Tool Time: Calendars
In addition to the one on useful reading, you鈥檙e going to get another monthly post from me. This is the first. I鈥檓 going to blather on about some tools you might find useful or should definitely be using. As with the suggested readings, feel free to ignore.
Calendars:
You all use a calendar, right? If not, don鈥檛 admit to it, just start now. It doesn鈥檛 matter whether you use a calendar app or a paper version, this is something you should be, and probably are, using daily. Smart phones and computers generally come with calendar apps for free, and there are more that you can download than you can poke a stick at. Maybe you鈥檝e immersed yourself in the Google app ecosystem - that has a decent calendar app. It鈥檚 worth taking the time to find one that works for you.*
Are you using your calendars to their full potential? At the minimum you have things like lab meetings, student seminars, faculty seminars, etc. recorded in your calendar. University holidays should be in there (labeled IMPORTANT! of course). Personal stuff (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.). That鈥檚 what you should have at a minimum.
Here鈥檚 something to try as a way to maximize productivity (this is discussed in the ). Use your calendars to schedule every minute of your work day.** Seriously. The idea here is that you鈥檙e never at a loss for what you do next and you don鈥檛 waste time watching cat videos on the web. That means taking the time (which you鈥檒l block out in your calendar) to plan out your days carefully in advance. Okay, research doesn鈥檛 always stick to timelines. Often you鈥檒l find an experiment takes longer (or shorter) than planned. That鈥檚 okay, just be flexible about it. And plan carefully. If possible, don鈥檛 schedule that absolutely crucial, must be done today, task as the last thing of the day just in case thing don鈥檛 go as planned.
Most (all?) calendar apps I鈥檝e looked at let you set alerts to remind you of upcoming events. Those are very useful. For example, if I have a meeting the other side of campus, it鈥檚 good to be reminded to start heading over there in advance. It鈥檚 good to have advance warning of cookie time so I can grab some coffee to take with me. Important stuff like that.
Maybe try using different colors (actually different calendars in the app I use) for different types of events. Don鈥檛 laugh, I do that. With a glance I can tell whether the next thing on my calendar is something to do with research, teaching, DGS duties, etc.
Finally, there鈥檚 no point in putting all this stuff into a calendar if you don鈥檛 look at it. Make it a habit to go through your calendar first thing each day. Maybe set up an alert in your calendar to remind you.
* I鈥檒l be typing that sentence a lot in these Tool Time posts.
** An important benefit of maximizing productivity while at work is that it frees up time you can spend doing things like having a life.
