Simple time management advice for academics

Academics don’t typically receive much advice in time management during their training. Then they get a tenure-track position and are expected to figure it out. Most do indeed figure it out, but there can be pain involved. Here are some simple bits of advice, take what you find useful, ignore the rest.

• The best system is the one you use. A simple to-do list is enough. There are all kinds of complex systems for time management. They all require some some up-front work to maintain, even a simple handwritten to-do list. That up-front work is worth it. There is some small cognitive relief in simply organizing your to-do list. Just make sure that you chose a system that you can stick with. I think the simpler the better, but some people thrive with relatively complex systems. Whatever works.
• Prioritize. Whatever system you use, it should give you a comprehensive overview of your to-do list at a glance, so that you can prioritize effectively. You’re probably already pretty good at identifying high priorities. But remaining organized day-to-day to ensure that you have that overview can be a challenge. Your chosen organizational system should help.
• Review your performance. Set goals for the week, and then review your accomplishments at the end of the week. This is critical. If you don’t do this rigorously, then you might make organizational decisions based on how you feel, instead of data.
• Be reliable. Academia is filled with flaky people. They are usually well meaning and hard-working, but of course some are simply self-centered. Regardless, the impacts on those around them are similar. Try to break this stereotype, and build a reputation for delivering on time. Getting to “done” on time lets you shift to a new task or project.
• Your email inbox is not your to-do list. Don’t let it become that. Compartmentalize handling correspondence. No one cares how empty you keep your inbox. They care about your scientific productivity. Everything else is secondary (or tertiary, or ignorable). Be ruthless with your email– archive, delete, unsubscribe, and block senders.

“It is not daily increase but daily decrease, hack away the unessential. The closer to the source, the less wastage there is.”

Bruce Lee

• Protect your own time. No one will do that for you. In industry, there is often a hierarchy that will shuffle people around as needed. If a person has too much work, it will be split to others (direct reports, or people at the same level). This isn’t always done well in industry, but the mechanism doesn’t even exist in academia. If you’re overcommitted, no one cares. It’s your own fault. You’re in charge. Say no.
• Remember that every time you say “yes” to something, you’re saying “no” just a little bit to everything else. Maybe that’s the time you have to spend with trainees in your lab, maybe it’s time with your family, or maybe it’s time for writing papers. Your time isn’t free, don’t give it away. We all do reviews and other “volunteer” work, and that’s part of being a member of the scientific community, but there are limits. Look for ways to add value for yourself or your lab. E.g., reviewing papers with a trainee, or adding on a talk or meeting when you have to travel for a grad program review.
• It’s painful to say “no” now, but it’s even more painful to say it later. Good advice from Mike Ehlers, which I received via Ben Philpot. The sooner you can decide to say “no”, the more benefit you get from saying “no”.