Excellence Everywhere - National University of Ireland, Galway

Making the Mostof the Time You HaveIt is important to find ways to make efficientand productive use of your time. Be aware thatfor some activities, it may not be immediatelyapparent that your time spent is worthwhile. Forexample, attending seminars in your departmentcan actually be a productive and efficient use ofyour time. Not only will you learn new information,but if you ask questions, you will also boost yourvisibility.Efficiency. Successful people tend to be efficient.They have evolved practices to create blocks ofuninterrupted time for “brain work.” Here aresome tips to help you make the best use of thoseparts of the day you control:n Create an environment conducive to productivity.Make a place for everything, and put everythingin its place. Clutter is inefficient. Do not makeyourself look for the same piece of paper or pocketcalculator over and over again.n Find or make a quiet space (or time) to work.n Know your biological clock, and protect your mostproductive hours for your writing and designingexperiments and other critical tasks.n During your protected work hours, focus and donot allow interruptions.n Set time limits. Give yourself predeterminedamounts of time to complete tasks (e.g., twohours to review a paper).n Eliminate unnecessary tasks.n Avoid procrastination. Start tasks early—at least inoutline. If you have a grant due, write your goalsearly enough to let your lab staff start gatheringrelevant data without last-minute panic. If a criticalreagent requires a long lead time to produce, startit early enough to make sure it will be ready whenyou need it.n Structure and supervise meetings.n Delegate work.n If it is possible and inexpensive, make a quickphone call instead of having an often less efficientback-and-forth email conversation.Technology Changes EverythingBetter communications—from email andweb applications to wireless phone servicehave made it easier for laboratories inrelatively resource-poor regions to play alarger part in the international scientificcommunity. If you work in a place whereInternet access is slow, and you areinterested in computers and technology,it may be worthwhile for you to form acommittee with like-minded individuals tofind opportunities for upgrading to fastertechnologies. Foreign and domestic governments,non-government organizations,and technology companies from both thetelephone and computer sides might bewilling to develop the infrastructure to improveyour speed and connection quality.Fitting It All In. Successful people also learnto use small units of time, capitalizing on freeminutes here and there (in professions such aslaw, people sometimes bill their time in incrementsof 15 minutes or less). Returning phonecalls, drafting memos, and reviewing your weeklyschedule are just a few ways in which you can puta few minutes to work for you throughout the day.The trick is to be prepared when those momentsarise by having messages or email, students’homework, a notepad, and perhaps a cell phonewith you. Some tasks, such as reviewing papersand reading science magazines, adapt well tocommuting time if you do not drive.Improving Your Lab Staff’s TimeManagement SkillsHere are some tips for helping your staff workmore efficiently:n Establish clear goals and expectations early,starting with simple tasks your staff can handle.Make sure they understand the tasks. Rewardand correct them as appropriate, expand the tasks,then repeat the process.76 excellence everywhere