Time management and Project Management Undergraduate Research Skills Nayda G. Santiago ARG - CAHSI

Outline Time Management Project Management

Why manage your time? Is this the picture that represents you in your normal state?

Or is it more like… We need to manage time because: ? ? ? What is your reason?

Understand your time Time is your most valuable resource. Analyze your time to understand the most efficient way to use it.

To understand the value of time Value Every Minute Author Unknown To realize the value of one year: Ask a student who has failed a final exam. To realize the value of one month: Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby. To realize the value of one week: Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper. To realize the value of one hour: Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet. To realize the value of one minute: Ask the person who has missed the train, bus or plane. To realize the value of one second: Ask a person who has survived an accident. To realize the value of one millisecond: Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics. Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have. You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special. Taken from:

Calculate Calculate the cost of your time* Calculate one of my minutes My salary (secret): $75, My hours per year (10 months): 1500 $75 per hour, $1.25 per minute *Taken from [1]

Analyze your time Taken from Kathleen Riepe, University of Wisconsin, Parkside, Time Management presentation Compute your leisure quotient

Whats your LQ Leisure Quotient? Sometimes we just dont realize how much time we spent in non productive ways. Here are some examples of leisure: Chat Listening to CDs Watching tv Daydreaming What others can you think of?

Exercise: Finding your LQ Keep a close record each day of how much time you spend on leisure activities. Divide this number by 960* minutes to get your LQ. *960 minutes equals 16 waking hours per day. Leisure activities are important to help you recharge, but too much can be detrimental.

Exercise Fill the document with yesterdays tasks. Find out your leisure quotient.

The WADE Method W – Write it down Record everything you have to do Use a planner or to-do pad A – Add it up Estimate how long your tasks will take Best, Worst, typical? D – Decide What will you actually do? Are you overloaded? Delete, delegate, delay, diminish (to shorter tasks) E – Execute your plan Do not procrastinate, do not do things perfectly Taken from [2]

Mark Twain If you want to kiss a frog, kiss it fast Do difficult tasks first. They grow.

Not sleeping a solution? Student lag Jet lag Are you creating the equivalent of jet lag by keeping an inconsistent sleep schedule? Do you get up at about the the same time each morning? Do you almost always get 7-9 hours of sleep per night? If you answered no to any of the questions, you are compromising your bodys efficiency.

Decreased Sleep Cumulative sleep loss can lead to decreased waking alertness, impaired performance and worsened mood. Bonnett, 1985; Broughton and Ogilvie, 1992 Decreased performance related to sleep loss has been implicated in some major disasters. Exxon Valdez Sleep deprivation is equivalent to the effects of alcohol intoxication Fatigue Among Clinicians & the Safety of Patients, David M. Gaba, MD and Steven K. Howard, MD, New England Journal Med; Vol.347 No 16; 10/17/02 24 hrs of sustained wakefulness is equivalent to 0.10 % Blood Alcohol Concentration. Dawson and Reid, 1997 Surgeons awake all night had 20% more errors and took 14% longer to complete the task than those who had a full nights sleep. Lancet, 1998

Symptoms Feeling tired; not rested Mood changes Irritability Affective liability Impaired Cognitive Functioning Poor concentration and memory Decreased attention Calculation problems Difficulty in making quick, correct decisions Inability to reliably estimate your ownalertness due to above symptoms

Sleep Deprivation Gilberto Colon Latimer QEPD

Are you working youre As off?

How would prioritize this list of daily tasks? Write the underlined word of the tasks which would be on your A List B List C List Buy laundry detergent. Write a eight page essay for English. Prepare for a Biology quiz. Dust the videos on the bookcase. Review for midterm test that counts for 50% of grade. Schedule an appointment with a Professor. Complete a journal entry. a high school friend on another campus. Shop for a new pair of athletic shoes. Armor-al the dashboard of the car.

Are you working your As Off? or Do You Have C-Fever? A LIST 1 Midterm test that counts for 50% of grade. 2 Write a eight page essay for English. B LIST 3 Prepare for a quiz in Biology. 4 Schedule an appointment with a Professor. 5 Complete a journal entry. C LIST 6 Buy laundry detergent. 7 Dust the videos on the bookcase. 8 a high school friend on another campus. 9 Shop for a new pair of athletic shoes. 10 Armor-al the dashboard of the car.

C Fever Have you ever noticed? That the videos must be alphabetized before you can settle in to review for a test. That rumpled pile of clothes left in the corner since Thursday night just has to get folded and put away before you can start that English essay. If so, you may be suffering from C Fever

Conquer Procrastination

5. Conquer Procrastination Why is C fever as common as the cold? The A tasks may : Produce minimal endorphins Be too lengthy Be too difficult Be too threatening because of the possibility of failure Be too threatening because of the possibility of success

Its All about Endorphins - The Feel Good Hormone Develop a Conditioned Response to the Tasks you Procrastinate Set a goal to complete a task/project After completing the task, reward yourself with something that is pleasurable for you The body releases endorphins- the feel good hormone Over time with repetition, you will come to associate feeling good with completing a task/project You wont procrastinate as much

Pacing Athletes know the phenomenon of running with someone ahead of them to increase their times. The same effect can be achieved with studying and completing schoolwork.

Because work expands or contracts to fit the time allotted, make pacing work for you by doing the following: Estimate the time needed to complete a task. Subtract 15% from that estimate. Set a timer to help you reach the goal of completing the task in reduced time.

Take the Offensive With a Planner

Take the Offensive with a PLANNER A planner helps you: See the big picture Be time efficient Record deadlines, appointments, etc.

Be Realistic in your Expectations

Be Realistic Examine your schedule. Be realistic about what you can accomplish. Dont try to juggle too many things. Dont set yourself up for failure.

Is The Jar Full? Stephen Covey in his book, First Things First, "Okay, time for a quiz." He reached under the table and pulled out a wide-mouthed gallon jar. He set it on the table next to a platter with some fist-sized rocks on it. "How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?" he asked.

ROCKS IS THE JAR FULL?

Gravel

Sand "Is this jar full?"

Water Is the Jar Full? What is the point? If you work really hard you can always fit some more things into your life."

No, that is not really the point The point is this: Put the Big Rocks in First

References 1. Tim Hindle, Manage Your Time, Essential Dk Managers, DK Publishing, Inc., Julie Morgenstern, Time Management From Inside Out, Second Edition, Owl Books, Kathleen Riepe, University of Wisconsin, Parkside, Time Management presentation