{"id":1394,"date":"2018-12-15T15:15:17","date_gmt":"2018-12-15T20:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/mathmentoringnetwork\/?p=1394"},"modified":"2018-12-15T15:15:17","modified_gmt":"2018-12-15T20:15:17","slug":"how-to-manage-your-time-and-be-productive-in-grad-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/mathmentoringnetwork\/2018\/12\/15\/how-to-manage-your-time-and-be-productive-in-grad-school\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Manage your Time and be Productive in Grad School"},"content":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0<\/span>Dr. Toyin Alli<\/p>\n

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Dr. Toyin Alli<\/p><\/div>\n

Do you ever feel like you\u2019re working all the time but never get anything done?\u00a0 Or do you find yourself working on one task all day and neglecting your other responsibilities?\u00a0 Or maybe you have so much to do that you forget what you need to get done and end up working late or waking up super early to get stuff done?<\/p>\n

All of the above are my experiences from grad school.\u00a0 I always felt like I wasn\u2019t being productive enough to get all of my work done.\u00a0 But really, it was a lack of time management skills that I was missing.<\/p>\n

However, I quickly got my act together and found a way to manage my time more effectively and be more productive every day.\u00a0 I started implementing a morning office routine that helped me to stay on track, manage my time, and be productive every single day.<\/p>\n

And today, I\u2019m sharing my productive office morning routine with you!\u00a0 You can read all about it below or watch my YouTube<\/a> video about it (also below). I even have a pdf template of my morning routine that you can use: Morning Routine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Productive Office Morning Routine<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Brain dump everything you need to get done today. \u00a0The first thing I do when I get to my office is take 5 minutes to sit in silence and write down everything that I need to get done.<\/li>\n
  2. Prioritize your to-do list. \u00a0Then I go through my list and figure out what things need to get done or started first.<\/li>\n
  3. Determine your top 3. \u00a0Did you know that if you have more than 3 tasks on your to-do list, you are less likely to get everything done?\u00a0 So I like to create a smaller priority list of 3 tasks that I need to get done first.<\/li>\n
  4. Set time limits. \u00a0I also like to write down how much time I plan to spend on each task.\u00a0 This is the time management portion of the routine. If a task takes longer than expected, you can always come back to it later after you\u2019ve finished the remaining tasks on your priority list.<\/li>\n
  5. Check your email. \u00a0Finally, I check my email to see if there are any other responsibilities or tasks that I need to remember to do in my day.\u00a0 Warning. Never do this step first. It\u2019s so easy to waste time in your inbox.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n