Manage time well for higher productivity
ARE you spending too much time on Facebook? Are you like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland: always in a panicky rush, with the stress levels going sky high?
Time management can help you gain a little breathing space.
Find out what’s up
Keep a log of your daily activities for about two weeks and see what you do that is productive and what is not. Are you spending too much time reading e-mail? Limit the times you check your inbox. Too much time on Facebook? Set your phone to limit you to five-minute sessions.
Plan for energy
Handling demanding jobs during your peak energy periods throughout the day and week allows you to get more done in less time. Happiest on Mondays? Move your most important work to that day. If you are a morning person, schedule your intensive tasks for that time.
Get a big desk diary
Enter all your major deadlines on the month-by-month view. Break down tasks into milestones. Realistically approximate the amount of time it will take to complete each milestone and complete task.
Enter your milestones into the week-byweek view. Add routine responsibilities into your weekly page. Now you know what you must do every week.
Share the load
You have to do your own work but you can club together to get resources such as papers, magazine articles and book chapters needed for assignments. Whenever you can, share research tasks with a study buddy.
If you’re working with someone notoriously inefficient, contact her or him at a suitable time before the deadline.
Switch off
One of the biggest time wasters is being too connected. When you’re studying, switch off your phone, disable your chat system, and switch off Skype. Now you can get down to work without constant interruptions. –
By ELLEN WHYTE