1. Time management for PHD students
Dr Jennifer Fraser

2. Outline Common time management problems Concept of time management?
Awareness of expectations and time use
Planning
Monitoring

3. Common time management problems
High workload
Planning too optimistically
Deadline pressure
Procrastination
Deadlines not met
Demands from all parts of our lives
Others?

4. Concept of time management
The impossibility of managing time
How we manage ourselves and our lives
Time management as a major academic skill

5. Concept of time management
Three main aspects
Preparation or awareness (what, when, where)
Planning and implementation (how, focus on priorities)
Monitoring and evaluation (what works, what does not)

6. Preparation and awareness
Awareness of expectations
Be clear about our goals
What is and what is not part of a PhD?
Knowing our obligations in and outside of the PhD

7. Preparation and awareness
Awareness of how we use time
Keep a diary for a day
All activities
15 minute intervals
What are you doing well?
What would you like to improve?
What is wasting your time?
What is saving you time?

8. Planning and implementation
Requires knowing ourselves and our rhythms
Long term view, prioritising tasks, weekly & daily list of tasks

9. Number of hours of sleep each night
Activity
Calculation
Each total
Number of hours of sleep each night x7
Number of hours per day grooming (washing, dressing etc.)
Number of hours for meals/snacks per day
Total travel time (weekdays)
Total travel time (weekends) x2
Number of hours of work (paid or voluntary employment) per week
Estimated number of hours in scheduled lectures, tutorials, lab time etc. per week
Number of average hours per week on leisure, family and social activity
Chores, domestic and family responsibilities etc
Leeway hours + 7
Grand total =

10. Planning and implementation
There are 168 hours in every week.
Deducting the total (from the previous page) from 168 gives us the number of hours we have to dedicate to our PhDs.
This exercise gives us information about the time that we have and the demands on our time outside of our PhD.

11. Planning and implementation
Distinguish between goals and tasks – tasks help us achieve goals
Time and tasks then need to be allocated on the basis of: priority, important, pending
Lists
Charts
Post-it notes
Brainstorming (mind maps)

12. Planning and implementation
Have a long-term overview of the project – deadlines for each part of the project against the 3-5 years
Have a yearly overview of the project – what needs to be accomplished this year and what are the deadlines?

13. Planning and implementation
Have medium and short- term strategies
Use a diary (electronic or paper)
Anchored planning: according to schedules
Contingency planning: plan A, if fails, plan B
Leeway hours: in case something goes wrong

14. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 6.00 7.00
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15. Revise Weds lecture slides Final edit and proof of JFS article
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
6.00
*Abstract for SRHE due
*Article for JFS due
7.00
8.00
9.00
Writing group
10.00
Library
11.00
12.00
13.00
14.00
Tutorials
15.00
16.00
To do:
Revise Weds lecture slides
Final edit and proof of JFS article
Grade essays
17.00
18.00
Lecture
19.00
20.00
21.00
22.00

16. Planning and implementation
When and how we work is as important as how much we work
Know your energy levels
Different seasonal, monthly, weekly, daily rhythms
Morning or evening person?
Choose a good space to work in
Office, lab, library, home, coffee shop?
Develop regular, consistent working habits
More productive over long term
Mitigate against motivation issues and vagueness

17. Planning and implementation
Learn to say no
Why am I saying yes?
What will I have to give up to fit this new thing in?
Positive no’s
‘That sounds like a great opportunity, but I just can’t take on any additional commitments at this time.’
‘I wish I could take on x, but I just can’t this term.’
Protect holiday time by saying no to things that will interfere

18. Monitoring and evaluation
Control distractions and time wasters
Closed doors
Allocate specific time to writing and stick to them
Organise research and files
Use scheduling tools and software

19. Conclusions Be aware Learn to say no
Your rhythms
Your goals and tasks
Your attitudes to time and goals
Your behaviour toward time and goals
Learn to say no
Make your PhD the most important thing you do every day

20. Further resources
Joan Bolker, Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis (New York: Henry Holt, 1998)
Rowena Murray, How to Write a Thesis (Maidenhead: Open University, 2006)
Rena Seltzer, The Coach’s Guide For Women Professors Who Want a Successful Career and a Well-Balanced Life (Sterling, VA: Stylus, 2015)