Time Management and Effectiveness in Grad School

Prof. Yashar GanjaliUniversity of Toronto

Research Skills Seminar, November 2012

yganjali@cs.toronto.eduhttp://www.cs.toronto.edu/~yganjali

2Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School

Effectiveness and Time ManagementWhy time management matters in grad school

Many directions for researchMany distractionsHigh flexibility in managing your time

Problems with timeI have time but don’t use it right

Procrastination, confusion, lack/loss of motivationI have too much work and feel like drowning

Too many deadlines, lack of focus, stress and anxiety

Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar

3Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School

Ideas from …

• The Now Habit• Neil Fiore

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People• Stephen R. Covey

• Getting Thing Done• David Allen

Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar

4Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School

Why We ProcrastinatePerfectionismFear of …

FailureSuccessConflict, and judgment

RewardingPainful workWork completed by someone elseWork becomes unnecessaryDifficult decisions will be made for youIndirect way of resisting pressure from authorities

Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar

5Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School

Procrastination Cycle

Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar

Perfectionism

Fear of failure

Procrastination

Self-criticismAnxiety and depression

Loss of confidence

Greater fear of failure

More procrastinati

on …

6Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School

Walk a Board MetaphorSituation A

30cm wide, 20m long, on the groundOK to walk even run

Situation BSame as A, 100m highNow it’s scary!

Situation CSame as B, building on fireNow it’s for real

Fear of failure goes awayFear of imperfection goes awayFocus on solution not worry

Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar

7Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School

Procrastinator’s PatternRaise the board

PerfectionismGet frozen

Fear of failure, …Set building on fire

Increase urgency/threat bigger than fear of failureMove!

Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar

8Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School

Breaking the PatternSituation D

Same as B, no fire, support netCan be OK with a bit of practice

Support netIt’s OK to be imperfectIt’s OK to fail

You can always recoverSense of worth

Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar

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Quadrant II Time Management

I II

III IVYashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar

Important

Not Important

Urgent Not Urgent

10Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School

Examples

• Assignments, exams• Deadlines• Paper submissions• Course projects• ...

• TAship • …

• Planning • Reading papers • Writing up your results• Attending talks, seminars, …• Physical exercise• Leisure• …

• Interruptions• Phone ringing• IMs, SMS • Some e-mails

• Some TV shows• Updating Facebook status!• …

• Games• Web surfing• Browsing OSNs• Most TV shows• Some e-mails• …

Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar

Important

Not Important

Urgent Not Urgent

I II

III IV

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Results

• Stress• Sleep problems• Health problems• Burnout• Out of control

• Vision• Perspective• Balance• Control

• Out of control• Short-term focus• Feeling victimized

• Dependence• Irresponsibility• Loss of focus • Lack of motivation

Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar

Important

Not Important

Urgent Not Urgent

I II

III IV

12Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School

Top-down vs. Bottom-up ApproachesQuadrant II time management

Top-downIdentify prioritiesSet goals, plan according to what matters

GTDBottom-upCope with high load by creating a workflowRemove the need to remember, relieve stressPlanning and priorities happen during reviews

Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar

13Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School

Getting Things Done – Surviving High Work LoadTask or action item

Something that can be done in one step Project

A collection of action items with a specific goalNext action item

An action of a project that you can immediately start working on

ContextsWhat you need to work on a taskExample: @Work, @Home, @Phone, …

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GTD Workflow

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www.omnifocus.com

15Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School

Time Management Tools ASANA

Web-based Supports groups and teams

ClearContext Microsoft outlook plugin Nice integration of calendars, to-do lists, notes, projects, …

GTDInbox Firefox addon, manage everything in Gmail Not as many features as some other applications

OmniFocus Mac application accompanied by nice iPad and iPhone apps Great flexibility, steep learning curve

Things Mac application with iPad and iPhone apps Very simple, beautiful interface

Free alternative: iGTD Remember the Milk

Web-based Interact using Twitter, iPhone, Google Calendar, …

And many more ….Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar

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The TrapYour goal is to get things done but you may …

spend a lot of time finding the right toolspend a lot of time learning and getting used to the

new toolspend a lot of time moving your existing tasks,

projects, … to the new toolBut when it comes to actually doing, you might go

back to old habits.Remember, these are just tools meant to help with

getting things done.

Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar

17Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School

Thank you!

How do you manage your time?

Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar