Even if you have the luxury of long stretches of time, I encourage you to try \u201cwriting sprints\u201d of 10-30 minutes each.<\/p>\n Focus on putting your ideas on paper, and do not worry about making mistakes.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Some students find it helpful to do their writing sprints first thing in the morning, before they get interrupted or need to start putting out fires.<\/p>\n Make sure your phone and email are turned off, so you can put your attention fully on writing for just 10-30 minutes.<\/p>\n Our minds are never at rest.<\/p>\n You might have noticed that ideas and errands pop into your head when you try to write.<\/strong><\/p>\n Our natural urge is to act upon these chores right away.<\/p>\n The problem is that if you interrupt your writing to send an email or make a call, you will lose your train of thought \u2013 sometimes for the rest of the day.<\/p>\n If you try to resist the urge to act upon these to-do\u2019s, the urge will just become stronger.<\/strong><\/p>\n Your mind will not leave you alone until you do\u00a0something about it.<\/p>\n But that does not mean that you have to send that email right away or make that phone call.<\/p>\n Why not capture the idea in a small spiral notebook that is always sitting next to you?<\/p>\n Instead of acting on urgent to-do\u2019s right away, tuck them away safely in your little notebook, and attend to them after you have finished writing.<\/p>\n Surprisingly, most of your chores will not seem so urgent by the time you finish writing.<\/strong><\/p>\n However, they will at least be out of your head and collected in one place, so you will feel on top of everything you need to attend to.<\/p>\n Do you automatically check your email as soon as you turn on your computer?<\/p>\n When you begin your day by reading messages, you are prioritizing other people\u2019s requests before taking action towards your long-term goals.<\/strong><\/p>\n Responding to emails can distract you from your priorities and interfere with your concentration for the rest of the day.<\/p>\n To make consistent progress, begin your day by doing the highest priority task, especially one that you have been putting off for a while.<\/p>\n Finish this task in the morning when your concentration is at its peak.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n I used to think that I was productive by getting email out of the way first thing in the morning, and right after lunch.<\/p>\n Overall I probably spent 30-60 minutes a day reading and answering everyone\u2019s emails.<\/p>\n Once I had to get my thesis done in 20 days, I only checked my email once a day in the late afternoon.<\/p>\n It only took 15 minutes a day\u00a0to answer the most important emails!<\/strong><\/p>\n This time management strategy saved me at least 30 minutes a day, and helped me to focus better early in the morning.<\/p>\n There is a big difference between being productive, and bending over backwards just to please your supervisor.<\/p>\n Focus on the end result they desire, not on trying to please him or her.<\/strong><\/p>\n For example, if your supervisor asks you to complete a task, it is more important that the assignment is done well, rather than quickly just to show that you are diligent (unless there is urgency).<\/p>\n Some supervisors have not done hands-on research for a while, or perhaps they are not an expert in your particular topic.<\/strong><\/p>\n If this is the case, they may not have a good idea of how long an assignment will take.<\/p>\n Be sure to communicate clearly any unreasonable expectations or unexpected challenges, so\u00a0you can get your work done.<\/p>\n When\u00a0you focus on \u201clooking smart\u201d, rather than learning, you might not reach out for help when you need to and end up working longer hours or make unnecessary mistakes.<\/strong><\/p>\n In the long run, you will end up frustrated and resentful, and perhaps not learn as much as you could have, if you had asked for help when you needed it.<\/p>\n Most of my clients reach out to me because they want to be more productive.<\/p>\n There simply isn\u2019t enough time in the day for them to get everything done.<\/p>\n When I ask my clients to describe their days, they list several commitments (social or family obligations) that they don\u2019t want to do. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWhy do you do it?,\u201d I usually ask.<\/p>\n They hesitate, and give an answer that is some version of \u201cI feel obligated to bring a dish to this potluck party\u2026\u201d or \u201cI really need to babysit my friend\u2019s daughter this weekend\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n Why would someone do something that they don\u2019t want\u00a0to do?<\/p>\n To summarize, they feel guilty disappointing their friends or family members.<\/strong><\/p>\n In reality, a potluck party will survive without your special dish, and your friend can find another babysitter occasionally.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to isolate yourself from your friends and stop volunteering, but to lessen your load during crunch time you might need to defer or completely eliminate some commitments.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you feel guilty, think about what you would tell your best friend.<\/p>\n Would you understand if he or she had to turn down an invitation to a potluck or babysitting to finish their thesis?<\/p>\n Did you ever have a well-meaning friend tell you to stop worrying?<\/p>\n It is usually not very helpful advice.<\/p>\n When you worry, there is a reason for it.<\/strong><\/p>\n Your body and mind are telling you that there is an important issue that you need to attend to.<\/p>\n Worrying by running catastrophic scenarios through your head is not productive, but you can turn worrying into productive energy.<\/p>\n The biggest worries that graduate students have is that they will never graduate, or that they will be the last one in their class to graduate.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n What is your body telling you when you have this fear?<\/p>\n Perhaps you\u00a0have a gut feeling that your project is dead-end, or that you are falling behind on your timeline, or maybe that it is time to have the \u201ctalk\u201d with your supervisor (i.e. what you need to do to graduate).<\/p>\n\n
Give yourself permission to make mistakes<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Write in short sprints<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Make a small spiral notebook your closest friend<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Don\u2019t get email and social media out of the way<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Stop\u00a0trying to please your supervisor<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Guilt-trip? Don\u2019t buy the ticket<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Use worrying to your advantage<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n