Time Management

Make Time For Time: 2. Personal Strengths & Weaknesses

This is the second part of my “Make Time For Time” series.

I recently posted about our strange relationship with time. Well, it gets stranger. It’s not always the time of day or how long you have on a project that affects you. It can be the stage you’re at with a project that changes your concept of time.

photo by Ianuiop

Let me explain. Some of us are wonderful at getting a project off the ground. We put in all the research and initial notes, getting all sorts of ideas in place and rushing around to find even more fuel to keep the project going.

In all this excitement and hard work, the time has melted away and it’s nearly the deadline. But there’s still so much to do and the project is nowhere near finishing. You think the deadline was unrealistic…but perhaps you needed to use your time differently in order to approach the finish better.

Not everyone suffers like this. Some people are fantastic at getting the work done when everything is in place, but they see such a mountain ahead of them that it seems like all the time in the world wouldn’t be enough to get it right.

With time almost up, they have to give it their best shot. And once they start working, they whizz through it and finish without a problem. But missing out on a relaxed, initial effort means that time hasn’t been used wisely and grades suffer as a consequence.

Sounds scary. But however you work, don’t fear time! The clock ticks on, no matter how you feel.

So how do you combat the two time-eaters mentioned above?

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For those who start well:

Keep the deadline date in your mind at all times. Better still, set your own deadline ahead of time, so you’re prepared for all circumstances.
Create a plan to fit out over the time you have. Again, working out the time in advance means that you can keep an eye out at each stage of your work, rather than get too excited and find too many things to occupy your mind as you go along.

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For those who need a push to get started:

Make a step-by-step plan of what you intend to do. Start on the first steps straight away. Don’t delay, or you build it up in your mind. The sooner you start, the less bother it will prove in the long run.
Be aware when you’re procrastinating. It’s a big step to start a job, especially if it fills you with dread. But it’s easier to take that big step than to find other things to do. Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away; it will just turn it into an even bigger problem later. Confront your fears and get on with the work. Just 20 minutes or so to get the ball rolling. The rest should come naturally.

When you don’t have a specific deadline, you should put a deadline on it yourself so it doesn’t drag on forever. If the task isn’t important, what would happen if you didn’t do it at all? If the task is important, do yourself justice and make it a finite project. After completing the task, you’re able to move on to the next project without getting so much unnecessary build up. You get enough of that without having to contribute to the to-do list yourself!

Are you better at beginning work, or finishing it? How do you manage time effectively? Do you have lots on the go at once, or do you prefer to complete one thing after another?

In the next part of this series, I’ll look at the perils of juggling too many tasks.

Make Time for Time: 1. Introduction

Starting today, over six posts, I’m dedicating my time to…Time!

We all manage time differently. And while one person gets up at the crack of dawn to get their work done, another person works at night in a productive buzz until the early hours of the morning.

photo by Leo Reynolds

Yes, we work better at different times of the day:

Morning – The Lark is most productive in the morning;
Noon – Middle of the day, you’re buzzing with ideas;
Night – As the sun sets, the mind awakes;
Any time – Both a boon and a pain. A few lucky people seem to find work easy whatever the hour. But beware, as a productivity lull can hit at any point. It’ll come back soon, but what if the work is urgent?

We have different ways of managing time. Three ways crop up quite often:

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Whatever comes my way – Impulsive
This isn’t a good way of managing time. If you don’t make plans, anything can bite you on the bum and mess up a happy existence. It’s fun to take up all sorts of offers at short notice and you may thrive on the excitement of not knowing what’s around the corner. But is it worth the hassle in the long run? You’ll realise it’s not worth it when things go wrong. Don’t wait until that time. It’s not pretty. It’s been known to cause otherwise joyful individuals to crumble.

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Embrace the future – Planner
Some people are the opposite of impulsive. They take planning to a whole new level. Everything has to be worked out in advance so there are no surprises. Down to the last second, it’s all expected, all arranged. Nothing is agreed until the full details are known. The last thing a planner wants is an unexpected surprise. But the more obsessive the planning becomes, the more surprises you’re bound to encounter. So hardcore planning can be just as damaging as acting solely on impulse.

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Work from past experience – Cautious
Hindsight is a great thing. Shame we don’t find out until it’s too late. As you live your life, your experiences make you the person you are. A cautious personality will occasionally be impulsive, but generally prefers to keep that to a minimum. The majority of the time they will have an idea of what’s ahead, trying not to be too restrictive or anal about the process. A cautious person can become too cautious, turning them into more of a planner (or someone who won’t commit to anything through fear). But a healthy dose of caution itself is nothing to worry about.

Impulsive and Planner elements can live together, because certain aspects of your life are prone to more planning and others happen off the cuff.

Anything is possible with time. At times of panic, we even imagine time slowing down. Clearly, it’s important to maintain a healthy relationship with it!

So this post sets the scene. I have another five posts over the coming fortnight. They’ll focus on:

If you don’t want to miss these posts, click here to subscribe to TheUniversityBlog in a reader, if you don’t already. You can also clickety-click to follow me on Twitter and I’ll put out links each time I post to the site.

You’ve got the time to do that, haven’t you? 🙂

Does ‘balance’ exist?

When it comes to a work/life balance, I see 2 groups of people:

Those who say a balance is possible
Those who say there is no such thing as balance

The first group of people may have found their balance or, if not, are looking for it. The second group of people may feel generally happy with the mix of their workload, but don’t consider it as balanced.

This is confused. The problem lies with defining what a work/life balance is.

photo by stuartpilbrow

The Oxford Dictionary of English defines ‘balance’ as:

noun: mental or emotional stability: the way to some kind of peace and personal balance.
verb: counteract or equal the effect or importance of – “he balanced his radical remarks with more familiar declarations.” – establish equal or appropriate proportions of elements in – “balancing work and family life.”

As a noun, stability is a major point in understanding balance. Balance doesn’t necessitate two equal halves. It can be found no matter how skewed the plan looks to an outsider. Balance is personal stability.

As a verb, however, the tendency is to view things in equal measures. And since we often refer to balance as a verb, such as “balancing coursework and social time”, we rely too much on the assumption that a mental balance requires the same proportion of everything.

Such a strict measure is unrealistic and not usually quantifiable anyway, which means many argue that ‘balance’ doesn’t exist.

The purpose of a work/life balance is to be aware of your lot and make sure you’re not missing out or working yourself too hard. Balance certainly doesn’t mean you should be taking equal doses of work and fun. Unless, of course, you want to!

Don’t assume hard work and social life are entirely separate forms. We mix business and pleasure, networking can be fun even though we’re ‘on the job’, we keep study groups entertaining and relaxed. See why balance can’t easily be quantified?

For those who argue dispute the existence of balance at all, how about looking at the concept as a definition of happiness? Do you feel content or are you under pressure all the time? Ask if you feel the need to change the mix in your life before you can find greater happiness.

A positive mix of events and a lack of stress may be all that is needed before a ‘balance’ can be achieved…whatever you call it.

At the beginning of this new academic year, be mindful of what you’re going through over the coming months and don’t be scared to drop some activities if it all gets too much. Whether it’s your study, social life, part-time job, relationship, and any other regular activity that forms part of your life, be aware of how it’s going as you live through it. How does it fit in with everything else you’re doing? If you let life happen without thinking about it, you face the problem of having to recover at a more difficult point.

Okay, some events are impossible to predict. From a perfectly organised perspective, your plans can be turned upside down.

Whether these events are welcome or not, right now is the time to consider how the events will impact upon everything else you’re doing.

I’m posting this today because I’ve had some of those ‘impossible to predict’ events happen recently and they altered my sense of balance. It’s not an issue, because I’m aware of the situation and I strive to return to a suitable position of ‘balance’.

To do this, I will:

Analyse how much time these new events take up in the day;
Find ways to speed up regular processes;
Consider if I can/should stop doing certain tasks in the day;
Reduce the number of times I focus on the regular tasks that I still need to complete.

I’m not prepared to ignore what’s going on, living in hope that things will sort themselves out on their own. They never do!

With a bit of planning (and acceptance that unexpected things happen), I believe that balance is possible and never too far away. And perhaps you still don’t like the word ‘balance’. But when you find peace and a personal contentment, you’re pretty balanced, whatever you want to call it. That’s the main thing.

photo by Alex Barth

Controlling ‘valid disruptions’

Let’s say you’re writing an essay. At the same time, you’re using the Web. At the same time, you’ve got Facebook open. At the same time, Twitter is feeding you constant updates from the people you follow.

Is this kind of situation something you’ve experienced?

I listened to Aaron Porter talk at the Association for Learning Technology Conference (ALT-C) today. At one point he recounted his experience of completing coursework:

“I had a sense of anxiety if I didn’t know what was going on elsewhere and the ability to flick between different [computer] windows was quite reassuring.”

In a world where we increasingly work with realtime information and rolling updates, it’s difficult to feel at ease when you know you may be missing out on something. This problem is not confined to entertainment; it reaches all aspects of life, including education.

A sense of needing to be on the pulse at all times is a recipe for information overload, or ‘filter failure’. However, we’re not about to start working without disruption on a regular basis. It’s becoming a way of life. What we call ‘disruptions’ are often self-created. Perhaps you could call them ‘allowed disruptions’ or ‘valid disruptions’.

photo by jesse.millan

To put it another way, you have asked for Facebook on screen and you have requested updates from online services. You’d be more annoyed if someone knocked on your door every two minutes, asking questions. And you’d hate it when you’re trying to work and someone starts blasting music loudly that you don’t want to hear.

So disruptions aren’t always unwelcome, even if they are disruptive. That’s why moving away from ‘valid disruptions’ can cause such anxiety.

Does that mean a disconnected student is a more productive one? A more successful one?

No, it doesn’t. But for the same reason ‘valid disruptions’ are self-created, the number of ‘valid disruptions’ need also be self-regulated. Once it becomes too much, you’re better off limiting the flow. Letting it continue would be less productive, which cancels any use the ‘valid disruptions’ were in the first place.

It’s not easy to self-regulate when you’re used to the flow of different voices, calling for your attention. But to recognise the need to cut back when it’s difficult to cope is most of the battle won.

How do you recognise the need to reduce those disruptions? It’s usually when one or more of these things happen:

When you’re not getting enjoyment/engagement from the flows that you’re following;
When it’s too difficult to keep up with the flows;
When nothing else gets a look-in;
When ‘long-term’ detail is sacrificed completely for instant satisfaction;
When you can’t act on the flow and it just becomes noise.

So keep an eye out!

How have you fared with ‘valid disruptions’? Are they a boon or a pain?