The Research Planner’s Guide

Many PhD students find it challenging to plan well. I want to give you some tips to help you.

Never plan more than 80% of your time

The rest of the time will be filled with unexpected events and everyday things: a colleague who walks in for a chat, a meeting that takes longer than planned, or the trouble you are having doing a specific project.

Are you clear about the tasks you have to do and how these tasks may be related to one another?

Picture that for yourself.  Break down more significant tasks into smaller ones. For example, you can split up writing an article into the following parts:

1. Summarize your literature

2. Form the text structure

3. Write down the contents

4. Create lists

5. Draw up a list of used literature

6. Revise and correct text

7. Discuss your text with others

8. Rewrite according to received comments

Realize that you have tasks related to research, other aspects of your work (teaching, meetings, organizing visits), and your personal life.

Question yourself what tasks you have in the different phases of your research.

Plan backwards

When is your deadline? From that point, you schedule your tasks. In case of writing a paper for a congress, for instance, you probably have to present your paper way in advance, you need time to rewrite some comments, you can’t write full time, your abstract needs to be approved, you need data for the contents of your article, and so on! Make sure you know all your tasks and plan them in your schedule. You will notice that you need more time for specific tasks than you would have guessed. When writing a paper for a congress, it is essential to discuss with your promotor about a year (!) in advance if writing an abstract and a paper would be a good idea. You need your time.

Use the “Eisenhower model”

The American ex-President Dwight David Eisenhower supposedly stated that the most urgent problems rarely are the most important ones. Eisenhower was seen as a real master in time management: doing the right things at the right time. You will learn to distinguish between important and urgent matters using the Eisenhower method.  It doesn’t matter what you must do: always use the Eisenhower model and decide what to do and when.

Most of the time, we focus on the immediate needs. But when do you give yourself time to handle the important tasks before they become urgent?

Watch this:

Use the Warren Buffet method

According to Warren Buffet, a multi-billionaire, the following strategy is a great way to plan your time: list everything you want to do today. Start with the task at the top of your list and only move on to the next one once you finished the first one. Once finished, you can strike the completed one out.

And maybe the most important thing is to be realistic in your planning. Nothing is more frustrating than having more to do than you are capable of doing. Keep that in mind.

Let me know when you have succeeded.  Feel free to contact me at arjenne@louterpromoveren.nl.

For more PhD tips and information, visit https://thedutchphdcoach.com/