9 tips for managing time in grad school
Fresh off the press, I wrote an article for ASBMB highlighting 9 tips I’ve found helpful when managing time in grad school. Here they are!⬇️
Fresh off the press, I wrote an article for ASBMB highlighting 9 tips I’ve found helpful when managing time in grad school. Here they are!⬇️
1.Establish a schedule
Perhaps the best advice I received from an older graduate student in the lab is to work consistent eight-hour days as much as possible
Perhaps the best advice I received from an older graduate student in the lab is to work consistent eight-hour days as much as possible
2.Use a planner
Physically writing out what you need to get done for the day immediately puts you into a productive mindset.
Physically writing out what you need to get done for the day immediately puts you into a productive mindset.
3.Break down bigger tasks
Instead of “write my paper,” I’ll put down “write my abstract” for one day and then “proofread abstract” for another day.
Instead of “write my paper,” I’ll put down “write my abstract” for one day and then “proofread abstract” for another day.
4.Set priorities
Have two or three big task items for the day and be OK with the fact that everything else on your list could be pushed.
Have two or three big task items for the day and be OK with the fact that everything else on your list could be pushed.
5.Time block your calendar
Blocking out time on my calendar for each task in the day further prioritizes what I need to get done and gives me the grace to push an overly ambitious task to the next day without letting it consume an entire day
Blocking out time on my calendar for each task in the day further prioritizes what I need to get done and gives me the grace to push an overly ambitious task to the next day without letting it consume an entire day
6.Experiments take twice as long as you expect
Be realistic with yourself. So many unforeseeable events arise during the day — mistakes in experiments or needing to make additional buffers — that I always estimate any experiment will take twice as long as I think it should.
Be realistic with yourself. So many unforeseeable events arise during the day — mistakes in experiments or needing to make additional buffers — that I always estimate any experiment will take twice as long as I think it should.
7.Plan your week in advance
I like to prepare by planning out my week the Friday before so I can have everything set up and ready to get started on Monday
I like to prepare by planning out my week the Friday before so I can have everything set up and ready to get started on Monday
8.Focus one day a week on desk work
It’s so easy to do back-to-back experiments when I’m getting good data, but I also need to write up results, analyze data before I forget what I did and read to keep up with what’s going on in my field.
It’s so easy to do back-to-back experiments when I’m getting good data, but I also need to write up results, analyze data before I forget what I did and read to keep up with what’s going on in my field.
9.Take breaks
All these other time management skills will get you nowhere if you’re burned out
All these other time management skills will get you nowhere if you’re burned out
Check out the full article at: asbmb.org
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