prof. yashar ganjali university of toronto research skills seminar, november 2012...
TRANSCRIPT
Time Management and Effectiveness in Grad School
Prof. Yashar GanjaliUniversity of Toronto
Research Skills Seminar, November 2012
[email protected]://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
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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
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9Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School
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, …
Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar
14Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School
GTD Workflow
Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar
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
16Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School
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.
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17Time Managment and Effectiveness in Grad School
Thank you!
How do you manage your time?
Yashar Ganjali - Research Skills Seminar