Time Management

Janie IrwinCSE, Penn State University

CRA-W Grad Cohort WorkshopMarch 2008

Dilbert’s Dilemma

Schedule of Your “Typical” Day

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8 - 9

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12 - 1

1 - 2

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8pm - ___

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Schedule of mji’s “Typical” Day 2

Breakfast out with husband (he was leaving town for the week)

Ditto; Got to office and answered email (didn’t finish)

Reviewed class lecture; Attended a department pandt meeting

Joined (late) an ACM Publications Board monthly teleconference call

Taught class

Finished teaching class; Grabbed lunch (in office, reading email)

Answered more email (didn’t finish); finished 2nd draft of pandt letter

Met with faculty colleague; Completed & filed 2 travel reimbursements

Met with PhD student; Edited ASPLOS final paper & PLDI submission

Rushed home to let the dog out

Attended a graduate seminar class on CMPs

Ditto

Ditto; Got home around 8pm; Answered more email (didn’t finish); slept (too much burning candle at both ends)

___ - 8am

8 - 9

9 - 10

10 - 11

11 - 12

12 - 1

1 - 2

2 - 3

3 - 4

4 - 5

5 - 6

6 - 7

7 – 8

8pm - ___

10 Tips for Time Management

in an Academic Setting

#1: Know Your Goals

◊ Have clear, articulate long-term (year(s)) and short-term (semester) goals* Spend some time at the beginning of

each semester evaluating and revising your long term and short term goals

◊ Make informed decisions based on your goals

My Goals

◊ Long term

*

*

*

◊ Short term

*

*

*

How many items on your schedule

aligned with your goals?

#2: Have a Schedule (Week, Day)

◊ Make it realistic* Learn how long things take

◊ Avoid fragmented time* Back appointments up to one another* Schedule big blocks of "thinking time”* Schedule "synergistic" tasks together

◊ Know when something is good enough* Keep track of deadlines

◊ Put your life in there somewhere* Family, culture, exercise, professional

development

#3: Prioritize (from Goals+Schedule)

◊ Make a to-do list with deadlines and prioritize from it* Must do, should do, not that important* Block of time needed to complete

◊ Every morning write down the five most important things to accomplish that day. Whatever else you do, get those five things done.

#4: Stay Focused◊ Know when you work most efficiently – don't

squander that time, don’t get distracted* When "on a roll", keep the momentum going

even at the expense of other things * Conversely, when a task seems like a grind,

push a little, but then switch to something else

◊ Learn to context switch fast◊ Don’t thrash ◊ Schedule “low skill” tasks (like reading email) at

less productive times (evenings?)◊ Don’t confuse hard work with hard thinking

* In the end people care about quality

#5: Find a Place to Hide

◊ You need a place where you can work undisturbed and it may not be your office/desk* Home office, cubby hole in the library* In real crisis mode and in hiding place

intentionally ignore everything else (including email)

◊ Office door open or closed?

#6: Learn to Say “No”◊ Be selective! Evaluate each request in

terms of your goals and your schedule◊ What you decide to do, do really well

* Be clear up front about the scope of the job and the level of commitment you can bring

* Use it as a chance to let go of something else* Work with people who are good at getting

things done, it does rub off◊ Learn how to say “no” nicely and don’t say

“yes” when you mean “no”* Avoid saying “yes” on the spot. Say "let me

think about it”, then assess and consult◊ Resist the urge to volunteer just because no

one else does (unless its your high priority)

#7: Be Organized◊ Disorganization wastes time – but its not genetic

* Find your worst time sinks and fix them (looking for your keys? cell phone? car?)

* Have a spot (or stack) in your office for each major “item” on your schedule and file promptly

◊ Practice good calendar management◊ Simplify tracking travel arrangements

* Have a travel folder for each trip◊ Run productive meetings

* Be prepared. Have an agenda and specific goals. Walk out with action items.

◊ Don’t think you have to reinvent the wheel all the time – reuse/borrow, just give credit

#8: Delegate

◊ You don’t have to do everything yourself (in your professional life or in your personal life)* Undergraduate students* Staff* Fellow graduate students (but don’t be a

user)* Partner/Kids

◊ Use other people's time efficiently◊ Rewards (public thanks, chocolate,

flowers) pay back in the long run

#9: Trade Time for Money

◊ Hire someone to do the things you don’t like to do (and don’t have to personally do) * Another form of delegating

◊ Value your time, avoid letting yourself be exploited* Up to $x an hour buy time, over $x an

hour sell time

#10: Beware of email

◊ Email can be a huge time sink* Turn off the audio notification* Restrict your reading to certain (less

productive?) times of the day* Be organized in email – keep folders* Respond immediately, if possible, and

file – don’t keep rereading the same email

◊ Don’t conduct confrontational discussions over email. If you must, craft the email and let it age 24 hours before sending it out.

Making it Work with Family

◊ Accept that parenting takes time◊ Figure out which things can "give" - no

need for perfection all the time!* Focus on the important things

◊ Get great daycare◊ Share responsibility around the house

* Foster partner’s and kids' independence in daily tasks (remember, let perfection slide)

◊ Remember your time becomes yours again as your kids get older – balance is regained!

Wrap Up

It’s not simply a matter of hanging in there until you graduate . . .

Time management is a skill that you’ll need to cultivate throughout

your entire career

Try to maintain some balance and to love what you do

Credits

◊ CRA-Women (especially Jan Cuny, Fran Berman, Leah Jamieson)

http://cra.org/Activities/craw/* Career Mentoring Workshops

◊ Schwarzkopf’s Nine Principles◊ Randy Pausch

http://www.alice.org/Randy/timetalk.htm http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5784740380335567758

Schwarzkopf’s Nine Principles1. Have goals that you can articulate clearly2. Have an agenda

* Every morning write down the five most important things to accomplish that day. Whatever else you do, get those five things done. Insist that people who report to you operate the same way.

3. Let people know where they stand* The grades you give people must reflect reality

4. What’s broken, fix now - don’t put it off* Problems that aren’t dealt with lead to other problems. Besides,

something else will break and need fixing tomorrow.

5. When in charge, take command* Don’t put off decisions indefinitely; may have to make decisions

without adequate information. Decide, monitor results, change course if necessary.

6. Set high standards – expect a lot (from yourself and others)7. Lay the concept out, but let your people execute it

* Have the right people in place and allow them to own their work

8. People come to work to succeed - remember that9. Never lie, ever