| indexTIME MANAGEMENT
Consider these comments:
"I'm going to have to put my thesis on the back burner this semester",
"I never seem to have enough time to fit everything into my week",
"My family must wait until the semester break",
"There's no use making comments on the students' work since they don't read it anyway", or the ever popular,
"I work best under pressure."
If you're a graduate teaching assistant doing course or thesis work, and trying to live a life outside the university, then these statements probably sound familiar.
Many teaching assistants report that time management is a major source of problems in graduate school, and it is easy to understand why. First, you are faced with a wide diversity of complex tasks (preparation, instructing, tutoring, marking, and possibly counselling in your role as a TA; planning, creating, studying, analyzing and writing in your role as a student), and you are expected to switch frequently among them. Second, there is often a noticeable lack of imposed structure in the day to day life of a graduate student. Ask yourself how many of the 168 hours in a typical week are "preplanned" and "required" as it might be on a regular job. For many graduate students the vast majority of the week is variable and "open." This openness and freedom make the management of how you use your time especially critical to your success.
The typical way of trying to deal with time management problems is to focus on planning, goal setting and the setting of priorities. Where do you expect to be in terms of your goals a year from now? A month from now? A day from now?
Some people find it useful to make this explicit by planning on paper. You might think about the various branches of your life and write out goals for each. For example, you might write down goals and subgoals for your thesis work, your TA job, and your wellness activities. Some find it useful to make these goals as explicit as possible by writing them in terms of specific tasks to be done and estimates of the time it will take to do each task. Composing and seeing written goals help one to give proper consideration to all goals, and to be more realistic. You might find it helpful to make a daily "ToDo" list that focuses on the accomplishments that you plan to achieve for the day. You might find it helpful to set up a weekly structure that ensures some balance and attention to all your important goals.
Unfortunately, the focus on plans, goals and priorities is usually not sufficient to establish and maintain effective selfmanagement. Often times the best plans go awry. And since following a wellconstructed plan to achieve specified goals is rational and reasonable, the failure to follow through on the plans may foster frustration, guilt, and a tendency to procrastinate.
The missing element is an emphasis on the outcomes of time management feedback and reinforcement for successful planning and action. Just as money management requires record keeping and periodic assessment of goal attainment and methods, time management requires record keeping and reflection on attainment of personal goals. Some people find it helpful to keep a simple list of their accomplishments, and then to review the list at the end of the day to assess progress and to fine tune strategies for the next day.
In particular, watch out for less important but straightforward tasks taking priority for more important, complex or difficult tasks. Some graduate students found that keeping track of the minutes spent reading or the number of words written provides them with objective feedback with which to gauge progress. And, if you can share your progress with a significant other, so much the better!
For additional tips and assistance in managing your time, drop by the Counselling Services.