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Time Management & Planning: 2) Schedule

A toolkit of strategies to plan and manage your time.

Overview

This is the stage in the process where you decide when you need to do certain tasks or activities. There are many different approaches and strategies to planning which are discussed at length in the "Scheduling Strategies" tab. 

On this page:

  • Transitions
  • How frequently should I plan?

Transitions

Transitions are (often small) periods of time in your day when you move from one task, activity, or role to another. Being intentional and thoughtful about these periods can help you improve focus or prepare for the activity/task/meeting ahead.

  • Account for transition and travel times between tasks, meetings, and activities. 
  • Some time management experts assert that rapidly switching back and forth between types of tasks (such as writing a research paper and answering emails) degrades focus. Therefore, for some folks having clear transitions between types of work or activities might be helpful. 
  • Self awareness: Consider your own experiences and preferences with transition times.
    • Do you prefer racing from one thing to the next? (or) 
    • Do you need unhurried time between things?
    • These preferences can also vary between types of activities and tasks.

Cal Newport, in his book Deep Work, suggests having a shutdown ritual at the end of the day to formally close out and create a mental boundary around the work day. The same idea can be used at the start of the day, often called a "Startup ritual". Rituals are part of habit formation that can help you more automatically and easily transition into parts of your day.

  • Startup and shutdown rituals can be particularly helpful for individuals who work from home and need a delineation between work and personal time. 
  • These do not have to be long periods of time. They can take 5 minutes or up to an hour. 

Potential Ideas for Startup Rituals

  • Pairing with your morning coffee or tea helps to signal that you are starting the ritual. 
  • Planning your day.
  • Reviewing your email inbox.
  • Eating the frog immediately

Ideas for Shutdown Rituals

  • Do a last review of your email. 
  • Plan for the next day. 
  • Make notes on tasks or activities that need to be addressed next
  • Annotate/comment your stopping point in code
  • Check to make sure equipment is turned off in a laboratory
  • Cal Newport suggests saying out loud or checking off: "Shutdown complete" at the end of your ritual

How frequently should I plan?

One of the most common questions about planning is when should you plan or schedule your tasks and activities. Different folks find different approaches the most useful, but generally there are two scales that you should think about:

  • Short-term planning
    • Examples: daily or weekly
    • Where you time block or schedule all of your tasks & activities
  • Long-term planning 
    • Examples: monthly, quarterly, semesterly, yearly, 5-years
    • Where you plan out projects in advance

Additional Reading:

Resources in the CSHL Catalog

Additional Questions: