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Sunrise Session

Sunrise Session. Time management tips: Spend more time on writing, and less on email. Susan R. Johnson MD. MS., The University of Iowa. Agenda. Become a more productive writer More effective email management Planning for the week and the day. Become a more productive writer.

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Sunrise Session

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  1. Sunrise Session Time management tips: Spend more time on writing, and less on email Susan R. Johnson MD. MS., The University of Iowa

  2. Agenda • Become a more productive writer • More effective email management • Planning for the week and the day

  3. Become a more productive writer

  4. Scenario1: With a deadline (e.g. grants) Scenario2: Without a deadline (e.g. many papers)

  5. Strategy Write regularly

  6. Regular writing evidence • Writing in brief sessions daily is more productive than engaging in infrequent “binge writing” • Evidence: 30-60 minutes a day produces more high quality writing than infrequent binges • This does not preclude frequent longer sessions Robert Boice Emeritus SUNY at Stony Brook

  7. Strategy “Write every day” Do something nearly every work day that moves the project forward by at least one task or one sentence…”

  8. When you start work for the day, write for at least 30 minutes before you do anything else – including email!

  9. USE TIME BLOCKING (i.e. scheduling time to write) Write Create 1st draft of Aim 1 Write Key: pencil in exactly what you plan to do Write

  10. * Check your play store for a Pomodoro phone app

  11. If you can’t get started, create a first step that creates no resistance. • Work on report • Draft section one • Open Word document 

  12. When you are finished working for the day, create a “link” to the next session. The thing I will do next is … Ernest Hemingway. A Moveable Feast, 1964

  13. Manage distractions • Generic • Email • Phone calls • Walk-in’s • The clinic, ER, OR • For scientists • Reading the literature • Perpetual re-writing • Thinking about new papers and grant ideas instead of completing old ones

  14. Strategy Limit work in progress.

  15. Master list priority work Grant Paper 1 Paper 2 Paper 3 Paper 4 Paper 5 Paper 6 Chapter A Chapter B Review article Now: Paper 1 Grant Chapter A

  16. Strategy Create a draft schedule

  17. Writing schedule template • __ literature, data analysis, other pre-writing (dates) • __ create the “bad draft” (dates) • __ initial revisions (dates) • __ co-author input (dates) • __ final revisions (dates) • EXTERNAL DEADLINE or TARGET COMPLETTION DATE: yyyy-mm-dd “timebox”

  18. Strategy: “Write to think…”

  19. Strategy: Start with a quickly written “bad draft”

  20. Features of a “good” bad draft process: • Use a tight schedule (e.g. the “four hour rule”) • Produce a complete draft • Manage “idea interruptions”

  21. How to process. How often to process. When NOT to process. Better email management

  22. Empty e-mail inbox INBOX ZERO!

  23. Create folders to store message associate with current work     / Projects Messages saved for future reference

  24. The path to empty… • Don’t look unless you have time to process • Set at time limit • 1st pass: delete based on subject (optional) • 2nd pass: • Pick LIFO or FIFO • Process in order; no skipping! • Take each message as far as you can toward completion

  25. ~ 90% + processed / out of inbox • For the rest, that you have decided to defer: • First, ask yourself WHY you can’t do • Then, what do you have to do next to complete? • Decide the first time! • Delete • File (no action needed) • Store in “Optional reading” folder • Pull out messages best dealt with by phone or in person • Do task / reply now

  26. Options to store deferred emails  Convert to a task (Outlook / Gmail):  File in a folder • Segregate in the Inbox, using flags, labels or categories

  27. Planned batching processing* Obsessive “checking”* Ignoring* *added by SRJ

  28. Plan the week & the day

  29. At the beginning of the week: • Review and update your to-do lists • Review your calendar(s) • 1 week back, 3+ weeks forward • Identify up to 3 important chunks of work that you want to complete in the coming week • Sketch out how you want to spend your time:

  30. FOR LIBRARY GROUP • Work on the FY16 book purchase list •  Get input from each of the areas staff • Work on the draft of the new vacation policy • Complete search for peer library policies • Work on birthday party plans • Finalize the guest list and send invitations Pick up to 3 chunks of current work that you aim to complete this week. ONE should be for your primary (writing) project Use the “completion” formula: • Instead of : “Work on K-award application” • Write: “COMPLETE draft of methods for K-award application” • FOR JUNIOR MEDICAL SCHOOL RESEARCH FACULTY • Work on K-award application •  COMPLETE draft of methods • Work on the new medical student lecture •  COMPLETE objectives • Work on John’s birthday party plans •  COMPLETE guest list and mail invitations

  31. Big picture time use / “penciled in” time blocks Calls with family Exercise Bike ride write laundry write cleaning Lunch Friends birthday party write groceries dinner dinner Eat out With friends dinner dinner dinner dinner Movie Day OFF PTO night

  32. At the beginning of the day, create an MIT (“most important tasks”) plan: Must*be done today • . • . • … Aim*to do today • . • . • . * The deadline is today * “It will be so great if I get this done today but nothing bad will happen if it don’t.”

  33. Take action: • Block a total of at least three hours in each of the next two weeks for writing. • Pick one weeknight in each of those weeks when you will not do any work

  34. Productivity Resources (selected) • David Allen • Getting Things Done 2nd Edition (2015) : A popular, effective complete workflow and planning system • Cal Newport • Study Hacks blog: Cal posts on “deep work” and other aspects of being productive : http://calnewport.com/blog/ • Deep Work: Rules for focused success in a distracted world., 2016 • Young Georgetown computer science assistant professor who has studied this topic, well, deeply: a must read • http://www.asianefficiency.com/ • Covers all areas; free and paid resources online; courses; coaching • Gina Hiatt • The Academic Ladder: blog on academic writing • http://academicladder.com/ • Joan Bolker. • (1998). Writing your dissertation in fifteen minutes a day. New York, Henry Holt and Company. • Neil Fiore • The Now Habit, 2007: Practical approaches to procrastination

  35. srj.susanjohnson@gmail.com Contact me anytime with questions or comments, and, get articles on my website www.thrivingamidstchaos.com

  36. Thank You

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