Hey friends,
I got an email recently from someone doing a PhD while working full time.
Main concern: lack of free time to do research
This rang a bell. Because this was exactly my situation a few years ago
What helped me is the following:
Like many, I have a clear list of what needs to be done
BUT, I also have a not-to-do list
Things I don’t do at all. Simply to protect the little free time I have.
I stopped counting the opportunities that came to me
Each one might feel small. But together they would take the little free time I would have left to focus on what matters to my projects.
It’s easy to get lost in side projects. And your main project becomes quickly a side project too
Starting and doing many things at the same time. And never finishing anything
Some time ago I shared some tips to manage time. I prefer managing my energy
I start my day with the important work that needs to be done, when my brain is at its best.
Not going through emails
Managing emails consumes less energy than critical thinking, analysing data, and writing.
Try it. If you start with your emails and you usually end up focusing on many small problems not contributing to your main project(s)
Not All Collaborations Are Equal
I wrote a dedicated newsletter on this topic
It’s tempting to say yes to everything, to every project idea
Ask, what’s in it for you? Any real shared interest?
Or you just end up wasting time working on something that does not move your research career forward
Next poison: meetings where your contribution/presence is not necessary
Do you really need to attend?
The problems with many meetings:
- no agenda
- a one-hour meeting that will push you to switch context
- meetings that could be emails
All of this interrupts deep work time
quick tip: when setting up a meeting, ask for the agenda and if it can be scheduled for 25 min instead of the default 1h in your calendar
If you face issues with managing time, do not kill yourself with more work.
Pause and list everything you are doing. Pick the top 3 or 5 things that matter. That’s the 20% in the Pareto law. Delegate, drop or delay the rest
You Don’t Need to Be Available All the Time
Last thing, many things can wait. So set boundaries
No need to be available late at night or every moment of the weekend. Protect your boundaries. Just be consistent
Shut down your laptop. Relax and reset.
Protect your time and protect yourself
Your body, brain, energy levels will thank you
As I mentioned earlier, managing time is mainly managing energy.
Protect what matters. Like in many areas of life focus on less noise. More signal.
Let me know how you handle this
I read every response
See you in the next newsletter
Jamal