Time Management

To make a schedule for the short term, chart out the day or week, hour by hour. Write in your hours for sleeping, eating, and planned fun stuff. It's important to plan for breaks and recreation because if you work for fifteen hours straight on your Portfolio for more than a few days, you'll go insane. If you don't clearly define what your fun time is going to be, the odds are high that it will spill over into what should be your work time.

Putting variety into your schedule is a good idea, too, if you are able. Mix up the topics to a couple of hours here, a couple there. It keeps you from getting too bored with any one thing.

Making a long-term schedule requires the same combination of discipline and common sense. Mostly this involves setting deadlines for various tasks-- but keep in mind that you have to meet those deadlines, and if you make them totally unreasonable, you won't meet them. Get to know how much typing you are capable of doing in a day, or in a week. It is often helpful to work with your advisor in this area, as s/he often has a good idea (from an "outsider" perspective) of how fast your work comes in, and can help you set dates to finish goals by. Here are some tips also found in the PROCRASTINATION section (H.7):

Set time limits on work and play. If you reserve time to relax, then you will be able to go back to work with renewed energy. It is often tempting to skip over play time when you are anxious about work, but it isn't healthy. It obviously easy to prolong play time at the expense of work time, becuase it is (usually) more fun. Stick to your schedule.
Learn to use tiny bits of time. Don't think, "oh, I won't be able to get anything done in fifteen minutes anyway." There is always something that you can accomplish. See "Rigorous Training."
Break the job down into small bits. Little tasks are easier than big tasks. They are less frightening. You get a feeling of accomplishment more often, which boosts your morale.
Double your time estimates. See the description above about the procrastinator's sense of time. Get to know your own sense of time. Some people need to compensate more than others. See "Rigorous Training."
Carry around a planner book. Part of staying organized. You will be less likely to miss appointments and deadlines if you can refer to them easily.
Do a little every day. This not only breaks up the task into smaller segments, but also helps develop a discpline of regular work.
Take interruptions into account. Many of us forget, when making a schedule, to include time for eating, sleeping, and other necessities of life. You should also take into account the possibility of unplanned activites: How likely is it that you will get a phone call? How often do you daydream without wanting to? Are you going to need to go shopping for groceries today? etc. This is part of realistic scheduling. If these unexpected things never happen, then fine, you'll be ahead of schedule. But if they do happen, then you'll be able to deal with them without extra anxiety.
Set intermediary goals. Here is another way of saying "break tasks into smaller tasks." If you set up specific small goals that are part of your large goal, you will be better able to keep track of where you are. This is also useful in fighting the temptation of the "Deadline High," because you get lots of little thrills to diminish the desire for one huge one at the last minute.

Of course, the reason we have to manage our time at all is that we have deadlines. And deadlines are necessary to be fair to your advisor, to keep us accredited as a college program, and to encourage you to finish school in less than twenty years.

In planning your Portfolio's time-line, you need to be careful to leave time at the end for possible revisions:


Your advisors may also ask you to make 
revisions in your portfolio, and you should view the first copy of 
your portfolio that you submit for evaluation as a draft.  Evaluation 
has value only if it generates reflection and a deeper understanding 
of the subject on the part of the student, and if those reflections -- 
together with the faculty's comments -- are integrated into the 
portfolio.  Portfolios, then, are not term papers to be handed in at 
the last minute solely for credit.  Plan to hand in a draft of your 
portfolio at least two weeks before the end of the semester, so that 
you may incorporate the necessary revisions into the final copy.

It is true that part of your advisor's job is to point out shortcomings in your Portfolio if there are any, and to work with you in remedying them. But major revisions are usually not needed at the end of the semester if you and your faculty advisor have been working together throughout, or least shouldn't take you by surprise.

Following this page in the printed version, or linked here in the WWW version, is list of FW deadlines through the year.

Workshop Discussion Sparks

Inspired and Creative

Rigorous Training

Developing discipline takes practice. Start small, and honor a one-hour schedule segment per day. A bit of diary writing, some reading, and maybe some typing. Every day, at the same time (as close as you can). It will get easier each time you do it.

AAAAAGGGHHHH!

Work with a friend if you haven't tried that, work alone if you haven't tried that
Remove yourself from distractions.

See Also

WORK SPACE (H.1)
FINANCIAL AID (J.1)
PROCRASTINATION (H.7)
LEARNING PLAN: TIMETABLE (A.2.f)

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