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What's Time Got To Do With Time Management In Grad School?

Writer's picture: Sarah DavisSarah Davis

This week, I've been thinking about time management a lot, mainly because I've been having difficulty managing my time!


At the beginning of this week, I was really excited for Wednesday (today) to arrive because I was looking forward to completing a writing task that I had kept putting off due to lack of time.

When this morning arrived, I sat down at my desk with a nice cup of tea, ready to start writing.


And you know what? 


I couldn't get started. 


I looked back at my notes and the outline I had previously created, but I just didn't have it in me to persevere. I was feeling tired from having to mark multiple student projects over the past two days for the course I'm teaching.


I was feeling a bit disappointed because not that long ago, I was feeling good about writing and it seemed to have disappeared.


At first, I was thinking that I should have managed my time better earlier in the week, but then I realized that by not being aware of the intensity of the work I had planned for Monday and Tuesday, I set a goal for Wednesday that was too lofty.


So, I ended up taking the morning off of work to recharge - I went for a walk with my dog, read for pleasure, tidied up at home, and then ate lunch.


And, you know what?


After lunch I sat down at my computer again, opened my document, and I was able to write!


I hope this example shows you that sometimes when we are having trouble managing our time, that it's not actually about time management. In this case, it was because I had two intense work days and actually needed a break.


By taking the time to reflect on what was actually happening, I was able to regroup for a few hours and then regroup, making progress on my writing project after all.


During grad school, when this would happen, I would often push through and as a result, produce work that was not up to the standards I had, and this would end up being a waste of time AND I would feel tired and overwhelmed.


Now, I'm much better at discerning when I need a break vs. needing to persist and this example is why I often tell the grad students I work with that problems with time management in grad school are usually related to something else other than just simply time.

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