Time management!



I'm trying to keep calm and carry on, but ...

These last three weeks have been pure madness. And the next month and a half will be just as bad. I really need to learn better time management skills. Or I need to implement what I already now! I used to be so good at planning and organising my time and sticking to it. When I was doing my undergraduate studies in early childhood, I was studying 75%, working 120%, taking piano lessons and working towards a piano exam, which was no easy task, I was also playing the tuba in a local brass band and singing in a choir or two. Plus, I was going to the gym and doing a little socialising. Not too much, but enough. And I did very well in my studies. Granted, I was on the verge of exhaustion and doing the zombie thing at work, but I managed my time very well. I remember planning the week ahead, writing down every task I needed to do, organising everything to the smallest detail. Because that is what I needed to do to make it through. And it worked.

Things are different now! Obviously, I am not comparing a bachelor study to a PhD. It is not comparable. But in theory, I have all the time in the world but still I keep getting into trouble with not having enough time before deadlines. Maybe it is because I have all the time in the world. It seems I am very good at wasting time. Well, as I have been tutoring and doing some research assistant work, I don’t actually have all the time in the world, but almost. Maybe I'm just tired now and in need of a rant. Because I'm not complaining. Believe me, I'm not complaining at all. This may be the most difficult and stressful thing I have ever done in my life, moving to another hemisphere and doing a PhD, but it is fantastic. I have not been as happy as I am now, ever! Or at least not often before. This is such a dream come true for me. But, it is difficult. And I need to get a grip on this time management thing so that I'm not stressed out all the time.

There are several websites and information out there on how to manage your time better. I know most of this already. My problem is not lack of knowledge, it is lack of implementation. But I guess the fact that I’m ranting about this here means that I’m ready to implement some good, old habits. I’ll let you know how I go on with that next week.

Now, what is it that is keeping me so busy these weeks? Obviously, it is my research proposal. I was also working on my ethics approval which I submitted a couple of weeks ago. I can happily report that my research has almost been approved, I just need to do a couple of changes to my application, send it to the contact person at the ethics committee and that’s it. Hopefully! My methodology section of my proposal is almost done. It needs some tweaking and stuff like that, but the basics are there. Now I need to put everything together and produce the whole proposal. I have a deadline next Wednesday to send that off to my supervisors. And time is getting sparse. My confirmation hearing, or whatever it is called, is on the 2^nd of June. So I basically have a month to finish everything. And I feel I have at least three months of work to do! Yebb, good times ahead.

Well, best get back to work then.

Cheers,

Bryndis