The people closest to me know how much I value creativity and expression, and although I always aim to make time for myself, that is not possible. I am currently in my third year of PhD, I aspire to lead a writing career someday (which means I write everyday), I work part-time, and I have plenty of hobbies.
I've met many people who find themselves in a similar situation, while others only work fulltime and give their all to their jobs and manage to lead fulfilling lives. If you are the latter, this post is not for you. In this post, I will mention some of the techniques I use to manage my time on a daily basis, hoping it might help you, too.
1. Make a list
This is something like keeping a bullet journal, but not quite. In the beginning of each month, I make a list of every single thing that has to be done by the end of the month. The list consists of things related to my PhD, like "finish data analysis", or "write materials and methods", or something like that. It also contains my writing goals, such as "write chapters 8-12", "submit 1 short story". And along with those, I also list personal goals like, "learn to play keeping me alive on piano", "read 6 books", "go to the dentist", and so on.
2. Be honest
Let's be honest here. We all have things in our to-do lists that don't need to be done. Do I really need to go to the theater 3 times this month and to a concert and see my friends 4 times a weeks? I don't. And that's why those things are not on my list anyway. But the "read 6 books" part is mostly real (sometimes I get over-excited and write down "read 10 book"), and I do want to read many books, but honestly, do I have to? So in this part of the process I use Eisenhower's Principle. I mark everything on my list with a number.
1 is for urgent and important, and this goes for everything related to my PhD and/or my
health.
2 is for not urgent and important, and this one's for writing, editing, blogging, vlogging, (working out also goes here for me)
3 is for urgent and not important, like a deadline for a conference that's unrelated to my
PhD (so why attend, right?), I place chores here, too
4 is for not urgent and not important, like going thrice to the theater in a month or reading 6 books, for that matter (or 10)
3. Calendar Blocking
Once I've figured out what's important and urgent and what's not, I place them in my calendar. I block every single minute of my calendar, and that's how I know what I should be doing during the day. First on my calendar go all the tasks appointed urgent and important, then I fit in number 2, and if there's any space left, I manage to squeeze number 3. 4 is for the weekend. I also add plenty of buffer time just to get my head clear before and after a task. I wouldn't want to burn out. So if I think a task might take about 15 minutes, I block 30 minutes for it in my calendar, just in case. If a task takes 2 hours, I'll block 2,5 hours.
Sidenote: rest and time for myself is as much important as anything else in number 1, so I always block relaxing time for a strong mental and physical state. Being too busy and having deadlines is not an excuse to neglect my health.
4. Discipline
Discipline is the only way I could stick to a schedule, since I have no real, strict deadlines most of the time. Everything I do, I'm totally responsible for it (I'd say most of the time, again). So once I've blocked my calendar, there is no going back. Unless...
5. Be flexible
Sometimes life happens and things don't turn out the way we want them to. And so I give myself permission to move the blocks around whenever needed, if it's an emergency or something out of my control, like an abrupt call for a meeting I hadn't anticipated or the cancellation of a meeting for that matter. You have to discipline to follow your own rules, but you need to be flexible about it, because in reality no one can really plan out life perfectly.
6. Pomodoro
I've been a huge fan of the Pomodoro technique ever since I was an undergrad. If you're not familiar with this technique. You set a task you have to do and then set a timer for 25 minutes, and you have to accomplish the task by the time the timer goes off. And then you take a 5-minute break and repeat. Every 4 pomodoros you take a longer break.
7. Balance
Although not a technique, the most essential part of productivity and time management I've found is keeping a good balance between work and rest. If I don't rest enough to recharge my batteries, I will eventually burn out and be unable to work.
How do you manage your time? Is there a technique you use that I didn't mention? I'd love to know.
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