Time Management Health Services Masters Students Tony Tsai October 14, 2010

It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about? ~ Henry David Thoreau One symptom of impending nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important. ~ Bertrand Russell Also…

Being Productive We’re not really managing time. We’re managing our productivity. Two main aspects of managing productivity: What should I work on? When? When I work on something, how to maximize my effectiveness on the task? Focus

What Should I Work On? What is the most important thing you need to get done today? What are the three most important things you need to get done this week?

Urgent vs. Important? Responding to time sensitive s / Grocery shopping Submitting a grant, Presenting a key talk / Fixing a car Reading articles / Watching TV Writing a manuscript / Going out with friends Urgent Not Urgent Not Important Important

1st Priority – Urgent & Important Urgent / Not Important Urgent / Important Not Urgent / Not Important Not Urgent / Important Examples Complete grant or manuscript by deadline Edit work by others Complete manuscript review by deadline General Management Strategy These things will tend to drive what you do Break large projects into smaller tasks (e.g. start with writing the methods) Know when things are due / track using lists …

2nd Priority – Urgent & Not Important Urgent / Not Important Urgent / Important Not Urgent / Not Important Not Urgent / Important Examples Responding to time-sensitive Clinical issues Certain meetings Routine obligations General Management Strategy Some of these things are scheduled (non-discretionary) Batch the work (e.g. do s 2x a day, put all your meetings together) Leave an hour or two “open” on your schedule each day …

3rd Priority – Not Urgent & Important Urgent / Not Important Urgent / Important Not Urgent / Not Important Not Urgent / Important Examples Study development / data analysis Writing Going to talks on campus Networking / develop collaborations Things of personal importance (e.g. certain committee work) General Management Strategy Block out time for each category of task regularly (make yourself do them) Give yourself firm deadline for things which do not have a natural deadline …

last Priority – Not Urgent & Not Import. Urgent / Not Important Urgent / Important Not Urgent / Not Important Not Urgent / Important Examples Reading articles Distractions (e.g. some / phone calls) All the random stuff you get roped into doing / some favors General Management Strategy Just say no (nicely) Give time limit (if you want it by next week, I can give you an hour to review it) Give date limit (I can get to in in two weeks) Keep it contained (time and frequency)

Managing Your Research Pipeline Develop Study Collect / Manage Data Analyze Data Write Brainstorming Develop ideas for studies Design specific studies Brainstorming Develop hypothesis Determine data sets Managing RA’s who are collecting the data This may be a more hands-off stage Get data set ready to analyze (you or statistician) Execute analysis based on hypothesis developed during study development Write draft Send to co- authors Revise Send to senior author Submit Wait and wait…and …wait (if lucky)

Managing Your Research Pipeline Develop Study Collect / Manage Data Analyze Data Write Work towards having several projects per stage (no set number of projects / but balanced) Analyze and Write are harder and more time intensive 15 months until you hit the job market – need to publish You may only have time to execute one study from beginning to end Talk to mentors and get pre-existing data sets Look for 2 nd author opportunities

Balance of Activity What would you rather do (rank): Thinking / Planning Reading Meeting / Communicating Analyzing Writing Clinical and Service You may be doing too much of your preferred activities and too little of your least preferred activities Consider making more time for writing, this is a common issue for junior researchers

What Should I Work On? Summary Know what one thing you need to get done by the end of the day. 3 things by the end of the week. Do the important things as well as the urgent things (and then the less important things). Manage your research pipeline. You don’t want to be idle and then crazy busy. Make time to write.

How does Bruce Lee Manage Tasks?

The Key To Doing Things Well Focus on one thing at a time. “When walking, walk. When eating, eat.” ~ Zen Proverb Quality of your work is dependent on the quality of your focused attention Create “chunks” of time (2 to 4 hours) ~3 times a week where you can concentrate on tasks which require focused attention Block out those “chunks” on your calendar

General Tips Do things at regular times of the week / routine is important Develop a system to track your tasks When something comes into your head, write it down and get it out of your mind

An Example Task List… Finish manuscript and send to Jeff Call MCIT about wifi problem Read Chapter 4 of book and prepare for class Betty to set up collaboration meeting Check on statistician about progress on analysis Set starting line-up on fantasy football Return book to Mike Plan mom’s birthday party Pay parking ticket What do you remember?

Discussion Managing Your Productivity What should I be working on? How should I maximize my work effectiveness? Pick one time management strategy and try it for 3 weeks. Be prepared to report back with your experience.

A Quick Word About Focus Being focused saves time Look for ways to tweak what you’ve already done to address something new Be green, recycle