Discussion question, 150 words

Time Management for Doctoral Learners DR. FATIMA MANSUR

Effective Time Management

Factors

 Perseverance

 Time on Task

 Good relationship with your

committee

Selecting a Topic

 Is based on the work of others?

 Can be replicated?

 Is generalizable to other settings?

 Is based on some logical rationale and tied to theory?

 Is it doable?

 Does it generate new questions or is it cyclical in nature.

 Is it incremental?

 Is an apolitical activity that should be undertaken for the betterment of society?

Questions to Consider

 How much the tuition costs you daily.

 Will student loan debt be a challenge?

 -Is the sacrifice worth it, when it comes to

volunteering, working overtime, etc.?

 -Should you be tutoring, becoming an adjunct,

coaching sports or singing in the church choir for the

next few years?

Just think about these questions…

Add something / take away

something

 Ok, you are adding 15-25+ hours a week to the

typical demands on your time.

 -What activities will you give up or multitask during?

 -Where can you multitask, in addition to the

efficiencies you’ve already built into your life?

 -If you want to graduate in three or four years, what

will have to do to reach that goal? Are you

considering the unpredictable nature of the

research process?

 -Consider strategic use of Leaves of Absence.

Multi-tasking

 Books on tape while you are in transit

 Recorder and/or note pad by your bed

 Always have reading with you for doctor’s office

visits, red lights, etc.

 Doctoral work during lunch hours

 Cater to your preferred learning style – ex: auditory

learners can use Word to scan a book to listen to

later

Let’s share time saving tips

 Catch full citation first time!

 Use a system to house your sources(i.e. Zotero, REFS)

 Have organizational systems for files Use bookmarks well on computer

 Set up rewards when you finish 5 pages of writing, etc.

 Schedule your # of study hours each week and stick to it

 Use different reading styles. Scan before your read.

How many hours a week are you

studying?

 Two+ hours a week for every credit hour of class

 A 6-credit course = 18 hours of work a week plus

 7 hours a week of prep for the doctoral study = 25 hrs.

 Plus: networking, reading professional journals, making trips to the library, planning for future terms, and attending residency.

Planning doctoral studies:

 You aren’t doing your life’s work for your doctoral

study.

 Pick a do-able research topic.

 Pick something you are passionate and/or very

curious about.

 Start keeping notes and references from the start.

 Design an organizational system and use it.

How do you spend your time?

How will you?

 School Related: Classes, study, doctoral study prep

 Networking, etc.

 Work and travel

 Family

 Personal

 Social & entertainment

 Boards, committees

 Health and self-care, eating, exercise, etc.

 Sleep

Become the scholar-practitioner

now

Surround yourself with activities,

colleagues, beliefs and symbols of the

scholar that you are becoming.

Socialization theory suggests:

 Mastering course work and the theories in your field and knowing you could teach it to others if you had to.

 Adjust to the realities of graduate student life.

 Utilize study partners and academic support group,

 Aligning your studies with your professional goals. Do you want what you are preparing for? Do informational interviews in your field.

 Building relationships with your school and specialization – peers, faculty, mentor, doctoral study committee. Know the structure. Build a community of learners.

Recognize the changes

 You are changing and sometimes you’ll feel

crazy, but you may be “going out of your

mind” to a developmentally new framework.

 See: Robert Kegan’s In over our heads: The

mental demands of modern life. Harvard

University Press. 1998.

 http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/KEGOV

E.html

Suggestions for reframing

behaviors and attitudes

 Ideal workspace

 Meditation, Prayer, Exercise, yoga

 Self-hypnosis, Positive affirmations

 Talking partners

 Creating a narrative about your past and your intentions

 Return regularly to joyful activities

Symbols, rituals, etc.

Simply staying at the task:

 Changing your work setting for variety and stimulation

 Have a variety of tasks ready so you can do one that inspires you or you have energy for in the moment (reading, annotating, writing, organizing)

 -Rest your eyes by looking up every 5 minutes

 -Exercise 5 minutes every hour

 -Keep hydrated –

 -Brain Gym exercises: http://esl.about.com/library/lessons/blbraingy m.htm

Effective time management

 Effective time management comes down to

choices. Good choices lead to better results, while

poor choices lead to wasted time and energy.

 Time management gives you a framework to make

better

 Decisions on how to spend your time, but in the end,

it is up to you to actually make the tough choices.

Backward planning

 When do you want to graduate?

 Time and financial investment?

 Cost/benefit analysis

 Benefits – personal, social, economic

Live into the new you

 Attend scholarly conferences in your field.

 Read scholarly journals.

 And don’t leave behind the people or hobbies you

love.

 Honor what they know about you or give you that

can help you succeed and what they need from

you so that you can count on sustenance over time.

Perseverance

 Motivators

 Write down on a piece of paper all the reasons you

want a doctoral degree – personal, employment,

etc.

 Put a Doctor in front of your name

 Visualize yourself at the Commencement

In Closing

The experience of obtaining your doctorate is

oftentimes, challenging, frustrating, and overwhelming.

But remember that old adage,

“… it is a marathon not a sprint…”

Continue to persevere!

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