Time Management
You have the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo DaVinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein.
~H. Jackson Brown
Before you start, consider what all your time demands are and what your habits are (eg. morning/night worker).
Thinking about whether you plan ahead or tend to leave things to the last minute is very useful for scheduling purposes. Perhaps in your undergraduate degree you procrastinated a lot, but then you probably had a lot more time available to you. If you have a family, are working part or full time, or have other pressing commitments in addition to your study, you'll need to plan ahead – even if it's a plan to leave those last few days available in which to work on the bulk of your assignment.
Organising your timetable
- List all university commitments: lectures, tutorials and practicals.
- Add other fixed commitments (paid work, house duties, sport, other areas of responsibility).
- Look for blocks of time that can be used for study group meetings, researching in the library, reading and writing up notes.
Virginia Tech has a fantastic time calculator where you can see just how much time is really available to you each week.
Even if you've never been one to write out your timetable on a calendar or PDA, now might be the time to start. As many postgraduates also have families, work and community demands, it can be difficult to juggle not only your own commitments, but also yours in tandem with the other people in your life. Aside from coordinating schedules, diarising is a simple way to let others know when you will or won't be available to them. Managing expectations can ease a lot of the stress associated with combining postgraduate study with the rest of your life.
Manage tasks not time
Some people find it works better for them to manage tasks rather than time.
Compare this:
| Monday | Tuesday |
|---|---|
| 2pm Biology | 11am Prac |
| 3pm Physics | Reading Group |
With this:
| Monday | Tuesday |
|---|---|
| Type notes from last text | Prepare lab notes |
| Finish essay outline | Prac (11am) |
| Biology (2pm) | Finish article for group |
| Physics (3pm) | Reading group (3pm) |
In the first version, the student knows she has particular time commitments, but leaves the surrounding times open, which may work for someone who will fill those times with priority tasks. On the other hand, the second example indicates which tasks really need to be completed on the given day, which should ensure that the most pressing tasks are completed first. Whether you prefer time or task management, try to start a system and stick to it.
